Frieth lies at a height of around 550 feet (170m), on the edge of a broad and deep winterbourne chalk valley in which are located the older settlements of the parish and adjacent parishes – Hambleden, Skirmett, Turville, and Fingest. Because of the shortage of surface water and the relatively poor soils – heavy clay and flint overlaying the permeable chalk – Frieth did not develop into a village until well into Victorian times. However, there are a number of ancient properties and Frieth has all the symbols of a traditional English village. As well as the church, it has a village hall, a village green, two rural pubs, a village society, fine open hilly countryside, and a small but thriving primary school. The village shop and dairy has closed.
Parmoor House
In the 12th century, Parmoor House was owned by the Knights Templar.[citation needed] After falling into ruin it was rebuilt by the new Earl of the hundred in 1352. The property was then lost to the crown around 1790 when the incumbent Earl was supplanted by George III with a John "Frith" whose surname was to be that of the village. Although Frith never took up residence, on his death in 1791, the property was bought by the Cripps Family of Berkshire. It was the birthplace of Sir Stafford Cripps, the post-war Chancellor of the Exchequer. During the war, it was let to King Zog of Albania. In 1947, the Anglican Community of St Katharine of Alexandria moved to Parmoor House from Fulham to provide care for elderly ladies. Later the house became home for the Community of the Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship. St Katharine's, Parmoor, Frieth, Henley-on-Thames is now a retreat home and conference centre welcoming all for day or residential visits.
King Zog
During the Second World War Frieth was home to King Zog of Albania. King Zog lived at Parmoor House with his wife Queen Geraldine, their son Crown Prince Leka (the late King Leka I), and the King's sisters, nephews and nieces. The King also had a group of bodyguards who lived nearby and some Ministers who lived at Lane End. After the war they left to go to Egypt but one nephew stayed in Frieth.
Frieth Church
St. John the Evangelist in Frieth
Frieth Church was built in 1848 as a chapel of ease for Hambleden. It is now part of the parish of Hambleden with Frieth and Skirmett. Flint from the ruined wing of the Old Rectory (now Kenricks) at Hambleden was used for the new church built to the design of JP Harrison. The South aisle was added later, probably by Woodyer dated 1872 on the rainwater heads. The church is built of flint with stone mullions and edges, and has an attractive tiled roof but no tower or turret.
The church is noted for its Victorian stained glass and carved woodwork. Most of the furniture and carving in the church were made by the local firm of West and Collier. Most of the beautiful stained glass windows were the gift of the Cripps family. They date from 1880 and include St John the Evangelist, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and the Ten Commandments (North wall), Benjamin and Joseph, and King David on the south aisle.
The Church Aided school at Frieth is the school for the Hambleden Valley. The school holds services at Frieth Church each term. The Rector is an ex officio Governor of the school.
Frieth School
Frieth Church of England Combined School was established in 1865. The catchment area encompasses the many villages of the Hambleden Valley.
Every October, the PTA of the School organises a 10K run called the Frieth Hilly 10K. This race which starts/finishes at the School involves sections on road, trails and footpaths through woods and fields, including challenging off-road descents and ascents. The race was first held in 2008.
Zog I, born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever prime minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as king (1928–1939).
Countess Géraldine Margit Virginia Olga Mária Apponyi de Nagy-Appony was Queen of the Albanians from her marriage to King Zog I on 27 April 1938 until the King was deposed on 7 April of the following year.
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.
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Marlow, and around 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
Lane End is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is just south of the M40 from High Wycombe, about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Booker. The village is twinned with Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron in France.
Medmenham is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) southwest of Marlow and 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Henley-on-Thames. The parish also includes Danesfield, a housing estate predominantly for RAF officers, although families of other ranks from the RAF, Royal Navy and British Army also live there.
Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, was the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine of Albania. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. Leka was the pretender to the Albanian throne and was referred to as King Leka I.
Leka, Prince of Albania is a claimant to the defunct throne of Albania and the head of the House of Zogu.
Charles Alfred Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor, was a British politician who crossed the floor from the Conservative to the Labour Party and was a strong supporter of the League of Nations and of Church of England causes.
Tyneham is a ghost village abandoned in 1943 and former civil parish, now in the parish of Steeple with Tyneham, in the Dorset district, in the south of Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck. In 2001 the civil parish had a population of 0. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2014 and merged with Steeple to form Steeple with Tyneham.
Swaffham Prior is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England.
Beachamwell is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England about 5 miles (8.0 km) south west of Swaffham and 10 miles (16 km) east of Downham Market. It has four ancient churches, two of them in ruins. The former parish of Shingham has been annexed.
Ringstead is a village and civil parish in the north-west corner of the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 11.13 km2 (4.30 sq mi) and had a population of 355 in 155 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 324 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
Parmoor is a hamlet to the south of Frieth in the parish of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It has a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Fayland Chalk Bank.
South Warnborough is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. In the 2001 census, the population was 407. In the 2016 census, the population was estimated to be 509.
Skirmett is a hamlet in the parish of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies in the Hambleden Valley in the Chiltern Hills, between the villages of Hambleden and Fingest.
Shrewton is a village and civil parish on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, around 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Amesbury and 14 miles (23 km) north of Salisbury. It lies on the A360 road between Stonehenge and Tilshead. It is close to the source of the River Till, which flows south to Stapleford.
St Margaret's Church is an Anglican parish church in the village of Halstead and the Sevenoaks deanery, although the church also serves the village of Badgers Mount. St Katharine's and St Margaret's came together in 1983 as a United Benefice under one parish priest. The pattern of services reflects the fact that it is two parishes working closely together.
Woodford is a civil parish in southern-central Wiltshire, England, on the west bank of the Salisbury Avon, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Salisbury. Its settlements are the villages of Lower Woodford, Middle Woodford and Upper Woodford, the last of which is the largest of the three. In 1871, the population was 523; in 1951, this had decreased to 405 people.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a 12th century English church located in Turville, Buckinghamshire, England.
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