Latimer is a village that sits on the border between

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In 2013, the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Latimer was renamed,

Latimer and Ley Hill Latimer and Ley Hill, formerly just Latimer, is a civil parish under Buckinghamshire Council, in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Gr ...

. The parish, forming part of the Buckinghamshire district of Chiltern, includes the villages of Latimer,

Ley Hill Ley Hill is a Chiltern village on the Buckinghamshire/Hertfordshire border in south-east England, near the town of Chesham. It is part of the civil parish of Latimer and Ley Hill, and comes under Chiltern District Council in the County of Bucki ...

and Tyler's Hill.

History

Latimer was originally joined with the adjacent village of

Chenies Chenies is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Hertfordshire, east of Amersham and north of Chorleywood. History Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead. There were two ...

. Both were anciently called Isenhampstead, at a time when there was a

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

in the vicinity. However, in the reign of King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

the lands were split between two manorial

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

s: Thomas Cheyne in the village that later became known as 'Chenies', and William Latimer in this village. Latimer came into possession of the manor in 1326. At the time of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

Latimer belonged to the

Earl of Devonshire The title of Earl of Devonshire has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1603 for the Blount family and then recreated in 1618 for the Cavendish family, in whose possession the earldom remains. It is not to be confused with, ...

. When

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

was captured by the Parliamentarian forces he was brought to Latimer on his way to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The triangular village green has two memorials. The first is a memorial to men who fought and died during the Boer War in South Africa. The base consists of local pudding-stones with the names of the 132 men inscribed on an obelisk of granite. It was officially unveiled by Lady Chesham on 4 July 1903. The other memorial to a horse called ''Villebois''; a black charger which Lord Chesham brought back from South Africa. It died in February 1911 and a cairn of local pudding-stones was put up in memory in June 1912.

Buildings

Latimer House Latimer House is a large country house at Latimer, Buckinghamshire. It is now branded as De Vere Latimer Estate and functions as a countryside hotel used for country house weddings and conferences. Latimer Place has a small church, St Mary Magdale ...

is an historic country house, the former home of Lord Chesham. It was used in the Second World War for interrogating German defectors and prisoners. It is now De Vere Latimer Estate, owned by De Vere hotels. The small village includes 17th- and 18th-century cottages around the triangular village green with a pump on it. The church of St Mary Magdelane was rebuilt by

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

in 1867. The rectory was built in the 18th century in grey and red brick. In Ley Hill there is a common and a Methodist Chapel. Tyler's Hill is also in Latimer & Ley Hill parish and includes St George's Anglican Church. The graveyard at Tyler's Hill which serves Ley Hill and Tyler's Hill is run by Latimer and Ley Hill parish council.

Railway

Chalfont & Latimer station Chalfont & Latimer is a London Underground and National Rail station in Travelcard Zone 8 (previously zone C) on the Metropolitan line, in Buckinghamshire. It also serves the Chiltern Railways line to Aylesbury. Chalfont & Latimer station is lo ...

is situated in nearby

Little Chalfont Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is one of a group of villages known collectively as The Chalfonts, which also comprises Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter. Little Chalfont is located ...

on the Chiltern Line between

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

and

London Marylebone Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern ...

with

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

services between

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

and

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter be ...

Cultural references

Latimer was the location used in the Department S episode, "The Pied Piper of Hambledown", first aired on 30 September 1969.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Chiltern District