The Vache

The Vache is an estate near Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire. Located within the estate is a monument dedicated to the memory of Captain James Cook (1728–1779) the explorer.

History

Fleetwood family and King James II

The Vache was the family seat of the Fleetwood family. In 1660 George Fleetwood was found guilty of the regicide of King Charles I in January 1649, and although his life was spared, his estate of The Vache was confiscated and given to the then Duke of York, the future King James II.[1]

1946 Squatters Camp

Post-war homelessness and overcrowding after the War sparked a nationwide movement of squatting. One of the first of these occurred at The Vache in September 1946. The leader was an ex-Commando, John Mann, of Chalfont St. Giles, who had been sharing a small cottage with his wife, his five-year-old son, and ten strangers. At the local pub one night, Mann heard a Polish captain say that a deserted army camp at nearby Vache Park was being readied for Polish soldiers of General Anders' army in exile. Mann decided to get there first.[2]

At dawn, he and a handful of homeless veterans bloodlessly routed three Polish guards and seized Vache Park. Next day, 120 families had moved into the spacious army huts. After a flurry of resistance, local authorities capitulated.[2]

Captain James Cook monument

The Vache is the site of monument to Captain James Cook erected by Admiral Hugh Palliser, a one time owner of the estate.[3] The monument consists of a globe on a plinth. Encribed on the plinth

“ 'To the memory of Captain James Cook/the ablest and most renowned Navigator this or any country hath produced', 'He raised himself solely by his merit/from a very obscure birth, to the rank/of a Post Captain in the Royal Navy,and/was unfortunately killed by the Savages/of the island Owhyee on the 14th of/February 1779 ...[3] ”

Cook frequently visited the estate and named a South Sea island Vache Island.[4]

References

  1. ↑  Firth, C.H. (1889). "Fleetwood, George (fl.1650?)". In Stephen, Leslie. Dictionary of National Biography 19. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 265–266.
  2. 1 2 "Squatters Camp at The Vache in 1946". Chalfont St Giles village website. 1 January 2015. Retrieved March 2015.
  3. 1 2 Memorial M1775, public memorials to seafarers and victims of maritime disaster, National Maritime Museum
  4. ↑ BMC County Road Map and Gazetteer No.16 Berkshire Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire p. 94

Coordinates: 51°38′24″N 0°33′42″W / 51.6401°N 0.5618°W / 51.6401; -0.5618

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