Hawridge
Encyclopedia
Hawridge, is a small village
in the Chilterns
in the county
of Buckinghamshire
, England
and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire
. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Chesham
, 4 miles (6.4 km) from both Tring
and Berkhamsted
.
Hawridge is one of four villages comprising Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards
, a civil parish within Chiltern District
. Heath End is a hamlet which has always been closely associated with Hawridge although historically part of the settlement had been in Hertfordshire until the second half of 20th century. The name probably derives from its location on the edge of Wigginton
Heath.
It is a rural community but the agricultural economy is small and most local people rely for employment on neighbouring towns, the proximity of London
, the availability of broadband technology or local tourism and the popularity of the area for recreational activities.
. Several examples of puddingstone
s a characteristic form of this aggregate have been found locally. There are no streams in the area due to the porous chalk sub soil. In places the occurrence of clay close to the surface accounts for several natural ponds fed by springs. Until connection with mains water in the mid-20th century, the scarcity of water had necessitated the sinking of deep wells and capture of rainwater.
. Both chalk and a small amount of clay have been extracted over the years, Meanwhile in more recent times flint was dug out for road making. Both activities have left their mark in the form of small mounds and shallow depressions.
Historically, many homes had access to orchards, gardens for vegetable production and pasture for domestic animals. These have largely disappeared and over the last ten years or so the increasing popularity of horse riding has created a demand for suitable land for paddocks.
, Hawridge is consequently more closely linked in this way with the neighbouring villages of Cholesbury
, St Leonards
and Buckland Common
.
Until 1935 Hawridge did not have mains water. Drainage did not arrive until 1963. The road down to Chesham was frequently impassable in winter and periodic flooding has still occurred even in recent years. The Second World War resulted in an influx of people escaping the London Blitz and not returning afterwards. This migration had a lasting affect with more houses built or greatly enlarged or refurbished. Transport improvements enabling daily commuting to London from the 1950s onwards also led to a further change with the growth in more affluent families which irrevocably changed the composition of the village community.
Concerns in the 1960s about uncontrolled housing development encouraged the establishment of resident's groups focussed on preserving the village scene. Situated in the Chilterns AONB, and combined with national and local government planning controls there is strict enforcement of restrictions on residential building developments. This has led to a shortage in affordable and social housing. The scarcity of available property has added a premium onto house prices in Hawridge (average selling price circa £700k as at 2007) and neighbouring villages compared to other areas in the rest of the South-east of England.
in origin, and means 'ridge frequented by hawks'. However, there is evidence of much earlier settlement from archaeological finds, including a Palaeolithic handaxe found in Heath End, a hamlet
of Hawridge having probably arrived with road materials transported to the site. From the discovery of a late Bronze Age
sword, now at the Ashmolean Museum
, Oxford
it has been concluded that there was a permanent settlement in the area from around 600BC.
Adjacent to White Hawridge Bottom is evidence of strip lynchet
s and terraces built around 11th century. Lynchets are the result of ploughing accumulating earth on the lowest point of the slope and building up a terrace of flatter ground on square or rectangular early medaevil fields.
There is evidence of trading activity through finds of coins spanning from around 4th Century, the late Roman period of Valentinian I
, and about 1450 during the reign of Edward IV
.
during the 1640s Parliamentary soldiers were billeted in the area at a time when skirmishes were occurring in and around Wendover
and Chesham
. Adjacent to Horseblock Lane, which crosses Hawridge Common, may have been where their horses were quartered. It has also been said that during one particularly fierce skirmish with the Royalists, dead horses were used to form a barricade from which the name of the lane is derived.
of Hawridge is not mentioned in the Domesday Book
. The first records are from the 13th century when it was associated with John de Beauchamp
a relative of the Earl of Warwick
. Around 1319 and through connections between the de Beauchamp family it became connected to one of the estates held by the Bassetts in Marsworth
. By 1379 the manor had passed to Edward or Edmund Cook who gave it up to pay off debts. The Penyston family held the manor from the beginning of the 15th century.
Via successive conveyances the manor came to Thomas Tasburgh and his wife Dorothy who was the widow of Sir Thomas Packington and had acquired some notoriety for her geremandering of elections at Aylesbury
. By 1650 and several conveyances later the manor was in the hands of John Seare. From the beginning of the 18th century his son Richard owned jointly the manors of Hawridge and Cholesbury, an arrangement which has continued to the today. The manoral rights were acquired by Robert Dayrell in 1748 and remained in the control of absentee landlords until the end of the 19th century. Henry Turner, a J.P. was the first Lord of the Manor to reside in the locality for 300 years when in 1899 he took up residency at Braziers End House in Cholesbury.
The Manorial Court which had ceased to operate during the early 19th century as the Church Vestry
and later parish meetings held greater sway, was revived by Henry Turner. Held quarterly at the Full Moon, there are records of frequent fines for such misdeeds as turning out animals on the Common or removing from it wood or stone without permission.
The poor quality of the land though meant that employment for villagers was often of a casual nature. Straw plaiting was the chief occupation of women and children during most of the 19th century. The plait was sent to Luton or London. The availability of daily train services to London also provided income from pheasant rearing. Until the Second World War agriculture had been the principle industry in the area. During the 20th century, much of the land was gradually taken out of agricultural use until today when only a minimal acreage is given over to or cattle and sheep-grazing or arable farming. The relative closeness to Chesham
provided opportunity for work within, for example, one of the many mills or boot factories. The arrival of the railway to Chesham during the 1880s, the relative closeness to London and other conurbations and improvement to the road networks and public transport resulted in work being sought from further afield. The village supported a number of small shops until the 1960s when supermarkets and increased car ownership sealed their fate.
Although a few businesses such as an agricultural merchants, a blacksmith and the three pubs continuing to operate today, there are no longer employers of significant numbers of local people within the village itself. In contrast the 2001 census has indicated a further change in employment patterns with increasing numbers of professional workers taking advantage of enhanced telecommunication through availability of broadband connectivity to work from home.
The census of 1801 records there were 121 inhabitants in 24 families living in 21 houses in Hawridge. According to the subsequent censuses the population grew rapidly between 1801 and 1861 when it was 276 and then fell back by 1901 to just 209. By 1931 it had again increased to 222.
As at 2001 93.5% of the local people were recorded as of White ethnic origin. Just under 80% declared they were Christians. Some 45% of people were in employment and 21%, a significantly higher proportion than elsewhere in the district, were self-employed and over 15% were retired which was slightly higher than in nearby areas.
. Today the catchment area covers the neighbouring villages of Bellingdon, Cholesbury, St Leonards and Buckland Common (the latter two since the close of the school at St Leonards).
The school was originally founded as a National School and opened in 1874 on land given by the Lord of the Manor. Before this the only education available was from the 'straw-plait' school, which were a common feature of villages in this part of the Chilterns and were also mentioned in a Select Committee report of 1819.
, also known as Cholesbury Mill, is a disused tower mill
which straddles the boundary between Hawridge and Cholesbury villages. It is now a private residence but was until 1912 in operation and on the site of an earlier smock mill
. Residents and visitors in the First World War period included a number of artists and celebrities, including Gilbert Cannan
, Mark Gertler, Betrand Russell, and the actress Doris Keane
.
The original site of the manor house was Hawridge Court which is now a Scheduled Monument. The ringwork
which remains almost intact and surrounded the original manor house is thought to have been constructed shortly after the Norman Conquest. It is oval in shape measuring 60 by 50 metres in diameter, is bounded by a rampart two metres high and external ditch which includes a deep moat for part of its circumference. A gap and causeway marks the probable original entrance. The moated manor house which was built by 1223 was replaced by a 16th century Grade II listed, timber-framed Tudor cottage occupied periodically by the Lord of the Manors of Hawridge and Cholesbury. Additional buildings were constructed around 1700.
The original school house which was built by 1874 remained as an integral part of the modern school until 2010. St Mary’s Church was first mentioned in 1227. During the 19th century it fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1856 by the church architect William White
, using original flint-and-brick materials and in a style peculiar to the 1850s known as 'constructional polychromy'. The church has retained its 13th century circular font. Oliver Cromwell
ordered that church organs be removed in 1644. Churches relied on bands comprising local musicians to provide accompaniment until organs were reintroduced in the 19th century. An old bassoon made around 1800 and played at St Mary's was found during refurbishment of the church and is now to be found in Buckinghamshire County Museum
Aylesbury.
A Mission Hall was open in 1879 by the Hope Hall (now Kings Road Evangelical
Church), Berkhamsted
with the words ”The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah). Today the Hall is a private house.
The water-pumping station
at Nut Hazel Cross was built in the 1950s to supply water from the aquifer
to the growing population in the towns of Halton
, Tring
and Wendover
. Despite enhanced levels of water extraction when groundwater levels remained high the road through The Vale to Chesham, which has always lacked effective drainage was frequently impassable in winter months, and remains prone to flooding today.
was played on the Commons up until the 1920s and the Full Moon pub had a Bowling Alley until the 1970s.
Hawridge together with the neighbouring villages of Cholesbury
, St Leonards
and Buckland Common
are locally known as the Hilltop Villages. Until the 1930s, Hawridge had been a separate parish and part of Aylesbury Rural District
. In 1934 it came together with the other villages to form the civil parish of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards
and became part of Amersham Rural District
which as part of the 1974 Local Government reorganisation
was succeeded by Chiltern District.
, born 1893 in Perth, Australia
, played rugby union
for Scotland in 1921, and first-class cricket
for Somerset County Cricket Club
in 1922 and 1923 and for a first-class Royal Navy
team. He subsequently lived at Hawridge Place until his death on 6 March 1960.
Margaretta Scott
, English actor of stage, film and television (1912–2005) lived in the village with her husband Composer John Wooldridge
, daughter actor Susan Wooldridge
and son theatre producer Hugh Wooldridge
during the 1950s.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Chilterns
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
in the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Chesham
Chesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
, 4 miles (6.4 km) from both Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
and Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
.
Hawridge is one of four villages comprising Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards
Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards
Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards is a civil parish in the Chiltern district of the English county of Buckinghamshire. It is located in the Chiltern Hills just to the north of Chesham and forms a boundary along its length with Hertfordshire....
, a civil parish within Chiltern District
Chiltern (district)
Chiltern is one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England. It is named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.The main towns in the district are Amersham and Chesham...
. Heath End is a hamlet which has always been closely associated with Hawridge although historically part of the settlement had been in Hertfordshire until the second half of 20th century. The name probably derives from its location on the edge of Wigginton
Wigginton, Hertfordshire
Wigginton is a large village and civil parish running north-south and perched at on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in the county of Hertfordshire and aside the border with Buckinghamshire...
Heath.
It is a rural community but the agricultural economy is small and most local people rely for employment on neighbouring towns, the proximity of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the availability of broadband technology or local tourism and the popularity of the area for recreational activities.
Geography
Before the incorporation of additional land from adjacent parishes, Hawridge historically comprised some 696 acres (2.8 km²). It is located in the main along a ridge on the dip slope within the Chiltern downland landscape. It is some 590 ft (182m) above see levelGeology
The geology of the area has dictated the land use. The soil comprises gravely clay, intermixed with flints, small pebbles, and öolite over a chalk formationChalk Formation
The Chalk Group is a lithostratigraphic unit in the northwestern part of Europe. It is characterised by thick deposits of chalk, a soft porous white limestone, deposited in a marine environment during the Upper Cretaceous period.Chalk is a limestone that consists of coccolith biomicrite...
. Several examples of puddingstone
Puddingstone (rock)
Puddingstone, also known as either Pudding stone or Plum-pudding stone, is a popular name applied to a conglomerate that consists of distinctly rounded pebbles whose colors contrast sharply with the color of the finer-grained, often sandy, matrix or cement surrounding them...
s a characteristic form of this aggregate have been found locally. There are no streams in the area due to the porous chalk sub soil. In places the occurrence of clay close to the surface accounts for several natural ponds fed by springs. Until connection with mains water in the mid-20th century, the scarcity of water had necessitated the sinking of deep wells and capture of rainwater.
Land use
In contrast to nearby areas of the Chilterns more land is given over to open space i.e. agricultural, both arable and pasture; paddocks; heathland and most significantly the Common along one side of which the majority of houses are arranged. There is relatively little mature ancient woodland remaining as most was cleared mainly during the 18th century and given over to beech plantation connected with the furniture making industry in High WycombeHigh Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
. Both chalk and a small amount of clay have been extracted over the years, Meanwhile in more recent times flint was dug out for road making. Both activities have left their mark in the form of small mounds and shallow depressions.
Historically, many homes had access to orchards, gardens for vegetable production and pasture for domestic animals. These have largely disappeared and over the last ten years or so the increasing popularity of horse riding has created a demand for suitable land for paddocks.
Settlement
Villages in this part of the Chilterns are often set out around Greens and Commons or strung out along ridges with which they connect often without a gap to adjacent settlements. Despite being not far distant from CheshamChesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
, Hawridge is consequently more closely linked in this way with the neighbouring villages of Cholesbury
Cholesbury
Cholesbury is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted....
, St Leonards
St Leonards, Buckinghamshire
St Leonards is a small village in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 3 miles east of Wendover and 4 miles south of Tring, Hertfordshire...
and Buckland Common
Buckland Common
Buckland Common is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, east of Wendover and the same distance south of Tring in Hertfordshire with which it shares a boundary...
.
Until 1935 Hawridge did not have mains water. Drainage did not arrive until 1963. The road down to Chesham was frequently impassable in winter and periodic flooding has still occurred even in recent years. The Second World War resulted in an influx of people escaping the London Blitz and not returning afterwards. This migration had a lasting affect with more houses built or greatly enlarged or refurbished. Transport improvements enabling daily commuting to London from the 1950s onwards also led to a further change with the growth in more affluent families which irrevocably changed the composition of the village community.
Concerns in the 1960s about uncontrolled housing development encouraged the establishment of resident's groups focussed on preserving the village scene. Situated in the Chilterns AONB, and combined with national and local government planning controls there is strict enforcement of restrictions on residential building developments. This has led to a shortage in affordable and social housing. The scarcity of available property has added a premium onto house prices in Hawridge (average selling price circa £700k as at 2007) and neighbouring villages compared to other areas in the rest of the South-east of England.
Origins and the early settlement
The original village name Aucrug is Anglo SaxonOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
in origin, and means 'ridge frequented by hawks'. However, there is evidence of much earlier settlement from archaeological finds, including a Palaeolithic handaxe found in Heath End, a hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
of Hawridge having probably arrived with road materials transported to the site. From the discovery of a late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
sword, now at the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
it has been concluded that there was a permanent settlement in the area from around 600BC.
Adjacent to White Hawridge Bottom is evidence of strip lynchet
Lynchet
A lynchet is a bank of earth that builds up on the downslope of a field ploughed over a long period of time. The disturbed soil slips down the hillside to create a positive lynchet while the area reduced in level becomes a negative lynchet. They are also referred to as strip lynchets.They are a...
s and terraces built around 11th century. Lynchets are the result of ploughing accumulating earth on the lowest point of the slope and building up a terrace of flatter ground on square or rectangular early medaevil fields.
There is evidence of trading activity through finds of coins spanning from around 4th Century, the late Roman period of Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
, and about 1450 during the reign of Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
.
English Civil War
Hawridge is said to have associations with the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
during the 1640s Parliamentary soldiers were billeted in the area at a time when skirmishes were occurring in and around Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
and Chesham
Chesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
. Adjacent to Horseblock Lane, which crosses Hawridge Common, may have been where their horses were quartered. It has also been said that during one particularly fierce skirmish with the Royalists, dead horses were used to form a barricade from which the name of the lane is derived.
Lords of the Manor
The manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Hawridge is not mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. The first records are from the 13th century when it was associated with John de Beauchamp
John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp (second creation)
Sir John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp de Warwick KG was a younger son of Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, and brother of Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, with whom he became a founder and the tenth Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348.He attended King Edward III into...
a relative of the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
. Around 1319 and through connections between the de Beauchamp family it became connected to one of the estates held by the Bassetts in Marsworth
Marsworth
Marsworth is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about two miles north of Tring, in Hertfordshire and six miles east of Aylesbury.-Early history:...
. By 1379 the manor had passed to Edward or Edmund Cook who gave it up to pay off debts. The Penyston family held the manor from the beginning of the 15th century.
Via successive conveyances the manor came to Thomas Tasburgh and his wife Dorothy who was the widow of Sir Thomas Packington and had acquired some notoriety for her geremandering of elections at Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. By 1650 and several conveyances later the manor was in the hands of John Seare. From the beginning of the 18th century his son Richard owned jointly the manors of Hawridge and Cholesbury, an arrangement which has continued to the today. The manoral rights were acquired by Robert Dayrell in 1748 and remained in the control of absentee landlords until the end of the 19th century. Henry Turner, a J.P. was the first Lord of the Manor to reside in the locality for 300 years when in 1899 he took up residency at Braziers End House in Cholesbury.
The Manorial Court which had ceased to operate during the early 19th century as the Church Vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
and later parish meetings held greater sway, was revived by Henry Turner. Held quarterly at the Full Moon, there are records of frequent fines for such misdeeds as turning out animals on the Common or removing from it wood or stone without permission.
Local Economy
Like the neighbouring village of Cholesbury, Hawridge with its extensive Commons was on an important droving route. There were once several alehouses located close to the Commons. They were able to flourish due to this boost in trade between the 18th and later on when up until the early part of the 20th centuries they were also frequented by the growing numbers of brickyard and agricultural labourers. The Full Moon Pub, which is closest to the parish boundary with Cholesbury, is recorded as having its first licensed keeper in 1766 although as an unlicensed alehouse it may date back to 1693. Further along the Common is the Rose and Crown, first licensed in 1753. Down Hawridge Vale is the oldest of the three, the Black Horse, which first opened in the mid-17th century. Other alehouses such as the Mermaid, across the road from the 'Moon', came and went but these three have survived to the present day.The poor quality of the land though meant that employment for villagers was often of a casual nature. Straw plaiting was the chief occupation of women and children during most of the 19th century. The plait was sent to Luton or London. The availability of daily train services to London also provided income from pheasant rearing. Until the Second World War agriculture had been the principle industry in the area. During the 20th century, much of the land was gradually taken out of agricultural use until today when only a minimal acreage is given over to or cattle and sheep-grazing or arable farming. The relative closeness to Chesham
Chesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
provided opportunity for work within, for example, one of the many mills or boot factories. The arrival of the railway to Chesham during the 1880s, the relative closeness to London and other conurbations and improvement to the road networks and public transport resulted in work being sought from further afield. The village supported a number of small shops until the 1960s when supermarkets and increased car ownership sealed their fate.
Although a few businesses such as an agricultural merchants, a blacksmith and the three pubs continuing to operate today, there are no longer employers of significant numbers of local people within the village itself. In contrast the 2001 census has indicated a further change in employment patterns with increasing numbers of professional workers taking advantage of enhanced telecommunication through availability of broadband connectivity to work from home.
Demographics
As at 2001 93.5% of the local people were recorded as of White ethnic origin. Just under 80% declared they were Christians. Some 45% of people were in employment and 21%, a significantly higher proportion than elsewhere in the district, were self-employed and over 15% were retired which was slightly higher than in nearby areas.
Education
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 attend Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England SchoolHawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School
Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School is a mixed Primary School for children between the ages of 4 - 11 in Hawridge, Buckinghamshire.-History:...
. Today the catchment area covers the neighbouring villages of Bellingdon, Cholesbury, St Leonards and Buckland Common (the latter two since the close of the school at St Leonards).
The school was originally founded as a National School and opened in 1874 on land given by the Lord of the Manor. Before this the only education available was from the 'straw-plait' school, which were a common feature of villages in this part of the Chilterns and were also mentioned in a Select Committee report of 1819.
Landmarks and buildings
Hawridge MillHawridge Windmill
Hawridge Windmill which is also known as Cholesbury Windmill is a disused tower mill in Hawridge, Buckinghamshire. The mill was constructed on the site of an earlier smock mill and became a private residence in 1913 when the first occupier, the artist Gilbert Cannan used it as a studio.-History:The...
, also known as Cholesbury Mill, is a disused tower mill
Tower mill
A tower mill is a type of windmill which consists of a brick or stone tower, on top of which sits a roof or cap which can be turned to bring the sails into the wind....
which straddles the boundary between Hawridge and Cholesbury villages. It is now a private residence but was until 1912 in operation and on the site of an earlier smock mill
Smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind...
. Residents and visitors in the First World War period included a number of artists and celebrities, including Gilbert Cannan
Gilbert Cannan
Gilbert Cannan was a British novelist and dramatist.-Early life:Born in Manchester of Scottish descent, he got on badly with his family, and in 1897 he was sent to live in Oxford with the economist Edwin Cannan...
, Mark Gertler, Betrand Russell, and the actress Doris Keane
Doris Keane
Doris Keane was an American actress.She was born in the USA but educated largely in Europe.Her first professional role was in Whitewashing Julia in 1903. This was a small role but she went on to play leading roles in The Happy Marriage in 1909 and The Lights o' London in 1911.In 1913, she played...
.
The original site of the manor house was Hawridge Court which is now a Scheduled Monument. The ringwork
Ringwork
A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles minus the motte...
which remains almost intact and surrounded the original manor house is thought to have been constructed shortly after the Norman Conquest. It is oval in shape measuring 60 by 50 metres in diameter, is bounded by a rampart two metres high and external ditch which includes a deep moat for part of its circumference. A gap and causeway marks the probable original entrance. The moated manor house which was built by 1223 was replaced by a 16th century Grade II listed, timber-framed Tudor cottage occupied periodically by the Lord of the Manors of Hawridge and Cholesbury. Additional buildings were constructed around 1700.
The original school house which was built by 1874 remained as an integral part of the modern school until 2010. St Mary’s Church was first mentioned in 1227. During the 19th century it fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1856 by the church architect William White
William White (architect)
William White, F.S.A. was an English architect, famous for his part in 19th century Gothic Revival architecture and church restorations...
, using original flint-and-brick materials and in a style peculiar to the 1850s known as 'constructional polychromy'. The church has retained its 13th century circular font. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
ordered that church organs be removed in 1644. Churches relied on bands comprising local musicians to provide accompaniment until organs were reintroduced in the 19th century. An old bassoon made around 1800 and played at St Mary's was found during refurbishment of the church and is now to be found in Buckinghamshire County Museum
Buckinghamshire County Museum
The Buckinghamshire County Museum is a museum in the centre of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, England. It displays artefacts pertinent to the history of Buckinghamshire including geological displays, costume, agriculture and industry...
Aylesbury.
A Mission Hall was open in 1879 by the Hope Hall (now Kings Road Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Church), Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
with the words ”The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah). Today the Hall is a private house.
The water-pumping station
Pumping station
Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites.A pumping station...
at Nut Hazel Cross was built in the 1950s to supply water from the aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
to the growing population in the towns of Halton
Halton
- Places in the United Kingdom :* Halton , Cheshire**Halton **Halton, Cheshire village* Halton, Buckinghamshire village** RAF Halton* Halton, district of Leeds, West Yorkshire* Halton, Northumberland village...
, Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
and Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
. Despite enhanced levels of water extraction when groundwater levels remained high the road through The Vale to Chesham, which has always lacked effective drainage was frequently impassable in winter months, and remains prone to flooding today.
Transport
Almost 95% of local residents have access to a car. Over the years the provision of buses has decreased significantly. Today a bus service runs once each way on alternative days connecting to Chesham, Tring and local villages. School buses are a valuable facility transporting children to Secondary Schools in Chesham and Amersham.Sport and recreation
The local area with its open views, rural lanes, commons and woodland, criss-crossed by footpaths and bridleways consequently are very popular with cyclists, walkers and horse-riders. The churches of Hawridge and Cholesbury jointly hold a Summer Fête on August Bank Holiday, alternatively on Hawridge and Cholesbury Commons. The Vale of Aylesbury with Garth & South Berks Hunt traditionally hold a meet on Boxing Day (26 December) which draws a large crowd from the local district. QuoitsQuoits
Quoits is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike . The sport of quoits encompasses several distinct variations.-The history of quoits:The history of quoits is disputed...
was played on the Commons up until the 1920s and the Full Moon pub had a Bowling Alley until the 1970s.
Governance
The manoral rights originating from the 12th century, which have continued to be held jointly with Cholesbury since 17th century no longer control village life. Hawridge and Cholesbury Commons Preservation Society now manage the Commons on behalf of the Lord of the Manor. The church vestry has been succeeded by the parochial church council focussing on church affairs and its responsibilities for the village ceded to the parish council.Hawridge together with the neighbouring villages of Cholesbury
Cholesbury
Cholesbury is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted....
, St Leonards
St Leonards, Buckinghamshire
St Leonards is a small village in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 3 miles east of Wendover and 4 miles south of Tring, Hertfordshire...
and Buckland Common
Buckland Common
Buckland Common is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, east of Wendover and the same distance south of Tring in Hertfordshire with which it shares a boundary...
are locally known as the Hilltop Villages. Until the 1930s, Hawridge had been a separate parish and part of Aylesbury Rural District
Aylesbury Rural District
Aylesbury was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include Aylesbury, which was a separate municipal borough...
. In 1934 it came together with the other villages to form the civil parish of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards
Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards
Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards is a civil parish in the Chiltern district of the English county of Buckinghamshire. It is located in the Chiltern Hills just to the north of Chesham and forms a boundary along its length with Hertfordshire....
and became part of Amersham Rural District
Amersham Rural District
Amersham was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974. The rural district took over the responsibilities of the disbanded Amersham Rural Sanitary District. It entirely surrounded but did not include Chesham...
which as part of the 1974 Local Government reorganisation
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
was succeeded by Chiltern District.
Notable people
Alpin Errol ThomsonAlpin Thomson
Alpin Erroll Thomson DSC played first-class cricket for Somerset and the Royal Navy cricket team in 1922 and 1923. He also played international rugby union for Scotland. He was born in Perth, Western Australia and died at Hawridge, Chesham, Buckinghamshire...
, born 1893 in Perth, Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for Scotland in 1921, and first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
in 1922 and 1923 and for a first-class Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
team. He subsequently lived at Hawridge Place until his death on 6 March 1960.
Margaretta Scott
Margaretta Scott
Margaretta Scott was an English stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs...
, English actor of stage, film and television (1912–2005) lived in the village with her husband Composer John Wooldridge
John Wooldridge
Wing Commander John De Lacy Wooldridge, DSO, DFC and Bar, DFM, was a British film composer.- Early life :Wooldridge was born in Yokohama, Japan and was educated at St Paul's School, London...
, daughter actor Susan Wooldridge
Susan Wooldridge
Susan Wooldridge , is the daughter of British actress Margaretta Scott and composer John Wooldridge. She is also the sister of Hugh Wooldridge.She was born in London, England, and educated at convent schools....
and son theatre producer Hugh Wooldridge
Hugh Wooldridge
Hugh Wooldridge was born in London, England, UK, the son of British composer John Wooldridge and actress Margaretta Scott. He is the brother of actress Susan Wooldridge...
during the 1950s.