Located about 2km west of Princes Risborough in the central Chilterns, Bledlow really is off the beaten track.
Refreshingly Wild
With the Lions of Bledlow pub at one end, wobbly brick and flint cottages either side of the shady street, the parish church described as ‘fabulously wild’, and a manor house with a secret water garden at the other end, it’s quite a place!
Bledlow is in fact derived from ‘Bled-Hlaw’ meaning Bloody Hill, from a battle between the Danes and Saxon’s – way back. Two ancient trails pass by the village; the Icknield Way and Ridgeway National Trail. It would be no coincidence that the communities who lived here either welcomed visitors, or had to defend themselves at the sound of soldiers boots on the chalk. Not hard to imagine as there’s something refreshingly untamed about the place. Footpaths and signs for the long distance trails inviting you both up and away over the hills, or inviting you down into the village.
An intriguing water sculpture
Manor House and Gardens
The Manor House dates from the 17th century and has been long associated with the Carrington family. Built by the Blancks family, it was bought by the first Lord Carrington for his eldest son in the late 18th century. It has endured multiple change of function, and is once again being renovated by current owners, the seventh Lord and Lady Carrington. His father held key government posts during 1980’s and was the sixth Secretary General of NATO.
Fruit in the Sculpture Garden
Before 1950, there wasn’t a garden. What is here now was designed by landscape architect Robert Adams following destruction of a 15th century tithe barn in 1967 that necessitated a re-design.
A kitchen garden, sculpture garden, fish ponds, snail gardens and orchard now surround the house in a carpet of deep green, lilac, lots of bees and whichever shade of rose you prefer.
In the walled garden
Roses in bloom
More beautiful roses
Sculpture Garden
Situated beside the church in a deep, shaded ravine, is the the Lyde Garden. Also landscaped by Robert Adams for the sixth Lord Carrington in the 1980’s.
The ravine is full of noisy tumbling streams. They converge into clear pools marking the rising of the River Lyde, a tributary of the River Thame. No wonder it was the site of watercress beds, a once popular Chilterns crop.
That water is so clear! Perfect for watercress beds.
I could see why Bledlow is called a spring line village. This is a settlement formed around chalk springs through which water escapes between a layer of permeable rock above impermeable rock.
‘They who live and abide,
shall see Bledlow Church fall into the Lyde”
Medieval nursery rhymn
The shady gardens have a distinctive sub-tropical feel, with some leaves the circumference of tractor tires. Moody willows droop into the ponds, exotic ferns jostle with Californian trees and brightly coloured Himalayan flowers line the path. Even the duck house looks exotic!
Lush, full vegetation
Fabulously Wild
Holy Trinity church is described by Simon Jenkins, (author of England’s Thousand Best Churches), as ‘fabulously wild’. This largely unaltered Romanesque church dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. Sadly, due to Covid restrictions, I have not yet been able to go inside. I will return.
Residents past and present
A microcosm of an English village, Bledlow is a blip on the landscape, but very much shaped by it. The church is still standing, but who knows, in thousands of years, perhaps the nursery rhyme will come true?
Further Information
The Manor House Garden, Bledlow HP27 9PB is open to visitors by appointment.
The Lyde Garden, is on Church End and is open all year around from 9 – 5pm. No dogs please.
Explore the veritable feast that is the Central Chilterns including extensive Ashridge woodland, Dunstable downs, a Norman castle, historic market towns and the Grand Union Canal.
Discover holidays and long-distance hiking holidays along the ancient Ridgeway National Trail.
Celebrate the seasons in the Chiltern Hills with a NEW range of beautifully designed gifts and souvenirs to take home with you. Chilterns Gifts are available for delivery to mainland UK addresses only.
It was too good an opportunity to pass up. An unplanned visit to the 12th century church of St John the Baptist, on route, discovering another quite unexpected, but creepy, derelict estate in Mongewell Park.
With a name that rhymes with sponge-well, Mongewell is a mere mile from Wallingford, sandwiched between the Winterbrook bridge, the Ridgeway National Trail, the busy B4009 and River Thames to the west.
Finding your way there is the first challenge. Down a country lane, along a footpath, past large unfriendly signs advising visitors to keep out, unless heading to St John the Baptist church. Don’t be put off.
A horror film set
The site has had a colourful past – from an ancient Grims Ditch, the Normans, a bishops estate, WW1 convalescent home and RAF station, to groundbreaking Jewish boarding school, Carmel College that closed in 1997. Although earmarked for housing, the extensive site is derelict.
On past peeling portakabins with boarded up windows and verandas sinking into dense vegetation, that you walk by to get to the church. The school added several buildings, including its synagogue and the Julius Gottlieb Gallery and Boathouse. An intriguing, creepy place. I could see why it has been a popular film location – great for horror movies!
The Modernist synagogue is just visible through the trees
Agatha Christie lived at Winterbrook House near Wallingford for 40 years. I wonder how much inspiration she found here?
A jigsaw puzzle
Open to the skies
Partly taped off, in case the roof tiles continue their downward slide, you skirt the headstones beneath the east wall of the apse to enter. It reminded me of Someries Castle near Luton in size and decay. Minus the vandalism. Hemmed in by dark vegetation, the atmosphere was just ever-so menacing. This is not a romantic ruin!
Red campion and dandelions grow on the walls and floor of the nave.
Come away make no delay
The inscription on the now lost church bell 1760
When the nave lost its roof in the 1940’s, the arch to the apse was blocked up. Unsure if the heavy door would yield, it took a while for my eyes to become accustomed to the gloom.
Beautiful flint and stone Is this for the ghosts?Open to the skiesThe flint and stone gallery
A surprise awaits
The floor may be dusty, but tucked away behind a Churches Conservation Trust poster, is a pile of neatly folded clothes and a bucket and mop. It is looked after, this tiny uncluttered space, with interesting stone monuments, a large, but damaged Victorian font and pretty stained glass window behind the alter. The wrought iron chandelier was added in the 1880’s and hangs from the reconstructed 14th century wooden roof.
An uncluttered interior with distinctive zig-zag pattern around the Norman arch.
Following repairs and the placing of monuments and the font from the nave into the apse, it is hard to imagine this lovely space was once derelict.
With the sunlight streaming through the open door, it was calm and peaceful.
What movie set could this be from?
It got suddenly dark inside the chancel, huge storm clouds quickly fluffing up overhead. It was time to go! I closed the door, making sure it wouldn’t blow open and picked my way through the weeds and out across the nave into the deserted Mongewell Park.
Derelict and with no congregation, St John the Baptist was vested to the Churches Conservation Trust in 1985
A place of contrasts and a big dollop of atmosphere, offset by the creepy surrounds, made this a highlight for me. Such an unexpected delight, the little chancel amidst the weeds and decay. A deserved inclusion in this blog!
The chancel was unlocked, which was a surprise as there was no one around. It may be locked when you visit. If all you can experience is the exterior ruin and surrounds, you won’t be disappointed.
Further information
Mongewell was once a strip parish – these were thin strips of land extending from the Thames and into part of Stoke Row, up in the Chiltern Hills. There is lovely story of why a 19th century Maharajah felt compelled to make an extraordinary gesture to ensure a free, clean water supply to Stoke Row, far away in England. The land of endless rain ironically.
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A celebration of the Chiltern Hills – a field guide
A reflection on the past year and on the affect the Covid-19 pandemic has had, here in the Chiltern Hills.
March is the space between winter and spring. It’s the month where we crave an end to the cold winter winds and are eager to welcome the warm spring days. It can make us impatient and above all, dissatisfield. It can be a ‘nothing month’, but not this year, nor was it, in 2020.
After the storm
Winter storms leave their mark in the forest. On a recent walk in Ashridge, I heard a loud crack! It was the splitting and toppling of a massive old tree. Many other trees had already wobbled and crashed, some violently, knee-capped almost – as if a child had been let loose with a chopper. But a reminder of the natural cycle of growth, decline and renewal that stands in stark contrast to the awful pounding the Chilterns has taken in the past year.
Vandalism, graffiti, fires, trespass, wild poohing, fly tipping and good old fashioned ‘can’t be arsed to take litter home’ just don’t belong in our beautiful countryside.
What have we lost?
It has been a tough and terrible year. Sadly over 126,000 deaths recorded, exhausted healthcare workers, lives turned upside down, family members in the wrong places unable to meet up, borders closed, tourism and hospitality businesses in turmoil.
March 16th was the technical start of the 2020 lockdown, but it is 23rd March that rests in the popular memory. When the lockdown screws were well and truly tightened and we all had to stay at home. Exercising for one hour a day.
The seasons don’t stop
The sun shone on the empty roads, the footpaths were eerily quiet. I kept up my dog walking, revisiting overlooked local tracks. I recorded my lockdown micro walks, 18 in all. Spring didn’t stop though, and it was a joy to watch up close as leaves unfurled, nesting got underway, the warmth of the sunshine hardened the mud. Awkward greetings and new walking etiquette was quickly learnt as we danced around one another on the narrower paths! All helped counter the repressive pandemic restrictions.
The mask slipped
The impact of our release from lockdown is well documented. With the easing of restrictions, like a catapult, the pent up demand to get out and about, suddenly filled our communities. The police became a regular feature as the local quarry became a hotspot for campers, bikers and party-goers with cars parked three-deep everywhere. The result of not being able to visit family, participate in sport, watch football matches, go shopping, visit the high street, meet friends in pubs and restaurants, or take the family to museums and outdoor attractions. It quickly became an angry and confused mess.
Many visitors were new to the countryside, weren’t familiar and didn’t know what to expect. The countryside does have a reputation after all. Farmers battled with trespass and walkers trying to socially distance on muddy narrow footpaths this past winter meant they encroached on fields and crops. But what were people supposed to do?
Outdated messaging
The temptation to waggle a stern finger at transgresses never works. And that is all to often our default position: put together a three-word slogan and assume the bossy voice to counter the wave of visitors trying in their own way, to have some leisure space and time.
Following a review, an updated Countryside Code is due out any day. I hope it will have vast amounts of marketing money to share an improved, more inclusive messaging that encourages positive behaviour and a love of the countryside.
Recovery
We’re not through this yet. Driving around the Chalfonts last week, my car scratched from the awkward branches sticking out along the busy lanes, stopping to try and avoid both potholes and passing vans. So many Hs2 trucks! I was struck at how dirty the countryside is; verges everywhere littered with bottles, bags, wrappers, fast food boxes, bags adorning the trees and fly-tipping. It was horrible.
As April beckons, so the leaf cover will swallow up much of this mess, and things will look and feel better. There is hope now that we have the Covid-19 vaccine. I really hope too, that from now onwards, countryside visitor management will not be done on the cheap, with extra resources to communicate, clean up and better care for our beautiful Chilterns.
Let’s leave the host communities with happy memories too
Facilities will be open, which will relieve some of the pressure, but I expect the Chilterns countryside will be busy again this Easter and into the summer. What sort of welcome will visitors receive? How will they be feeling if the international borders remain shut? Willing or defiant?
To all those new countryside and market town converts, we welcome you. Plan and book, so you can really enjoy your visit. Please spend time with our local businesses, take your litter home, and be considerate of others. Thank you.
Further information
We have so many wonderful stories about the people and places that make our region so special. Whilst you plan your next visit, you can read about them here.
Share the seasons in the Chilterns with our new range of locally inspired Chilterns Gifts and souvenirs
On March 8th, we come together to celebrate the many achievements of women during International Women’s Day (#IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge). This annual global event celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, past and present, from all over the world.
How can this global event be relevant to somewhere local, an ancient trackway through southern England?
The Ridgeway National Trail is a walking route in a surprisingly remote part of southern central England. Linking Wiltshire with Buckinghamshire, the route travels in a northeasterly direction for 87 miles (139 Km); from its start in the World Heritage Site of Avebury and ends at an Iron Age hill fort on Ivinghoe Beacon. As Britain’s oldest road, the Ridgeway still follows the same route over high ground used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers. It continues to inspire artists, writers, and historians, who between them, enable us to better interpret the collective story and appreciate this wonderful national asset.
Thanks to a group of remarkable women, who through a passion for art, archeology, history, education and farming, bring an important national asset into our communities and collective conscious, for everyone to enjoy, explore, respect and care for, for future generations.
Past and present, this is their contribution
Maud Cunnington
Working at the western end of the Ridgeway, archeologist Maud Cunnington (1869 – 1951), is a woman of firsts. One of the most important excavators working in Wiltshire at the beginning of the twentieth century, Maud’s most significant contribution to the Avebury landscape was that she identified the site of the Sanctuary. Whilst William Stukeley sketched this prehistoric site in the eighteenth century, the stones had been broken up or since removed and location lost. Maud identified the site’s exact location and preserved it for future generations by purchasing the land and giving it to the nation.
Maud Cunnington
In 1933, she was elected president of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, the first woman to hold that position. She was also named a CBE in 1948 for services to archaeology, the first woman archaeologist to receive the honour. She bequeathed almost all her property to Devizes Museum (now Wiltshire Heritage Museum), allowing a salaried curator to be appointed for the first time.
Today the on-site curatorial team at Avebury is made up entirely of female archaeologists. Excavations and discoveries continue to be made and published as they work to form a better understanding of this intriguing landscape.
Molly Cotton
Archaeologist Molly Cotton (1902-1984), made her mark at the eastern end of the Ridgeway at Ivinghoe Beacon: the Cotton and Frere excavations of 1963 – 65 identified this important structure as Iron Age. In 1936 she was one of the first to take a postgraduate diploma at the newly founded Institute of Archaeology London.
Claire Leighton
Clare Leighton (1899-1989), was a leading illustrator, wood engraver, painter, author of many books, teacher, and designer for posters, ceramics and glass. It was whilst living in Monks Risborough, just off the Ridgeway in the 1930’s, she published her celebrated volume on Wood-Engraving and Woodcuts. At this time her subject matter often involved observations of the countryside and rural life, as in her books such as The Farmer’s Year: a calendar of English husbandry (1933) and Four Hedges: a gardener’s chronicle (1935), as well as evocative posters for London Transport, including Weekend Walks and The Country Now.
Fay Godwin
Fay Godwin (1931 – 2005), was a photographer of great renown, known for her black-and-white landscapes of the British countryside and coast. The Oldest Road, an account of the Ridgeway in Berkshire, with text by JRL Anderson, was an immediate success when published in 1975. She was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1990 and had a major retrospective at the Barbican Centre in London in 2001. Fay also lead the Ramblers Association from 1987 to 1990, at a time when its long-running right-to-roam campaign was turned up to the full-strength pressure. Read more about her life and works here.
Gill Hey
Archaeologist Gill Hey was involved in excavations in 2003 of the mysterious Whiteleaf Cross above Princes Risborough on the Ridgeway. Now CEO of Oxford Archaeology, Gill started her career at Reading University where active fieldwork was encouraged. Gill says, “I fell in love with the physical process of carefully unpicking what was left in the ground in combination with the mental process of puzzling out who had been there and what they were doing.” Looking back at her archaeologist predecessors on IWD21, Gill suggests, “It is now a much more equal environment and I am very pleased to say that we have as many women working for the organisation as men, although we need to do more to encourage them to progress to senior roles.”
Archaeologist Gill Hey
Wendy Morrison
Archaeologist Dr Wendy Morrison’s research areas are Prehistoric European Archaeology and Landscape Archaeology. Closer to home, Wendy leads the Chilterns ‘Beacons of the Past’ project. Her work seeks to engage and inspire communities to discover, conserve, and enjoy what is around us and the unique Iron Age hillforts and their prehistoric chalk landscapes. The Chilterns has one of the largest collections of hillforts in the UK, yet many are poorly preserved, and little is known about them. Luckily, several of these hillforts are accessible from the Ridgeway.
A key part of Wendy’s project is the largest LiDAR survey ever flown for archaeology in this country, and one of the largest in the world! Images are captured with a laser scanner mounted on a small plane that captures information about the ground below; revealing intriguing ‘lumps and bumps’, such as hillforts, that are hidden by tree cover and other vegetation. Wendy is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Dr Wendy Morrison
Anna Dillon
Landscape painter Anna Dillon, grew up in Aston Tirrold near the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire, surrounded by rolling chalk downland and big skies. Drawn to landscapes, combined with an enjoyment of long distance walking, Anna studied Illustration and Design at the Falmouth School of Art and worked as a graphic designer until she made the decision to paint full time. Anna came to see the Ridgeway as a source of artistic inspiration at an exhibition in Swindon showing work by a group of international artists. The curator Francis Kyle, had invited the group to visit the Ridgeway and portray the ‘presence of the landscape’.
During 2009, Anna walked the National Trail through the seasons with her husband, keeping a photo journal and diary. From this, she produced 24 oil paintings that were exhibited in a series of shows called A Ridgeway Journey in 2012. Since then, Anna has added further paintings to create the Ridgeway Series, which tracks the seasons from ‘snowscapes’ in Wiltshire through to autumn in the Chilterns.
Anna is portrayed in the header image.
Sally-Ann Spence
Farmer, entomologist and ecologist, Sally-Ann Spence lives and works on her family’s farm along the Ridgeway in Ashbury, near Wayland Smithy, in Oxfordshire. Sally-Ann is a leading dung beetle expert and one of her treasures is a dry calcareous grassland valley near the Ridgeway, which she is carefully managing to provide habitat for dung beetles, as well as other flora and fauna. Over two decades, she has built up her own flock of native Wiltshire Horn sheep with stylish Belted Galloway “belties” and Dexter cattle to graze the farm’s permanent grasslands.
To further both research and education in natural history, Sally-Ann has converted her farmhouse and adjoining barn into a research centre called the Berrycroft Hub and mentors many young people. You may have heard her talking about insects on BBC Radio 4 ‘The Killing Jar’ and on the BBC Breakfast programme. She has impressive credentials as an Honorary Associate of Oxford University Museum of Natural History and fellow of both the Royal Entomological Society and The Linnean Society.
Sally-Ann and her ‘belties’
We salute you!
This impressive group is by no means exclusive. Instead, it’s the start of acknowledging and celebrating the women who have been quietly making a contribution to our Ridgeway landscape, understanding of and making our heritage accessible and culture enjoyable. Each in their own fields of expertise, are choosing the challenge perceptions and glass ceilings for those women who will follow. We thank you.
With contributions from Sarah Wright, Trail Officer Ridgeway National Trail.
Further Information
There are lots of online events and exhibitions on the IWD website. #ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021 Find your Ridgeway inspiration, information and Trail itineraries here.
The Ridgeway has been portrayed by many artists, and one in particular, of great cultural importance visited the pretty villages of Goring and Streatley to paint timeless English landscapes.
Many of the images on this website are available for sale on our Chilterns Gifts website in the Kites & Clouds and A Year in the Chilterns ranges.
Mugs for each season A4 photographic printsGift vouchers for the undecidedChilterns Cottage greetings cards
A day to gladden the heart!Despite the continuing lockdown, Ashridge Forest offers plenty of space and the guaranteed distance needed for enjoying the great outdoors.
Staying local
It’s the New Year, and months of continued uncertainty stretch ahead. I am fortunate in having many outdoor options that are local to me, where I can walk and feel almost that life is ‘as usual”.
A popular destination, Ashridge Forest draws visitors from far and wide. Covid-19 has made the great outdoors more appealing to locals and visitors, but it has put new pressures on our environment that organisations like the National Trust are still grappling with. Visitors tend to converge at the visitor centre or around Ivinghoe Beacon, but the forest is vast, so I can slip away down a muddy trail with Leo, the sounds of the forest and occasional walker to share my space.
The trails are quiet
Sounds are louder in winter; voices carry surprisingly far, as do dogs barking, bicycles swooshing through the grit and mud and the occasional shriek of a child as they climb and balance on fallen tree trunks.
I look for open spaces as I am getting wet walking under the bigger beech trees drip dripping with moisture.
A hazy winter forestscape
Birdsong is louder too, accompanied by a flash of movement as bluejays, magpies and blackbirds flash up from the undergrowth, noticeable against the bare trees. The robins are already guarding their territories, singing their little hearts out.
The sun is low, but still warm in sheltered places where I can enjoy the sparking rain drops clinging onto leaf buds. I image some hardy insects having a sauna in the steam slowly rising from a log.
Winter sunshine finds its way through the trees
Signs of spring
At first sight, the forest floor is predominantly shades of bracken brown. However, taking an involuntary closer look, after an entanglement with some robust tree roots, turns out there are green shoots – some bluebells I expect, are early signs of spring.
Now Ashridge forest is laid bare, it looks untidy, branches tangled, huge boughs drooping, as though the trees have been turned upside down and the mass of roots are now visible – inverted. The decay of autumn trodden in and will soon fade as new growth takes hold.
A tangle of trees
The impassable becomes passable
As I walk beneath tree boughs that are normally thick with foliage and difficult to get through, the impassable becomes passable. The smaller tracks will become chocked with stinging nettles and brambles, others smothered in foliage.
The mud is something else! Thick, deep and sticky enough to loose your boots in. I have walked these trails many times, but each time is different; berries in various stages of growth or decay, views that open or close depending if the leaves are on the trees or under your feet. When the bracken is green, it blends in perfectly with the trees, and can be quite visually suffocating.
Only available in winter
A re-purposed saw pit
An old saw pit has filled up with wood and algae floating amongst grasses, mysterious air bubbles popping to the surface. It’s too cold for frogs, so what could it be? Gas from decaying organic matter?
A quiet winter pond
I spot an elder tree with the peculiar ‘jelly ear’ (or wood ear) growing along a branch. Found in most places, this edible species of Auriculariales fungus is distinguished by its noticeably ear-like shape and colouration.
Its specific epithet is derived from the belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder tree; the common name “Judas’s ear” was largely eclipsed by the corruption “Jew’s ear”, while today “wood ear”, “jelly ear” and other names are preferred.
Winter socks for the trees
It gets cold quickly, and I head home before my fingers are numb. Most walks show me something new, or it’s that I have simply noticed new things. I know that when next I visit, the forest will have changed again; new sounds, more birds, more early, optimistic Chilterns growth. There is however, the potential for snow and ice, which will make the forest even quieter and fun to explore.
Stay safe!
Further Information
I have written extensively about Ashridge Forest, Ashridge House and the great outdoors that surrounds this beautiful region.
The monastery and monks are long gone, buildings destroyed, treasures looted and the monks banished during the 16th century Dissolution of Monasteries on the orders of King Henry Vlll. Read about the once Flourishing Ashridge Trade.
In my day job I say ‘to expect the unexpected’ when visiting the Chilterns, but this outing really is the unexpected! In this quiet corner of the northern Chilterns, in St Margarets, Great Gaddesden you will find the Amaravati Buddhist monastery.
Just like an antique rug, with unravelled threads, blemishes, bald patches and stains, once you begin to look, you see these Ashridge threads in fact link across the Chilterns, even the nation, presenting a tantalising picture of this wonderful place and its story.
Enjoy more walks across the region on the Beyonder walks website along the Thames, woodland and churches.
Enjoy the Chilterns at home with our NEW range of Chilterns-inspired gifts and souvenirs. UK orders only.
A celebration of the Chiltern Hills – a field guide
Midway between Aylesbury and Buckingham, on an elevated piece of land overlooking the Buckinghamshire flats, you will come upon the pretty market town of Winslow. Up and over the hill onto Sheep Street, you drive past lovely thatched cottages and the once grand, but now faded Winslow Hall, before turning into the picturesque high street.
Looking back down Sheep Street.
Making up another piece of the jigsaw I am piecing together, this visit to the remarkable Keach’s Meeting House continues the story of the strong nonconformist tradition so typical of our region.
Meeting Midway
There’s something about Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns, that over the centuries, attracted both political dissenters and religious non-conformers who met or worshiped in secret. Some wanted to do things differently, to go against the grain. Amongst the beech trees and farmland, many would make their mark on the nations history.
Our guide for the hot, late summer afternoon was local historian and keeper of Winslow’s stories, Dr David Noy. In keeping with the times, he was sporting a Covid visor and we socially distanced in Bell Alley outside the Meeting House.
The abundance of clay and lack of stone really is a local feature
David grew up in the town and has a wonderful grasp of even the tiniest detail told in an engaging and slightly dry manner. The story of Winslow is in fact the story of many towns across Bucks and the Chilterns; mysterious burial mounds, obscure Saxon heritage, rapid growth, Royal favour, dissent and disaster is reflected in the rise and fall of local family fortunes.
Burning Books
In English church history, a nonconformist was a Protestant who did not “conform” to the governance and usages of the established Church of England.
Winslow has a strong nonconformist tradition going back to the 17th century, and in 1660, Benjamin Keach (1640 – 1704), was chosen pastor for the little Baptist chapel.
Benjamin Keach was a powerful preacher, a prodigious writer, poet, and composer of the long hymns he was keen his congregation sang – every verse! In 1664, he published a book for children, called The Child’s Instructor, which saw him arrested and charged with publishing a book that contradicted the teaching of the Church of England. Fined £20 and sentenced to several hellish months in goal. He also had to stand upon the pillory at Aylesbury and a few days later to do the same in Winslow market where his books were burnt in front of him by the common hangman.
Keach continued his ministry at Winslow until 1668, but being harassed by the civil powers, he moved to London. Chosen as pastor of a small congregation in Tooley St. Southwark, he remained there until his death in 1704.
A Modest Structure
Disputed dates
Tucked away on Bell Walk, the Meeting House is one of the oldest buildings of its type in Bucks. There is some debate when it was built – 1625 or 1695. David pointed out how the 2 and 9 in the image above, have been ‘adapted’.
Easily missed behind a wall and overhung with large trees, a small graveyard at the front. It’s tiny! This modest structure, no bigger than a garage, would have provided shelter but not a lot of comfort for the congregation – the benches look like they were designed to keep the worshipper awake! Especially as Baptist worship at this time included long prayers and longer sermons. There is a lot of charming detail; small leaded windows, wooden spindles in the porch, hat pegs, early C18 century tomb flags in the floor, against the east wall, beneath the narrow gallery, are hinged desk tops and four lead ink-wells, for use of the Sunday-school which started in 1824.
Our Stories
I came away from Winslow feeling that all is not what is seems. You think you know somewhere, or are familiar with village life (I live in a Chilterns village), but David’s tour really opened my eyes to changing fortunes, vernacular and provincial town fashion. But most of all, I was reminded that it’s not the structures that determine a location, a place in the landscape. Underneath the Buckinghamshire skies and in the Chilterns beechwoods, it is people who continue to make and tell the stories.
And always go with a guide. Thank you David!
Further Information
The Winslow history website has lots of interesting photographs.
Explore Jordan’s, the unassuming village, with deep local roots and influence that still reaches far-off places. It owes this accolade to its Society of Friends Meeting House, one of the oldest in the country.
Another strand of religious heritage are the many pilgrim routes that criss-cross the fields and towns. Read about ancient relics and medieval wall paintings over in Hertfordshire.
The Chilterns has its fair share of ghosts; headless horsemen, a ghost who packs guests’ suitcases, others who like a drink at the bar, another who will pinch your bum, green men, shadowy figures loitering in places unexpected, a mummified hand, a request for help from a disembodied voice are all enough to get you heading for the hills this halloween!
A tangle of trees
The eve of All Saints’ Day
Love it, or loathe it, Halloween has a long history. Despite the horrors of what has recently been imported from across the pond, Halloween is believed to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. It is the eve of All Saints’ Day, when ghosts and spirits are abroad.
I have braved the paranormal to share my top 10 Halloween Chilterns creepies.
Civil war
There are traces of the English Civil War across the Chilterns, and in the car park at the Royal Standard pub in Beaconsfield, the sound of a beating drum is heard. It is the drummer boy, who in 1643 was one of 12 cavaliers executed outside the pub.
According to legend, pasqueflowers spring from the blood of Viking Warriors and grow upon their graves.
A haunted Holloway
A monk is said to walk the very spooky Roman Road that leads up the hill away from Frithsden, skirting the former boundary of Ashridge House, once a monastery and reliquary of relics.
A haunted holloway
The gamekeeper who was really a bishop
This list has to include a bishop, but not one perhaps that is dressed as a gamekeeper! He approaches people in the graveyard of St Bartholomew Fingest, to ask for ‘a favour’ and then vanishes.
The distinctive Norman tower of St Bartholomew at Fingest has unusual twin gables and ghost
The hand of St James
The Hand of Saint James the Apostle is a holy relic brought to England by Empress Matilda in the 12th century. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, monks hid the mummified hand in an iron chest in the walls of Reading Abbey. It was dug up in 1786 and given to Reading Museum. In 1840, it was sold to J. Scott Murray, who put it in his private chapel at Danesfield House. The Hand ended up the care of St Peter’s Church in 1882 and has remained there until 2021 when the well-travelled Hand was returned to St James’ Church in Reading Abbey Quarter to coincide with their renewed focus on ancient pilgrim routes and relics.
The shadow of a ghost
In a sleepy English village, you might discover the Dinton Hermit, a heady mix of local legend, the shadow of a ghost, and royal executioner.
Portraits, memoirs, and characters, of remarkable persons: John Bigg
Stand and deliver, your money or your life!
A small white headstone makes the approximate place of the last execution of a highwayman, Robert Snooks in 1802. The headstone can be seen from the busy A41 at Boxmoor. It is thought that thousands flocked to see the hanging. It must have been quite an event, especially when his body was dug up the following day, placed in a coffin (provided by the generous residents of Hemel Hempstead), and unceremoniously re-interred on the moor.
The ‘wanted poster’ for Robert Snooks
Sticking with highway bandits, Katherine Ferrers led a double life as heiress and all round gentlewomen. She was also known as the ‘wicked lady”, who terrorised the county of Hertfordshire in the 17th century with her partner Ralph Chaplin. She died from gunshots wounds sustained during a botched robbery but made it home to Markyate Cell, where she died. Today, you’ll find her abroad in the manor and local village of Markyate.
Katherine Ferrers, a wicked lady?
Hellfire and damnation
The intrepid journalist, poet and broadcaster, John Betjeman ventured deep into the Chiltern Hills to evoke the ghosts of satanic monks. The legendary Knights of St Francis of Wycombe, better known as the Hellfire Club, are the focus of this charming edition of the 26-part 19 1955 ‘Discovering Britain with John Betjeman’.
In a town with so many old houses, Amersham ghost stories are rife. Reputed hauntings range from Raans Farm over to Woodrow and spread out along the A413 from The Chequers Inn to Shardeloes. But perhaps the most poignant is the story of a group of Amersham townsfolk that were burnt at the stake for holding unorthodox religious beliefs. For centuries afterwards it was said that nothing would grow on the site of the fire. Take a walk up the hill to visit the memorial.
The Amersham Martyrs were called Lollards, followers of John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into English in the 1300s. Their main demand was to read the bible in English.
No Halloween is complete without a witch’s curse. There is massive ancient beech on Whipsnade Heath with a connection to the infamous Dunstable Witch, Elizabeth Pratt. Or so the legend goes. She was accused in 1667 of bewitching two children, who upon seeing her, became ill with a ‘strange distemper’, and died, screaming that they had been murdered. Elizabeth was tried as a witch and burned at the stake, her fate immortalised in a poem by Alfred Wire.
“Thus the churchyard goes to ruin Graves and fences getting worse: Everyone devoutly wishing Not to free the bottled curse.”
The Bottled Curse by Alfred Wire.
Halloween is the time of mist and cobweb-strewn hedgerows
The Hampden house of horror
The Gothic-style battlements and arch windows resemble an overblown wedding cake. Perhaps an influencing factor when the current owners bought the house from the family in 1985 to market as a wedding venue. They refurbished a structure that had seen wear and tear as a girls school and latterly as the location for the Hammer film company who churned out horror films and TV series in the 1980’s. An extraordinary sight in this quiet valley.
The house of hammer horrors
There’s plenty more where these came from, but perhaps you have met some of these characters, or have your own stories to tell?
A new range of Chilterns gifts and souvenirs
On a more cheerful note, share the seasons with our NEW range of gifts and souvenirs popular with locals and visitors who want to share their memories of time well spent in these beautiful hills. Visit the online store here.
Subscribe to my new Micro Travels with Mary, my weekly travel newsletter featuring objects so small to be overlooked, but nonetheless, working hard to define a place, making it local and special. Mostly in the Chiltern Hills.
On a quiet August afternoon, camera in hand, I took to the back streets of West Wycombe village. Away from the busy thoroughfare, apart from the TV aerials amongst the chimney pots, not much has changed in this tiny Chilterns village.
The St Lawrence golden ball and Dashwood mausoleum survey their village
This tiny village, that hugs the hillside looks just like a film set; steep lanes, wobbly windows festooned with impressive cobwebs, doorways for tiny residents and unexpected passageways. All authentic, medieval properties, re-purposed for 21st century life. How come there are no ghastly 1960’s office blocks, betting shops or parking garages along this delightful high street?
Wall Street
Luckily for us, through a chain of events that started in New York with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, West Wycombe village, in its entirety was sold by the Dashwood family to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (better known as the Royal Society of Arts), as part of the Society’s “Campaign for the Preservation of Ancient Cottages”. In 1934, the Society handed the property over to the National Trust, which is why so many original 16th – 18th century facings still exist.
I have village hall envy
This was once an important stop for weary travellers heading too and from London by stagecoach, along pitted and muddy roads. The street was packed with hospitality options, although chances are you’d have had to share your noisy, scratchy bed with a stranger. In 1767 there were 17 public houses listed in the village, and today you can stop to enjoy a pint or glass of something local in the one of the tea shops or pubs. At least that hasn’t changed!
Wobbly walls and windows with doors for tiny people
Take in all attractions; the caves, St Lawrence and the mausoleum, down to the high street for a wander and then over the road into the National Trust Park. During the summer, the house is open, so set aside one day. Do the place justice!
A familiar exterior that has been the star in many films, including ‘The Importance of Being Ernest.’
Further information:
The fire had been provided by a portable BBQ, that lay discarded with accompanying beer bottles under a tree, just behind the mausoleum. I am sure Sir Francis Dashwood, creator of all I could see, would have approved of the party, but not the litter! The West Wycombe story continues with this earlier feature: Hellfire on a Hill.
West Wycombe Park is generally open from Sunday through to Thursdays between 2-6pm from April and October. West Wycombe House is open for a few months over the summer. Best to check the National Trust website. Dogs are not allowed into the Park, but are welcome on the hillside opposite.
The ripples caused by energetic trout that fling themselves through the air, somersaulting and mid-air twists hardly a challenge.
There are no refreshments in the park, but along the high street are several pubs, a coffee shop and village store to support. The Hellfire Caves attraction is further up the hill above the village.
We like to celebrate our quirky residents, past and present and for another grand design, visit the National Trust at Stowe, near Buckingham.
Why should you visit our quintessential, uncrowded, rolling shades of green English countryside, with its impressive selection of museums, villages, pubs and restaurants? That question may well have all the answers you need. Find your Chilterns.
Chilterns country cottages
Celebrate the Seasons
Celebrate the seasons in the Chiltern Hills with a NEW range of beautifully designed gifts and unique souvenirs including; tea towels, postcards, prints, mugs, key rings and bluebell fridge magnets. Find your gifts here.
The Chilterns 