Holmer Green

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holmer Green






Statistics
Population:	4,077
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	SU904971
Administration
District:	Chiltern
Shire county:	Buckinghamshire
Region:	South East England
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Buckinghamshire
Historic county:	Buckinghamshire
Services
Police force:	Thames Valley Police
Fire and rescue:	{{{Fire}}}
Ambulance:	South Central
Post office and telephone
Post town:	High Wycombe
Postal district:	HP15
Dialling code:	01494
Politics
UK Parliament:	Chesham & Amersham
European Parliament:	South East England

Anciently, Holmer Green was a hamlet in the parish of Little Missenden, in Buckinghamshire, England. Today it is considered a village in its own right even though it looks to the casual observer like a far corner of High Wycombe. It is located next to Hazlemere, about three miles south of Great Missenden but unlike Hazlemere, Holmer Green is part of both Little Missenden parish and Chiltern District - a reflection of its origins which lie in Little Missenden.

1 History
2 Modern development
3 Social and Community
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Holmer Green is named after the manor of Holmer that covered a significant part of the parish of Little Missenden in the medieval period. The 'Holmer' part of the name was first recorded as Holeme in the early 13th century and is probably Anglo Saxon in origin. It is commonly thought to derive from 'mere in a hollow' which would refer to Holmer Pond. However there are certain factors which don't support this theory and the -mer element may actually translate to an old saxon word meaning 'boundary'. The 'Green' part of the name refers to a large and ancient Green, probably dating from the 12th or 13th centuries that used to exist here but was reduced to a mere 4 acres (16,000 m²) in size in 1854. The settlement developed in a corner of a large area of heath (now vanished) known as Wycombe Heath or Holmer Heath.

The location of the original medieval manor house of Holmer remains obscure, although local historians McLain-Smith and Riches have suggested its location at a moated site in nearby Colemans Wood where they have excavated medieval pottery. [1]

The oldest houses are The Old Rookery, Penfold and Hollands Farm, all of which probably date from the early 16th century when the hamlet thrived due to sheep farming.

View across The Common at Holmer Green showing village hall and church

Holmer Green shops from Browns Road

The annual Holmer Green Remembrance Day parade

During the 19th century, Christina Rossetti and Dante Gabriel Rossetti visited their grandfather Gaetano Polidori's house in the village. It is said that Christina received some of her poetic inspiration from the rural landscape.

In the hundred years between 1850 and 1950, the village became well known locally for its cherry orchards, and there remain many references to orchards and cherries in road names and house names.

[edit] Modern development

The village was subjected to a wave of housing development during the 1960s and early 1970s and now has about 4,000 inhabitants (almost double that of nearby Great Missenden).[2] Residents nevertheless jealously guard the village's independence from the Wycombe-based urban sprawl next door. A small but significant number still refuse to acknowledge High Wycombe as the official postal town.

The big individual developments of the 1960's and 1970's included an expanded range of shops around Turners Place, the Winter's Way estate, the Fox Road and Harries Way estate and the Holmer Court estate (Clementi Avenue).

[edit] Social and Community

Maintenance of an independent community separate from the Wycombe conurbation has been helped not only by the village's historic connections with the Missendens, Penn Street and Amersham but also by the presence in the village of a full range of pre-schools, primary and Holmer Green Senior secondary school, three different Christian denomination (Anglican, Baptist, Methodist) churches, a GP practice, a dental practice, three pubs, two clubs and good sports facilities (particularly Football, Squash, Bowls and Tennis). A regular bus service connects Holmer Green to Chesham, Amersham and High Wycombe.

Being only a short drive from both Amersham to the east, and High Wycombe to the south-west, the village is suitably located for commuting into London by fast mainline railway on the Chiltern line which takes approximately 40 minutes, or on the Metropolitan line which is slower. Consequently, some of the working population commute to London every day. The proportion of London commuters is however lower than some surrounding villages - most villagers work in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire or Hertfordshire. Holmer Green is also up to an hour's drive from all four of London's main international airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted.

Ethnicity in 2001 was 98% white. Received Pronunciation and Estuary English are the village's two predominant English accents. Traces of the old Buckinghamshire accent can be found among some of the village's older native residents.

Holmer Green's most desirable roads range from 'older' roads like Watchet Lane through to newer developments like Mead Park. The village's most famous residents are television presenter Fern Britton and her husband celebrity chef Phil Vickery.