My Adventures 3: Hambleden Lock

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I left home on Monday the 5th February 2018 for a hour and a half drive (but ended up nearly 2 hrs due to traffic on M25) to Turville,Buckinghamshire via the M25 and M40. I arrived in Turville at about 1010 and parked up outside the church.

Turville or ( Dibley on filming days) is postcard pretty, with many of its cottages dating back to the 16th century.

Turville is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means 'dry field'. It was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 796 as Thyrefeld.

The village was the location for outdoor scenes in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley. In the series, the church of St Mary the Virgin was renamed "St Barnabus"

The 1942 Ealing Studios film Went the Day Well?, in which German paratroopers invade a small English village, was filmed in Turville, as were many of the scenes from the 1963 comedy film Father Came Too!. Additionally many of the outdoor scenes of television show Goodnight Mr Tom were filmed in Turville, as was the dream scene in Bride and Prejudice.

Scenes have also been shot in the village for Midsomer Murders, Lewis, Marple, the 2008 Christmas special of Jonathan Creek, the British drama An Education and the 2009 BBC adaptation of The Day Of The Triffids.

View up to Cobstone Windmill

Turville was home to Ellen Sadler, who fell asleep in 1871, aged eleven, and purportedly did not wake for nine years, becoming known as "The Sleeping Girl of Turvile". The case attracted international attention from newspapers, medical professionals and the public. Rumours persist in the region that Sadler was visited by royalty for a "laying on of hands".

The full story can be read here.

Sleepy Cottage is also where Richard Armitage lives in The Vicar Of Dibley.

The very door that you see Dawn French leave frequently in the Vicar Of Dibley.

St Mary The Virgin Church aka St Barnabus from The Vicar Of Dibley.

Lands in Turville (name derived from Anglo-Saxon for dry field) were given to St Alban’s Abbey by Egfrid, son of King Offa of Mercia in 796 AD.

However the first known church building dates from the 12th century and the first vicar was a Benedictine monk from St Alban’s called Elias in 1228.

The church is built principally of flint, the only available material in chalk country in the Middle Ages. The corners of the building have been shaped from limestone or “clunch” a chalk and clay mixture found locally at Watlington. The oldest part is the nave, early 12th century. Rebuilding of the church in 1340 included the present tower and an enlargement of the chancel. The tower is squat in comparison to its massive proportions and is topped with brick.

Further rebuilding in 1733 saw the addition of a north aisle as the location for a grander pew for the Lord of the Manor, William Perry and great-grandfather to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The connection of the Perry family are recorded in two fine armorial glass windows in the south wall. On the north aisle there is an ornate marble monument to William Perry.

Other restoration work has been carried out in 1875 (raising of the chancel floor), 1901 (construction of the vestry), 1972 (repair of the roof) and, 1996 (new bell-frame and re-tuned peal). The four bells date from 1670 and 1744.

In the north aisle is a copy of Murillo’s Virgin and Child

In the churchyard, to the west of the south door, are three dead boards or leaping boards which are inscribed planks supported by upright posts and used as an alternative to tombstones.

A sight many will recognise as Geraldine (Dawn french) standing giving sermons in the TV series.

In front of the north aisle, a stone coffin discovered beneath the pulpit during the 1901 restoration and found to contain two skeletons the later 16th century one having a hole in the skull and thought to be that of a murder victim. The coffin is also thought to have been used as an ossuary for churchyard bones dating from a time when the churchyard was overcrowded.

If you look above the houses behind the village of Turville, you'll see Cobstone Hill and atop it, the 18th century Cobstone Windmill.

I walk up Cobstone Hill, gradual at first but then becoming very steep indeed!

First of many red kites, hard to get a good picture of these!

Red Kite

Cobstone Windmill

Cobstone Mill was built around 1816. It is sometimes referred to as Turville Windmill. It is a smock mill that replaced the original mill that had stood there since the 16th century. The machinery was previously used in another mill in the village of Lacey Green.

It was a working mill grinding cereal until 1873. Later, squatters living in the mill caused a fire which damaged the centre post. After this time the mill went further into deterioration. It was not until 1967 and the filming of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that the mill was cosmetically restored. The cap was remolded, a new fantail and light wooden sails were added.

The mill and cottage were purchased in 1971 by Hayley Mills and her first husband Roy Boulting, and extensive conversions and remodelling of the interiors were completed as well as interior and exterior restoration and conversion of the mill. The cottage also boasts a swimming pool. The property was sold a few years later and has been in private possession ever since.

The mill has been used as a film location in other films and TV programmes including:

Goodnight Mister Tom
The New Avengers, "House of Cards" episode.
Midsomer Murders, various episodes.
Bride and Prejudice
Went the Day Well?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Little Britain, Daffyd Thomas outdoor scenes.
Dead of Night
Jonathan Creek, "The Grinning Man" episode.
The Day of the Triffids, an adaptation for television made in 2009
1996 film '101 Dalmatians'.

Unfortunately Cobstone Windmill is on private Ground and you can't get up close, which is a shame.

Looking down to Turville from Cobstone Hill.

From the top of the hill I turn right onto a road and walk down a way before taking a short section of The Chiltern way into Fingest.

Cobstone Mill appearing in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The village name of Fingest comes from the Anglo Saxon name Thinghurst, meaning 'wooded hill where assemblies are made'. In the 16th century the name is recorded as Thingest and then Fingest.

The parish church of St Bartholomew's dates from the early Norman period. It has an unusual tower, with a double vaulted roof. The church is a Grade I listed building.

The massive western Norman tower was built early in the 12th century and has unusual twin gables - it is believed that only one other similar construction exists in the country.

Each side of the bell chamber has paired openings with semi-circular roll moulded arches. The tower once held two bells, only one of which remains, dating from 1830.

The chancel has two chamfered lancet windows to the north wall, two restored fifteenth century two- light traceried windows to the south, and a 14th century "Decorated" style window to the east. The church also has a reworked 15th century octagonal font with traceried panels.

There are smaller openings lower down the tower, and a 13th century traceried window to the west. The tower is wider than the nave. These two made up the original church with the chancel added in the 13th Century.

The nave has impressive ancient woodwork to the roof, with five sets of principle rafters with collar beams supported by curved brackets and wind braces.

As I entered the church there were a couple of ladies busy cleaning the church as it had been used to serve tea and cake to large group of walkers the day before and there was mud everywhere.

In May, 2013 George Clooney and Matt Damon arrived in Fingest to work on their new film. The actors, who have worked together several times, were filming the period drama Monuments Men, which was released in February 2014, alongside The Artist actor Jean Dujardin.

I Pass The Chequers PH.

I walk up the road to my left before taking a footpath up another steep hill, on the top I met a lady who said you must be fit, you flew up that hill. I thought to myself 'Yeah right I felt every bit of it!'.

From the hill there are great views back down to Fingest and Cobstone Mill.

The path leads through a filed before entering Fingest Woods.

Fingest Woods then becomes Adams Wood, where a plaque informs me of a memorial to the craftsmen and women of West and Collier Ltd in Frieth. Makers of Church furniture and carvers. 1869-1940.

In Adams Wood someone has been busy making a wooden wig-wam.

I leave the woods an head downhill towards Skirmett.

I leave the fields and path behind as I walk out onto the road in Skirmett.

A lovely listed 'Old Crown House' in Skirmett.

I pass The Frog at Skirmett (formely The Kings Arms).

I could see a fire going as I passed, but no time to stop today!

At the end of the road I turn left and walk up a short way before taking following The Chiltern Way path.

I walk across muddy paths through fields, passing Arizona Farm.

Red Kite

I walk through a stile into Stoneylands Field where a woodland has been planted in memory of the owners mother Jane O'Leary. I'd love to come back in 10 years and see this woodland grown!

Dotted about in the woodland is a lovely old caravan, could easily spend a weekend in there!

I leave the fields and out onto a road passing Little Colstrope , valued at 1.5 million according to Zoopla.

Colstrope was used a location for Midsummer murders in episodes Blood wedding and A dying art.

I pass Colstrope Farm, a dairy farm.

Red kites high above a hill.

A hedge Caterpillar claims a careless walker as he passed! Beware!!

I enter a field as I walk towards Hambleden.

The Hambleden 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.

The village was a base for US soldiers during the buildup to D-Day in 1944.

I enter the grounds of St Mary The Virgin,Hambleden.

The 14th century church dedicated to St.Mary the Virgin. The church shows alterations of a later date, this includes the tower which was rebuilt in 1721. Amongst the treasures to be seen in this spacious church are a beautifully carved Norman font, which is believed to have been used to baptize Thomas Cantelupe, who was canonized. The chancel contains lovely carving, a beautiful sedilia and piscina. On the walls visitors will note many interesting brasses, but it is the north transept which contains one of the churches finest features - the impressive monument dedicated to Sir Cope D'Oyley, his wife Martha and their ten children. Interestingly, father and sons are dressed in Royalist costume, with mother and daughters clothed as Roundheads. Sir Cope D'Oyley died in 1633, the monument shows the entire family kneeling in prayer.

Latter day history records the village to be the birthplace of William Henry Smith who founded the famous book-store chain W.H. Smith in 1821.

Lord Cardigan, famous for his role in leading the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade, was born in the Manor House in 1797. The sea chest that he took to the Crimea can be seen in the church.

The village has often been used as a location for films, such as The Captive Heart (1950), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Witches,The Legacy, Dance with a Stranger, The Black Cat, the opening scenes of the remake of The Avengers starring Ralph Fiennes and also some scenes in 101 Dalmatians. Hambleden was also used in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers to depict Easy Company's training in England. Also, the Tim Burton film Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, included a month-long location shoot at Lime Tree Valley, in Hambleden. There is only one Shop/Post Office in the centre of the village. Other properties have facades that are more in keeping with a traditional country village. In 1979 Hambleden church was the setting for a programme featuring Harry Secombe called Cross on the Donkey's Back. It was an Easter programme by Thames Television and also featured a group of school children from Hambleden C of E School. The 2010 film Nanny McPhee Returns also used parts of the village in some of their scenes.

The church was used in Agatha Christie's Poirot's episode Sad Cypress.

I leave the village and take the Chiltern way again through a field heading to Mill End.

One of many planes I saw assuming from Heathrow.

At the end on the field I walk out onto a road and down to Mill End.

I cross the busy road and take a path through the Hambleden Marina.

Mill End on the main A4155 road between Henley-on-Thames and Marlow, by the River Thames. Mill End consists of 32 houses, some on the river bank and others on the northern side of the main road. The largest historic home is at the heart of its cluster of buildings, Yewden Manor, listed grade II for architecture.

The name clearly comes from the mill that is situated near the lock, on the fast-flowing, narrow, high-sided Hambleden Bourne, which discharges here. Mill End Farm, which has been run by the Bowden family since at least 1965, is opposite the lock and has farmed most of the land in and around the southern Hambleden area. This part of the Thames is characterised by willow trees and a large biodiversity of wildlife including swans, grebes, ducks, herons, terns and kingfishers. The footpath next to Hambleden Lock, the public towpath, provides a significant amenity to Mill End.

Anne Petrie, daughter of the famous Egyptian archaeologist Flinders Petrie lived in Mill End; she is buried in Hambleden church-yard.

In the Mill End part of the village are a watermill, lock and villa. Adjacent to the converted barns and the ordinary home named Mill House, which had served for centuries as home to the moderately wealthy miller of the district,is the much larger, often-photographed Hambleden Mill, which has been converted into flats; this is downstream of a pedestrianised weir from Hambleden Lock. These feature in Jerome K. Jerome's novel Three Men In A Boat.

The site of an unusually immediately Thameside Roman villa adjoins the east of the development.

In Ridge Wood atop the hill opposite the village is a large avenue of giant sequoia and tall pine trees where I walk soon.

Hambleden Mill, spelt Hambledon in the offical listing, is an historic watermill on the River Thames at Mill End. It is next to Hambleden Lock and has now been converted into flats. It was Grade II listed in 1955.

A mill on this site is recorded in the Domesday Book when it had a rent of £1/year. Before 1235 the mill was granted to Keynsham Abbey. Alison Uttley described it as "The most beautiful place in the whole length of the long Thames valley." The mill was built in the late 18th century, possibly incorporating part of an earlier 17th century mill.The mill was still in use in the 1950s having been ugraded from the original waterwheel and grinding stones to a turbine driving steel rollers about 1939. Out of use by the early 1970s, planning permission for conversion to apartments was granted in 1974.

In the late 19th century, a barge, Maid of the Mill, used to make a weekly journey with flour from the mill to Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory in Reading. On her return trip she carried broken biscuits for sale cheap to the local villagers.

Hambleden Lock is a lock with a long weir situated on the River Thames . The lock is on the Berkshire bank between Aston and Remenham. It was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773, The lock is named after the village of Hambleden, a mile to the north.

The great weir is impressive and there are walkways over it from the lock to the small village of Mill End on the Buckinghamshire bank. Here is situated the picturesque Hambleden Mill, and the site of a Roman villa is nearby.

There is reference to the weir, with a winch (for pulling boats through the flash lock) in 1338. The pound lock was the fourth downstream in the series of locks built after the 1770 navigation act. The others were built of fir which had to be replaced by oak after a dozen years. In 1777 a small brick house was built and Caleb Gould became keeper. This eccentric, who baked bread for bargemen, ate a dish of onion porridge every night, wore a long coat with many buttons and walked daily to Hambleden marking a cross on the ground where he reached, was in post at the lock for 59 years and was succeeded by his son.

There is reference to continuing use of the flash lock and winch at the weir until the middle of the nineteenth century. The channel downstream of the lock which takes navigation clear of the weir and weir pool was excavated in 1825. The lock was completely rebuilt in 1870 after years of complaint about its condition. In 1884 the new weirs were built and after public complaints the walkway was built to reopen the ancient right of way.The lock was rebuilt in 1994.

I walk across the weir to Hambleden Lock where I stop for lunch over looking the gorgeous Thames Views.

View from my Lunch spot

I walk back across the weir and back out to the road.

I walk along the busy road for a longer stretch than I'd liked. I hope that on the day I can take a footpath and then onto a unofficial path, a farm track that may miss out this road. Hope it works out!!

I take a footpath off the road and up through Greenlands Dairy Farm.

I follow the concrete path for some distance before I enter The Great Wood.

I now enter The Great Wood, initially a coniferous wood but later becoming deciduous.

Now I take a path to my left at the crossroads and climb up a steep hill through the mud.

I exit out onto Dudley lane and across the road into Gussetts Wood.

Here after a very gloopy muddy path I again head back up another steep hill.

I walk out onto another road before heading into the hamlet of Southend.

A novel wood store.

A little bit more road walking before heading down a lane to Dolesden.

Cobstone Mill comes back into view.

After crossing Dolesden Lane I head down the final stretch to Turville, it now starts to snow lightly.

I am now back in Turville, I walk down a lane passing Sleepy cottage again.

I drop my bag in the car and get my muddy boots off before heading into The Bull & Butcher PH.

Built in 1550 the Bull and Butcher is a listed grade 2 building in a conservation area of outstanding natural beauty set deep in a beautiful valley of Chilterns Hills. The name 'The Bull and Butcher' or 'Bullen Butcher' stems from Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn. The 'Bull and' or 'Bullen' coming from Ann Bullen as she was known before going to the French court and the 'Butcher', well that speaks for itself!