Buckland Common

Infobox UK place|
official_name= Buckland Common
country= England
region= South East England
static_

area_total_sq_mi=
population=
population_density=
os_grid_reference= SP909069
latitude= 51.7553
longitude=-0.6666
post_town= Tring
postcode_district = HP23
postcode_area= HP
dial_code= 01494
constituency_westminster= Chesham and Amersham
london_distance= 29 miles
shire_district= Chiltern
shire_county= Buckinghamshire
website= [http://www.cholesbury.com]
hide_services= yes

Buckland Common is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, 4 miles east of Wendover and the same distance south of Tring in Hertfordshire with which it shares a boundary. The northern end of the settlement is delineated by a short section of Grim's Ditch.

Early Settlement

The area today called Buckland Common had in Edward the Confessor's time been the southern and upland part of the manor of Buckland which was under the control of the see of Dorchester. Following the Norman Invasion, Buckland had become incorporated into the estates owned by the Church of Lincoln. This upland area would have originally comprised impenetrable scrub woodland but gradual clearance created pasture land which provided advantageous grazing for cattle and sheep. Perhaps this location was chosen on account of it being more sheltered lying as it does in a slight depression in comparison to the surrounding land. It is believed the first permanent settlement began sometime during the 1500s and around the time when Henry VIII seized the lands from the Earl of Warwick in 1522.

Around 1540, Queen Mary I granted a tenancy to Sir Anthony Browne, whose daughter Elizabeth married Baron Richard Dormer a wealthy landowner from Wing. Richard's descendant the First Earl of Carnarvon was killed during the English Civil War at the first Battle of Newbury. The Parliamentarians sequestrated the lands around 1653 although they were subsequently restored to the Carnarvon estate.

18th Century Development

Through marriage the manor at Buckland passed to the Earls of Chesterfield. This coincided with a number of kilns being built before 1700. These made use of local clay deposits to make pottery with a distinctive manganese-brown which contributed to the development of the settlement during the first part of the 18th century. Fine examples of this pottery are to be found in the nearby Chequers Museum. The increasing industry supported a number of alehouses. The Boot and Slipper was first licensed in 1698 followed by the Britannia and the Rose and Crown, which later changed its name to the Horse and Hounds. None of these pubs have remained open to the present day.

19th Century and the Modern-day Village

Establishment of the village of Buckland Common happened much later than other similar daughter settlements in this part of the Chilterns. The schism was eventually hastened by the action of the Commissioners for Enclosure in 1842 who oversaw the dividing up of the 15 acres of common land between villagers, enabling the creation of a largely autonomous community. All that remained of the once extensive common was a small rectangular allotment of land known today as The Green which is looked after by the Parish Council for the enjoyment of local people.

Prior to 1860, Buckland Common did not have its own church, the local congregation using the church at Cholesbury. From this time it had both a church and a Strict Baptist Chapel. The church was pulled down in 1939 and the chapel converted to a private dwelling in the 1970s. The Rothschild family were prominent farmers and landowners. Around 1920 they were responsible for building and improving a number of dilapidated farm workers cottages along Little Twye and Parrotts Lanes.

Until 1934 Buckland Common remained a remote part of Buckland Parish. Together with Cholesbury, Hawridge and St Leonards, which are locally known as hilltop villages it now forms part of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards civil parish.

External links

* [http://www.cholesbury.com Cholesbury parish website]
* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62781#s1 British History Online - Victorian History of Buckinghamshire Volume 2 - Buckland]

References

*