A White Xmas in the Chilterns

Thatched Cottages Wendover

Christmas this year has come with a vengeance to the Chiltern Hills and as England has suffered transport paralysis with the heavy snowfall the Hills and the Vale of Aylesbury north of them have been transformed into a snow covered winter wonderland. Indeed some would argue that the Chilterns never look lovelier than when their Beech topped hills are covered in snow and their valleys are framed in a magical winter snowscape.

Regular blogistas who follow the Sage know our enthusiasm for the Vale of Aylesbury and the Chiltern Hills as the Sage’s Castle is about 2 miles from Chequers, the Prime Ministers country home. Buckinghamshire is one of the loveliest of the Home Counties - some say the loveliest - and its Chiltern Hills and beech woods, beautiful River Thames and the rolling acres of Aylesbury Vale make it a place for visitors to enjoy. Country walks run between picturesque villages with a host of welcoming pubs. We are overlooked by the Chiltern Escarpment whose edge marks the southern border of the Midlands of England which continue to Wolverhampton (an unlovely place with unlovely people) and the Quantock Hills.



The Chilterns lie 30 miles north-west of London and yet they are an unspoilt area of rolling chalk hills, magnificent beech woods, quiet valleys and charming brick and flint villages. They provide a wonderful mosaic of woods, fields, hedges, sunken lanes and clear streams and are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/03/rupert-brooke-and-chilterns.html ) AONB is one step down from a National Park designation and provides tight control on development and farming. This was an aspect you can readily appreciate heading down the lovely Missbourne Valley towards Prestwood, a hamlet in the hills about a mile from Great Missenden (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/roald-dahl-museum-and-story-centre.html )


Village Sign on the green




Church of St. Mary the Virgin


Train ariving at Stoke Mandeville

The village of Stoke Mandeville today is largely a commuter town with a railway station for London, three pubs and numerous thatched cottages. Like all the fertile Vale of Aylesbury it is overlooked by the Chiltern Hills and was formerly an important market gardening centre. Indeed the Sage’s Castle is built on old plum and greengage orchards. The first part of the name Stoke Mandeville derives from the old English word stoc, and means “outlying farmstead or hamlet”. The second
part, “Mandeville”, derives from the Norman family of that name which held the manor in the 13th century. The suffix Mandeville was first recorded in 1284 when the manor was listed as being in the hands of the powerful Norman de Mandeville family. Stoke Mandeville Station serves the village of Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire. The station lies on the London Marylebone-Aylesbury line and is served by Chiltern Railways trains. It is situated between Wendover and Aylesbury stations. The station first opened on 1 September 1892, and was served by both the London Underground Metropolitan Line and the Great Central Railway.




Thatched cottages in Stoke Mandeville

Traditional houses were of wychert (flint / straw / earth) construction with characteristic "dog ear" thatched roofs which oversailed by at least two feet to keep running water off the walls. There are still many wychert and thatch buildings as well as later wood frame and infill thatched cottages throughout Bucks and in Stoke Mandeville village. The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin and the village common with the village sign both look hugely attractive clothed in their winter garment of repentance.


The Woolpack

The newly refurbished village pub, the Woolpack, reopened for business on the 6th November 2009, less than 6 months after it was a 100% loss in the disastrous fire. This is in itself a minor miracle of project management, particularly as the woolpack was both a thatched and listed building. Inside it looks much as before but there is a distinct improvement externally and internally. The toilet annexe on the left hand side of the front elevation always had a “stuck on look.” This has been now tidied up with the exterior showing a traditional looking dark weatherboarding and improved toilets inside with the side corridor gone.


The crossroads & duckpond at Dunsmore


The road through the woods to Dunsmore

One of the most typical hilltop villages remaining is Dunsmore. This is a hamlet in the parish of Ellesborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the hilltop of one of the Chiltern Hills, about 2 miles south of Wendover. It is one of the remotest places in the whole of Buckinghamshire, accessible only by two steep, single-track hillside lanes. The place name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means literally Dunna's moor. Today the village is extremely picturesque as it is surrounded by mostly National Trust owned woodland. However due to its location it is occasionally cut off because of bad weather or bad road conditions, and retains its small community atmosphere. Central features of the hamlet are the village pond, the village hall and the Church of the Resurrection, Dunsmore. There were two public houses, the Fox and the Black Horse, but these have closed and been converted into dwellings in recent years.


Wendover


Xmas Tree & War Memorial






Red Lion Pub

Wendover is embraced by woodlands and with its atmospheric high street with thatched cottages and antique shops it is an attractive and busy town which has much of interest and has maintained its sense of community. Just 45 minutes from central London it continues to be a fine place to live and to attract walkers and visitors to ramble over the hills, browse the shops and replenish themselves in the many restaurants and fine old pubs. And as you leave these establishments you may think you hear the wheels of the London stage coach and its weary passengers relieved to have travelled unharmed through the notorious highwayman infested Chiltern Hundreds and looking forward to bed and board in the coaching inns lining the High Street.


Coombe Hill Memorial

A War memorial was erected and unveiled on Coombe Hill, near Wendover in 1904, in memory of the men from Buckinghamshire who had died in the Boer War. Standing on a high hill it can be seen from a great distance, and an excellent panoramic view can be seen from it. But, being built in such a lofty position did cause one problem, when in the late 1930s it was struck by lightning and virtually demolished. However, the Buckinghamshire County Council decided to restore it, and by 1939 it had been repaired. During the Second World War it had to be camouflaged, so that it could not be used as a guide for enemy aircraft.










World's End Santaworld

For many years, Worlds End garden centre has put on an excellent Christmas display. Santa's Grotto is excellent and kids come from far and wide to enjoy the animatronics displays and meet the man himself. The entrance looked good and the interior was decorated to appeal to the kids. As well as the grotto the centre specialises in Xmas Trees and has a large Christmas shop as well as the usual attractions.

Aylesbury


War Memorial in the Market Square - setting for Marillion's "Market Sq. Heroes"


Old County Courthouse


Clock Tower Market Square

As well as our proximity to Wendover and the Chiltern Hills we are close to Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire. This is a lively market town steeped in history located at the foot of the Chiltern Hills and at the heart of the rich agricultural Vale of Aylesbury. The town was a focal point in the English Civil War in the 17th century. As the popularity of the famous Aylesbury Duck grew in the 19th Century, the town's fat stock markets attracted visitors from far and wide. If you would like to see the real Aylesbury Ducks then why not visit Oak Farm Rare Breeds Park. Nowadays, the award winning Roald Dahl children's Gallery, and the world famous Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Guttmann Sports Centre help ensure that Aylesbury is still internationally renowned. The market, a part of Aylesbury life since the 13th century, is complemented by modern shopping areas.


Dancing Bears


Santa's Boots




Friar's Square Aylesbury

The charming conservation area around St. Mary's Church lies in sleepy lanes and cottages above the town. Around every corner is a tale - Henry VIII reputedly wooed Anne Boleyn at the King's Head, Roald Dahl invented his classic children's tales in the Aylesbury area, and his imagination is now celebrated in the town's County Museum. In the cobbled market square, stands the imposing figure of John Hampden - a local hero and key figure in the defeat of the Royalists in the English Civil War. Market days are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Xmas at the Sage's Cottage


Murty the Moose welcoming visitors


Xmas Tree


The candle powered crib


The Xmas table

So this year as a white Xmas looks more likely I am glad not to be travelling at Xmas but am rather looking forward to good fare and drink not to mention good company in our own little corner of this green and pleasant land. More explorations are available under “Chiltern Hundreds and Buckinghamshire” in the Blog Sidebar.

Rupert Brooke and “The Chilterns”

Rupert Brooke

Regular blogistas who follow the Sage know our enthusiasm for the Vale of Aylesbury and the Chiltern Hills as the Sage’s Castle is about 2 miles from Chequers, the Prime Ministers country home. Buckinghamshire is one of the loveliest of the Home Counties - some say the loveliest - and its Chiltern Hills and beech woods, beautiful River Thames and the rolling acres of Aylesbury Vale make it a place for visitors to enjoy. Country walks run between picturesque villages with a host of welcoming pubs. We are overlooked by the Chiltern Escarpment whose edge marks the southern border of the Midlands of England which continue to Wolverhampton and the Quantock Hills. The Chilterns lie only a few miles north-west of London and yet they are an unspoilt area of rolling chalk hills, magnificent beech woods, quiet valleys and charming brick and flint villages. A wonderful mosaic of woods, fields, hedges, sunken lanes and clear streams.

One of the most typical hilltop villages remaining is Dunsmore. This is a hamlet in the parish of Ellesborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the hilltop of one of the Chiltern Hills, about 2 miles south of Wendover. It is one of the remotest places in the whole of Buckinghamshire, accessible only by two steep, single-track hillside lanes. The place name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means literally Dunna's moor.


Track to Dunsmore

Today the village is extremely picturesque as it is surrounded by mostly National Trust owned woodland. However due to its location it is occasionally cut off because of bad weather or bad road conditions, and retains its small community atmosphere. Central features of the hamlet are the village pond, the village hall and the Church of the Resurrection, Dunsmore. There were two public houses, the Fox and the Black Horse, but these have closed and been converted into residential dwellings in recent years.


The Duck Pond, Dunsmore

Another fan of the Chilterns was the war poet, Rupert Brooke. He was a promising English poet who died young in World War I. Brooke ( 3 August 1887 - 23 April 1915 ), was a popular English poet, famed for his idealistic War Sonnets that he wrote during the First World War. Works such as "The Soldier", "The Old Vicarage" and "The Great Lover" are much loved throughout the world.

Poets have always glorified war, and Brooke did his best to continue the tradition, and sacrifice himself in this effort. His death made him the hero of the first phase of the war and a canonised symbol of all the gifted young people destroyed by the conflict. However, Brooke's poetry with its patriotic mood and naive enthusiasm went out of fashion as the realities of warfare were fully understood.


Ellesborough

Rupert Chawner Brooke was a British war poet, somewhat idealistic and known for his looks. W.B. Years once described him as “the handsomest young man in England.” Born in Rugby, Warwickshire, he attended Rugby School where his father was a schoolmaster. He later attended King’s College, Cambridge, where he became one of the ‘Cambridge Apostles’, and made friends with members of the Bloomsbury group. Brooke struggled somewhat with his sexuality, which often led to a frustrated and unhappy romantic life.


Princes Risborough

Before WWI he walked regularly in the Chilterns, sometimes with friends. He used to visit the Pink and Lily pub, at Parslow’s Hillock above Princes Risborough, and loved to walk there from Wendover station. Legend has it that the Pink and Lily pub came into being in 1800 when Mr Pink, a butler from nearby Hampden House, and Miss Lillie, a chambermaid from the same house, fell in love and turned a private house at Parslow’s Hillock into the Pink and Lily hostelry. He also wrote a short cheerful ditty about a particularly merry lunch at the Pink and Lily with his friend Jacques Raverat.

When WWI began Brooke joined the Royal Naval Division. The early months of the war inspired him to write some idealistic war sonnets. Later, his tone became more realistic when he wrote Soon to Die.


Pink and Lily pub

Brooke’s visits to the Chilterns inspired him to write the poem called The Chilterns which includes these evocative verses:


The Chilterns


Your hands, my dear, adorable,
Your lips of tenderness
--Oh, I've loved you faithfully and well,
Three years, or a bit less.
It wasn't a success.

Thank God, that's done! and I'll take the road,
Quit of my youth and you,
The Roman road to Wendover
By Tring and Lilley Hoo,
As a free man may do.

For youth goes over, the joys that fly,
The tears that follow fast;
And the dirtiest things we do must lie
Forgotten at the last;
Even love goes past.

What's left behind I shall not find,
The splendor and the pain;
The splash of sun, the shouting wind,
And the brave sting of rain,
I may not meet again.

But the years, that take the best away,
Give something in the end;
And a better friend than love have they,
For none to mar or mend,
That have themselves to friend.

I shall desire and I shall find
The best of my desires;
The autumn road, the mellow wind
That soothes the darkening shires.
And laughter, and inn-fires.

White mist about the black hedgerows,
The slumbering Midland plain,
The silence where the clover grows,
And the dead leaves in the lane,
Certainly, these remain.

And I shall find some girl perhaps,
And a better one than you,
With eyes as wise, but kindlier,
With lips as soft, but true.
And I daresay she will do.

Rupert Brooke (1887 – 1915)


Chiltern Hills

During the First World War, Rupert Brooke was commissioned into the Navy, just after his twenty-seventh birthday, and took part in the Royal Navy Division’s Antwerp expedition. He died on April 23rd, 1915 off the island of Lemnos, in the Aegean, on his way to battle at Gallipoli after contracting pneumonia from an infected mosquito bite. His body is buried on the island of Skyros, Greece.

During the First World War, Brooke was stationed off Tris Boukes Bay, located to the south west of Skyros. Brooke, and the rest of the platoon arrived on the 17th April 1915, and they were waiting for clearance to head off to the island of Lemnos. The following days after their arrival were spent doing a variety of exercises. On the evening of Tuesday 20th April, Brooke became very ill. He has a swelling on his upper lip, caused by an inflammation of a mosquito bite. During the subsequent hours, this inflammation spread, which was later identified as a diplococcal infection - blood poisoning, in simple terms.

On Thursday 22 April, Brooke was moved to a neighbouring French medical ship. He was actually the only patient on board as the ship was actually waiting to pick up injured personal from Gallipoli. On Friday 23rd April, Brooke's temperature rose and lost consciousness. He died in the late afternoon. A little later in the evening, three fellow officers took a digging party to Skyros, and headed to an olive grove that Brooke and a few others had rested at a few days earlier. Brooke was buried just before midnight.


Rupert Brooke statue, Skyros

Because Brooke's party were due to set sail the following morning at 6am, the ceremony was very simple. A wooden cross, which was inscribed in Greek, was placed at his grave. The inscription of the cross stated ... "Here lies the servant of God, Sub-lieutenant in the English Navy, who died for the deliverance of Constantinople from the Turks". The grave of Rupert Brooke is often visited by travellers to Skyros. The tomb you see here today is not the original grave but one made after the First World War commissioned by his mother. The grave has an inscription of Brooke's most famous poem, "The Soldier", which was written during the last months of 1914.

The Soldier (1914)

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke is a very celebrated figure in Skyros. As well as his grave in the south, you will also visit the Brooke Square, which is located close to the capital town of Chora. Here you will find the impressive statue, in memory of Rupert Brooke. From this square, you can admire the beautiful panoramic views that stretch out over the coastal towns of Magazia and Molos.

For more on the Chilterns see;

Wendover, Buckinghamshire

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/wendover-buckinghamshire.html

Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/roald-dahl-museum-and-story-centre.html

West Wycombe Park

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/12/west-wycombe-park.html

And for our own journey towards The Somme and coming to terms with the cathartic schism which occurred in Ireland from 1914 to 1918, the years of the “Great War” see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/towards-somme-personal-journey.html


Skyros

Wendover, Buckinghamshire.

Wendover High Street

Seen from the Vale of Aylesbury the reason for Wendover’s existence becomes obvious. It is set into a cleft in the Chiltern Escarpment providing a natural route through the hills at a point where the ancient Anglo Saxon Icknield Way which runs from the Wash to Salisbury bisects the route from London. It is framed on either side by over 7,000 acres of mature woodland criss crossed with bridle ways and footpaths including the 84 mile long Ridgeway which follows part of the old Saxon road. Nestling in a gap in the Chiltern Hills there is much to enjoy in and around Wendover with its historic buildings, many restaurants and country walks which attract visitors from London just 45 minutes away by train. On the direct rail route from Aylesbury to London Marylebone and with easy road access, Wendover is in the Metropolitan Green Belt and Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is well situated to give the city-tired visitor a peaceful interlude in the pleasant Home Counties. Wendover is situated in the Chiltern Hills just a few miles from the county town of Aylesbury. It is on the A413, 3 miles from the A41 and 17 miles from the M25 making the village easily accessible by road.


Wendover offers much to both local people and visitors with the countryside around being very popular with walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Apart from the Ridgeway Path, the National Trail that passes down the main High Street of Wendover, there are 33 miles of public rights of way and bridleways criss-crossing the parish. These paths will take you over the open chalk downland of Coombe Hill with its impressive monument to the Buckinghamshire men who died in the Boer War, or to the shaded Wendover Woods on Boddington Hill belonging to Forest Enterprise. There is a short two mile walk to the pretty hamlet of Dunsmore and in the spring you can enjoy the carpet of bluebells, or enjoy the shaded woods on Boddington Hill belonging to Forest Enterprise. Here the visitor can enjoy specially prepared cycle routes, all ability walks, barbecue sites as well as play areas for the children.

Clock Tower

Wendover was first mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086 where it was referred to as "Wendovre". Before then, it was also mentioned in 970 in the will of the Aeldorman of Wiltshire and Hampshire. Wendover was initially a very small market village which was mainly a base for agricultural industry. The market has been held since 1199 during the reign of King John, and is still held every Thursday. Other forms of work in Wendover would include lace making and straw plaiting. Wendover is a town full of buildings of historical interest which appear to have hardly altered over the years. Many of these can be found in the streets surrounding the High Street. The Cold Harbour cottages which exist on the Tring road date back to Henry VIII when he gave them to his wife Catherine of Aragon.

Wendover is renowned for its Public Houses which are scattered throughout the town, and seem almost disproportionate to its size. During 1577, an inventory was made of all of the public houses and Inns, and Wendover is recorded as having one tavern and eight Inns at that time. This could be due to the fact that the town was placed so strategically close to London, and yet far enough for those travelling via coach or horse back to need to stop and refresh. One of the oldest Public Houses in Wendover is the Red Lion, originally named the Lion. Records date it back as far as 1670 although it is likely to be very much older. Initially it was used as a fine Coaching Inn and as a meeting point for the local councillors. Another ancient coaching Inn is The George & Dragon which was recorded in 1578 and is placed near the centre of the town was another popular place for people to stay on their way into London.

Red Lion

In common with the Celtic village plan seen in much of Buckinghamshire the Church is outside the town as with plague and fever victims it was considered better to have the church and graveyard just outside the built up area. St Mary's is steeped in history and church has been at the centre of the community for over 700 years. Although it is certain that a church has existed on the site since the 12th Century, the present building dates mainly from the early and later parts of the 14th Century. It consists of a tower, nave, chancel, North and South aisles, North and South porches and chancel aisles (the North side now being St Mary's Centre). The building was restored in 1838-39, 1868-69 and in 1914. The fittings are mainly Victorian with some excellent examples of stained glass. More recent improvements include new glass doors, a bell ringing floor and lighting. In mediaeval times the rood cross was venerated as a place of pilgrimage. During the Civil War, Cromwell's troops camped in the church (you can still see the graffiti!) and in 1799 the first penny savings bank in the country was started in the church vestry. For generations the church has participated in the main events of life - babies are baptised, young people are confirmed and couples are married and at the end of their lives they are laid to rest in the churchyard. One pleasant tradition appreciated by visitors and walkers on the Ridgeway is tea and homemade cakes which are served in St. Mary’s on summer Sundays to raise funds to repair this venerable old church – what you pay is left to your discretion.


St. Mary's Interior




Lych Gate

Walking along the picturesque High Street visitors can be unaware that one of the most attractive features is the short half mile walk southwards on the many paths which emerge between the buildings on this ancient street. Head inwards towards St. Mary’s Church and you come across a charming area with a babbling brook, weirs and fine old houses peeking discretely over hedgerows where you can spend an unhurried afternoon strolling around Wendover taking in the 13th Century Parish Church of St Mary, Hampden Pond, Heron Path and the green parkland of the Witchell.

Thatched Cottages High Street



Hampden Pond

Walking to the far end of the High Street and over the bridge by the station over the railway line and the bypass which thankfully keeps the traffic out of the town you come to a forest path on the left for Coombe Hill. This is a hill in The Chilterns, located next to the hamlet of Dunsmore and overlooking Aylesbury Vale. It is not to be confused with another Coombe Hill on the flank of Haddington Hill, some two miles to the north-east. The majority of the hill (an area of 106 acres (43 ha)) once formed part of the Chequers Estate but was presented to the National Trust by the United Kingdom government when they were given the Estate in the 1920s.The summit of the hill is 852 feet / 259.7 m above sea level and is the highest point in the county of Buckinghamshire. Near the summit is a monument, erected in 1904, in memory of the 148 men from Buckinghamshire who died during the Second Boer War. The monument was almost totally destroyed by lightning in 1938 and was rebuilt the same year. The original bronze plaque and decorations were stolen in the 1980s and were replaced with a stone plaque and iron flag with the remainder of the decoration being created from bronze. For all its small height Coombe Hill provides an impressive viewpoint with Oxford (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/day-in-oxford.html ) visible on the horizon on a clear day.

Wendover from Coombe Hill


Coombe Hill Monument

On its left flank you look across towards a church on a volcanic outcrop at Ellesbororough and an ancient Saxon fort known as Cymbeline’s mound. In the valley in between is a handsome Tudor House, this is Chequers, the country residence of British Prime Ministers which has received many distinguished guests over the years. Chequers is an Elizabethan mansion in the Chiltern hills near Wendover, and was given to the nation by Lord Lee of Fareham under the Chequers Estate Act 1917, which came into effect in 1921. Its estate contains about 500 ha/1235 acres of farmlands and woods. The mansion dates from 1565 or earlier, but was extensively altered by Lord Lee, under Reginald Blomfield. It contains a collection of Cromwell portraits and relics. Interestingly you can get a closer view of Chequers by walking the public footpath which goes through the grounds in front of the house, a slightly surreal experience as the “bushes” move as hidden cameras follow your stately progress!


Chequers with Coombe Hill in the background

On the far side of Wendover are the former woods of Halton House, once owned by the Rothschild family whose mansions surround Aylesbury Vale. Situated on the northern edge of the Chiltern escarpment this wood affords spectacular views across the Aylesbury Vale. It is owned by the Forestry Commission and managed by Forest Enterprise, an executive agency of the Commission. You can explore all of the 325 hectares of mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland and each year it hosts a woodcraft festival where woodcraft traditions of willow basket and fence making, woodcarving, charcoal burning and bodgering (chair making) are showcased. On the far side of the woods is the Hale Valley where the vineyard owned by Anthony Chapman produces one of England’s best wines on the chalky south facing slopes which are similar to the topography of the Rhine Valley wineries.


Halton House


Salon Halton House

Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a financial wizard, started as a penniless Jewish orphan in a Frankfurt ghetto. Between 1798 and 1821 he scattered his five sons (represented by his five arrows) into the major European countries. One remained with him at Frankfurt, but others went to Vienna, Paris and Naples. Nathan, the third son and the red haired genius of the family, came to England, and set up a London bank. Wherever the Rothschild’s settled, they flourished, making good reputations and huge fortunes for themselves - the English family being amongst the most successful. The land at Halton were inherited by Mr Alfred de Rothschild, Nathan’s middle son, who almost immediately set about creating what he called 'An English Chateau modelled on modern French lines' which was built by Cubitts and finished in 1883. It is interesting to compare the house with Waddesdon Manor (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/waddesdon-manor-buckinghamshire.html ) built at the same time by a second cousin, where the Rococo decoration on the interior walls is of wood, whereas here it is of plaster. Visitors here are often surprised lo learn that the mansion is only just over a century old Photographs are displayed in several places showing the house as it was in the late 19th century. Although praised for his taste, Alfred was a musician and a collector of paintings and objects of art many rooms appear to have been filled with a mixture of heavy, fussy, Victorian furniture, dainty gilt and tapestries eighteenth century pieces and heavy draperies and massive plants. A resident Hungarian orchestra was maintained and outside there was also a private circus, a skittle alley and skating rink to entertain the guests. Amongst who visited were Edward VII, the Shah of Persia, Patti, Melba and Lily Langtry. The Rothschild’s were the plutocrats of their day and Alfred Rothschild was famous for his house parties where he would travel by private train in the blue and yellow family colours having first withdrawn (from his own bank) £1,000 pounds in cash for expenses. The mansion is now the Officer’s Mess of RAF Halton and its impressive staircase served as the stairs of the “Presidential Palace” that Madonna descended in the movie “Evita.”


RAF Halton

The Grand Union (formerly the Grand Junction) canal, as its name implies, was designed to be part of a system of canals linking with each other rather than a single canal. Indeed, many waterways make up the integrated Grand Union Canal as it is today, forming a main artery to link the prime routes from London and the south to Birmingham and the Potteries. The main line runs effectively from the River Thames at Brentford westward to Cowley Junction (access to the Slough Arm) then north and North West to the midlands.

Tring Summit Grand Union Canal


Wendover Arm

The Grand Union Canal ascends some 380 feet from its junction with the River Thames until, after a climb of 56 locks in over 36 miles, it reaches the two and a half mile long Tring Summit. Here the descent northwards towards Braunston commences. The Tring Summit was completed in 1797, in advance of the main line to north and south. As this stretch of water was to supply the needs of the canal on both sides of the summit it became imperative to find sufficient water; the first Act of Parliament for the canal stated the need for a feeder from the north side of the Chiltern Hills behind Wendover to the summit level. The Wendover Arm became the first of several feeders to the summit level.

Work started on the construction of the Wendover Arm in the summer of 1793 and followed the 390 ft. contour line to join the summit of the Grand Junction Canal at Bulbourne Junction on the Tring summit level. After construction of the Arm had started, it was soon realised that little extra expense would be incurred in making the feeder navigable and authority to carry out this work, costing £13,000, was obtained in 1794. Although the Wendover Arm was primarily built to supply water for the locks at Marsworth and Cowroast it was served by many wharves along its length sending local produce to the London markets and also receiving coal, timber and manure for use on the land. Commercial traffic on the Grand Junction Canal increased very rapidly - the canal was the "M1" of its day - so much so that a great number of reservoirs were built in the Tring area to collect water for canal use.

Winter Woodland at Dunsmore

But the life of the Arm was short. By 1802 there was a considerable loss of water through the banks and the canal was closed for repairs to be carried out. By 1841, 20 locks of water were being lost per day through leakage, and extensive repuddling over a length of four and a half miles was carried out. To no avail, however, as by 1855 some 25 locks of water were escaping. The Arm was closed in 1904. The reservoirs remain as nature and angling reserves and have the beneficial side effect that drinking water locally is Chiltern spring water.

One such reservoir about a mile from Castle Caldwell is Weston Turville reservoir which is fed by the Chiltern springs and is home to the Aylesbury Sailing Club and the Prestwood Anglers Club. The reservoir was constructed in 1795 to supply water to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal. It is now owned by British Waterways and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. The reservoir contains reedbeds, which are scarce in Britain and are a very important habitat for water birds such as Shoveler and Water Rail. It is of national importance for the over-wintering Shoveler, and it is also the only site in Buckinghamshire where Water Rail regularly breeds. The reservoir was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1986.

Weston Turville reservoir

Today, embraced by woodlands and with its atmospheric high street with thatched cottages and antique shops Wendover is an attractive and busy town which has much of interest and has maintained its sense of community. Just 45 minutes from central London it continues to be a fine place to live and to attract walkers and visitors to ramble over the hills, browse the shops and replenish themselves in the many restaurants and fine old pubs. And as you leave these establishments you may think you hear the wheels of the London stage coach and its weary passengers relieved to have travelled unharmed through the notorious highwayman infested Chiltern Hundreds and looking forward to bed and board in the coaching inns lining the High Street.

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