West Wycombe
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West Wycombe | |
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The Mausoleum on West Wycombe Hill | |
Location within Buckinghamshire | |
Population | 1,345 (2011 Census)[1] |
OS grid reference | SU830945 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | HIGH WYCOMBE |
Postcode district | HP14 |
Dialling code | 01494 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Buckinghamshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
West Wycombe is a small village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, famed for its manor houses and its hills. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) west of High Wycombe.
The historic village is largely a
West Wycombe Park, Caves, Mausoleum and
History
Early history
The hill above West Wycombe (now the site of St Lawrence's Church and the Mausoleum) has been continuously inhabited for centuries.
The lost village of Haveringdon
The next major influence on West Wycombe was the Saxons. The hillside was once again occupied, and the newly established settlement was named Hæferingdune (Hill of Hæfer's people in Old English). The name later evolved into Haveringdon. The site retained religious importance: a church is said to have been erected by St Birinus (who had become the bishop of the West Saxons in AD 634).
A Norman watch tower is also said to have been built on top of the hill.
Haveringdon's population is believed to have been greatly reduced by the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) in the 1340s. By the 18th century the village had been resited in the valley along the Oxford Road, and renamed due to its geographical features and position: "West" because it was west of High Wycombe. Both settlements are in the Wye Valley and the word "Combe" derives from the Old English/Brythonic word for "valley". According to local records there were just two ratepayers left in Haveringdon in the 19th century.
The era of Georgians
In the mid 18th century Sir Francis Dashwood commissioned an ambitious project to supply chalk for a three-mile straight road between West Wycombe and High Wycombe, now part of the A40 road, then a prominent trade route between London, Oxford, and Gloucester and onward to South Wales. The local chalk cave which had been in the village since prehistoric times was expanded into an elaborate network of tunnels and passages. The design of the caves was mostly inspired by Dashwood's Grand Tour of Italy, Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Local villagers, impoverished after a series of harvest failures, were paid a shilling per day to tunnel underground to mine chalk. The caves were all excavated by hand and even today they are viewed as an incredible feat of engineering.
Dashwood's family home, West Wycombe House, also underwent major alterations at this time. Although Haveringdon had all but disappeared by then, the church and tower had remained and a centre section was built to join the two together. The Mausoleum was also constructed, based on the design of the Constantine Arch in Rome. The new church was named Saint Lawrence's, as it was common for churches built on Pagan sites to have this name. The church and Mausoleum were also built using chalk and flint from the caves.
During this time, Dashwood and other high-powered politicians and society members formed a club then known as The Knights of St. Francis (which was later named as the Hellfire Club by a London newspaper). They first used Medmenham Abbey, eight miles away from West Wycombe on the River Thames, but the caves were later used for the club's meetings. The club was notorious in its day for orgies and black magic, but had disbanded by 1763 (according to church records). The caves fell into disuse and disrepair.
West Wycombe in the 20th century
In 1929 West Wycombe village was put up for sale by the Dashwood family to raise cash following that year's
Between 1862 and 1958 the village was served by West Wycombe railway station, to the east of the village, on the Chiltern Main Line between London and Birmingham.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s the caves underwent extensive repairs under the auspices of the Dashwood family and turned into a tourist attraction. The profit earned was used to renovate the dilapidated West Wycombe Park. The caves continue to thrive as a popular tourist attraction today and have received over 2 million visitors since their reopening in 1951.
West Wycombe today
Although it is on the busy A40, the village centre retains much of its historical charm. It is mainly owned by the National Trust, and so has resisted modernisation. The High Street has a number of 'old-fashioned' shops (in appearance at least), as well as three pubs, some small offices and a well-used village hall. Just off the High Street is the village primary school (Reception to Year 6), a traditional furniture maker and a band hall. The population is around 1,300.[1]
St Lawrence’s Church was until the mid 18th century a medieval building. Between 1752 and 1762 it was rebuilt for Sir Francis Dashwood by the architect John Donowell. The interior was inspired by the Temple of the Sun at Palmyra; the church tower is topped by a large golden globe which originally contained seating for eight people.[6]
West Wycombe is also a
See also
- West Wycombe Park
- West Wycombe Caves
- West Wycombe Park Polo Club
References
- ^ a b Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census
- ^ Byard, A. "Finds record for: BERK-1FC1E8". The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ E Brazil, Secret High Wycombe (Amberley Publishing, 2017)
- ^ a b "History of the Parish". West Wycombe Paris Council. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "Explore West Wycombe Hill". National Trust. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ Goodall, John (2015). Parish Church Treasures. London: Bloomsbury; p. 212
- ^ Historic England. "The Swan public house (1125166)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ISBN 9781852493042.
- ^ heritagepubs.org.uk: Historic Pub Interiors, accessdate=17 August 2014