Iver

Not to be confused withIvor.

Iver/ˈaɪ.vər/is acivil parishinBuckinghamshire,England. In addition to the centralclustered village,the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods ofIver HeathandRichings Parkand the hamlets ofShreding GreenandThorney.

Iver
Iver's three similar settlements form a jointly administered community. Footpaths run to theColne Valley regional park,the train station and branch into theChiltern Hills,Londonand theLondon Loop.
Iver Location withinBuckinghamshire
Area	20.1 km2(7.8 sq mi)
Population	11,119 (2011)
•Density	553/km2(1,430/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TQ0381
Civil parish	Iver
Unitary authority	Buckinghamshire
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	IVER
Postcode district	SL0
Dialling code	01753
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Beaconsfield

Geography, transport and economy

Part of the 43-square-mileColne Valley regional park,with woods, lakes and land by theGrand Union Canal.Most of the open land is classified asMetropolitan Green Belt.

Surrounding the Ivers are neighbouring villages and towns ofFulmer,Denham,Gerrards CrossandWexham.Also nearby areColnbrook,Langley,Uxbridge,Cowley,YiewsleyandWest Drayton.

The Ivers have public transport and motorway links. TheM25 motorwayandM4 motorway,including theThorney Interchange,are nearby, while to the north of the Ivers is theM40 motorwayas well as theA40,which is parallel to the M40.

Also situated on theElizabeth line,Iver, Richings Park and Thorney are less than 0.5 miles (0.80 km) fromIver railway station,withLangley railway stationandUxbridge tube stationnearby for other villages across the Iver's.

Two significant employers in the parish are the Ridgeway trading and warehousing estate in Richings Park andPinewood Studiosin Iver Heath.

History

In theDomesday Bookof 1086 the whole area was recorded asEvrehamorhomestead by the brow of a hilland it was in the possession of a man calledRobert Doiley.

Postcard of Iver Village

In 1351 the area was granted aRoyal charterto hold a weeklymarket.This charter was confirmed 110 years later in 1461.

Iver

Iver village on theUxbridgetoLangleyroad has a pre-Domesdayfoundation andNeolithicpottery fragments and other artefacts have been discovered. The village church has shards of aSaxonwindow, and elements dating from the 15th century, 16th century and 17th century can be seen. The village has numerous houses from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Thorney

In the spring of 893 aVikingraiding army plundered throughKentandSussex.After reachingFarnhaminSurreyit was intercepted byAlfred the Great'ssonEdwardwith hisWest SaxonFyrd.The Danes were routed, fleeing over theRiver ThamesintoMerciawith the West Saxon army in pursuit. Having reached theRiver Colnethe Danes mounted a defence on what was known as Thorney Island, believed to be land between the Colne and an offshoot channel of the river between Thorney and Iver. Edward began a siege of the island and was joined byÆthelred of Merciawith soldiers from the Mercian garrison in London. After a prolonged stalemate an agreement was reached with the Danes that they would to leave the Angle and Saxon controlled lands peacefully and go directly to the lands in the east under Danish control which they duly did, without any of their plundered spoils.

Iver Heath

Iver Heath is the location ofHeatherden Hall,aVictorianestate with spectacular grounds. It was purchased by Lt. Col.Grant Morden,a Canadian financier, who transformed the mansion by adding a huge ballroom andTurkish bath.During the 1930s it became a retreat and private meeting place for politicians and diplomats. The agreement to form theIrish Free Statewas signed at Heatherden Hall. The Church of St Margaret was built in 1862. Iver Heath itself is centred on a triangle of roads. The village post office was on the Slough Road to the south, but closed in September 2020, while a parade of shops used to be found along Church Road to the north. Slough Road and Church Road are connected by Bangors Road North to the east.

Richings Park

Richings Park was once the estate ofLord Bathurst.In the 1630s, the Richings estate was owned by the Salter family, who in 1678 sold it to Sir Peter Apsley. His daughter Catherine married her cousin,Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst.Around 1740, the estate was sold to the Earl of Hertford, and in 1776 to Sir John Coghill, 1st Baronet of Richings.

In the 1780s, the house was burned down and rebuilt. It was later the home of the Sullivan and Meeking families.Ironically, in 1924,Viola Meekingmarried into the Bathurst family who had held the Richings Park estate two centuries earlier.

The new Richings Park mansion, very briefly the home ofRAF Bomber Command,was destroyed duringWorld War II,and its site is now a residential area with its own shopping facilities. Local street names reflect the history of the estate. The cellars of the house are still visible in fields now overlooking theM4.

Richings Park is the location ofIver railway stationon theElizabeth Line.

Black Park Country Park and Langley Park Country Park

Black Parkadjoins the Pinewood Studio complex. It has a lake that extends over 13 acres (5.3 ha).Due to its proximity to Pinewood Studios, Black Park was used for outdoor sequences in some ofHammer'sDraculafilms, a number ofCarry Onfilms, theGerry AndersonSci Fi seriesUFOand in the 1964James BondfilmGoldfinger.

To the south, Black Park is separated fromLangley Parkby the A412 / Uxbridge Road. Langley Park covers 130 acres (0.53 km²) and is known for its rhododendron and azalea-filled Temple Gardens.

Pinewood Studios

Main article:Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios is a major Britishfilm studioto the immediate west of the developed land of Iver Heath, which is in all other respects residential. The studios have hosted many productions from blockbuster films to UK television shows, commercials and pop music promos. The Superman and James Bond film franchises have used the film studios which provides tours of its museum.

Pinewood was built on the estate ofHeatherden Hall,a large, attractive Victorian house with spectacular grounds. The Pinewood estate had previously been purchased by Lt. Col. Grant Morden, a Canadian financier andMPforBrentford and Chiswick.He spent a fortune transforming the mansion into a showpiece home, adding refinements such as a hugeballroom,aTurkish bathand an indoorsquash court.Due to its seclusion, the house was used as a discreet meeting place for high-ranking politicians and diplomats. Here the agreement for theAnglo-Irish Treatywas signed. When Grant Morden died in 1934 the estate was purchased at auction byCharles Boot,who had recently inherited a large construction firm from his father,Henry Boot,who died in 1931. Within twelve months Charles had formed a partnership withJ. Arthur Rank,who transformed the mansion into the office building for afilm studiocomplex. He based his new studios on the latest Hollywood designs of that era. Charles Boot named the complex Pinewood Film Studios, a reference to the many pine trees in the area. The entrance to the studio is on Pinewood Road.

Activities and facilities

The Evreham Sports Centre

The Sports Centre is based in Iver, which is in the south of the District. The centre is run byGreenwich Leisure Limited.Facilities include a multi purpose sports hall, dance studio, lounge (with adjoining kitchen), sunbed, outdoor floodlit synthetic surface pitch, grass soccer pitches and a changing facility and fitness suite with equipment including a nautilus tread climber. The fitness suite contains pieces of equipment designed to be accessible to those persons with limited mobility.

Evreham Adult Learning Centre

Adjacent to the Sports Centre on the border of Iver Heath and Iver, this facility is a former secondary school which hosts independent and Council-run events and courses. These include Zumba, Slimming World, Pottery, Guitar and Woodwork. The venue also hosts the Tiny Toes Nursery and a Youth Centre.

Demography

2011 Published Statistics: Population, home ownership and extracts from Physical Environment, surveyed in 2005

Output area	Homes owned outright	Owned with a loan	Socially rented	Privately rented	Other	Usual residents	km2
Civil parish	1462	1720	569	377	43	11119	20.09

Notable people

• Prince Edward, Duke of Kent,member of theBritish royal family,lived atCoppins,Iver (1935–1972).
• Prince Michael of Kent,Edward's younger brother, was born in Iver.
• Princess Victoria(1868–1935), daughter ofEdward VII,lived in Iver 1925–1935.
• Matty Cash,is an English football player who grew up in the village. He currently is playing football forAston VillaandPoland.
• Linford Christie,is a British sprinter who lived in Iver.
• Charles Richard FaireyFounder of Fairey aviation, the Fairey factory based in West London creators of theSwordfish.The family lived at Woodlands aka Elk Meadows in Iver Heath.
• John Fairey(1935–2009), aviator son ofCharles Fairey(founder of theFairey Aviation Company), was born in Iver.
• Chris Finnegan(1944–2009) British professional boxer of Irish descent born in Iver.
• Kevin Finnegan(1948–2008) British professional boxer of Irish descent born in Iver.
• James Gambier(1756–1833), notoriousadmiralof theRoyal Navy,lived in Iver, his gardener invented the modern day pansy
• Julian Haviland(born 1930), former Political Editor of bothITNandThe Timesnewspaper, was born in Iver Heath.
• Sid James(1913–1976) South African-born British actor and comedian. Lived at Delaford Park, Iver.
• Daniel Johnson(born 26 August 1957) is a British journalist who is the founding editor ofStandpoint,lived in Iver.
• Luke Oliver Johnson(born 2 February 1962), is a British serial entrepreneur, best known for his involvement withPizza Express.He is a former chairman of theRoyal Society of ArtsandChannel 4.Lived in Iver.
• Paul Bede Johnson(born 2 November 1928) is an English journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. While associated with the political left in his early career, he is now a conservative popular historian. Lived in Iver.
• Brian Muir,sculptor ofDarth Vader's helmet and armour and theStormtrooperarmour inStar Wars,lives in Iver.
• John Nash(1893–1977), painter of landscape and still-life, grew up in Iver.
• Paul Nash,WW1 and WW2 war artist, older brother of John Nash, moved to Iver Heath aged 3 and is buried in Langley in family plot.
• David SeamanFormer England goalkeeper lived in Iver.
• Martin Secker(1882–1978) London publisher who rose to prominence in the 1920s and 30s, lived at Bridgefoot House, Iver.
• Oli White(born 26 January 1995), is an English YouTuber, actor and author, born in Iver.

See also

• List of civil parishes in England

External links

• Iver Parish Council