Meadle
Encyclopedia
Meadle is a hamlet
in the civil parish of Longwick-cum-Ilmer, in Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is located to the north of the village of Monks Risborough
and near Little Kimble. The current population of Meadle is about 75. Most of the buildings are very old: farmhouses and labourers' cottages build in traditional red clay brick with thatched roofs. A small stream rises in the village and ultimately joins the Thames.
The earliest recorded mentions of Meadle are in the English Civil War
when it was caught up in the battle lines between the Royalists in Oxford and the Parliamentarians in London. A local farm, Armour Farm, is believed to have acquired its name as a store of armaments during the war.
Meadle later became a Quaker settlement; the largest farm in the hamlet is still known as Quaker Farm, where Quakers met and were buried in the orchard behind the house. A local field bears the name of Fox's Midsummer where George Fox
, the founder of the Quaker movement, held secret nighttime meetings.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Meadle was a centre of production for the Aylesbury Duck
industry, and had a grist mill to provide feed.
Meadle was the home of John Nash
, one of England's foremost painters and war artists of the inter-war years. He moved there in 1922 and started his great period of landscape water colours, wood engraving and botanical paintings, drawing on the natural scenes and rural activities of the surrounding countryside: the Vale of Aylesbury and the Chiltern Hills
. He moved on during the Second World War to settle in East Anglia. The house in which he lived, Lane End, still exists.
Meadle is mostly known to visitors for the Kimble Point-to-Point, a traditional horse-racing event held on nearby fields each Easter Saturday.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in the civil parish of Longwick-cum-Ilmer, in 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...
. It is located to the north of the village of Monks Risborough
Monks Risborough
Monks Risborough is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Buckinghamshire, England, lying between Princes Risborough and Great Kimble. The village lies at the foot of the northern scarp of the Chiltern Hills...
and near Little Kimble. The current population of Meadle is about 75. Most of the buildings are very old: farmhouses and labourers' cottages build in traditional red clay brick with thatched roofs. A small stream rises in the village and ultimately joins the Thames.
The earliest recorded mentions of Meadle are in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
when it was caught up in the battle lines between the Royalists in Oxford and the Parliamentarians in London. A local farm, Armour Farm, is believed to have acquired its name as a store of armaments during the war.
Meadle later became a Quaker settlement; the largest farm in the hamlet is still known as Quaker Farm, where Quakers met and were buried in the orchard behind the house. A local field bears the name of Fox's Midsummer where George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
, the founder of the Quaker movement, held secret nighttime meetings.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Meadle was a centre of production for the Aylesbury Duck
Aylesbury duck
The Aylesbury duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance. It is a large duck with pure white plumage, a pink bill, orange legs and feet, an unusually large keel, and a horizontal stance with its body parallel to the ground...
industry, and had a grist mill to provide feed.
Meadle was the home of John Nash
John Nash (artist)
John Northcote Nash CBE RA was a British painter of landscape and still-life, wood-engraver and illustrator, particularly of botanic works.-Biography:...
, one of England's foremost painters and war artists of the inter-war years. He moved there in 1922 and started his great period of landscape water colours, wood engraving and botanical paintings, drawing on the natural scenes and rural activities of the surrounding countryside: the Vale of Aylesbury and the Chiltern Hills
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:...
. He moved on during the Second World War to settle in East Anglia. The house in which he lived, Lane End, still exists.
Meadle is mostly known to visitors for the Kimble Point-to-Point, a traditional horse-racing event held on nearby fields each Easter Saturday.