Hawridge

Hawridge
Hawridge
OS grid reference	SP950060
• London	27 miles
District	Chiltern;
Shire county	Buckinghamshire;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Chesham
Postcode district	HP5
Dialling code	01494
UK Parliament	Chesham and Amersham;
Website	[1]
	List of places UK England Buckinghamshire

Hawridge is a small village in Buckinghamshire, England, bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It is located 3 miles from Chesham, 4 miles from both Tring and Berkhamsted.

History

Origins and the first settlement

The original village name Aucrug is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'ridge frequented by hawks'. However, there is evidence of much earlier settlement from archaeological finds, including a Palaeolithic handaxe found in Heath End, a hamlet of Hawridge having probably arrived with road materials transported to the site. From the discovery of an Iron Age sword, now at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford it has been concluded that there was a permenant settlement in the area from around 300 to 100BC.

The manor of Hawridge is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. The first records are from 13th century when it was associated with John de Beauchamp a relative of the Earl of Warwick. Around 1319 and through connections between the de Beauchamp familiy it became connected to one of the estates held by the Bassetts in Marsworth. By 1379 the manor had passed to Edward or Edmund Cook who gave it up to pay off debts. The Penyston family held the manor from the beginning of the 15th century.

The original site of the manor house was Hawridge Court. The groundworks that surround the manor are are thought to pre-date it, are circular and include a deep moat for part of the circumference. The original part of the Court was a 16th century timber framed Tudor cottage occupied periodically by the Lord of the Manors of Hawridge and Cholesbury. Additional buildings were constructed around 1700.

English Civil War

Hawridge is said to have associations with the English Civil War during the 1640s Parliamentary soldiers were billeted in the area at a time when skirmishes were occurring in and around Wendover and Chesham. Adjacent to Horseblock Lane, which crosses Hawridge Common, may have been where their horses were quartered. It has also been said that during one particularly fierce skirmish with the Royalists, dead horses were used to form a barricade from which the name of the lane is derived.

Via successive conveyances the manor came to Thomas Tasburgh and his wife Dorothy who was the widow of Sir Thomas Packington and had acquired some notoriety for her geremandering of elections at Aylesbury. By 1650 and several conveyances later the manor was in the hands of John Seare. From the beginning of the 18th century his son Richard owned jointly the manors of Hawridge and Cholesbury, an arrangement which has continued to the today.

Local Economy

Like the neighbouring village of Cholesbury, Hawridge with its extensive Commons was on an important droving route. There were once several alehouses located close to the Commons. They were able to flourish due to this boost in trade between the 18th and later on when up untl the early part of the 20th centuries they were also frequented by the growing numbers of brickyard and agricultural labourers. The Full Moon Pub, which is closest to the parish boundary with Cholesbury, is recorded as having its first licensed keeper in 1766 although as an unlicensed alehouse it may date back to 1693. Further along the Common is the Rose and Crown, first licensed in 1753. Down Hawridge Vale is the oldest of the three, the Black Horse, which first opened in the mid part of the 1600s. Other alehouses came and went but these three have survived to the present day.

The poverty of the land though meant that employment for villagers was often of a casual nature. Straw plaiting was the chief occupation of women and children during most of the nineteenth century. Until the Second World War agriculure had been the principle industry in the area. During the 20th century, much of the land was gradually taken out of agricultural use until today when only a minimal acreage is given over to or cattle and sheep-grazing or arable farming. The relative closeness to Chesham provided opportunity for work within, for example, one of the many mills or boot factories. The arrival of the railway to Chesham during the 1880s, the relative closeness to London and other conurbations and improvement to the road networks and public transport resulted in work being sought from further afield. The village supported a number of small shops until the 1960s when supermarkets and increased car ownership sealed their fate.

Although a few small business such as a blacksmith and the three pubs remain today, there are no significant employers within the village itself. In contrast the 2001 census has indicated a further change in employment patterns with increasing numbers of professional workers taking advantage of enhanced telecommunication through availability of broadband connectivity to work from home.

Demographics

As at 2001 93.5% of the local people were recorded as of White ethnic origin. Just under 80% declared they were Christians. Some 45% of people were in employment and 21%, a significantly higher proportion than elsewhere in the district, were self-employed and over 15% were retired which was slightly higher than in nearby areas.

Education

Children between the ages of 5 and 11 attend Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England Primary School. Today the catchment area covers the neighbouring villages of Bellingdon, Cholesbury, St Leonards and Buckland Common (the latter two since the close of the school at St Leonards).

The school was originally founded as a National School and opened in 1874 on land given by the Lord of the Manor. Prior to this the only education available was from the 'straw-plait' school, which were a common feature of villages in this part of the Chilterns and were also mentioned in a Select Committee report of 1819.

Landmarks and buildings

The original school house which was built by 1874 remains tday s an intregal part of the modern school. St Mary’s Church was first mentioned in 1227. During the 17th Century it fell into decay and was only fully restored in 1856 by William White using original flint-and-brick materials. It has retained its 13th century circular font. Oliver Cromwell ordered that church organs be removed in 1644. Churches relied on bands comprising local musicians to provide accompaniment until organs were reintroduced in the 19th century. An old bassoon made around 1800 and played at St Mary's was found during refurbishment of the church and is now to be found in Buckinghamshire County Museum Aylesbury.

Henry Turner, a J.P was the first Lord of the Manor to reside in the locality for 300 years when in 1899 he took up residency at Braziers End in Cholesbury.

The water pumping station at Nut Hazel Cross was built in the 1950s. It signified the beginning of modernisation for Hawridge and the neighbouring Hilltop Villages. However, even at that time the road from Chesham was often flooded and impassable during the winter months.

In 1879 the Kings Road Berkhamsted Evangelical Church open a Mission Hall in Hawridge. today it is a private house.

Transport

Almost 95% of local residents have access to a car. Over the years the provision of buses has decreased significantly. Today a bus service runs once each way on alternative days connecting to Chesham, Tring and local villages. School buses are a valuable facility transporting children to Secondary Schools in Chesham and Amersham.

Sport and recreation

The local area with its open views, rural lanes, commons and woodland, criss-crossed by footpaths and bridleways consequently are very popular with cyclists, walkers and horse-riders. The churches of Hawridge and Cholesbury jointly hold a Summer Fête on August Bank Holiday, alternatively on Hawridge and Cholesbury Commons. The Vale of Aylesbury with Garth & South Berks Hunt traditionally hold a meet on Boxing Day (26th December) which draws a large crowd from the local district. Quoits was played on the Commons up until the 1960s and the Full Moon pub had a Skittle Alley until around the same time.

Governance

The manoral rights originating from the 12th century, which have continued to be held jointly with Hawridge since 17th century no longer control village life. Hawridge and Cholesbury Commons Preservation Society manage the Commons, which is still owned by a Lord of the Manor. The church vestry has been succeeded by the parochial church council focussing on church affairs and its responsibilities for the village ceded to the parish council. Hawridge together with the neighbouring villages of Cholesbury, St Leonards and Buckland Common are known as the Hilltop Villages. Prior to 1934 Hawridge had been a separate civil parish but together with the other vilages they were brought together to form the parish of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards.

External links

References

Hay, David and Joan (1994). Hilltop Villages of the Chilterns. England: Phillimore & Co Ltd. ISBN 0 85033 505 1.

Hepple & Doggett, Leslie & Alison (1971). The Chilterns. England: Phillimore & Co Ltd. ISBN 0 85033 833 6.