St Leonards, Buckinghamshire
Encyclopedia
St Leonards is a small village in the Chiltern Hills
in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 3 miles east of Wendover
and 4 miles south of Tring
, Hertfordshire. The northern end of the settlement is delineated by a short section of Grim's Ditch
.
community living in the area close to the present-day Dundridge Manor.
St Leonards is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. The early history of the village centres on the foundation of a chapel at St Leonards. A charter of Henry de Crokesley from around 1187 refers to him granting the manor at Dundridge to Missenden Abbey
and setting aside land for the chapel-of-ease at St Leonard. By 1278 St Leonards had become more closely associated with Aston Clinton
. William de Clinton, who was Lord of the Manor
was granted the right to establish a consecrated chapel on the site of the former hermit
age belonging to Missenden Abbey by the Bishop of Lincoln
during his visitation to the parish in that year. The chapel was dedicated to Leonard of Noblac
also recorded as Leonard of Blakemore
. The choice of Leonard or Leonardo may have been in recognition of a hermit associated with Missenden Abbey known as the 'Hermit of the Woods', according to the Pipe Rolls of 1196. However this has not been verified and the choice of St Leonard might have been because the hermit was instead connected with St Leonards Hospital in Aylesbury. Blakemere is thought to be a reference to Black Mere, a marshy area and pond that appears in records from that time. (The pond survived until it was filled in around 1923).
who held the lands until Henry VIII
's time who seized them from the Abbey and had Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury
beheaded. In 1545, Henry subsequently granted Dundridge to Sir John Baldwin
who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
. Two smaller estates called Brownes and Bruns, still identifiable today, were taken by one John Ginger. Successive generations of Baldwins thrived at Dundridge. In 1638 Sylvester Baldwin his wife and children, set sail for New England
on the ship Martin. Though Sylvester did not survive the journey the Baldwin family successfully settled in the newly established New Haven Colony
on land adjacent to the present day Milford
, Connecticut from where it spread out across the continent. Meanwhile the fortunes of the St Leonard's Baldwin's waned and little more than 100 years later the lands were sold in lots as was Dundridge Manor which is recorded as having fallen into disrepair.
Despite the Dissolution of the Monasteries
the church continued in use as a chapel-of-ease until after 1586 when an inquisition was held in the name of Queen Elizabeth
into why the chapel and lands had not reverted to the crown. However following successful pleas from Silvester and Henry Baldwin, it was permitted that services could be held there once again, for the benefit of local woodsmen, because Aston Clinton church was a good hour's walk away, and the long journey stopped them from getting on with their work. By 1640 the church had fallen into disrepair and at the end of the English Civil War
remaining were only bare walls of timber-framed construction which mainly dates to the 15th century although some evidence of the earlier chapel also remains to this day. The building was largely rebuilt in Royalist style around 1700. Within the church one of two large commemorative memorials to the Wood family, is a marble bust of General Cornelius Wood who as benefactor was responsible for the major restoration of the church at the end of the 17th century. Wood was also Colonel of the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse until his death in 1712. His generosity also enabled the chapel to be freed from the control of the Bishop, and Trustees were given autonomy to appoint the incumbent.
Daniel Bacheler
, sometimes spelt Batchellor, (1572–1619) was born in the village at Chapel Farm. He was a composer of lute
music at the Court of Elizabeth I. Daniel was also a servant and courier to Francis Walsingham
and also the Earl of Essex
, particularly when the latter served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
. On one occasion he was paid £10 by Elizabeth to act as go-between and deliver letters to Essex. He accomapanied Walshingham to the Netherlands
to recover and return to England the body of Sir Philip Sidney, Walshingham's son-in-law. Daniel's close association with court life is evidenced by a contemporary mural of Sidney's funeral procession to St Paul's Cathedral
in 1587 which depicts Batchelor astride a horse. Daniel is credited with introducing consort music and was a contemporary of John Dowland
who was a lutinist at the Court of James I
whilst Daniel had been elevated to Groom of the Privy Chamber
a position of significant trust as confident to Anne of Denmark
.
in Hawridge
. It is now a private house. Until closing in 1975, Gilberts Hill was he location of the Post Office and Grocers Shop once run by Samuel and Phoebe Gilbert.
Today St Leonards forms part of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards parish, though the local population has grown and St Leonards remains a separate village and one of four which comprise the Hilltop Villages Cholesbury
, Buckland Common
and Hawridge
being the others.
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 3 miles east of Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
and 4 miles south of Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
, Hertfordshire. The northern end of the settlement is delineated by a short section of Grim's Ditch
Grim's Ditch
Grim's Ditch, Grim's Dyke or Grim's Bank is a name shared by a number of prehistoric bank and ditch earthworks...
.
Early history
The earliest evidence of habitation comes in the form of pottery shards associated with a small Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
community living in the area close to the present-day Dundridge Manor.
St Leonards is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. The early history of the village centres on the foundation of a chapel at St Leonards. A charter of Henry de Crokesley from around 1187 refers to him granting the manor at Dundridge to Missenden Abbey
Missenden Abbey
Missenden Abbey was an Augustinian monastery founded in 1133 in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. It was ruined in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the ruins later incorporated into a Georgian mansion.The abbey has been owned by Buckinghamshire New University since the mid...
and setting aside land for the chapel-of-ease at St Leonard. By 1278 St Leonards had become more closely associated with Aston Clinton
Aston Clinton
Aston Clinton is a village and civil parish close to the main A41 road in Buckinghamshire, England between Tring and Aylesbury. The parish covers and is about east of Aylesbury. The village is at the foot of the chalk escarpment of the Chiltern Hills at the junction of the pre-historic track the...
. William de Clinton, who was Lord of the Manor
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...
was granted the right to establish a consecrated chapel on the site of the former hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
age belonging to Missenden Abbey by the Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
during his visitation to the parish in that year. The chapel was dedicated to Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges or de Noblet , is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Haute-Vienne, in the Limousin of France.-Traditional biography:According to the romance that...
also recorded as Leonard of Blakemore
Leonard of Blakemore
Leonard of Blakemore has a church in St Leonards near Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England dedicated to him. It is thought this may be associated with Leonard of Noblac...
. The choice of Leonard or Leonardo may have been in recognition of a hermit associated with Missenden Abbey known as the 'Hermit of the Woods', according to the Pipe Rolls of 1196. However this has not been verified and the choice of St Leonard might have been because the hermit was instead connected with St Leonards Hospital in Aylesbury. Blakemere is thought to be a reference to Black Mere, a marshy area and pond that appears in records from that time. (The pond survived until it was filled in around 1923).
From the 15th to 17th centuries
The Muster Role for 1522 tells us that at that time St Leonards was a hamlet of some 30–40 residents. The lands were shared between Missenden Abbey, which owned the then self-contained manor at Dundridge and the Earls of SalisburyEarl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in British history. It has a complex history, being first created for Patrick de Salisbury in the middle twelfth century. It was eventually inherited by Alice, wife of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster...
who held the lands until Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's time who seized them from the Abbey and had Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury
Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury was an English peeress, one of two women in sixteenth-century England to be a peeress in her own right with no titled husband, the daughter of George of Clarence, the brother of King Edward IV and King Richard III...
beheaded. In 1545, Henry subsequently granted Dundridge to Sir John Baldwin
John Baldwin (Chief Justice)
His Worship Sir John Baldwin JP KS was a British justice. Details of his early career are sketchy; he joined the Inner Temple some time before 1500, and was practicing in the Court of Requests by 1506, followed by an appointment as a Justice of the Peace for Buckinghamshire in 1510...
who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
The Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, was the second highest common law court in the English legal system until 1880, when it was dissolved. As such, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was one of the highest judicial officials in England, behind only the Lord...
. Two smaller estates called Brownes and Bruns, still identifiable today, were taken by one John Ginger. Successive generations of Baldwins thrived at Dundridge. In 1638 Sylvester Baldwin his wife and children, set sail for New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
on the ship Martin. Though Sylvester did not survive the journey the Baldwin family successfully settled in the newly established New Haven Colony
New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...
on land adjacent to the present day Milford
Milford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...
, Connecticut from where it spread out across the continent. Meanwhile the fortunes of the St Leonard's Baldwin's waned and little more than 100 years later the lands were sold in lots as was Dundridge Manor which is recorded as having fallen into disrepair.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
the church continued in use as a chapel-of-ease until after 1586 when an inquisition was held in the name of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
into why the chapel and lands had not reverted to the crown. However following successful pleas from Silvester and Henry Baldwin, it was permitted that services could be held there once again, for the benefit of local woodsmen, because Aston Clinton church was a good hour's walk away, and the long journey stopped them from getting on with their work. By 1640 the church had fallen into disrepair and at the end of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
remaining were only bare walls of timber-framed construction which mainly dates to the 15th century although some evidence of the earlier chapel also remains to this day. The building was largely rebuilt in Royalist style around 1700. Within the church one of two large commemorative memorials to the Wood family, is a marble bust of General Cornelius Wood who as benefactor was responsible for the major restoration of the church at the end of the 17th century. Wood was also Colonel of the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse until his death in 1712. His generosity also enabled the chapel to be freed from the control of the Bishop, and Trustees were given autonomy to appoint the incumbent.
Daniel Bacheler
Daniel Bacheler
thumb|right|250px|Daniel Bacheler from an engraving by [[Thomas Lant]] of the funeral procession of Sir Philip Sidney in 1586Daniel Bacheler, also variously spelt Bachiler, Batchiler or Batchelar, was an English lutenist and composer...
, sometimes spelt Batchellor, (1572–1619) was born in the village at Chapel Farm. He was a composer of lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
music at the Court of Elizabeth I. Daniel was also a servant and courier to Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
and also the Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
, particularly when the latter served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. On one occasion he was paid £10 by Elizabeth to act as go-between and deliver letters to Essex. He accomapanied Walshingham to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
to recover and return to England the body of Sir Philip Sidney, Walshingham's son-in-law. Daniel's close association with court life is evidenced by a contemporary mural of Sidney's funeral procession to St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in 1587 which depicts Batchelor astride a horse. Daniel is credited with introducing consort music and was a contemporary of John Dowland
John Dowland
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
who was a lutinist at the Court of James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
whilst Daniel had been elevated to Groom of the Privy Chamber
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
a position of significant trust as confident to Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
.
18th century to the present day
Around 1700 a number of unlicensed alehouses were opened and soon closed by the constables. The first licensed premise was the White Lion in 1714 which remains open up to the present day. The extensive Commons at St Leonards were enclosed in 1811. St Leonards Parish Hall was built in 1938 behind which there are extensive playing fields. St Leonards National School, which was founded in 1860, across the road from the church, and remained open until 1973 when children of the village transferred to the Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England SchoolHawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School
Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School is a mixed Primary School for children between the ages of 4 - 11 in Hawridge, Buckinghamshire.-History:...
in Hawridge
Hawridge
Hawridge, is a small village in the Chilterns in the county of Buckinghamshire, England and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It is from Chesham, from both Tring and Berkhamsted....
. It is now a private house. Until closing in 1975, Gilberts Hill was he location of the Post Office and Grocers Shop once run by Samuel and Phoebe Gilbert.
Today St Leonards forms part of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards parish, though the local population has grown and St Leonards remains a separate village and one of four which comprise the Hilltop Villages Cholesbury
Cholesbury
Cholesbury is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted....
, Buckland Common
Buckland Common
Buckland Common is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, east of Wendover and the same distance south of Tring in Hertfordshire with which it shares a boundary...
and Hawridge
Hawridge
Hawridge, is a small village in the Chilterns in the county of Buckinghamshire, England and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It is from Chesham, from both Tring and Berkhamsted....
being the others.