Hedgerley is a village and civil parish in South Bucks

South Bucks

South Bucks is one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Beaconsfield Urban District with part of Eton Rural District...

 district in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The parish is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Gerrards Cross

Gerrards Cross

Gerrards Cross is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, near the border with Greater London, south of Chalfont St Peter. Gerrards Cross is also a civil parish within South Bucks district, which was known as the Beaconsfield district from 1974 to 1980...

 and 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Beaconsfield

Beaconsfield

Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...

. The parish has incorporated the formerly separate parish of Hedgerley Dean since 1934 (which was once a hamlet in parish of Farnham Royal

Farnham Royal

Farnham Royal is a village and civil parish within the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the south of the county, around 22 miles west of Charing Cross, Central London....

).

The toponym

Toponymy

Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

 name "Hedgerley" is derived from the Old English meaning "Hycga's woodland clearing". In manorial

Manorialism

Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

 rolls in 1195 it was recorded as Huggeleg.

There is a village street of red brick and timber framed cottages, amongst which Victoria Cottages date from the 16th century. Above the village on the hillside is the Church of England parish church

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 the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 of Saint Mary the Virgin was designed by the Gothic Revival architect

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 Benjamin Ferrey

Benjamin Ferrey

Benjamin Ferrey, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.-Family:Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr, a draper who became Mayor of Christchurch. He was educated at Wimborne Grammar School....

 and built in 1852. The Tudor Revival Rectory

Rectory

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

was built in 1846.

Local Fields are called the "sea-fields" because during spring they become full with bluebells and look like a body of water when the wind blows across them.