Hambleden
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Hambleden is a large village in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about four miles west of Marlow, about three miles north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'crooked or undulating valley'. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hanbledene, though previously 1015 it was known as Hamelan dene. St Thomas Cantilupe, the Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Hereford, was born in Hembleden in 1218. In 1315 a Royal charter was granted to hold a market in the village, and a fair on St Bartholomew's Day (August 24) every year. The charter was reconfirmed in 1321, though appears to have not lasted much longer than this.
Hambleden was the home village of William Henry Smith, founder (in 1821) of the book chain W H Smith. Lord Cardigan, famous for his role in leading the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade, was born in the Manor House. The sea chest that he took to the Crimea can be seen in the church.
1 mile to the south at Mill End are Hambleden Mill and Hambleden Lock on the River Thames, which feature in the novel Three Men In A Boat.
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