| Great Missenden | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden | |
  Great Missenden Location withinBuckinghamshire | |
| Population | 10,138 (Census 2011.Civil Parish)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP8901 |
| • London | 38 miles (61 km) |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Great Missenden |
| Postcode district | HP16 |
| Dialling code | 01494 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Great Missenden Parish Council |
| |
Great Missenden is a village andcivil parish in theMisbourne Valley in theChiltern Hills inBuckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns ofAmersham andWendover. It adjoins the village ofLittle Kingshill, and is a mile fromLittle Missenden and the village ofPrestwood.
The narrow and historic High Street is bypassed by the mainA413 London to Aylesbury Road. It is located in the centre of the ChilternsArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[2] The source of the Misbourne is to be found just north of the village, although the upper reach of the river runs only in winter and the perennial head is inLittle Missenden. The village is now best known as home to the lateRoald Dahl, the world-famous adult and children's author.[3]
The nameMissenden is first attested in theDomesday Book asMissedene, with other early attestations including the spellingsMessedena andMusindone.[4][5] The-den element probably comes fromOld Englishdenu, meaning "valley", but the etymology of the first element is uncertain. It is thought to occur in the name of theRiver Misbourne, which rises in Great Missenden, and also in theHertfordshire place-nameMiswell.Frank Stenton andAllen Mawer guessed that it came from a hypothetical Anglo-Saxon personal nameMyrsa, which they also supposed to be found in the name ofMursley.[6]
Eilert Ekwall suggested that the nameMissenden came from a lost Old English word related to Englishmoss, and to Danishmysse and Swedishmissne (which denote plants of the genusCalla, such as water arum).[7] Recent researchers have tentatively preferred Ekwall's guess, in which case the nameMissenden would once have meant something like "valley where water-plants/marsh-plants grow".[4][8]
Great Missenden lay on a major route between the Midlands and London. Severalcoaching inns, particularly the Red Lion (now an estate agency) and The George (with new owners), provided rest and refreshment for travellers and their horses. The first railway line in the area was, however, routed alongside theGrand Union Canal to the east. Once the coaches stopped running Great Missenden declined in importance and prosperity, becoming an agricultural town. Following the arrival of theMetropolitan Railway, (later theLondon Underground'sMetropolitan line) in 1892. Great Missenden became a village where writers, entertainers and even Prime Ministers resided.Great Missenden railway station is now on theChiltern Railways line and offers fast connecting services running intoLondon Marylebone; it is the first station on the line that does not fall into a London Zone.
The village is overlooked by themedievalChurch of England parish church, theChurch of St Peter and St Paul, whereas the High Street itself is home to the Catholic Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary,[9] one of the largest Catholic churches in the Chiltern District. The position of the parish church away from the town centre suggests an earlier settlement around the church with a move of the village's heart to its present location in the earlyMiddle Ages. In the twelfth century Great Missenden was granted a charter allowing it to hold an annual Fair in August.Missenden Abbey, founded in 1133 as anAugustinian monastery, was ruined following theDissolution of the Monasteries, and the remains were incorporated into a Georgian mansion which is now a conference centre.
Gipsy House in Great Missenden was the home of authorRoald Dahl from 1954 until his death in 1990, and still remains in the family,[3] and many local scenes and characters are reflected in his work.[citation needed] Dahl is buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church and children still leave toys and flowers at his grave.[10] In June 2005 theRoald Dahl Museum and Story Centre opened in Great Missenden to honour the work of Dahl.[11]
Robert Louis Stevenson, the writer of famous works such asTreasure Island and theStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, stayed a night at The Red Lion, now 62 High Street, in Great Missenden in October 1874, which he wrote in an essay called "An Autumn Effect".
The espionage novelist David Cornwell, who wrote asJohn le Carré, noted in a posthumously published introduction to a 2021 reissue of his first novel,Call for the Dead, that "I lived in Great Missenden in those days and commuted to Marylebone station".[12]
The village is home to the private Gateway School,[13] Great Missenden Combined School andThe Misbournesecondary school. Many children attend the local grammar schools in nearby Amersham, Chesham, Little Chalfont and High Wycombe, as well as leading local preparatory schools such as Chesham Prep,[14] which consistently makesThe Tatler list of Best Prep Schools in the UK.[15][14]
Given its quaint and historic high street, the village has been used extensively as a filming location for TV dramaMidsomer Murders.[16] During 1980,Hammer Film Productions filmed a small series of horror films for television, many of them filmed in and around Great Missenden. Of note is the episode "Rude Awakening" starringDenholm Elliott who plays an Estate Agent trapped in a recurring nightmare.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2023) |
| Great Missenden compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Great Missenden ward | Chiltern borough | England |
| Population | 2,192 | 89,228 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 9.4% | 9.3% | 9.2% |
| White | 98.1% | 95.5% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.5% | 2.8% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.5% | 0.3% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 77.7% | 74.7% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.1% | 1.9% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.2% | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 14.2% | 15% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 19% | 14.6% | 13.5% |
At the 2001 UK census, the Great Missendenelectoral ward had a population of 2,192. The ethnicity was 98.1% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 90.6% United Kingdom, 1.5% Republic of Ireland, 2.8% other Western European countries, and 5.1% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.7% Christian, 0% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.1% Muslim. 14.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion.[17]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 35.7% in full-time employment, 11.3% in part-time employment, 14.9% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.8% students without jobs, 19% retired, 8% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 1.6% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.3% retail, 11.6% manufacturing, 5.5% construction, 24.1% real estate, 9.7% health and social work, 8.8% education, 4.7% transport and communications, 3.6% public administration, 4.2% hotels and restaurants, 4.3% finance, 1.9% agriculture and 8.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.8% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[17]
There are two tiers of local government covering Great Missenden, atparish andunitary authority level: Great Missenden Parish Council andBuckinghamshire Council.
Great Missenden is within theMid Buckinghamshire parliamentary constituency, represented since 2024 byGreg Smith, (Conservative Party).
Media related toGreat Missenden at Wikimedia Commons
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