This post features: Hughenden, Chalfont St Peter, Bletchley Park, Buckingham, Fingest, Turville and Wing
Hughenden
Hughenden – Benjamin Disraeli’s house – just outside High Wycombe Disraeli on the difference between a misfortune and a calamity (paraphrased): “Were Mr Gladstone to fall into the River Thames – that would be a misfortune but were someone to pull him out – then that would be a calamity…”
Chalfont St Peter
The Chilterns Open Air Museum near Chalfont St PeterIt’s all a bit ramshackle and half-arsedA not very convincing replica of an Iron Age houseA Green’s steam roller quietly disintegrating in a corner of the Museum sums this place up…
Bletchley Park
The original manor house at Bletchley Park – fascinating if a bit overwhelming as there is a lot to see – luckily the tickets are valid for a year – so I can come back…Memorial to the Polish who gave us a head start in breaking Enigma – particularly Henryk ZygalskiBletchley ParkBletchley ParkBletchley Park
Buckingham
St Peter and St Paul:
The church of St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham The church of St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham The church of St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham
The Town Centre:
Buckingham’s Gaol dates from the early 1700’sBuckingham Town Hall has an impressive gilded swanThe old chantry – there has been a chapel on this site since the 12th centuryThe chantry has alternated between being a school and a church – the current building dates from 1696 – rebuilt after a serious fire. Owned by the National Trust it now houses a second-hand book store and is also used as a Meeting House by the Quakers…BuckinghamChewar or Chure is an old word for an alley or alleyway…
Riverside:
The Great Ouse flows through BuckinghamThe Great Ouse: there’s a lovely river-walk along the banks The Great Ouse: there’s a lovely river-walk along the banks The Great Ouse: there’s a lovely river-walk along the banks
Fingest
Fingest – St Bartholomew’s is a Norman church with a distinctive towerEngland has around 10,000 country churches – so much to see, so much to learn and so little timeThe list of Rectors at Fingest since 1217 – there have been 59 up to 1965 ( which is when the list stops)…
Turville
Turville – the setting for the tv series Vicar of DibleyThe windmill featured in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang…
Wing
All Saints Church in Wing is a Saxon church and one of the oldest in the country and has the only surviving Saxon apse and crypt in EnglandAll Saints Church in Wing The arch is the widest Saxon arch in existence and the double-head window one of only 4 such Saxon windows to be found in an English church – the other 3 are all in Worth, Sussex…Effigies of the Dormer family Effigies of the Dormer family
