Prestwood

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.69284
longitude= -0.731635
official_name= Prestwood
population=
civil_parish= Great Missenden
shire_district= Chiltern
shire_county = Buckinghamshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster=
post_town= Great Missenden
postcode_district = HP16
postcode_area= HP
dial_code= 01494
os_grid_reference= SP876006
london_distance=

Prestwood is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about a mile west of Great Missenden, four miles north of High Wycombe.

History

The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Priest-wood'.

Historically, Prestwood was a piece of common land that stretched across several local parishes. The bulk of the land and the chapel in Prestwood belonged to Stoke Mandeville parish as it was once the property of the Mandeville family. The common also stretched into Hughenden, Great Hampden and Great Missenden, making a study of the history of the area very difficult.

The village has been a parish in its own right since the late 19th century.

Development 1900-1950

Prestwood continued to grow in area and population throughout the early part of the 20th century. The creation of jobs locally with the opening of a major, later nationally award-winning, dairy, as well as improved transport to Central London, helped the rise in popularity of the village. It was perfectly situated - with easy access to the capital but secluded enough to retain the "countryside village" feeling.This period also saw the growth of butchers C.Stevens and Sons. Established by Cornelius Stevens in the latter part of the 19th century on land known as Square Farm, and now the site of modern houses and flats for the elderly, known as Giles Gate, it consisted of the farmhouse, gardens and cherry orchard, butcher's shop and slaughterhouse. His four eldest sons took over the business upon his death in 1932, by which time a pie factory had been built on the site and several shops had been opened in nearby towns and villages. A fleet of vans was sent out every day supplying an extensive range of Stevens' meat products to businesses and the public over a wide area. A new shop and office block was built opposite the site of the factory in the 1950s and is still a butcher's shop to this day. The slaughterhouse was rebuilt later but was closed when the business was sold in the 1960s. The Stevens family provided gainful employment for many local men and women for many years.Another well known company at this time based in Prestwood, was Gaybird Ltd.. They supplied pheasant chicks and eggs to shoots throughout the country, raising the birds in fields stretching from Prestwood as far away as Dunsmore, near Wendover.Closed down for the duration of the war, it re-opened after the cessation and continued for many years after. Gaybird was a prominent member of the gamebird industry and regularly exhibited at the annual national Game Fair.Prestwood was home to former British Prime Minister Earl Attlee from 1950. He later moved to Martinsend Lane in Great Missenden. The house is currently occupied by musician and broadcaster Steve Race.

It was the 1960s and 1970s, however, that were to see the biggest development of Prestwood to date.

Development 1960-present

In the 1960s and 70s a campaign spearheaded by the UK government saw over 600 new houses built in the village - a doubling in size of the village. Many of these houses were large in size, which has helped the attraction of young families to the village.

Despite the loss of the London Underground service to the nearby Great Missenden railway station, an overground service has and still does continue, run by Chiltern Railways. This has further strengthened Prestwood's good reputation for a commuting village with a rural feel, and has partly contributed to the local district, Chiltern, becoming the 8th most expensive district to buy a house in the entire United Kingdom.

The closure of the Prestwood pie factory in the 1990s and its subsequent conversion into the Giles Gate elderly residential home saw the loss of several jobs. However in 2001 Prestwood Leisure Centre was demolished and after a much-delayed and eagerly anticipated rebuilding over the following 2 years, the Sprinters Fitness Centre opened on the old site in 2003. It included 3 newly built tennis courts and two fitness studios. The opening revitalised Prestwood's economy and continues to attract people from the local area. The village is also home to one of the largest gymnastic clubs in the county with over 240 children from the surrounding area, and from the High Wycombe area, attending gymnastics classes which are held in the Junior School.

In the early hours of Saturday 9th December 2006, a large fire swept through the Cherry Orchard residential home, killing one elderly woman and injuring 13 more. Most of the ground floor was gutted in the fire, and the remaining residents were subsequently evacuated. The fire was not thought to be suspicious.

Prestwood has several Butchers in the area, but one closed down, and some homes were built on the site.

Industry

Prestwood's economy has moved away from manufacturing (e.g. the Prestwood pie factory) to service-based in recent years. Several housing developments have also been built recently, the most notable being the Beeks Homes regeneration of the old petrol station site.

Two large residential homes have been built since the 1990s. Called Giles Gate and Cherry Orchard they have over 40 dwellings each and allow the elderly to take advantage of Prestwood's beautiful surroundings.

Service industries are growing; there are new health and job centres.

Education

There are three primary schools in Prestwood: Prestwood Infant School, for 4-7 year olds; Prestwood Junior School, for 7-11 year olds, and Prestwood Lodge School, a special needs school for children from the age of 11-16.

The local catchment secondary schools are the Misbourne School, an upper school, and Dr Challoner's Grammar School (boys), Dr Challoner's High School (girls) and Chesham High School (mixed), which are all grammar schools.

Transport

Great Missenden railway station, about half a mile away, is on the Chiltern Railways London to Aylesbury Line and provides train services to London Marylebone station in approximately 45 minutes.

Bus services, run by Arriva Shires & Essex, run to High Wycombe in one direction, and Great Missenden and Chesham in the other.

Trivia

*Roald Dahl used to live in nearby Great Missenden. It is thought that the "Trunchbull" in "Matilda" is based on one of Prestwood Infant School's old headmistresses.
*During the 19th Century Prestwood was famous for its cherry orchards and parties of Londoners would travel out to the area during the spring to view the blossoms.
*Chequers, the country residence of the Prime Minister, is a few miles north of the village. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair often brought his family to the Great Missenden Catholic church in Great Missenden at the weekends.
*The Prestwood Village Hall was opened in 1928 by the Countess of Macclesfield.
*The village is also well known for its family run dairy, Wren Davis, which delivers produce to many houses in the local area.
*In July 2007 the new park was opened by Cherie Blair. [cite news | last=Phillips | first=Neil | title=Cherie Blair keeps her playground date | publisher=Bucks Free Press | date=23 July 2007 | url=http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1560847.mostviewed.cherie_blair_keeps_her_playground_date.php | accessdate=2007-08-17]
*In June 2008, Prestwood Village Hall celebrated its centenary.

References