Denham, Buckinghamshire
Encyclopedia
Denham is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is north west of Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...

 and north of junction 1 of the M40 motorway
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...

. Denham contains the Buckinghamshire Golf Club
Buckinghamshire Golf Club
Buckinghamshire Golf Club, containing the Denham Court Mansion, is a golf club near Denham, Buckinghamshire. It is accessed via Denham Country Drive off the M40 motorway near the junction with the M25 motorway...

.

Origin

The village toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

 is derived from the Old English for "homestead in a valley". It was listed in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 of 1086 as Deneham.

Buildings

The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of Saint Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

 has a flint and stone Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 tower and Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 monuments. The tree-lined Village Road includes several old red brick houses with giant wisteria
Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...

s on them, and has been used as a location in British films and television.

Denham Film Studios
Denham Film Studios
Denham Film Studios were a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952.The studios were founded by Alexander Korda, on a 165 acre site near the village of Denham, Buckinghamshire. At the time it was the largest facility of its kind in the UK, but it was merged with Rank's Pinewood...

 were near the village.

Development

Housing growth has over the years created new parts to Denham. Modern-day Denham consists of:
  • Denham Village, as above; the original settlement
  • Denham Garden Village, located to the north of Denham Green Lane - originally built in the 1950s, redeveloped in 2006.
  • Denham Green grew up around the shops beside Denham
    Denham railway station
    Denham railway station is in Buckinghamshire, England, on the Chiltern Main Line north west of Marylebone towards High Wycombe.-History:The station was built just to the north of Denham village as part of the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway from Grendon Underwood junction to...

     station on Chiltern Main Line
    Chiltern Main Line
    The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...

    . Alexander Korda
    Alexander Korda
    Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...

    's Denham Film Studios
    Denham Film Studios
    Denham Film Studios were a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952.The studios were founded by Alexander Korda, on a 165 acre site near the village of Denham, Buckinghamshire. At the time it was the largest facility of its kind in the UK, but it was merged with Rank's Pinewood...

    , sited between the junction of the Rickmansworth Road (now the A412 North Orbital road
    A412 road
    The A412 is a road in England that links Slough and Watford. It was previously the main artery for this corridor, prior to the construction of the M25. It provides interchange to the A40/M40 at the Denham Roundabout, the M25 in Maple Cross and the A41 north of Watford...

    ) and Moor Hall Road towards Harefield
    Harefield
    Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London, England. It is situated on top of a hill, northwest of Charing Cross, near the Greater London boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north...

    , provided some employment. The site is now used as a business park (Broadwater Park), containing (amongst other companies) the UK Headquarters of the Robert Bosch Ltd, the UK subsidiary of the Robert Bosch GmbH
    Robert Bosch GmbH
    Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...

     Group, and the global headquarters of InterContinental Hotels Group
    InterContinental Hotels Group
    InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...

    .
  • New Denham grew along the old Oxford Road north-west of Uxbridge, west of the Grand Union Canal
    Grand Union Canal
    The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

  • Higher Denham was built on the site of a First World War
    World War I
    World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

     army
    Army
    An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

     training and transit camp, placed to take advantage of the adjacent Denham Golf Club
    Denham Golf Club railway station
    Denham Golf Club station is on the Chiltern Main Line out of London Marylebone towards High Wycombe.-Background:The station was built in 1912, six years after passenger services commenced on the Great Western/Great Central Joint line from Grendon Underwood junction to Marylebone via High Wycombe...

     station. After the War, the camp land was sold off piecemeal for housing, following a similar trend all over Metro-land
    Metro-land
    Metro-land is a name given to the suburban areas that were built to the north west of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex in the early part of the 20th century, and were served by the Metropolitan Railway, an independent company until absorbed by the London...

    . Martin-Baker Aircraft Ltd
    Martin-Baker
    Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of ejection seats and safety related equipment for aviation. The company origins were as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats...

    , manufacturers of aircraft ejector seats, have a small factory in Higher Denham
  • Tatling End, Denham is on the Oxford Road, west of the junction with the A412, at the top of the hill leading out of the Misbourne
    River Misbourne
    The River Misbourne rises in a field on the outskirts of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and flows down the Misbourne valley to join the River Colne just north of where the latter is crossed by the A40 Western Avenue....

     Valley

Transport

Denham railway station
Denham railway station
Denham railway station is in Buckinghamshire, England, on the Chiltern Main Line north west of Marylebone towards High Wycombe.-History:The station was built just to the north of Denham village as part of the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway from Grendon Underwood junction to...

 has direct services to and and limited services to , and . Connecting services link to , and .

The 331 bus service between Uxbridge and Ruislip
Ruislip
Ruislip is a suburban area, centred on an old village in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.It was formerly also a parish covering the neighbouring areas of Eastcote, Northwood, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip in the area. The parish appears in the Domesday Book, and...

 stations (operated by First London for London Buses) calls at the Station Parade shops in Denham Green. The 724 Green Line bus service between Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...

 and Heathrow passes through Denham Green to Uxbridge and onwards to Heathrow Airport, calling at the Bus Station at Heathrow Central before terminating at Heathrow Terminal 5. The 581 circular bus service provides a link between the various areas of Denham and Uxbridge bus station. The Saturdays-only 582 service links the various Denhams with Iver
Iver
Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.Iver railway station is in Richings Park.-Etymology:...

, Slough and Windsor. The R21 bus service between Uxbridge and Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood stops twice daily at Denham Station every day except Sunday. This service is run by Red Rose Travel and forms part of a more regular service between Northwood and Maple Cross.

Economy

Denham is well known for its car boot sale
Car boot sale
Car boot/trunk sales or boot/trunk fairs are a mainly British form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods.The term refers to the selling of items from a car's boot or trunk...

 which is held every Saturday from March to October. This hugely popular event attracts buyers and sellers from all over the south of England, and causes considerable traffic congestion at the Denham Roundabout
Denham Roundabout
The Denham Roundabout is a large road intersection to the west of London, at junction 1 on the M40 motorway.When Western Avenue was originally built, it ended at a point west of Uxbridge at the intersection of the road from Uxbridge towards Gerrards Cross and High Wycombe with the road from...

. The success of this event is boosted by the village proximity to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and the motorway network.

InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...

 has its corporate headquarters and Europe, Middle East, and Africa offices in Denham.

Schools

Denham Village Infant School, in Cheapside Lane, was the original school for Denham, and has classes for Reception and Years 1 and 2 . The school building dates from 1832 and is listed.

Tilehouse Combined School is in Nightingale Lane. It is for children from ages 4–11 and also offers pre-school services. The school is accepts all children from the Denham area who wish to attend the school and offers a free school bus to children from the New Denham Area.

Boundaries

The current eastern boundary with the London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...

 is aligned with the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

. A Boundary Commission proposal to reassign to Hillingdon the area of Denham that lies east of the A412
A412 road
The A412 is a road in England that links Slough and Watford. It was previously the main artery for this corridor, prior to the construction of the M25. It provides interchange to the A40/M40 at the Denham Roundabout, the M25 in Maple Cross and the A41 north of Watford...

 and south of the A40
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...

/M40
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...

 was not implemented.

Twinning

Denham is twinned with Denham
Denham, Western Australia
Denham is the administrative town for the Shire of Shark Bay, Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Denham had a population of 607.Located on the western coast of the Peron Peninsula north of Perth, Denham is the westernmost town in Australia, and is named in honour of Captain Henry Mangles...

 in Shark Bay
Shark Bay
Shark Bay is a World Heritage listed bay in Western Australia. The term may also refer to:* the locality of Shark Bay, now known as Denham* Shark Bay Marine Park* Shark Bay , a shark exhibit at Sea World, Gold Coast, Australia* Shire of Shark Bay...

, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

.

Notable residents

  • Raymond Baxter
    Raymond Baxter
    Raymond Frederic Baxter, OBE was a British television presenter and writer. He is best known for being the first presenter of Tomorrow's World, continuing for 12 years, from 1965 to 1977...

    , BBC Television
    BBC Television
    BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

     presenter, lived in Denham until 1978.
  • Cilla Black
    Cilla Black
    Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...

    , singer, entertainer and television personality has her main residence in Denham Green, bought with her late husband Bobbie in the 1970s. In a burglary in 2002 £1 million worth of gems were stolen. According to reports from local residents, she is "not well liked" in the local vicinity of her house due to issues with trees lining her property blocking out sunlight to others' gardens.
  • Sir George Bowyer, 5th Baronet
    Sir George Bowyer, 5th Baronet
    Admiral Sir George Bowyer, 5th and 1st Baronet was a British naval officer and politician.Bowyer was the third son of Sir William Bowyer, 4th Baronet and born in Denham, Buckinghamshire...

     was born at Denham Court.
  • Brian Connolly
    Brian Connolly
    Brian Francis Connolly was a Scottish musician, best known as the lead singer of the British rock band, Sweet.-Early life:...

    , lead singer with 1970s glam rock band Sweet
    Sweet (band)
    Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...

    , lived at Denham until his death in 1997.
  • Jess Conrad
    Jess Conrad
    Jess Conrad OBE is an actor and singer from England.-Career:Having started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, Jess Conrad was cast in a television play "Bye, Bye Barney" as a pop singer...

    , actor and singer, lived in Denham.
  • Paul Daniels
    Paul Daniels
    Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...

    , magician, lived in Denham.
  • Robert Lindsay
    Robert Lindsay (actor)
    Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...

    , actor, lives in Denham.
  • Stanley Long
    Stanley Long
    Stanley Long , often known as Stanley A. Long, is a British Exploitation cinema and sexploitation filmmaker. He is a writer, cinematographer, editor, and eventually, producer/director of low-budget exploitation movies....

    , film director and producer, lives in Denham.
  • Sir John Mills, film actor, was a resident of the village for many years, and is commemorated by a blue plaque on his former house by the church.
  • Roger Moore
    Roger Moore
    Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...

    , actor, lived in Denham.
  • Mike Oldfield
    Mike Oldfield
    Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

    , musician, lived in Tilehouse Lane, Denham 1979-86.
  • Shane Ritchie, actor, who plays Alfie Moon
    Alfie Moon
    Alfred William "Alfie" Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005...

     on BBC Television
    BBC Television
    BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

    's Eastenders
    EastEnders
    EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

    , used to live at Baker's Wood
    Baker's Wood
    Baker's Wood is a hamlet 2 miles west of Denham off the A40 in Buckinghamshire, England....

    , Denham
    Denham
    - People :* Carl Denham, fictional character from King Kong* Daryl Denham, British radio DJ* Digby Denham, Australian politician* Dixon Denham, British explorer* Henry Denham, British printer* Henry Mangles Denham, , Royal navy...

    .
  • Harry Saltzman
    Harry Saltzman
    Harry Saltzman was a Canadian theatre and film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted in his co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R...

    , James Bond
    James Bond
    James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

    producer, lived at Maltmas Green in Tatling End (not the school) in Gerrards Cross.

External links

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