Hambledenis a small village andcivil parishin southwestBuckinghamshire,England. The village is around 4 miles (6.4 km) west ofMarlow,and around 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast ofHenley-on-ThamesinOxfordshire.
| Hambleden | |
|---|---|
| Villageandcivil parish | |
 Hambleden Village Post Office and store | |
 Listed flint-built cottages | |
  Hambleden Location withinBuckinghamshire | |
| Population | 1,445 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU784865 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HENLEY-ON-THAMES |
| Postcode district | RG9 |
| Dialling code | 01491 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
The civil parish also includes the villages ofFingestandFrieth,and thehamletsof Colstrope, Mill End,Parmoor,Pheasant's Hill andSkirmett.At the2011 Census,the population of the parish was 1,445.[1]
History
editThe village name isAnglo-Saxonin origin, and means 'crooked or irregularly-shaped hill'.[2]It was recorded in theDomesday Bookof 1086 asHanbledene,though previously in 1015 it was known asHamelan dene.StThomas Cantilupe,theLord ChancellorandBishop of Hereford,was born in Hambleden in 1218. In 1315 aRoyal charterwas granted to hold amarketin the village, and a fair onSt Bartholomew's Day(24 August) every year. The charter was reconfirmed in 1321, though appears to have not lasted much longer than this.
The village was a base for US soldiers during the buildup toD-Dayin 1944.
Parish
editHambleden was a largeancient parish,covering the area of the modern civil parish except for the village of Fingest. It extended over 6,598 acres (2,670 ha), stretching to Skirmett, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the village of Hambleden, and Frieth 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of the village.[3]The ancient parish became a civil parish in 1866. In 1934 a small area in the north of the parish was transferred to the parish ofFingest and Lane End.[4]In the 1980s the village of Fingest was added to the parish when the parish of Fingest and Lane End was abolished.
Village and church
editThe brick andflintcottages in the centre of the village conform to a similar design and havedormerwindows topped with red tiles. Saint Mary the Virgin's church dates from the 14th century and includes a conspicuous memorial to Cope D'Oyley (who died in 1633) and his family. The tower contains eight bells and the ceiling is quite intricately decorated in parts. The post office in the village serves also as the local shop and café.
Manor house
editThe Elizabethan manor house opposite the church, formerly the home of Maria Carmela Viscountess Hambleden,[5]was built in 1603 of flint and brick forEmanuel, 11th Baron Scrope,who becameEarl of Sunderland.Charles Istayed there overnight in 1646 while fleeing from Oxford. The Manor House, Hambleden is also the former home ofJames Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardiganwho led the ill-fatedCharge of the Light Brigade.Another notable (Listed Grade II*) building is Kenricks which overlooks the cricket ground and was the previous manor house and the home ofPhiladelphia Scrope,a cousin and Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. On her death in 1627 it became The Rectory and was altered in 1724 by the Rector Rev DrScawen Kenrick.It ceased to be The Rectory in 1938 and was acquired by the3rd Viscount Hambledenand renamed Kenricks.
Yewden villa excavation
editYewden,an archaeological site consisting of the remains of aRoman villa,was discovered to the south of Hambleden in 1912. A contested theory was put forward by Jill Eyers from Chiltern Archaeology in 2010 that a military brothel might have formed part of the Yewden villa site, after archaeologists discovered skeletal remains of what appeared to be 97 newborn babies. The investigation features in the inaugural part of the archaeology series,Digging for Britainpresented by DrAlice Roberts.[6][7]The first part of the second series promised to resolve some of the controversy.[8][9][10]
In 2012, an alternate theory for the presence of the infant skeletons was put forward; as the skeletons showed signs of cut marks carried out using a non-serrated blade, features consistent ofembryotomyprocedures used to remove deceased fetuses inbreech position,it was argued that the remains may indicate thatobstetric surgerieswere carried out at Yewden.[11]
Notable residents
editSaintThomas Cantilupewas born in the old Manor House (now Kenricks) in 1218. He becameChancellor of Oxford University,Bishop of Hereford and Lord Chancellor of England. He was canonised byPope John XXIIin 1320 and was the last Englishman to be canonised before theReformation.Thomas D'Oylie(died 1603), physician and linguist, was the uncle of Sir Cope D'Oylie, whose memorial can be seen in St. Mary's Church. The Hambleden Estate was held by the Scrope family from 1365 to 1627.Philadelphia Carey, Lady Scropewas a granddaughter ofMary Boleyn,the sister of QueenAnne Boleynwho was executed byHenry VIIIin 1536. The Estate was acquired in 1925 byFrederick Smith, 2nd Viscount Hambleden,who owned the adjoining Greenlands Estate. The Smith family sold the western part of the Estate in 2008 to the Swiss financierUrs Schwarzenbach.
Major GeneralMiles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk,lived in the parish until his death in 2002 and his widowAnnecontinued to live there.Lord Cardigan,famous for his role in leading the ill-fatedCharge of the Light Brigade,was born in the Manor House in 1797. The sea chest that he took to theCrimeacan be seen in the church.Roger Marquis, 2nd Earl of Wooltonlived at Kenricks in the 1960s. MusicianJon Lord,ofDeep Purple,is buried in Saint Mary the Virgin's churchyard.Phil Vickery,Rugby Union London Wasps player and England 2003 World Cup Winner, lived in Hambleden[12]
Localities
editMill End
editMill Endis the southern small hamlet in thecivil parishon the mainA4155 roadbetweenHenley-on-ThamesandMarlow,by theRiver Thames.Mill End consists of 32 houses, some on the river bank and others on the northern side of the main road. The largest historic home is at the heart of its cluster of buildings, Yewden Manor, listed grade II for architecture.[13]
The name clearly comes from the mill that is situated near the lock, on the fast-flowing, narrow, high-sided Hambleden Bourne, which discharges here. Mill End Farm, which has been run by the Bowden family since at least 1965, is opposite the lock and has farmed most of the land in and around the southern Hambleden area. This part of the Thames is characterised bywillow treesand a largebiodiversityof wildlife including mute swans, great crested grebes, ducks, grey herons, common terns andkingfishers.The footpath next toHambleden Lock,the public towpath, provides a significant amenity to Mill End.
Anne Petrie, daughter of the famous Egyptian archaeologistFlinders Petrielived in Mill End; she is buried in Hambleden church-yard.
Landmarks
editIn the Mill End part of the village are a watermill, lock and villa. Adjacent to the converted barns and the ordinary home named Mill House, which had served for centuries as home to the moderately wealthy miller of the district,[14]is the much larger, often-photographedHambleden Mill,[15]which has been converted into flats; this is downstream of a pedestrianised weir fromHambleden Lock.
The site of an unusually immediately ThamesideRoman villa[16]adjoins the east of the development.
In Ridge Wood atop the hill opposite the village is a large avenue of giant sequoia and tall pine trees.
Nearby by the Thames
editHenley Management Collegelies 0.6 miles (0.97 km) west and is also on theThames.
Danesfield House,a hotel and spa is 2.4 miles (3.9 km) east of the village on a hillside of the same relatively steep bank.
In popular culture
editHambleden Lock is mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome's novelThree Men In A Boat.[17]
Filming location
editThe village has only one shop-cum-Post Office, and other properties have facades that are more in keeping with a traditional country village. This has long made it a popular shooting location for films, includingThe Captive Heart(1946),The Witches(1966),Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(1968),Death on the Nile(1978),The Legacy(1979),The Black Cat(1981),Dance with a Stranger(1985),101 Dalmatians(1996),Sleepy Hollow(1999),Into The Woods(2014) andDisenchanted(2022). It was also used in the opening scenes of the remake ofThe Avengers(1998).
Television
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2023) |
Hambleden was used in theHBOmini-seriesBand of Brothersto depictEasy Company'straining inEngland.In 1979 Hambleden church was the setting for a programme featuringHarry SecombecalledCross on the Donkey's Back.It was an Easter programme by Thames Television and also featured a group of school children from Hambleden C of E School.
The 2010 filmNanny McPhee Returnsalso used parts of the village in some of their scenes. The church was also used in theAgatha Christie's PoirotepisodeSad Cypress.[18]In 2017, Hambleden was the location for the fictional village of Bramford in the fourth episode ofseries 4of the ITV detective dramaEndeavour.Hambleden played the role of Tadfield, home of the Anti-Christ and his friends, in the 2019 mini-seriesGood Omens.[19]
References
edit- ^abUK Census(2011)."Local Area Report – Hambleden Parish (E04001601)".Nomis.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved21 November2021.
- ^HambledenArchived8 May 2011 at theWayback Machine,GENUKI, 4 January 2003
- ^Page, William,ed. (1925)."Parishes: Hambleden".A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3.Victoria County History.pp. 45–54.Retrieved24 September2020.
- ^Great Britain Historical GIS/ University of Portsmouth,Hambleden AP/CP.Retrieved {{{accessdate}}}.
- ^"Viscount Hambleden dies in US, aged 82"Archived21 August 2014 at theWayback Machine,Henley Standard,13 August 2012
- ^BBCBaby deaths link to Roman 'brothel' in Buckinghamshire25 June 2010
- ^"Video Transcript: Digging for Britain. Britannia".TVO.org.Retrieved25 June2019.
- ^Hogan, Michael (13 August 2010)."Digging for history... but it's not Time Team".Daily Telegraph.Retrieved25 June2019.
- ^P. Natasha (4 November 2018)."Archaeologist Discovered Mass Baby Grave under Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon".Histecho.Retrieved26 June2019.
- ^Louise Ord Assistant Producer, Digging For Britain (9 August 2011)."Roman dead baby 'brothel' mystery deepens".BBC News.Retrieved26 June2019.
- ^Mays, S.; Robson-Brown, K.; Vincent, S.; Eyers, J.; King, H.; Roberts, A. (27 February 2012)."An Infant Femur Bearing Cut Marks from Roman Hambleden, England: Cut-Marked Infant Femur".International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.24(1): 111–115.doi:10.1002/oa.2232.
- ^Index[permanent dead link]
- ^Historic England."Yewden Manor (1125694)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 June2013.
- ^Historic England."Mill House (Grade II) (1332087)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 June2013.
- ^Historic England."1-10, Hambleden Mill (1310707)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 June2013.
- ^Historic England."Roman villa at Mill End (1014601)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 June2013.
- ^Jerome, Jerome K (1889).Three men in a boat(1964 ed.). London: Folio Society. p. 136.
- ^"Poirot Locations - Sad Cypress".
- ^Geddo, Benedetta (13 June 2019)."See where Good Omens was filmed with an Armageddon-inspired trip".Lonely Planet.Retrieved25 June2019.
External links
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