West Wycombe
Encyclopedia
West Wycombe is a small village situated along the A40 road
, due three miles west of High Wycombe
, Buckinghamshire
, England
.
The historic village is largely a National Trust
property and receives a large annual influx of tourists - being the site of West Wycombe Park
, West Wycombe Caves
and the Mausoleum on top of West Wycombe Hill. The Mausoleum and Golden Ball above West Wycombe village are impressive local landmarks, visually dominating the village and local landscape for miles surrounding.
West Wycombe Park, Caves, Mausoleum and Saint Lawrence's church were all constructed in the mid-18th century by the infamous Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hellfire Club
.
A Bronze Age settlement is widely believed to have first existed here, and research suggests there was a Pagan Temple on this settlement in a similar style to Stonehenge
. A Roman settlement later inhabited West Wycombe Hill, and local historians believe a religious temple was constructed here (though the exact site remains unknown).
. The hillside was once again occupied, and this newly established settlement was named Haeferingdune (literally meaning Hill of Haefer's people in Old English). The name later evolved into Haveringdon.
The site retained religious importance as a church was said to have been erected by St. Birnius (who later became the bishop of the West Saxons in 635 AD).
A Norman
watch tower is also said to have been built on top of the hill following the Norman Conquest.
Haveringdon's population allegedly became greatly reduced due to the effects of the Bubonic Plage (or Black Death
, as it was later known) in the 1340s. By the 18th century the village had re-situated in the valley along the Oxford Road, and was subsequently renamed due to its geographical features and position - "West" because of its westward situation from the already existing town of High Wycombe
. Both settlements are located in the Wye Valley and the word "Combe" derives from the Old English/Brythonic word for "valley".
According to local records there were just two rate payers left in Haveringdon in the 19th century.
, Greece
and the Ottoman Empire
.
Local villagers, impoverished after a series of harvest failures, were paid the price of a shilling per day to tunnel underground to mine chalk. The caves were all excavated by hand and even today they are viewed as an incredible feat of engineering.
Dashwood's family home, West Wycombe House, also underwent major alterations at this time. Although Haveringdon had all but disappeared during this time, the church and tower had remained and a centre section was built to join the two together and the Mausoleum was also constructed (based on the design of the Constantine Arch in Rome
). The new church was named Saint Lawrence's, as it was common for churches built on Pagan sites to have this name. The church and Mausoleum were also built using chalk and flint from the caves.
During this time, Dashwood and other high-powered politicians and society members formed a club then known as The Knights of St. Francis (which was later known as the Hellfire Club
by a London paper). They first used Medmenham Abbey, situated eight miles away from West Wycombe on the River Thames
but the caves were later used for the club's meetings. The club received much notoriety during their day - being rumoured for orgies and black magic, but Dashwood's infamous club had disbanded by 1763 (according to church records). The caves no longer served a purpose and quickly fell into disrepair.
. It was bought in its entirety by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) as part of the Society's "Campaign for the Preservation of Ancient Cottages". In 1934, after extensive repairs, the Society handed the property over to the National Trust
. The National Trust markets this property under the name 'West Wycombe Village and Hill'. The property features many buildings of architectural value which were built between the 16th and 18th centuries.
Between 1906 and 1958 the village was served by a railway station on the Chiltern Main Line
between London and Birmingham which was situated to the east of West Wycombe Village.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s the caves underwent extensive reparation work under the auspices of the Dashwood family and turned into a tourist attraction. The profit earned was used to renovate the dilapidated West Wycombe Park. The caves continue to thrive as a popular tourist attraction today and have received over 2 million visitors since their re-opening in 1951.
West Wycombe is also a civil parish in Wycombe district.
have been used as a filming location for numerous films, most notably The Duchess, The Importance of Being Earnest
, I Capture the Castle
and Dead Man's Folly
. The BBC TV adaptation of the Mrs. Gaskell novel Cranford
was partly filmed at West Wycombe Park, along with TV series Inspector Morse
. The Mausoleum was used as the set of a Roman town in an episode of the BBC Childrens show Chucklevision
.
The caves have also been visited by paranormal TV shows Most Haunted
and Ghost Hunters
.
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
, due three miles west of High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, 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 historic village is largely a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property and receives a large annual influx of tourists - being the site of West Wycombe Park
West Wycombe Park
West Wycombe Park is a country house near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, built between 1740 and 1800. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet. The house is a long rectangle with four façades that...
, West Wycombe Caves
West Wycombe Caves
West Wycombe Caves are a network of man-made chalk and flint caverns which extend one quarter of a mile underground, situated above the village of West Wycombe, at the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Southeast England.They were excavated between 1748 and...
and the Mausoleum on top of West Wycombe Hill. The Mausoleum and Golden Ball above West Wycombe village are impressive local landmarks, visually dominating the village and local landscape for miles surrounding.
West Wycombe Park, Caves, Mausoleum and Saint Lawrence's church were all constructed in the mid-18th century by the infamous Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club
The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the "Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe"...
.
Early History
The hill above West Wycombe (now the site of Saint Lawrence's Church and the Mausoleum) has been continuously occupied for centuries.A Bronze Age settlement is widely believed to have first existed here, and research suggests there was a Pagan Temple on this settlement in a similar style to Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
. A Roman settlement later inhabited West Wycombe Hill, and local historians believe a religious temple was constructed here (though the exact site remains unknown).
The lost village of Haveringdon
The next major influence upon West Wycombe were the SaxonsSaxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
. The hillside was once again occupied, and this newly established settlement was named Haeferingdune (literally meaning Hill of Haefer's people in Old English). The name later evolved into Haveringdon.
The site retained religious importance as a church was said to have been erected by St. Birnius (who later became the bishop of the West Saxons in 635 AD).
A Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
watch tower is also said to have been built on top of the hill following the Norman Conquest.
Haveringdon's population allegedly became greatly reduced due to the effects of the Bubonic Plage (or Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, as it was later known) in the 1340s. By the 18th century the village had re-situated in the valley along the Oxford Road, and was subsequently renamed due to its geographical features and position - "West" because of its westward situation from the already existing town of High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
. Both settlements are located in the Wye Valley and the word "Combe" derives from the Old English/Brythonic word for "valley".
According to local records there were just two rate payers left in Haveringdon in the 19th century.
Georgian Era
During the mid-18th century Sir Francis Dashwood commissioned an ambitious project to supply chalk for a straight, three-mile road between West Wycombe and High Wycombe, a stretch of the now A40 road, then a prominent trade route which carried traffic between London, Oxford, Gloucester and onto South Wales . The existing local chalk cave (which had existed in the village since prehistoric times) was expanded into an elaborate network of tunnels and passages. The design of the caves was mostly inspired by Dashwood's Grand Tour of ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Local villagers, impoverished after a series of harvest failures, were paid the price of a shilling per day to tunnel underground to mine chalk. The caves were all excavated by hand and even today they are viewed as an incredible feat of engineering.
Dashwood's family home, West Wycombe House, also underwent major alterations at this time. Although Haveringdon had all but disappeared during this time, the church and tower had remained and a centre section was built to join the two together and the Mausoleum was also constructed (based on the design of the Constantine Arch in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
). The new church was named Saint Lawrence's, as it was common for churches built on Pagan sites to have this name. The church and Mausoleum were also built using chalk and flint from the caves.
During this time, Dashwood and other high-powered politicians and society members formed a club then known as The Knights of St. Francis (which was later known as the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club
The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the "Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe"...
by a London paper). They first used Medmenham Abbey, situated eight miles away from West Wycombe on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
but the caves were later used for the club's meetings. The club received much notoriety during their day - being rumoured for orgies and black magic, but Dashwood's infamous club had disbanded by 1763 (according to church records). The caves no longer served a purpose and quickly fell into disrepair.
West Wycombe in the 20th Century
In 1929 West Wycombe village was put up for sale by the Dashwood family to raise assets following that year's Wall Street CrashWall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
. It was bought in its entirety by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) as part of the Society's "Campaign for the Preservation of Ancient Cottages". In 1934, after extensive repairs, the Society handed the property over to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. The National Trust markets this property under the name 'West Wycombe Village and Hill'. The property features many buildings of architectural value which were built between the 16th and 18th centuries.
Between 1906 and 1958 the village was served by a railway station on the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
between London and Birmingham which was situated to the east of West Wycombe Village.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s the caves underwent extensive reparation work under the auspices of the Dashwood family and turned into a tourist attraction. The profit earned was used to renovate the dilapidated West Wycombe Park. The caves continue to thrive as a popular tourist attraction today and have received over 2 million visitors since their re-opening in 1951.
West Wycombe Today
The village centre, despite being situated on a busy main road (the A40), retains much of its historical charm, and being National Trust-owned for the main part, has resisted modernisation. The High Street consists of a number of 'old-fashioned' shops (in appearance at least), as well as three pubs, some small offices and a well-utilised village hall. Just off the High Street can be found the village Combined School (ages 4–11) and a traditional garden centre. The current population consists of around 1,000 residents.West Wycombe is also a civil parish in Wycombe district.
West Wycombe on TV
The village and West Wycombe ParkWest Wycombe Park
West Wycombe Park is a country house near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, built between 1740 and 1800. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet. The house is a long rectangle with four façades that...
have been used as a filming location for numerous films, most notably The Duchess, The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
, I Capture the Castle
I Capture the Castle
I Capture the Castle is Dodie Smith's first novel, written in the 1940s during a sojourn in America. Smith was already an established playwright and later became famous for authoring the children's classic The Hundred and One Dalmatians....
and Dead Man's Folly
Dead Man's Folly
Dead Man's Folly is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October 1956 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 5 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.95 and the UK edition at twelve shillings and sixpence ....
. The BBC TV adaptation of the Mrs. Gaskell novel Cranford
Cranford (novel)
Cranford is one of the better-known novels of the 19th century English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in 1851 as a serial in the magazine Household Words, which was edited by Charles Dickens.-Plot:...
was partly filmed at West Wycombe Park, along with TV series Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
. The Mausoleum was used as the set of a Roman town in an episode of the BBC Childrens show Chucklevision
ChuckleVision
ChuckleVision is a popular British television series shown mainly on CBBC. New episodes are always first aired on BBC One, and occasionally episodes are shown on BBC Two. The first episode was shown on 26 September 1987. It follows the adventures of the Chuckle Brothers & the Patton Brothers, who...
.
The caves have also been visited by paranormal TV shows Most Haunted
Most Haunted
Most Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...
and Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
.
External links
- West Wycombe Village and Hill information at the National Trust
- West Wycombe Estate Sawmill House and others. Accessed July 2007
- Photographs of Dashwood's tunnels in West Wycombe
- West Wycombe Parish Council