Hillesden is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale

Aylesbury Vale

The Aylesbury Vale is a large area of flat land mostly in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester and Brackley to the west.The vale is named after Aylesbury, the...

 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...

. It is in the very north of the county, about four miles south of Buckingham

Buckingham

Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...

.

The village name is Anglo Saxon

Old English language

Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

 in origin, and means 'Hild's hill'. In the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 of 1086 the village was recorded as Ilesdone, though earlier it had been referred to as Hildesdun.

Hillesden is split up into three areas; Church End, The Orchard and The Barracks. Church End is situated at the top of the hill and surrounds the church. The Orchard consists of Orchard Cottages and Orchard View, whilst The Baracks are situated across from Great Ground.

Hillesden was the home of the Denton family. During the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 the manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 at Hillesden, was owned by Sir Alexander Denton

Alexander Denton (Royalist)

Sir Alexander Denton was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1625 and 1644. He supported the Royalists during the English Civil War....

, Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Buckingham

Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)

Buckingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

. Denton was a Royalist

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

 and his house at Hillesden became a focal point in the conflict. In January 1644 Parliamentary forces occupied Hillesden House but they were ejected. In early February Colonel William Smith garrisoned Hillesden House with about 260 men to support the King at Oxford. The house was occupied by many of the Denton family and some of the Verney family and Sir Alexander also arrived at the house by chance. A force of over 2000 men under Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 and Samuel Luke

Samuel Luke

Sir Samuel Luke was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1640 to 1653 and in 1660.Luke was born in Southill, Bedfordshire, England to Sir Oliver Luke Member of Parliament and his wife Elizabeth Knightley...

 laid siege to the house at the beginning of March. After the surrender Smith and Denton were taken prisoner and moved to the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

, while the house was destroyed and the family beggared. Denton died a prisoner on New Years Day 1645. The medieval church, built in 1493 was saved from the ravages of war, however, and remains to this day along with Cavalier bullet holes in its door.

The parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 church in Hillesden is dedicated to All Saints

All Saints

All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...

. The tithe

Tithe

A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

s of this church were anciently collected by Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

.