Chalfont St Giles
| Chalfont St Giles | |
 St Giles' parish church |
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  Chalfont St Giles |
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| Population | 5,925 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | SU9893 |
| Civil parish | Chalfont St Giles |
| District | Chiltern |
| Shire county | Buckinghamshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chalfont St. Giles |
| Postcode district | HP8 |
| Dialling code | 01494 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Chesham and Amersham |
| Website | The Chalfont St Giles village website |
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Coordinates: 51°37′55″N 0°34′34″W / 51.632°N 0.576°W
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge of the Chilterns, 25 miles (40 km) from London, and near Seer Green, Jordans, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont and Amersham.[2]
Chalfont means chalk spring, in reference to the water carrying capacities of the local terrain. The village has a duck pond that is fed by the River Misbourne.
History
The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles is of Norman architecture and dates from the 12th century.[3] It has a fine example of a lychgate. The Bishop Francis Hare is buried there.
In the Domesday Book in 1086 Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter are listed as separate Manors with different owners. They were separate holding before the Norman Conquest.
Like most other rural parishes it managed its civil affairs through the vestry until the Local Government Act 1894 required all parishes of over 300 people to have a Parish council independent of the Church.
During the Great Plague of London in 1665, John Milton retired to Chalfont St Giles, which is where he completed his epic poem Paradise Lost.[4] Milton's Cottage still stands in the village, and is open to the public. The inspiration for Paradise Regained is said to have been found in this parish from a conversation with a former pupil, Thomas Ellwood.
The birthplace of J.T. Hearne, one of the greatest bowlers of the 1890s and 1900s, who died there in 1944, and of the actress Alexandra Gilbreath.
Notable residents of the village have included Harry Golombek, Brian Connolly, Brian Cant, Chicane, Armando Iannucci, Noel Gallagher,[5] and Nick Clegg who became the Liberal Democrats party leader in 2007[6] and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2010 until 2015.
The village has also given its name to Chalfont, Pennsylvania, which is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Amenities
The village is the closest to Hodgemoor Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[7]
The village is twinned with Graft-De Rijp, Netherlands.
Sport
The local football club is Chalfont Wasps, which was promoted to the Hellenic Football League Premier Division for the 2008–09 season. Chalfont St Giles has a tennis club, affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association.[8] To the northwest is Harewood Downs Golf Club.
Film and television
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Chalfont St Giles has been the location of several film and television programmes. It doubled as Walmington-on-Sea in the 1971 film version of Dad's Army. John Laurie, one of the main actors, lived in Chalfont St Peter. The Miller's Tale episode of the BBC Television drama The Canterbury Tales was filmed in and around Chalfont St Giles[9] as was an episode of the BBC Television sitcom As Time Goes By. It was the location for the filming of Episode 6 of Series 3 of Peep Show.[10] The village is also mentioned in the series 3 episode of Jeeves and Wooster entitled "Bertie Sets Sail", when Bertie Wooster likens Lord Wilmot Pershaw's demeanour to `a wet weekend in Chalfont St. Giles.'
Rhyming slang
"Chalfonts" is one of many variations of Cockney rhyming slang for piles, derived from Chalfont St Giles, but, as is typical with Cockney rhyming slang, the part of the phrase which rhymes with the derivative is omitted. There is a Viz comic strip named Nobby's Piles, in which the protagonist, Nobby, uses a range of slang expressions when referring to his haemorrhoids, including "Ooh, me chalfonts!"
Hamlets
Hamlets in Chalfont St Giles parish include:
- Bottrells Close, located along Bottrells Lane to the west of the village. Bottrells Close Cottage is the location of the ancient hamlet.
- Chalfont Grove, located to the south of the village along Narcot Lane. It is the location of the British Forces Broadcasting Service.
- Jordans, located south west of the main village, near Seer Green.
- Stratton Chase, located to the north of Mill Lane.
References
- ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- ↑
- ↑ "'Parishes: Chalfont St. Giles', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3 (1925), pp. 184–193.". British History Online. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ↑ "A piece of Paradise in Bucks!". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ↑ "Buckinghamshire Examiner article regarding Noel Gallagher". Buckinghamshireexaminer.co.uk. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ↑ Family detective: Nick Clegg The Daily Telegraph (London) 22 Dec 2007
- ↑ Marcus Bicknell. "Hodgemoor Wood". Hodgemoor.org.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ↑ "Chalfont St Giles Tennis Club". Csgtennisclub.tk. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ↑ IMDB listing
- ↑ IMDB listing
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chalfont St Giles. |
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