Flaunden is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England, close to the border with

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, on the edge of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

. Old Flaunden was on the banks of the

River Chess The River Chess is a chalk stream that rises near Chesham in the Chiltern Hills in England, and flows for through Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire to its confluence with the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne in Rickmansworth. The Che ...

, but owing to constant flooding, the settlement moved up the hill to its present location in the 18th and early 19th century.

History

The manor of Flaunden is first mentioned in a dated document in 1279, but other grants of land connected with the manor precede this, when the manor was held by Nicholas de Flaunden. Old Flaunden was on the banks of the

in, but owing to constant flooding and disease, the villagers began to move up the hill to the present location during the 18th century. The old church was abandoned in 1838 and is in the form of a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

dating from about 1230; it is now a ruin with remnants of walls up to high in a wood by the river. The new church at the top of the hill was built in 1838 and was the first church designed by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely 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 ...

. By the end of the 19th century, only two cottages and an orchard remained on the original village site, which is now a meadow. The former Baptist chapel in Flaunden dates from 1836 and closed in 1985. It is now a private residence but the chapel's graveyard remains alongside.< Flaunden has two pubs: The Bricklayers Arms and The Green Dragon, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building dating from the early 17th century which is on the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors was a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which had been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but us ...

St Mary Magdalen's Church

Work on new

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 each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

started in 1837 to the design of George Gilbert Scott, a young nephew of the parson, the Reverend Samuel King. It is a simple rectangular building with a west gallery, typical of that era, but was later described by Scott as "a poor barn". It was consecrated in 1838, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdelene. The late medieval

Baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

, a bell dated 1578 and some medieval encaustic tiles in the porch were brought from the old church, as was timber used for the doors and the Communion rail. The 1955 east window depicts Christ in Majesty and is by John Hayward. A ceiling was added in 1980. The church was made a Grade II listed building in 1986. Forming part of the Chenies

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

, services are at held St Mary's every Sunday morning. A church room is next door.

Gallery

File:The Green Dragon - geograph.org.uk - 1150743.jpg, The Green Dragon File:St Mary Magdalene, Flaunden, Herts - East end - geograph.org.uk - 348951.jpg, Church interior with east window File:St Mary Magdalene, Flaunden, Herts - Window - geograph.org.uk - 348954.jpg, Window in church

References

External links

Villages in Hertfordshire Dacorum Civil parishes in Hertfordshire {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub