Prestwood is a village in

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 ...

, England. It is located in 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- ...

, about half a mile west of its post town,

Great Missenden Great Missenden is a village and civil parish in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It adjoins the village of Little Kingshill, and is a mile from Lit ...

History

Early history and creation of parish

The village name is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in origin, and means "Priest-wood". There is evidence of settlement in Prestwood from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, when the village was mainly covered in oak, beech and ash trees. ''Hatches Farm'' is one of the buildings that dates from the medieval period.The Prestwood Society history display (displayed to public at Prestwood Village Hall) By 1849, more of the

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

had been cleared to make way for agriculture and

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

, around which approximately 100 houses now existed. Many villagers worked in

cottage industries The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...

such as lace making, and a wheelwright was also present in the village. Many of the villagers made use of the common land to graze animals; there were about 70 watering ponds. In addition,

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

was harvested for fuel.

Beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

trees made up the bulk of the woodland, and were used in the local furniture industry. The small village population was served by five separate

public houses A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

. Prestwood came into being as an ecclesiastical parish in 1852, following consecration of the new Holy Trinity Church in 1849. The new parish combined portions of the parishes of Missenden, Hughenden and Hampden. The first

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Holy Trinity planted a set of ornamental trees behind the church; this now forms Prestwood Park. In the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, Prestwood and nearby Great Missenden lay on the road between London and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. The two villages became important resting points for travellers; several rest inns came into being. Prestwood's pubs – now numbering twelve – owe part of their legacy to this fact; the name of the ''Travellers' Rest'' pub being a notable example.

Early 20th century

Following 1850, much of the common land was sold off for agricultural development. By 1900, only a small amount of common land remained; today, Prestwood Common on Nairdwood Lane is one of the only pieces of common land still present in the village. Some of the watering holes remained, in addition to wells which were used for drinking water until the pipe network reached Prestwood in the 1930s. As well as the Holy Trinity church, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church was constructed on the High Street and another on Bryrants Bottom. In addition, a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

chapel was founded on Kiln Lane (now called Kiln Road). The main industry in Prestwood continued to be agriculture; orchards were created and much of the fruit was sold to traders in London. Prestwood continued to grow in area and population throughout the early part of the 20th century. Prestwood Infant School opened in Moat Lane in 1908, replacing the church school. The village hall was opened in 1928 by Rosamund Parker, Countess of Macclesfield. The arrival of the railway in

improved access to central London, leading to Prestwood becoming a

commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

village. However, the expansion of the village was not without its setbacks; houses were built in Perks Lane, destroying the

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

that grew there. After a long absence, orchids have recently been spotted in Cadsden near Princes Risborough. Many agricultural businesses flourished in Prestwood. ''Wren Davis Dairy'' opened on Wycombe Road, winning award nationally for the quality of its milk. Today the dairy owns several acres of fields in the north and west of Prestwood, on which its cows still graze. Cornelius Stevens established a farmhouse, gardens, slaughterhouse and butcher's shop (named ''C. Stevens and Sons'') on land then known as Square Farm, in the centre of the village. His four eldest sons took over the business upon his death in 1932; when it closed down in the 1980s, the steel blood bins were buried on land now belonging to Prestwood Junior School. ''Gaybird Ltd'' supplied pheasant chicks and eggs to shoots throughout the country, raising the birds in fields stretching from Prestwood as far away as Dunsmore, near

Wendover Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along t ...

. Their produce was regularly exhibited at the annual national Game Fair. Finally, a pie factory was constructed, called ''Farmer Giles''; the site is now used for an elderly residential home called ''Giles Gate''. Prestwood was home to former British Prime Minister Earl Attlee from 1950. He later moved to Martinsend Lane in

. The house was also occupied by the late musician and broadcaster,

Steve Race Stephen Russell Race OBE (1 April 192122 June 2009) was an English composer, pianist and radio and television presenter. Early life He was born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of a lawyer, Race learned the piano from the age of five.Spenc ...

. World War II In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...

was established at Peterley Wood, whilst Prestwood Park House was used as a hospital. Two bombers collided over Prestwood with much of the wreckage falling close to Nanfans (or Nafans) Farm on Honor End Lane. Only one member of the two crews survived the collision. A plaque commemorating the tragedy can be found outside the Limes Tea House at the local garden centre, Hildreths of Prestwood.

Late 20th century

By the 1960s, the last brickworks in the village had closed and many of the orchards had been concreted over; however, the former orchid site at Perks Lane was reclaimed by the local council and turned into a nature reserve and picnic site. Despite the continued growth of the village population, four pubs closed down – the ''George'', the ''Weathercock'', the ''Golden Ball'' and the ''White Horse''. In the 1960s and 70s many large houses were constructed in Prestwood, helping to attract families to the village. This was reflected in the building of two new schools – Prestwood Junior School and Prestwood Lodge School. Despite the loss of the

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

steam service to the nearby Great Missenden railway station, an overground service has and still does continue, run by

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways (legal name The Chiltern Railway Company Limited) is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Rail ...

. These benefits are one reason for the district in which Prestwood lies ( Chiltern) being the most expensive rural district in the entire United Kingdom.

Present day

In January 2000 a further elderly home consisting of 30 flats was opened, called ''Cherry Orchard'', leading to an increase in the number of retired people living in the village. In the early hours of Saturday 9 December 2006, a large fire swept through the Cherry Orchard residential home, killing one elderly woman and forcing 12 others to be rescued. Most of the ground floor was gutted in the fire, which started when a resident left clothes on top of a faulty electric radiator; all of the residents were moved out until rebuilding work could be completed. In 2001, the old Prestwood Leisure Centre was demolished. After a much-delayed rebuilding programme over the following two years, the Sprinters Fitness Centre opened in its place in 2003. It included three newly built tennis courts and two fitness studios. The opening helped to revitalise Prestwood's economy and continues to attract people from the surrounding area. The land on which Prestwood's only

petrol station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

existed was bought by ''Beeks Homes Ltd'' in 2002. The petrol station was demolished on the premise that, whilst new homes would be built on the site, a smaller petrol station would also be included in the plans. When Beeks turned back on these plans, two years of legal wranglings ensued between the company and the parish council; eventually, the council relented and solely homes were constructed. In July 2007 a new park was built on Prestwood common and was opened by

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is the spouse of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair. Early life and education Booth was born ...

. In March 2016 the public house formerly known as ''The Chequers'' relaunched as ''The Chequers Tree'' after locals objected to it being renamed as ''The Prestwood'' by owners Greene King.

Listed buildings

Prestwood has 28 buildings listed on the

National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...

; all are listed Grade II. On Green Lane, Cherry Cottage, Clayton House, Hampden Farm, the Thimble Farm Cottages, and Greenlands Farm and its garden gateway are all listed. The Polecat public house on Wycombe Road is also listed. The barn and farmhouse at Collings Hanger Farm on Wycombe Road, Pankridge Farm and Moat Farm on Moat Lane, and the farmhouse, garden gates and railings, large barn, cartshed, and smaller barn at Andlows Farm on Green Lane are all listed agricultural buildings in Prestwood. The Church of Holy Trinity its lynch gate and the church school and Church Cottage at 134 Wycombe Road are listed, as well as Prestwood Park House behind the church. Rose Cottage at 186 Wycombe Road and Knives Farmhouse at 150 Wycombe Road, Lady Boys on Kiln Road, The Flint Cottage and the Old Chequers Cottage on Chequers Lane, and the East Cottage and the Thatched Cottage on Honor End Lane are all individually listed houses in Prestwood.

Education

There are two

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in Prestwood: Prestwood Infant School, for 4 to 7-year-olds; Prestwood Junior School, for 7 to 11-year-olds. In June 2008, Prestwood Infant School celebrated its centenary. The local catchment

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

are the Misbourne School, an

upper school Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority ...

, and Dr Challoner's Grammar School (boys), Dr Challoner's High School (girls), Chesham Grammar School (mixed) and The Royal Grammar School for Boys which are all

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

s. Prestwood is also the location of the Prestwood Campus of Chiltern Way Academy, a

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

for children from the age of 11 to 18.

Sport and leisure

Prestwood has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Prestwood F.C. who play at Prestwood Sports Club on Honor Road. There is also a cricket club at the same venue. There is a children's Football Club, Prestwood Colts and Girls F.C., who play at Prestwood Common. Missenden badminton club meets at Prestwood Junior School on Wednesday evenings. The village is also home to one of the largest gymnastic clubs in Buckinghamshire, which is held at Prestwood Junior School on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings. In 2015 the club was given planning permission to build a dedicated gymnastics centre at Sprinters Leisure Centre in Prestwood Prestwood Local Nature Reserve is located off Hampden Road.

Transport

Great Missenden railway station, about half a mile away, is on the

London to Aylesbury Line London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

and provides train services to London Marylebone station in approximately 45 minutes. Bus services, run by

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Herts & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Arriva Colchester, Col ...

, run to

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

in one direction, and

and

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

in the other. From Great Missenden, it is also possible to connect to other bus services to Aylesbury and Hemel Hempstead.

Notable people

*Former prime minister

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

used to live in Prestwood, and after retiring he took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as Earl Attlee and Viscount Prestwood. * Actor and comedian

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; born 21 May 1973) is an English comedian, artist, and actor. He was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and has been a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2017. He is kn ...

also used to live in the village whilst studying in Wycombe.Noel Fielding talks the formation of The Mighty Boosh during Wycombe student days
/ref>

Other trivia

*During the 19th century Prestwood was famous for its cherry orchards and parties of Londoners would travel out to the area during the spring to view the blossoms. *

Chequers Chequers ( ) is the English country house, country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough in England, halfway betwee ...

, the country residence of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, is a few miles north of the village. Former Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

often brought his family to the Great Missenden Catholic church in Great Missenden at the weekends.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Chiltern District