Great Missenden

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Great Missenden
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden, April 2020 01.jpg
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden
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Great Missenden
Location within Buckinghamshire
Population10,138 (Census 2011.Civil Parish) [1]
OS grid reference SP8901
  London 38 miles (61 km)
Civil parish
  • Great Missenden
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Great Missenden
Postcode district HP16
Dialling code 01494
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
Website Great Missenden Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Buckinghamshire
51°42′15″N00°42′28″W / 51.70417°N 0.70778°W / 51.70417; -0.70778

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.

Contents

The narrow and historic High Street is bypassed by the main A413 London to Aylesbury Road. It is located in the centre of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [2] The source of the Misbourne is to be found just north of the village, although the upper reach of the river runs only in winter and the perennial head is in Little Missenden. The village is now best known as home to the late Roald Dahl, the world-famous adult and children's author. [3]

Etymology

The name Missenden is first attested in the Domesday Book as Missedene, with other early attestations including the spellings Messedena and Musindone. [4] [5] The -den element probably comes from Old English denu, meaning 'valley', but the etymology of the first element is uncertain. It is thought to occur in the name of the River Misbourne, which rises in Great Missenden, and also in the Hertfordshire place-name Miswell. Frank Stenton and Allen Mawer guessed that it came from a hypothetical Anglo-Saxon personal name Myrsa, which they also supposed to be found in the name of Mursley. [6]

Eilert Ekwall suggested that the name Missenden came from a lost Old English word related to English moss, and to Danish mysse and Swedish missne (which denote plants of the genus Calla , such as water arum). [7] Recent researchers have tentatively preferred Ekwall's guess, in which case the name Missenden would once have meant something like 'valley where water-plants/marsh-plants grow'. [4] [8]

History

Great Missenden lay on a major route between the Midlands and London. Several coaching inns, particularly the Red Lion (now an estate agency) and The George (with new owners), provided rest and refreshment for travellers and their horses. The first railway line in the area was, however, routed alongside the Grand Union Canal to the east. Once the coaches stopped running Great Missenden declined in importance and prosperity, becoming an agricultural town. Following the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway, (later the London Underground's Metropolitan line) in 1892. Great Missenden became a village where writers, entertainers and even Prime Ministers resided. Great Missenden railway station is now on the Chiltern Railways line and offers fast connecting services running into London Marylebone; it is the first station on the line that does not fall into a London Zone.

The village is overlooked by the medieval Church of England parish church, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, whereas the High Street itself is home to the Catholic Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, [9] one of the largest Catholic churches in the Chiltern District. The position of the parish church away from the town centre suggests an earlier settlement around the church with a move of the village's heart to its present location in the early Middle Ages. In the twelfth century Great Missenden was granted a charter allowing it to hold an annual Fair in August. Missenden Abbey, founded in 1133 as an Augustinian monastery, was ruined following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the remains were incorporated into a Georgian mansion which is now a conference centre.

Gipsy House in Great Missenden was the home of author Roald Dahl from 1954 until his death in 1990, and still remains in the family, [3] and many local scenes and characters are reflected in his work.[ citation needed ] Dahl is buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church and children still leave toys and flowers at his grave. [10] In June 2005 the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre opened in Great Missenden to honour the work of Dahl. [11]

Robert Louis Stevenson, the writer of famous works such as Treasure Island and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , stayed a night at The Red Lion, now 62 High Street, in Great Missenden in October 1874, which he wrote in an essay called "An Autumn Effect".

The espionage novelist David Cornwell, who wrote as John le Carré, noted in a posthumously published introduction to a 2021 reissue of his first novel, Call for the Dead, that "I lived in Great Missenden in those days and commuted to Marylebone station". [12]

The village is home to the private Gateway School, [13] Great Missenden Combined School and The Misbourne secondary school. Many children attend the local grammar schools in nearby Amersham, Chesham, Little Chalfont and High Wycombe, as well as leading local preparatory schools such as Chesham Prep, [14] which consistently makes The Tatler list of Best Prep Schools in the UK. [15] [14]

Given its quaint and historic high street, the village has been used extensively as a filming location for TV drama Midsomer Murders . [16] During 1980, Hammer Film Productions filmed a small series of horror films for television, many of them filmed in and around Great Missenden. Of note is the episode "Rude Awakening" starring Denholm Elliott who plays an Estate Agent trapped in a recurring nightmare.

Demography

Great Missenden compared
2001 UK CensusGreat Missenden wardChiltern boroughEngland
Population2,19289,22849,138,831
Foreign born9.4%9.3%9.2%
White98.1%95.5%90.9%
Asian0.5%2.8%4.6%
Black0.5%0.3%2.3%
Christian77.7%74.7%71.7%
Muslim0.1%1.9%3.1%
Hindu0.2%0.5%1.1%
No religion14.2%15%14.6%
Unemployed1.9%1.7%3.3%
Retired19%14.6%13.5%

At the 2001 UK census, the Great Missenden electoral ward had a population of 2,192. The ethnicity was 98.1% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 90.6% United Kingdom, 1.5% Republic of Ireland, 2.8% other Western European countries, and 5.1% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.7% Christian, 0% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.1% Muslim. 14.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion. [17]

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 35.7% in full-time employment, 11.3% in part-time employment, 14.9% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.8% students without jobs, 19% retired, 8% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 1.6% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.3% retail, 11.6% manufacturing, 5.5% construction, 24.1% real estate, 9.7% health and social work, 8.8% education, 4.7% transport and communications, 3.6% public administration, 4.2% hotels and restaurants, 4.3% finance, 1.9% agriculture and 8.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.8% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide. [17]

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, located at 81-83 High Street, Great Missenden The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1264147.jpg
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, located at 81–83 High Street, Great Missenden

Parish

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Great Missenden, at parish and unitary authority level: Great Missenden Parish Council and Buckinghamshire Council.

Great Missenden is within the Chesham and Amersham parliamentary constituency, represented since 2020 by Sarah Green, (Liberal Democrat).

Notable people

Related Research Articles

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesham</span> Human settlement in England

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, about 26 miles (42 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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballinger, Buckinghamshire</span> Human settlement in England

Ballinger is a hamlet and common in the parish of Great Missenden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the nearby Chiltern Hills, close to the border with the parish of Chesham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Kingshill</span> Human settlement in England

Great Kingshill is a small village in the parish of Hughenden in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about five miles west of Amersham and two and a half miles south of Great Missenden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holmer Green</span> Human settlement in England

Holmer Green is a village in the civil parish of Little Missenden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is next to Hazlemere, about 3 miles (5 km) south of Great Missenden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Heath</span> Human settlement in England

Hyde Heath is a village in the civil parish of Little Missenden, in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, around 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of the village of Little Missenden and 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Amersham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Missenden</span> Human settlement in England

Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Great Missenden and 3 miles (5 km) west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prestwood</span> Human settlement in England

Prestwood is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about two miles west of Great Missenden and six miles north of High Wycombe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiltern District</span> Former non-metropolitan district in England

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Hyde End is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Great Missenden, it is located between the hamlets of Hyde Heath and South Heath along the B485 road between Chesham and Great Missenden, in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire. It comprises a small number of dwellings, including a row of early 1900s cottages, a row of 1930s cottages and larger houses and farm properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Misbourne</span> River in Buckinghamshire, England

The River Misbourne rises in a field on the outskirts of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, passing through Little Missenden, Old Amersham, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont St Peter and under the Chiltern railway line and the M25 motorway to its confluence with the River Colne just north of where the Colne is crossed by Western Avenue, the A40 road. It falls by around 94 m (310 ft) in the course of its 27 km (17 mi) length.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woottens Luxury Travel</span>

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Angling Spring Wood is in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England with an area of 16.37 hectares. It is owned by Chiltern District Council. The woodland is located close to Gipsy House, the former residence of Roald Dahl. The author regularly walked in the woods, gaining inspiration to write Danny, the Champion of the World and Fantastic Mr Fox.

References

  1. "Area: Great Missenden CP (Parish)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  2. "The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". www.chiltern.gov.uk.
  3. 1 2 Lynn F. Pearson Discovering Famous Graves Osprey Publishing, 2008
  4. 1 2 A. D. Mills, A Dictionary of English Place Names (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 330.
  5. Page, WH, ed. (1908). "Little Missenden". A History of the County of Buckingham. Victoria County History. Vol. II. London: Archibald Constable & Co. pp. 354–360..
  6. A. Mawer and F. M. Stenton, The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire, English Place-Name Society, 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925).
  7. Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, 4th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1960), p. 328 (s.v. Misbourne).
  8. Hough, Carole, 'Place-Name Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Plant-Names', in From Earth to Art, the Many Aspects of the Plant-world in Anglo-Saxon England: Proceedings of the First ASPNS Symposium, University of Glasgow, 5–7 April 2000, ed. by Carole Hough, Costerus New Series, 148 (Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2003), pp. 41-78 (pp. 54-55).
  9. "The Catholic community of Great Missenden". The Catholic community of Great Missenden.
  10. "A giant peach of a property in Dahl country". The Times. 14 July 2015.
  11. Clarie Heald (11 June 2005) Chocolate doors thrown open to Dahl BBC News
  12. "John le Carré on the real characters behind George Smiley". The Sunday Times. 2 May 2021.
  13. "Gateway School".
  14. 1 2 "Chesham Preparatory School". Chesham Preparatory School.
  15. "Chesham Prep". Tatler. 16 October 2020.
  16. "Bridget Jones film crew moved on after chaos in town car park". Bucks Free Press.
  17. 1 2 "Neighbourhood Statistics". Statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  18. 1 2 "Great Missenden". www.greatmissendenpc.co.uk.
  19. "BBC Four - Mark Lawson Talks To..., John le Carré". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  20. "Museum in Great Missenden, England, devoted to Matilda writer Roald Dahl is aimed squarely at children".
  21. Sheth Trivedi, Shruti (6 November 2020). "Looking back at James Bond and TV star Geoffrey Palmer's time in Bucks". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  22. "Chiltern Hills - Robert Louis Stevenson". Robert Louis Stevenson. Retrieved 25 April 2016.

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