| Little Missenden | |
St. John the Baptist parish church |
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Little Missenden
Little Missenden shown within Buckinghamshire |
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| Population | 6,510 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | SU9298 |
| District | Chiltern |
| Shire county | Buckinghamshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Amersham |
| Postcode district | HP7 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Chesham and Amersham |
| List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire | |
Little Missenden is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about three miles south east of Great Missenden, three miles west of Amersham.
The toponym "Missenden" is derived from the Old English for "valley where marsh plants grow". In the Domesday Book of 1086 the two villages are recorded as Missedene and Little Missenden is clearly identifiable by two hides owned between three landlords. One of these hides belonging to the Count of Mortain (around Town Farm) expanded after Domesday to become the manor of Holmer whence the village of Holmer Green was born. Other hamlets which are in the ancient parish of Little Missenden are Beamond End, Mop End, Spurlands End, Little Kingshill, Brays Green and Hyde Heath.
Like much of Little Missenden village, the Saxon parish church was built next to the River Misbourne. The church was extended in several stages for at least 1000 years, the oldest part being built in circa 975 AD. Some ancient wall paintings survive inside the church on the north wall.
The main London-Aylesbury road used to run through the centre of Little Missenden and past the two pubs – The Red Lion and The Crown. In the early 19th century, a new by-pass road was built to the north and this now forms part of the modern A413 road.
The village has been used in many films and television programmes over the years, particularly as one of the more frequent ITV Midsomer Murders filming locations. Despite being a small village, in recent times it has also hosted acclaimed comedy and arts festivals. The children of Little Missenden school performed the premiere of John Tavener's Celtic Requiem in 1970 and continue to perform annually at the renowned Little Missenden Festival of Music and Arts.
The nearest railway station is at Great Missenden.
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