| Hartwell | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Hartwell Location withinBuckinghamshire | |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Aylesbury |
| Postcode district | HP17 |
| |
Hartwell is a village in the parish ofStone with Bishopstone and Hartwell, in centralBuckinghamshire, England. It is to the south ofAylesbury, by the village ofStone.
The village name isAnglo Saxon in origin, and means "spring frequented by deer". In theDomesday Book of 1086 it was recorded asHerdewelle.[1]
Hartwell was anancient parish. In 1986 the parish merged with the neighbouring parish of Stone to form a new civil parish called Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell.[2][3] At the 1971 census (the penultimate one before the abolition of the parish), Hartwell had a population of 102.[4]
The ruinedHartwell Church was designed by thearchitectHenry Keene and completed in 1756. It is one of the most important earlyGothic Revival churches inEngland and is Grade II*listed. It has anoctagonal centre with twin towers. In the north and south bays arerose windows, while other windows are represented asogee arches. In theclerestory arequatrefoil windows. Inside, the church once had aplasterfan vault but this has now fallen in, and the church's windows are boarded. Today the building appears more as a gardenfolly, than a former place of worship.
Attached to the estate is the former hamlet ofLower Hartwell.
Hartwell House in the village is a grade Ilisted building in a 90-acre park, part of the Hartwell Estate owned by theErnest Cook Trust.[5] The house was once the residence of the exiled future king of FranceLouis XVIII. Since 2008 it has been leased toThe National Trust and is run as a hotel by an independent company, Historic House Hotels Ltd.[6]
Bugle Quarry is a geologicalSite of Special Scientific Interest, which has yielded important fossils from theJurassic andCretaceous, including dinosaur teeth.
Agreyhound racing track called the Aylesbury and District Greyhound Racing Track, was opened on Saturday 24 June 1933. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body theNational Greyhound Racing Club) known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.[7] The venue was owned by Ivor Richings, the landlord of the Bugle Horn and Mr Dutch from Watford. It consisted of a grandstand withtotalisator and refreshment bars and racing was held three times a week. The track closed in 1942 when it was used to house Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa.[8]
