Hughenden Valley

Hughenden Valley
The rear of Hughenden Manor
Population	8,506
OS grid reference	SU866972
District	Wycombe
Shire county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	High Wycombe
Postcode district	HP14 /15
Dialling code	01494
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Wycombe

Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, just to the north of High Wycombe. It is almost 8,000 acres (32 km²) in size, divided mainly between arable and wooded land.

Hughenden parish was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and was called Huchedene, or Hugh's Valley in modern English. There are some however that argue the original name refers to the Anglo Saxon man's name Huhha rather than the French Hugh. At the time of the Domesday Book, the village was in the extensive estates of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was the half brother of William the Conqueror.

There were many ancient manors within the parish border, and in addition to Odo, King Henry I of England, King Henry VIII of England, and Simon de Montfort have all at one time owned property in the parish.

Benjamin Disraeli (later Earl of Beaconsfield) lived at Hughenden Manor, a Georgian mansion, altered by the Disraelis when they purchased it in 1848. The manor sits on the brow of the hill to the west of the main road that links Hughenden to High Wycombe. The Earl, who died in 1881 was buried in a vault beneath the church, accessed from the churchyard. The church contains a memorial to the Earl erected by Queen Victoria: the only instance a reigning monarch has ever erected a memorial to a subject. The Manor House was given to the National Trust in 1947, and the trust also own woodland around here as well.

In the 18th century the parish church was one of few in the whole of England where marriages could take place without either the bride or groom residing in the parish. Hughenden became infamous locally as a place of clandestine marriages, and is referred to extensively as such in local records.

Today the village is in a very beautiful part of the Chiltern Hills and the manor with its extensive gardens are open to the public. It is a very popular place to live for executives travelling into London, although it is known that not that many of the resident's actually do commute into London. Many have jobs in nearby towns and cities, and there is also a large number of older residents in the valley. The area is exclusive and many of the residents have well paid jobs.

Sport and recreation

Hughenden has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, and there is a village hall here too where groups such as karate, cubs, brownies, beavers, old people's groups, art club and toddler groups meet. Also in the village is the Broomwade sports club.It includes a bowls green three tennis courts a senior football pitch/cricket green.

Events

• Hughenden Village Day (every two or three years)
• Christmas Dinner Dance
• Burns Night at Hughenden Primary School
• Bonfire Night at Hughenden Primary School (though this has now stopped)

Amenities and businesses

• A pub called The Harrow at the north end of the village.
• Deeter Electronics Ltd, which produces specialist electronics, on the site of the former petrol station and BMW garage.
• A Builder's Yard near the south end of the village.
• A Doctors Surgery in a new building on the corner of the junction going to Great Kingshill.
• A Village Hall.
• A community-run Shop adjacent to

the Village Hall, which opened in May 2009.

• There used to be a Post office, but this has now closed and become a private house.

Schools

The village proper has one school – Hughenden Primary School which recently moved from being just a first school, (years reception to 2), but is now taking years reception to year 6. Children can also go to Great Kingshill Combined School which is a Church of England school and so has links with the local church.

Hamlets

Hamlets in Hughenden parish include:

• Great Kingshill
• Naphill
• Walters Ash
• Widmer End
• Four Ashes
• Cryers Hill