Hambleden

Coordinates: 51°34′18″N 0°52′04″W / 51.5718°N 0.8678°W / 51.5718; -0.8678

Hambleden is a small village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Marlow, and about 3 miles (4.8 km) north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

The civil parish also includes the villages of Fingest and Frieth, and the hamlets of Colstrope, Mill End, Moor End, Parmoor, Pheasant's Hill and Skirmett.

History

The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'crooked or irregularly-shaped hill'. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hanbledene, though previously in 1015 it was known as Hamelan dene. St Thomas Cantilupe, the Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Hereford, was born in Hambleden in 1218. In 1315 a Royal charter was granted to hold a market in the village, and a fair on St Bartholomew's Day (24 August) every year. The charter was reconfirmed in 1321, though appears to have not lasted much longer than this.