GREAT MISSENDEN
Missedene (xi cent.) Messenden, Mussenden.
The parish of Great Missenden has an area of
5,819 acres. It attains an elevation of considerably
over 600 ft. along the centre of the parish, to which
an offshoot of the Chiltern Hills penetrates; the
highest point, just north of Springfield Farm, being
a little over 650 ft. To the east the ground slopes
down slightly, but remains for the most part considerably over 500 ft. To the west it falls away more,
but rises again to above 650 ft. on the western
boundary of the parish, where the village of Prestwood is situated.
Three thousand one hundred and ninety-two acres
of the parish are arable land, 1,710½ acres permanent
grass, and 513 acres wood. (fn. 1)
The River Misbourne flows through Great Missenden from north to south, the Metropolitan Extension
Railway and the main road from London to Wendover
running parallel to it a little to the west. The large
village of Great Missenden is situated on this road,
Missenden Abbey and Park with its fine sycamore
trees lying at the south end. The village comprises
a number of modern houses of the better sort with a
few half-timbered, and others of brick of the Georgian
period. The railway station, on the Metropolitan
Extension Railway, is near the village. The road
leading past the church of St. Peter and St. Paul to
Chesham turns eastwards from the main road about
the centre of the village. Four roads branch off to
the west, leading to Prestwood and Hampden.
In the north-east of the parish is Lee Common
and the greater part of the hamlet of Lee Clump;
in the north-west Woodlands Park, with Grim's
Ditch. Ballinger Common and hamlet lie about
half-a-mile south of Lee Common, with Potter Row
to the east. At South Heath, about a mile east from
the village of Great Missenden, is a camp and moat.
Part of Hyde Heath is included in this parish in the
south-east, and Heath End is situated in the extreme
south-west. Peterley Manor lies north of the latter,
with the straggling village of Prestwood to the west
and north of it. The soil is alluvial, with a chalk
base, abounding in the deposit of flint and shells.
The subsoil is chalk. There are disused chalk-pits to
the east of Prestwood and near Potter Row, and
another east of Hyde Heath, near which there is an
old gravel-pit. There are extensive brickworks also
near Hyde Heath.
The Inclosure Award was made in 1855 and is in
the custody of the Clerk of the Peace. (fn. 2)
Manors
In the time of Edward the Confessor
the manor of GREAT MISSENDEN
was held by a thegn of the king, Sired,
the son of Alveva. In 1086 it formed part of the
lands of Walter Giffard, and was then assessed at ten
hides. (fn. 3) This Walter was the son of Walter Giffard
de Longueville, who is said to have come to England
with William the Conqueror and died before 1085.
The son Walter was probably created Earl of Buckingham by William II, and died in 1102, leaving an
only son, also named Walter, who died without issue
in 1164. (fn. 4) The family of Giffard thus became extinct, but their estates were known as the honour of
Giffard until about 1300. Great Missenden was
held of this honour by the service of one knight's
fee. (fn. 5)
After the death of Walter Giffard his lands remained for some time in the king's hands, but in 1191
they were restored by Richard I to his two nearest
heirs, who were descended from Rohais, sister of
Walter Giffard, first Earl of Buckingham. Rohais
had married Richard Fitz Gilbert, from whose elder
grandson Richard was descended the first claimant in
1191, Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford. From
the younger grandson, Gilbert de Clare first Earl of
Pembroke, was descended Isabella de Clare, whose
husband William Marshal was the second claimant in
1191, on his wife's behalf. (fn. 6) The Giffard estates in
England seem to have been assigned to William's Marshal, for the honour is later found in the possession
of his son Walter, Earl of Pembroke, (fn. 7) one of the
five brothers who in turn succeeded to the earldom.
At the death of the last of the five without issue in
1245 the Marshal estates were divided between his
sisters, (fn. 8) the honour of Giffard or part of it apparently being apportioned to Isabella the wife of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and
son of the Richard de Clare who claimed the honour
in 1191. The honour, including the overlordship of
Great Missenden, descended with the Earldom of
Gloucester, (fn. 9) and passed upon the death of Gilbert de
Clare in 1314 to his daughter Margaret, who married
firstly Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, and secondly
Hugh Audley, who became Earl of Gloucester. (fn. 10)
Upon the death of Hugh Audley in 1347 the overlordship of Great Missenden passed to his daughter
Margaret, who was the wife of Ralph Earl of Stafford, (fn. 11) and descended with that earldom (fn. 12) until its
forfeiture in 1521, when it came into the possession
of the Crown.
Clare. Or three cheverons gules.
Marshal. Party vert and or a lion gules.
The sub-tenant of Great Missenden in 1086 was
Turstin, son of Rolf, (fn. 13) of whose descendants nothing
is known. The manor seems
to have been granted early in
the 12th century to William
de Missenden, who founded
the abbey of Missenden in
1133. (fn. 14) He had a son Hugh,
who took the surname of de
Noers, which had perhaps been
assumed by his father also. (fn. 15)
Hugh de Noers became lord
of the manor before 1141 (fn. 16)
and was still living in 1166, (fn. 17)
but was succeeded soon after
by his son William de Noers, (fn. 18) who died before
1185, for in that year his son William was a minor
in the custody of Henry de Pinkeni. (fn. 19) William de
Noers the younger died, however, about 1189, and
his lands passed to his brother Hugh, (fn. 20) whose daughter
and heir Joan married Hugh de Sanford, (fn. 21) and was
holding Missenden together with her husband in
1233. (fn. 22) Hugh seems to have died in 1233 or 1234, (fn. 23)
and Joan about 1252. She left two daughters,
Christiana, who married first William de Sideham, (fn. 24)
and secondly John de Plessy, afterwards Earl of
Warwick, (fn. 25) and Agnes, the wife of Matthew Husee. (fn. 26)
The manor of Great Missenden was divided between
these two heiresses, the moieties being known at a
later date as Overbury and Netherbury.
Stafford. Or a cheveron gules.
The moiety of the manor of Great Missenden
subsequently known as OVERBURY was assigned to
Agnes and Matthew Husee. Matthew died before
1254, at which time the wardship of his son Henry
was purchased by John Maunsell, whose niece, Joan
Fleming, Henry was to marry. (fn. 27) Henry Husee lived
until 1290, (fn. 28) when his lands passed to his son Henry,
who was succeeded about 1332 by a third Henry, to
whose mother Isabella one-third of the manor was
assigned in dower. (fn. 29) In 1348 the manor was conveyed to Thomas de Mussenden, (fn. 30) the king's groom,
who seems to have settled it on himself in that year,
although Henry Husee did not finally quitclaim his
right in the manor until 1356. (fn. 31) Certainly Thomas de
Mussenden was in occupation before that date. He
was still living in 1367, and his wife Isabella, widow
of Sir John Golafre, survived until after 1383. (fn. 32)
Edmund de Missenden, son and heir of Thomas,
died in 1394, (fn. 33) the manor having been settled on his
wife Juliana for the term of her life and one year beyond. She married secondly Thomas Shelle, who
died about 1400, (fn. 34) and died herself in 1407, when
the manor passed to her son Bernard de Missenden. (fn. 35)
Bernard died in 1420, leaving two daughters,
Katherine and Alice, (fn. 36) the manor being apportioned
to the elder, who married John Iwardby. (fn. 37) Nicholas
Iwardby, son of John, (fn. 38) became lord of the manor
upon the death of his father, (fn. 39) and was succeeded by
his son John in 1462, (fn. 40) who being under age was
placed under the custody of Richard Fowler. (fn. 41) He died
in 1485, leaving three daughters, Elizabeth wife of
William Elmes and afterwards of Thomas Pigot,
Margery wife of Ralf Verney, and Helen who
married first William Cutland (fn. 42) and secondly Thomas
Clifford. (fn. 43) This manor was apparently assigned to
Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, as it afterwards descended in the family of Elmes. John, son of
William Elmes, succeeded his father, (fn. 44) and in 1557–8
the manor was held by Edward or Edmund Elmes,
son of John. (fn. 45) Edmund's son, John Elmes, (fn. 46) was lord
of the manor previous to 1624, in which year he
died, and was succeeded by his brother Thomas. (fn. 47)
The latter died in 1632, (fn. 48) and Overbury passed to
his son William, (fn. 49) who was succeeded in 1641 by his
son Arthur. (fn. 50) Arthur Elmes and his wife Jane were
still holding it in 1660, (fn. 51) but later there must have
been a sale, for in 1684 Overbury appears in the
possession of William Fleetwood, owner of Netherbury. (fn. 52) The two manors being thus again united
descended together (fn. 53) and formed once more the single
manor of Great Missenden.
The moiety of the manor of Great Missenden
assigned to Christiana and John de Plessy was subsequently known as NETHERBURY. After the
death of Christiana John married Margaret, Countess
of Warwick, in whose right he became Earl of Warwick. (fn. 54) Upon his death in 1263 this manor passed
to his son Hugh de Plessy, (fn. 55) who lived until about
1292. (fn. 56) He was succeeded by his son Hugh in that
year, (fn. 57) and in 1301 by his grandson of the same name,
who was then a minor in wardship of John de Segrave. (fn. 58) A fourth Hugh, son of the last, became
lord of the manor in 1337, (fn. 59) his mother Millicent
retaining half of it in dower. (fn. 60) He died between
1351 and 1357, half of his lands passing to his sister
Eleanor, who was the wife of John Lenneysey, (fn. 61) or
Lenveysey, and the other half remaining for life to
his widow Elizabeth, who married secondly Roger
Elmerugge, and reverting upon her death in 1378 to
John son of John Lenneysey, (fn. 62) who had succeeded
his father before 1374. (fn. 63) John Lenneysey the younger
died in 1379, and his lands passed to his kinsman
John Cheyne of Isenhampstead (fn. 64) (now Chenies), who
in 1381 conveyed Netherbury to trustees for the purpose of a gift to Missenden Abbey. (fn. 65) They leased it
for life to Isabella de Missenden, widow of John
Golafre and lady of the manor of Overbury, and in
1383 conveyed the reversion in mortmain to the
monastery of Missenden. (fn. 66) Netherbury presumably
remained in the possession of that house until its
dissolution, and afterwards in the hands of the king
until 1614, when it was granted to Sir Marmaduke
Darrell. (fn. 67) He was still holding the manor in 1623,
and had a son and heir Sampson, (fn. 68) who perhaps succeeded him. Sir Marmaduke died some time before
1638, by which date his widow Anne had married
Gilbert Neville. (fn. 69) By 1655 another Marmaduke
Darrell (fn. 70) had succeeded to the manor, (fn. 71) and soon after,
apparently later than 1663, conveyed it to Sir William
Bowyer, for in 1668 he sold it to William Fleetwood, (fn. 72)
who died in 1691. He was succeeded by John
Fleetwood, (fn. 73) said to have been his son, and said to
have been succeeded in 1745 by his sister Mary, (fn. 74) who
had married Thomas Ansell in 1715. (fn. 75) Thomas and
Mary Ansell had two sons, Thomas and John, who
both died unmarried, whereupon the manor came to
their daughter Mary, wife of Thomas Goostrey. (fn. 76)
Mary died in 1780, and after the death of her husband the manor passed to their eldest daughter Mary,
the wife of William Lowndes, who died in 1786. (fn. 77)
Great Missenden is said to have been sold in
1787 to James Oldham Oldham, who died in
1822, (fn. 78) after which the manor came into the possession of George Carrington, (fn. 79) in whose family it has
since remained. Mrs. Carrington was lady of the
manor until after 1899; Mr. George Carrington is
the present lord.
The privilege of holding a fair on the eve and day
of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (14 and
15 August) was granted by Henry III to Joan de
Sandsford, (fn. 80) and confirmed in 1367 to Thomas de
Missenden. (fn. 81) A fair is vaguely mentioned in the
grant of Netherbury to Sir Marmaduke Darrell. (fn. 82)
Later, fairs were held on Easter Tuesday and the
Monday after Michaelmas, but have been abolished
since 1883.
A market to be held weekly on Tuesdays was
granted to Joan de Sandford together with the fair,
and follows the same descent. It does not now survive.
View of frankpledge is mentioned in Great Missenden as early as 1254. (fn. 83) It remained with the courts
leet in the possession of the overlords until the 15th century, (fn. 84) and was leased by them to the sub-tenants. In
the reign of Edward I the sub-tenants of both moieties
of Great Missenden claimed to hold the view together, paying 10s. for it to the Earl of Gloucester.
They also held tourn twice a year 'without any servant of the king,' and had the right of gallows, pillory,
and tumbril. (fn. 85)
Free warren was granted to Henry Husee in his
moiety of Great Missenden in 1271, (fn. 86) and was confirmed to Thomas de Missenden in 1354. (fn. 87)
A water-mill called Deep Mill, which is still in
existence, in the south of the parish, on the River
Misbourne, seems to have belonged, until the Dissolution, to Missenden Abbey. (fn. 88) It was granted in 1545
to Richard and Robert Taverner, (fn. 89) after which it
came into the possession of Anthony Nyxe, miller,
who sold it in 1584 to William Fleetwood, who died
seised of it in 1594. (fn. 90) In 1610 it was granted to
David Fowles, who married a Fleetwood, (fn. 91) but had
returned to William's grandson John Fleetwood before
1639, (fn. 92) after which it descended in that family with
the manor of Great Missenden. (fn. 93) A windmill is
mentioned in 1773, (fn. 94) and is perhaps that now situated at Prestwood.
The reputed manor of PETERLEY or PETERLEYSTONE (Peterlaia, xii cent.) belonged at an early
date to Missenden Abbey, and seems to have been
given to that monastery by Hugh de Noers and his
son William in 1141. (fn. 95) It remained in the possession
of the abbey until its dissolution, (fn. 96) when it seems to
have been granted to Geoffrey Dormer. (fn. 97) It was held
of the king as of his manor of East Greenwich. (fn. 98) In
1551 Geoffrey conveyed it to Robert Woodliffe, (fn. 99) but
possibly for a term of years only, or in mortgage, for
Robert Dormer, Geoffrey's grandson, (fn. 100) appears as lord
of the manor in 1580. In 1557 Robert Woodliffe
settled Peterley upon himself and Anne Drury, whom
he was about to marry. He died in 1593 and was
succeeded by his son Drew Woodliffe, (fn. 101) who in 1596
joined with his mother in conveying the manor back
to Sir Robert Dormer. (fn. 102) Sir Robert was created by
James I Baron Dormer of Wyng, and hereditary Chief
Avenor and keeper of the king's hawks. (fn. 103) He died
in 1616, having settled his newly-built manor house
of Peterley on his wife Elizabeth for her life, with
reversion to his third son Robert, (fn. 104) who is referred to
as Robert Dormer of Peterley. (fn. 105) The latter died in
1656 and was succeeded by his son Charles, (fn. 106) and by
his grandson Charles in 1677. (fn. 107) The last-named
Charles became Baron Dormer of Wyng upon the
death of his cousin Rowland Dormer in 1712, (fn. 108) and
the manor of Peterley has since descended with that
barony, and is now the residence of the thirteenth
baron. (fn. 109)
The Abbot of Missenden obtained a grant of free
warren in Peterley in 1302, which was confirmed in
1426. (fn. 110)
The 17th-century house having been allowed to
fall into decay was completely destroyed and replaced
by a small building of no particular interest in the
first half of the 19th-century.
The ABBEY OF GREAT MISSENDEN for
Arroasian Canons was founded in 1133 by William
de Missenden, lord of that manor, who endowed it
with lands in the parish, including Potter Row (Potterewe), Ballinger (Balenger), Kingshill (Kyngeshull),
Peterley, Prestwood, and Moretensend. (fn. 111) The advowson of the monastery remained in the hands of his
successors.
Upon the dissolution of the monastery of Great
Missenden the site and lands belonging were granted
early in 1541 to Richard Greenway, a gentleman
usher of the king's household, for twenty-one years. (fn. 112)
Richard lived until 1552, but he seems to have surrendered the grant shortly before, as in 1550 and
1551 Edward VI gave the site of the abbey to his
sister Princess Elizabeth for life. (fn. 113) At the end of the
same reign it was granted to
the Duke of Northumberland, (fn. 114) who was, however,
executed in the same year
for his support of Lady Jane
Grey, and his lands forfeited. (fn. 115)
Missenden Abbey then remained in the possession of
the Crown until 1560, when
it was granted for thirty years
to Richard Hampden. (fn. 116) In
1574 the reversion of the
abbey lands was granted to
Robert Earl of Leicester, (fn. 117)
who sold it in the same year
to William Fleetwood. The latter died in 1594 and
was succeeded by his son Sir William, (fn. 118) to whom the
abbey was confirmed in 1612. John Fleetwood, son
of Sir William Fleetwood, inherited his father's
estates in 1631, (fn. 119) and died in 1639 leaving a son
William who was only aged 4½ years at his father's
death. In 1672 he became lord of the manor of
Great Missenden, in which the site of the monastery
presumably became absorbed.
Missenden Abbey. Ermine two bars wavy sable with a crozier or bendways over all.
The house now called Missenden Abbey stands on
the site of the cloister of the monastic buildings, and
contains a good deal of old masonry. The church,
which stood to the north of the cloister, is completely
destroyed, and a kitchen garden now covers its site,
but the walls of the eastern range of claustral buildings are in large measure preserved, and the open
15th-century roof which covered the dorter of the
canons is still in existence, and parts of it may be seen
in various bedrooms now occupying the upper story
of the east wing of the present house. Unfortunately
no mediaeval masonry details are visible, and though
the present kitchen must approximately occupy the
site of the chapter house, no trace of the ancient
arrangement remains. The walls of the southern
range, which must have contained the frater, still
stand in part, as do probably those of the western
range, and the area of the cloister with its walks is
almost entirely filled in with additional buildings, the
corridors on the ground floor evidently following very
nearly the lines of the former south and west walks of
the mediaeval cloister. These corridors, with most of
the architectural features of the house, are in the
imitation gothic of the early 19th century, and have
a vaulted plaster ceiling, and the whole building has
evidently undergone many alterations, a 17th-century
picture of it which is preserved being now hardly
recognizable. To the east the ground rises steeply
towards the parish church, and at the foot of the
slope is the bed of the intermittent 'bourne,' which
supplied the monastic buildings. The boundary
wall of the garden on the north is in part old, and
may be part of the mediaeval precinct wall, the
stream being carried under it through a low arch.
In a summer-house are preserved some very pretty
pieces of 13th-century detail, doubtless from the
monastic church, and a green glazed tile with raised
patterns, also of the 13th century, has been dug up
on the site of the church.
Church
The church of ST. PETER AND
ST. PAUL has a chancel 31 ft. 3 in. by
19 ft., a nave 58 ft. 8 in. by 19 ft.;
north and south transept 21 ft. by 15 ft.; a north
aisle 17 ft. 8 in. wide, a south aisle 8 ft. wide, a
western tower, north and south porches, an organ
chamber and a vestry. The church was largely
rebuilt in the first half of the 14th century, the
chancel being widened to its present lines, the chancel
arch inserted, the aisles and transepts added, and the
tower begun but perhaps not finished. In the 15th
century the clearstory and roof were added and a
number of windows inserted. About the middle of
the 16th century the tower was enlarged on the
south side, evidently to make more room for bells.
The lower part of the addition contains a stair, and
it seems that the parish must have obtained the bells
of the suppressed abbey which stood close by on the
west. Of the four belfry lights three are of this
date, but the fourth, that to the west, is a mutilated
early 14th-century window which it is quite probable
formed part of the abbey buildings. The south
porch is a late addition. In recent years the north
aisle has been rebuilt and greatly widened, the old
material being re-used and the door and windows
reset, while a new north porch was added. The
organ chamber is also modern.
The east window of the chancel has in a 14thcentury opening modern tracery of 15th-century
detail in five cinquefoiled lights with tracery over.
Externally the window is almost entirely modern, but
the internal jambs and rear arch are rich 14th-century
work, elaborately moulded with deep hollows, double
wave moulds, and ogees in two orders. The inner
order rests on mask-corbels, the outer upon slender
circular shafts with richly carved foliate capitals, and
circular moulded bases upon octagonal plinths, while
some of the hollow members of the rear arch are enriched with carving in a running floral design and with
four-leaved flowers. On either side are two highly
decorated image niches of 14th-century date with
moulded and shafted jambs and internal heads carved
into ribbed vaulting, while traces remain of spire-like
canopies. At the east end of the south wall is a
series of modern canopied niches, seven in number
and of 14th-century detail, which are said to have
been designed from fragments uncovered at this point
during the last restoration. Below is the cinquefoiled
head of a single late 14th-century window, forming a
niche now used as a single late as a credence, and west of this is the
blocked opening of what was once a squint from a
vestry. The vestry door, a little west of the altar
rails, is of 14th-century date, but was much repaired
and reset a little west of its old position at the recent
restoration. The arched opening to the organ
chamber is quite modern. At the east end of the
south wall is a large 14th-century window, with
moulded jambs and rear arch and with an internal
label, now filled with 18th-century tracery in five
uncusped lights. There is also a very gracefully
designed 14th-century piscina with a sharp trefoiled
head with curiously slight cusping and a cinquefoiled
ogee sub-head. The sill of the window beforementioned is carried down to form sedilia, the backs
of which had slightly sunk panels with sub-cusped
cinquefoiled heads, now much defaced. In the western
jamb is a small filled-in niche. West of the sedilia
is a small priest's door also of 14th-century date, richly
moulded on both faces and now blocked. There are
two further 14th-century windows with tracery, somewhat restored, in two trefoiled lights with trefoils and
a quatrefoil over. The jambs and rear arches are
continuously moulded and there are both internal and
external labels. Below the westernmost of these
windows is a low window of the same date with a
moulded rear arch and two trefoiled lights, the heads
of which are modern or of very late insertion, and
through its west jamb is pierced a squint from the
south transept. The chancel arch is of similar detail
to the nave arcades, the capitals ranging, but the arch
itself is higher and of steeper pitch and has perhaps
been rebuilt and widened in the 15th century, when
the rood-stair was inserted. It is of two plain
chamfered orders, and the responds have engaged
quarter and half-round shafts with square fillets
between and moulded circular capitals and bases. In
its original state the chancel must have been a
splendid example of the style of its time, and even in
its defaced and 'restored' condition is extremely
interesting.
The nave arcades, as already stated, are similar in
design to the chancel arch, but have labels with
grotesque dripstones, and the chamfer on the outer
order of the arches is carefully stopped, while the details
of the capitals and bases are slightly different. In the
two eastern responds are the rood-loft doors, and there
is a clearstory with five windows on each side, each
of two trefoiled lights with trefoils in the spandrels.
They are of early 15th-century date and have
moulded internal jambs and rear arches with a square
main head. The roof is of the same date, of flat
pitch with six deep moulded principals and a
moulded ridge, purlins, and wall plates. Beneath the
principals are brackets, with cusped tracery in the
spandrels, resting upon corbels in the form of angels
holding shields. The tower arch is rather low and
of three chamfered orders, the two innermost dying
into the jambs and the outer being continuous.
The north transept has a three-light north window of early 15th-century date of three trefoiled
lights, the middle one slightly higher than the side
lights and sub-cusped, while the main head is square
with trefoils in the spandrels. In the middle of the
east wall is a 14th-century window of cinquefoiled
lights with flamboyant tracery over and double
wave-moulded jambs and rear arch now opening to
the organ chamber. North of this is a wide niche
or recess with a slightly ogee-shaped head. The
back has been elaborately painted to represent
hangings of crimson brocade worked in a flowing
floral design. In this niche is a fragment carved
with a shield bearing three bulls passant, two and one.
There is a smaller niche to the south of the window,
and below it a plain pointed piscina with a modern
drain. At the south end of the wall is a low door,
largely if not entirely modern, opening into the organ
chamber; it replaces the lower door of the roodstairs, the upper door of which, with a portion of the
curved wall of the turret, is still visible.
On the west are two bays of arcading opening to
the widened south aisle, one arch of which, with one
respond and the pier, are modern and of 14th-century
detail. The roof is modern.
The north wall of the north aisle is quite modern
and has two reset three-light 15th-century windows.
Between these is the reset 14th-century north door
with wave-moulded jambs and two-centred head.
Internally and a little to the east of it a plain holywater stone has been inserted in the wall. The
porch is quite modern and of 14th-century detail
with a small two-light window on either side.
The south transept has a three-light window of
early 15th-century date at the north end of its
east wall with a four-centred main head and a double
wave-moulded rear arch, the same mouldings occurring in two uncusped image niches, on either side
of this window. South of these is a two-light 14thcentury window similar in detail to but much smaller
than the two windows at the west end of the south
wall of the chancel. In the south wall is a small
door either modern or completely restored and in
the centre of the wall an early 15th-century window
of three cinquefoiled lights. On the west is a single
light of late 14th-century date, and a plain arch of
two chamfered orders without responds opens to
the south aisle.
The windows of the south aisle are identical with
those on the north and the south door is opposite the
north door and is similar in detail. At the west end
of the aisle is the door to the added tower stair and
just west of the south door is a small niche with a
cinquefoiled head. The south porch, a late addition,
appears originally to have been of two stories. The
floor, however, has been removed, though a dormer
window remains.
The tower is of three stages with an embattled
parapet. The west door of 14th-century date is
continuously moulded with double sunk chamfers and
hollow moulds, but has been much restored. Above
this the head and parts of the jambs of a late 15thcentury window have been inserted, probably at a
late date. The north, south, and east belfry openings
are of two lights under a square label, but the west
opening is filled with part of a fine early 14th-century window of three cinquefoiled lights, and enough
remains to suggest elaborate tracery, though it has
been cut off square a little above the lower heads.
Internally the jambs are shafted, with rich floral
capitals and circular bases, and there is an internal
label.
The font is of the type so common in this
neighbourhood, the finest example of which is perhaps
that at Aylesbury. It is of late 12th-century date
and has an octagonal bowl on a short circular moulded
stem worked into a square base shaped like an inverted
cushion capital. The seats, &c. are modern, but
some old carved tracery has been worked in. In the
south transept are the remains of several brasses, the
only figure remaining being that of a woman of
c. 1510. There is also a beautifully designed helm
and mantling, part of a 15th-century achievement of
arms, with the crest of a maidenhead. Below is an
inscription in Roman lettering to Zacheus Metcalfe
1595, and Margaret Metcalfe 1596. There is also
the inscription of a brass to John Iwardby and his
wife Katherine the daughter of Bernard de Missenden; she died 1436, but the date of his death is
left blank. The brass was evidently in the Abbey
Church. In the south aisle is a monument to William
Bois, 1631. It has a broken pediment surmounted
by a figure of Time with his scythe over an arch
fantastically constructed of books. In the north
aisle is a monument to Dame Jane Walker, 1635,
some time the wife of Daniel Bonde of London and
later of Sir John Boys of Canterbury.
The tower contains a sanctus in a small opening,
dated 1782, and six bells: the treble dated 1692; the
second cast by Joseph Carter in 1603, and bearing his
mark; the third dated 1640; the fourth cast by
Thomas Mears in 1824; the fifth by Ellis Knight
in 1623; and the sixth by Thomas Mears in 1840.
The plate is modern and consists of two chalices, a
flagon, two standing patens, and a perforated spoon.
The first book of the registers contains all entries
from 1694, baptisms and burials running to 1782
and marriages to 1753. A second book contains
burial in woollen with notes of the affidavits from
1678 to 1784 and a further continuation of burials to
1812. The third book contains baptisms from 1783
to 1809, and a fourth the same from 1809 to 1812,
and there is the first banns book of marriages from
1754 to 1786.
Advowson
The patronage of the church of
St. Peter and St. Paul at Great Missenden belonged to the lord of that
manor until it was given with its tithes by William de
Missenden to the abbey, which he founded there in
1133. (fn. 120) The living was appropriated by the monastery, a vicar being appointed by the abbot. (fn. 121)
At the Dissolution the advowson fell to the Crown,
and the vicarage was granted to Thomas Barnerdes,
one of the former monks, in lieu of a pension. (fn. 122) The
right of presentation was kept by the Crown until
about 1607, soon after which it seems to have been
granted to John Ramsey, Viscount Haddington, for in
1609 he sold it, together with the rectory, to William
Fleetwood. (fn. 123) The advowson and rectory then became united, and have since followed the same descent,
until the death of John Oldham in 1822,
since when the advowson has been in the hands of his
trustees. (fn. 124)
The rectory of Great Missenden, which came into
the king's hands at the Dissolution, was in 1541
granted to Richard Greenway, a gentleman usher of
the Household, for a term of twenty-one years. (fn. 125) In
1560 the reversion of the rectory at the end of that
term was granted to Richard Hampden, principal
clerk of the king's kitchen, for thirty years, and fell to
him late in 1561. (fn. 126) He, however, surrendered it
about 1578, when it was granted for life to Griffin
Hampden, and after his death to his daughters, Mary
and Ruth, for their lives. (fn. 127) Mary, who subsequently
married James Russell, and her sister were both living
in 1597, (fn. 128) but evidently died before 1606, for in
that year the rectory, which would revert to the
Crown at their death, was granted to John Ramsey,
Viscount Haddington. (fn. 129) The latter sold it in 1609
to William Fleetwood, (fn. 130) who died seised of it in
1631, (fn. 131) and in whose family it descended in the
same manner as Missenden Priory and Great Missenden Manor, (fn. 132) in which it has presumably become
merged.
There are Baptist chapels at Great Missenden,
Lee Common, and at Hyde Heath, and a Primitive
Methodist chapel at Lee Common.
Charities
In 1629 Nicholas Almond by deed
conveyed to trustees his messuage in
Thame—now a house and shop, 2 Corn
Market, let at £16 a year—upon trust for the poor,
subject to the payment of 6s. 8d. for a sermon on the
Wednesday in Easter week.
The charity is regulated by a scheme of 20 April
1865, but the income has been absorbed in recent
years in repairs of the property.
The charity of Dame Jane Boys, John Hampden,
and another, founded in 1635, consists of a house and
4 acres at Prestwood, and allotment land, producing
yearly £20 11s. 10d. By an order of the Charity
Commissioners of 9 June 1896, made under the
Local Government Act, 1/24th part of the net yearly
income was apportioned as the ecclesiastical branch.
In 1907 there was after repair and removal of the
monument of the foundress a balance in the hands of
the churchwardens of £2 19s. The net income of
the remainder of the charity was, under the title of the
Borough Charity, applied in apprenticeship premiums
and outfits.
In 1690 Thomas Gregory, by will proved in the
P.C.C. 29 March, gave £5 a year for poor housekeepers not in receipt of parish relief. The annuity
is paid by the owner of Knives Farm, Hughenden.
The operation of the charity was in abeyance, and in
1906 there was a balance in the hand of £21 18s. 6d.
In 1864 William Dent by deed gave a sum of
£1,000 consols for educational purposes, the dividends
of which are duly applied.
In 1888 Miss Jane Douglas, by will proved at
London 23 August, bequeathed to the vicar and
churchwardens a legacy, now represented by
£327 15s. 2d. consols, with the official trustees, the
income to be distributed on 13 November in each
year among forty aged poor persons. The annual
dividend, amounting to £8 3s. 8d., is applied in
charity tickets.
In 1881 Abraham Watson, by will proved with a
codicil at London on 9 May, bequeathed £800
consols, the income, now amounting to £20 a year,
to be applied towards the support of the infant
schools.
The same testator bequeathed to the vicar and
churchwardens of Great Missenden £180 consols, the
income now amounting to £4 10s. annually to be
distributed twice each year among the poor of the
hamlet.
The sums of stock are held by the official trustees.