Haddenham, Buckinghamshire
Encyclopedia
Haddenham is a large village
and is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
district in Buckinghamshire
, England
. Its estimated population in 2011 is 8,385 It is about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Aylesbury
and 2 miles (3 km) north-east of Thame
.
Hǣdanhām, "Hǣda's Homestead" or, perhaps Hǣdingahām, "the home of the Hadding tribe". There is an intriguing possibility that the first villagers were members of the Hadding tribe from Haddenham in Cambridgeshire
. It is known that the first Anglo-Saxons to settle in the Vale of Aylesbury were followers of Cuthwulf, from Cottenham
in Cambridgeshire, who marched south-west to the Thames after routing the British at the Battle of Bedcanford in 571. It was listed in the Domesday Book
of 1086 as Hedreham, but by 1142 had taken on its more modern form and was called Hedenham.
From the Norman conquest to the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
the village was in the possession of the Convent of St Andrew in Rochester. King Henry VIII
gained possession of the village after the dissolution and held it until his death, after which it passed to his daughter Elizabeth I
.
The village had a Royal charter
as a market town
between 1294 and 1301. The market was short-lived because the influential manor
of Thame objected due to a significant loss in trade because of the rival market held so close by.
Astronomer William Rutter Dawes
had his home and private observatory in the village from 1857 to 1868.
Haddenham was long a stronghold of radicalism and in particular of the Buckinghamshire Farm Labourers Union established in 1872 by Edward Richardson of Dinton.
but this claim is without substance as there are many larger. It does however have its own industrial area adjoining the small grass-strip airfield, a commercial district and a station
on the main line from Birmingham to London Marylebone
.
Haddenham is known nationally as one of only three wychert
(or whitchet) villages. Wychert describes a method of construction using a white clay mixed with straw to make walls and buildings, which are then thatched or topped with red clay tiles. Haddenham is also renowned for its ponds which were used to breed Aylesbury duck
s. Breeding has been revived recently on the pond in front of the parish church. The church, of Norman origin, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. There is also a Roman Catholic church, and Baptist and Methodist Chapels. The chapels are both of whitchet construction and the latter houses the village museum in a former schoolroom to the rear of the building.
Another possibly spurious claim is that the Methodist Chapel dated 1822 is the largest building in the world made of whitchet (wychert). Although it (and the similarly-sized Baptist Chapel) is a sizeable Grade II listed building the most remarkable fact is the unsupported height rather than length of the walls - one of which collapsed in July 2001 but was rebuilt. Haddenham Museum
, which opened in 1998 is housed in the Methodist Chapel schoolroom.
Haddenham is served by Haddenham Infant School, Haddenham Junior School and the voluntary aided Haddenham St Mary's Church of England School. Haddenham is in the catchment area for Prince Risborough
upper school and grammar schools: Aylesbury Grammar School
, Aylesbury High School
and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School
in Aylesbury
. There are five pubs
: Kings Head, Red Lion, Rose and Thistle, Rising Sun and the Green Dragon. Two former pubs are now restaurants – the Crown is now the House of Spice (Indian) and the Wagon and Horses a Chinese (Peking Rendezvous).
The Villiage has a butcher, a baker, a greengrocer, a barber shop, a hairdresser's and some smaller retailers. There are also a number of cafe's:
Little Italy (at the station), Little Italy (Fort End) and also Cafe Cibo on the Parade.
Haddenham is also the home of Tiggywinkles
, the animal welfare charity and veterinary hospital, and hosts a biannual beer festival.
Several photographers and artists are based in the village and use the beautiful surroundings as a backdrop.
. They work co-operatively with the community via the Haddenham Neighbourhood action group
. Representatives from the various villages in the area meet every six weeks to discuss neighbourhood priorities and to put forward plans to reduce crime. Haddenham NAG is at present chaired by two young residents of Haddenham, Stewart Dales and Mark Benjamin.
and eight episodes of Midsomer Murders
.
The group runs and attends a number of events each year including apple pressing, Homemade in Haddenham, free thermal imaging surveys, a local food group and bulk purchase of solar photovoltaic panels. In November 2011 the group hosted the Transition Training course with the generous support of Midcounties Cooperative http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midcounties_Co-operative. Monthly meetings are held at the Rose and Thistle pub, just around the corner from the village green.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
Aylesbury Vale
The Aylesbury Vale is a large area of flat land mostly in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester and Brackley to the west.The vale is named after Aylesbury, the...
district in 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...
. Its estimated population in 2011 is 8,385 It is about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
and 2 miles (3 km) north-east of Thame
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
.
History
The village name is Anglo-SaxonOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
Hǣdanhām, "Hǣda's Homestead" or, perhaps Hǣdingahām, "the home of the Hadding tribe". There is an intriguing possibility that the first villagers were members of the Hadding tribe from Haddenham in Cambridgeshire
Haddenham, Cambridgeshire
Haddenham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,228.It has several shops and a regular bus service to the cathedral city of Ely, which is about north-east of the village....
. It is known that the first Anglo-Saxons to settle in the Vale of Aylesbury were followers of Cuthwulf, from Cottenham
Cottenham
Cottenham is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is close to The Fens. Before the fens were drained in the 19th century Cottenham was on the last contour before the waterlogged marshes, with Ely being the nearest dry land around to the north-east....
in Cambridgeshire, who marched south-west to the Thames after routing the British at the Battle of Bedcanford in 571. 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 Hedreham, but by 1142 had taken on its more modern form and was called Hedenham.
From the Norman conquest to the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
the village was in the possession of the Convent of St Andrew in Rochester. King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
gained possession of the village after the dissolution and held it until his death, after which it passed to his daughter Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
The village had a Royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
as a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
between 1294 and 1301. The market was short-lived because the influential manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Thame objected due to a significant loss in trade because of the rival market held so close by.
Astronomer William Rutter Dawes
William Rutter Dawes
William Rutter Dawes was an English astronomer.Dawes was born in West Sussex, the son of William Dawes, also an astronomer, who travelled to the colony of New South Wales on the First Fleet in 1788....
had his home and private observatory in the village from 1857 to 1868.
Haddenham was long a stronghold of radicalism and in particular of the Buckinghamshire Farm Labourers Union established in 1872 by Edward Richardson of Dinton.
Present day
Haddenham has been said to be the largest village in EnglandLargest village in England
Several places claim to be the largest village in England. This title is disputed as there is no standard definition of a village and size might be determined by population or area....
but this claim is without substance as there are many larger. It does however have its own industrial area adjoining the small grass-strip airfield, a commercial district and a station
Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway station
Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway station serves the village of Haddenham in Buckinghamshire and town of Thame in Oxfordshire. The station is on the western edge of Haddenham, about north east of Thame, and is served by Chiltern Railways....
on the main line from Birmingham to London Marylebone
Marylebone station
Marylebone station , also known as London Marylebone, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each...
.
Haddenham is known nationally as one of only three wychert
Wychert
Wychert or witchert is white clay mixed with straw to make walls and buildings, usually then thatched or topped with red clay tiles. This historic method of building construction is localised to Haddenham and the surrounding local area in Buckinghamshire...
(or whitchet) villages. Wychert describes a method of construction using a white clay mixed with straw to make walls and buildings, which are then thatched or topped with red clay tiles. Haddenham is also renowned for its ponds which were used to breed Aylesbury duck
Aylesbury duck
The Aylesbury duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance. It is a large duck with pure white plumage, a pink bill, orange legs and feet, an unusually large keel, and a horizontal stance with its body parallel to the ground...
s. Breeding has been revived recently on the pond in front of the parish church. The church, of Norman origin, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. There is also a Roman Catholic church, and Baptist and Methodist Chapels. The chapels are both of whitchet construction and the latter houses the village museum in a former schoolroom to the rear of the building.
Another possibly spurious claim is that the Methodist Chapel dated 1822 is the largest building in the world made of whitchet (wychert). Although it (and the similarly-sized Baptist Chapel) is a sizeable Grade II listed building the most remarkable fact is the unsupported height rather than length of the walls - one of which collapsed in July 2001 but was rebuilt. Haddenham Museum
Haddenham Museum
Haddenham Museum is based in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire England. The museum, which is run by volunteers, first opened in 1998, and is housed in the Old Schoolroom of the Methodist chapel in the centre of the village...
, which opened in 1998 is housed in the Methodist Chapel schoolroom.
Haddenham is served by Haddenham Infant School, Haddenham Junior School and the voluntary aided Haddenham St Mary's Church of England School. Haddenham is in the catchment area for Prince Risborough
Princes Risborough School
Princes Risborough School is a co-educational secondary school in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. In September 2011 the school became an Academy.. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has approximately 925 pupils...
upper school and grammar schools: Aylesbury Grammar School
Aylesbury Grammar School
Aylesbury Grammar School is a single-sex male grammar school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, which educates 1,250 pupils.-Admissions:As a selective state school, its entry requirements are dictated by the exam taken at the age of 10-11...
, Aylesbury High School
Aylesbury High School
Aylesbury High School was founded in 1959, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, when the previously co-educational Aylesbury Grammar School became boys-only. The two schools remain on adjacent sites. The current headteacher is Alan Rosen....
and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School
Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School
Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School with Specialisms in Science and Performing Arts is a co-educational grammar school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It is named after Sir Henry Floyd, a former Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. It is one of three Grammar Schools in Aylesbury Town. The others are...
in Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. There are five pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
: Kings Head, Red Lion, Rose and Thistle, Rising Sun and the Green Dragon. Two former pubs are now restaurants – the Crown is now the House of Spice (Indian) and the Wagon and Horses a Chinese (Peking Rendezvous).
The Villiage has a butcher, a baker, a greengrocer, a barber shop, a hairdresser's and some smaller retailers. There are also a number of cafe's:
Little Italy (at the station), Little Italy (Fort End) and also Cafe Cibo on the Parade.
Haddenham is also the home of Tiggywinkles
Tiggywinkles
Tiggywinkles is an animal welfare charity and veterinary hospital in the United Kingdom, also known as St Tiggywinkles and The Wildlife Hospital Trust. It specialises in the rescue and treatment of wild animals. The name derives from the hedgehog character in Beatrix Potter's story The Tale of Mrs...
, the animal welfare charity and veterinary hospital, and hosts a biannual beer festival.
Several photographers and artists are based in the village and use the beautiful surroundings as a backdrop.
Haddenham NAG
Haddenham is policed by the Haddenham and District Neighbourhood Policing team based at the police station in WaddesdonWaddesdon
Waddesdon is a village within the Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles from Aylesbury on the A41 road. The centre of a civil parish, including the hamlets of Eythrope, Wormstone and Woodham, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making...
. They work co-operatively with the community via the Haddenham Neighbourhood action group
Neighbourhood action group
A Neighbourhood Action Group, or NAG, is set up to deal with key issues identified by a community's first public consultation. The group is coordinated by the police.This may happen in the form of a public meeting, through surveys done face-to-face or by mail, or a combination of methods.NAGs are...
. Representatives from the various villages in the area meet every six weeks to discuss neighbourhood priorities and to put forward plans to reduce crime. Haddenham NAG is at present chaired by two young residents of Haddenham, Stewart Dales and Mark Benjamin.
Media and Famous Personalities
The village has been used as the backdrop for a number of television programmes including Jeeves and WoosterJeeves and Wooster
-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
and eight episodes of Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
.
Haddenham in Transition
The village has an active transition group, part of the Transition Network http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition_Towns and organises various activities to improve the community's resilience and awareness of the changes to living standards, energy and resource security. The group was origninally called Transition Thame and District but in autumn 2010 refocussed on Haddenham and in February 2011 became officially recognised as a transition initiative.The group runs and attends a number of events each year including apple pressing, Homemade in Haddenham, free thermal imaging surveys, a local food group and bulk purchase of solar photovoltaic panels. In November 2011 the group hosted the Transition Training course with the generous support of Midcounties Cooperative http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midcounties_Co-operative. Monthly meetings are held at the Rose and Thistle pub, just around the corner from the village green.
External links
- http://www.transitionnetwork.org/
- http://www.transitionnetwork.org/cms/haddenham
- Haddenham Beer Festivals Trust Charity No. 1136844
- Village website
- The Witchert Buildings of Buckinghamshire, England:Learning Sustainable Construction from our Ancestors(Google cached version accessed 10 March 2006)
- Haddenham Museum