Chalfont St Peter | |
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St. Peter's parish church | |
Location within Buckinghamshire | |
Area | 6.22 sq mi (16.1 km2) |
Population | 12,766 [1] |
• Density | 2,052/sq mi (792/km2) |
OS grid reference | TQ00059081 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | GERRARDS CROSS |
Postcode district | SL9 |
Dialling code | 01753, 01494 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Buckinghamshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Chalfont St Peter |
Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe and Rickmansworth. Chalfont St Peter is one of the largest villages, with nearly 13,000 residents. The urban population for Chalfont St Peter and Gerrards Cross is 19,622, [2] the two villages being considered a single area by the Office for National Statistics.
Gerrards Cross was once a hamlet in the parish of Chalfont St Peter, but became a village and civil parish in its own right and is now a town.
Chalfont St Peter is 19.8 miles (31.9 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross, central London and is also in close proximity to Heathrow Airport, Pinewood and Elstree film studios, and the motorway network (M25, M40, M1 and M4).
At the time of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 949 there was no distinction made between the three separate villages: the whole area was known as Ceadeles funtan, meaning chalk springs. The villages were however separated by 1237 when in manorial rolls Chalfont St Peter was referred to as Chalfund Sancti Petri. The suffix St Peter is taken from the dedication of the church in the village. Chalfont St Peter was described in 1806 in Magna Britannia as follows:
Today, Chalfont St Peter is one of the largest villages in the United Kingdom partly due to the proximity to Gerrards Cross railway station which lies between London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill on the Chiltern Main Line. Modern buildings and urbanisation now dominate the village centre and very little historic architecture remains. The first major development of the village were rows of Georgian shops (some of which still remain). Much larger developments came in the late 1920s and these shops that run up the main street towards Gold Hill common now comprise most of the village centre. Modernisation and urbanisation continued up until the 1960s when most of the Georgian shops were demolished in favour of a concrete development of flats, offices and shops fronts surrounding a central car park.
Since the building of Gerrards Cross railway station in the late 19th century, the population of Chalfont St Peter has risen dramatically. From 1801 to 1901, the populations of the village only saw a 700-person rise – giving a population of 1700. But from 1901 to the present, it has become one of the largest villages in the United Kingdom, with nearly 13,000 inhabitants.
Chalfont St Peter is often described as the Gateway to the Chiltern Hills. It is not a major tourist centre but has many places to stay, the most notable being The Greyhound (former local court house where hangings took place), which is situated at the foot of the village on the banks of the River Misbourne. Nearby there are several manor houses of note, as well as many museums, cottages and parks. Milton's Cottage in Chalfont St Giles, the Colne Valley regional park, Bekonscot Model Village, Chenies Manor House, the Chiltern Open Air Museum, Odds Farm Park, Cliveden, Dorney Court, Harrow Museum & Heritage Centre, Royal Windsor Racecourse and Hughenden Manor are the nearest attractions to the village itself. The Chiltern Open Air Museum is situated mainly within the village.
Hamlets in Chalfont St Peter include:
Chalfont St Peter occasionally appears in media, the most recent being in Channel 4's Derren Brown: Apocalypse on 26 October 2012. [4] Several local landmarks featured in the programme including The Village Hall pub, since returned to its former name, the Jolly Farmer, on Goldhill Common and Mr. Crusty on the high street.
Chalfont St Peter also appeared in the media after Ozzy Osbourne's near fatal quad bike accident on his property in 2003. [5]
Chalfont St Peter has a Non-League football team Chalfont St Peter A.F.C. who play at Mill Meadow.
Bus routes 104, 106 and 107 run through the main village and the more suburban areas. These bus routes include connections with Slough, Amersham, High Wycombe and Uxbridge. It is served by Gerrards Cross railway station, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south, which has links to London Marylebone and High Wycombe, Oxford and Birmingham.
The village lies 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north west of London's Heathrow Airport.
The Chalfont Centre, on Chesham Lane, is a 100-acre site established in 1894. It exists as both the headquarters for the Epilepsy Society and exists to provide residential care for 100 patients with high-level epilepsy. In 1972 the NHS established the Special Assessment Unit, specially designed to treat patients with severe and complicated epilepsy. [6]
The British Forces Broadcasting Service is based at Arqiva's Chalfont Grove Teleport in the west of the village on the border with Chalfont St Giles. [7] [8] The National Lottery Draws were filmed at Arqiva's facilities between 2006 [9] and 2012. [10]
The headquarters of Bradt Travel Guides, founded by Hilary Bradt in 1974, was also located in Chalfont St Peter, until the company moved to Chesham in 2019. [11] [12]
RWS Group, one of the world's largest [13] language service providers is headquartered at Chiltern Park, in the village centre. [14]
Buckinghamshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes, and the county town is Aylesbury.
Amersham is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, 27 miles (43 km) northwest of central London, 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Aylesbury and 9 miles (14 km) north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt.
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe, is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is 29 miles (47 km) west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, 13 miles (21 km) south-southeast of Aylesbury, 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Oxford, 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Reading and 8 miles (13 km) north of Maidenhead.
Chesham is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, 25.8 miles (41.5 km) north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmland. The earliest records of Chesham as a settlement are from the second half of the 10th century, although there is archaeological evidence of people in this area from around 8000 BC. Henry III granted a royal charter for a weekly market in 1257.
The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in the UK northwest of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km2) across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, stretching 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest.
Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along the foot of the Chilterns. The town is some 35 miles (56 km) north west of London and 5 miles (8 km) south east of Aylesbury.
Princes Risborough is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) south of Aylesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns, the south end of which is at West Wycombe. The A4010 road follows this route from West Wycombe through the town and then on to Aylesbury.
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont.
Great Missenden is an affluent village and civil parish in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It adjoins the village of Little Kingshill, and is a mile from Little Missenden and the village of Prestwood.
Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and Stoke Poges. It spans foothills of the Chiltern Hills and land on the right bank of the River Misbourne. It is 19.3 miles (31.1 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross, central London. Bulstrode Park Camp was an Iron Age fortified encampment.
Radnage is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills about two miles north east of Stokenchurch and six miles WNW of High Wycombe.
Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about 3 miles (5 km) south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and 6 miles (10 km) west of High Wycombe. Stokenchurch is a commuter village, served by junction 5 of the M40 motorway to London, Oxford and Birmingham. The Stokenchurch BT Tower, to the west of the village, is a highly visible landmark on the edge of the Chilterns and pinpoints the village's location for miles ahead.
Chesham and Amersham is a parliamentary constituency in Buckinghamshire, South East England, represented in the House of Commons by Sarah Green, a Liberal Democrat elected at a 2021 by-election.
Chalfont Common is a hamlet in the parish of Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, approximately one mile to the north east of Chalfont St Peter village centre. Chalfont Common is 19.7 miles (31.7 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross, central London.
Carousel Buses Limited, trading as Carousel Buses, is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, and with Pulham's Coaches of Gloucestershire, with the fleets of each operator regularly interchanged.
Chalfont Park, formerly known as Brudenells and Bulstrodes, is an English country house and estate near the village of Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire.
The Grange was a country house and estate at the village of Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire, England, in the United Kingdom.