Chalfont St Peter

Coordinates: 51°36′25″N 0°33′18″W / 51.607°N 0.555°W / 51.607; -0.555

Chalfont St Peter is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe and Rickmansworth. Chalfont St Peter is one of the largest villages in the UK with nearly 13,000 residents. The urban population for Chalfont St Peter and Gerrards Cross is 19,622, the two villages being considered a single area by the Office for National Statistics.

Gerrards Cross was once a hamlet in the parish of Chalfont St Peter, but it is now a village and civil parish in its own right.

Chalfont St Peter is in close proximity to central London (15 miles (24 km)), Heathrow Airport, Pinewood and Elstree film studios, and the motorway network (M25, M40, M1 and M4).

History

Early history

At the time of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 949 there was no distinction made between the three separate villages: the whole area was known as Ceadeles funtan, which is Anglo-Saxon meaning Caedele's Fountain. The villages were however separated by 1237 when in manorial rolls Chalfont St Peter was referred to as Chalfund Sancti Petri. The suffix St Peter is taken from the dedication of the church in the village. Chalfont St Peter was described in 1806 in Magna Britannia as follows: