{{Short description|Village in Buckinghamshire, England}} {{Redirect|South Heath|the hamlet in Essex|South Heath, Essex}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{infobox UK place | official_name = Great Missenden | coordinates = {{coord|51|42|15|N|00|42|28|W|display=inline,title}} | os_grid_reference = SP8901 | london_distance = {{convert|38|mi|km}} | population = 10,138 | population_ref = (Census 2011.Civil Parish)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=11123940&c=great+missenden&d=16&e=62&g=6404226&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1359814249446&enc=1|title=Area: Great Missenden CP (Parish) |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=2 February 2013 |archive-date=26 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626085018/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=11123940&c=great+missenden&d=16&e=62&g=6404226&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1359814249446&enc=1 |url-status=live}}</ref> | civil_parish = Great Missenden | static_image_name = Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden, April 2020 01.jpg | static_image_caption = Church of St Peter and St Paul | unitary_england = [[Buckinghamshire Council|Buckinghamshire]] | lieutenancy_england = [[Buckinghamshire]] | region = South East England | country = England | post_town = GREAT MISSENDEN | postcode_district = HP16 | postcode_area = HP | dial_code = 01494 | constituency_westminster= [[Mid Buckinghamshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Buckinghamshire]] | website = {{URL|http://www.greatmissendenpc.co.uk/ |Great Missenden Parish Council}} }}
'''Great Missenden''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in the [[River Misbourne|Misbourne]] Valley of the [[Chiltern Hills]], in [[Buckinghamshire]], England. It is situated between the towns of [[Amersham]] and [[Wendover]]; it adjoins the village of [[Little Kingshill]], and is {{convert|1|mi|1}} from [[Little Missenden]] and the village of [[Prestwood]]. The village is now best known as home to the late [[Roald Dahl]], the world-famous adult and children's author.<ref name=GIPS>Pearson, Lynn F. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9IaHTin6y2wC&dq=roald+dahl+gipsy+house&pg=PA16 Discovering Famous Graves] Osprey Publishing, 2008</ref>
==Etymology== The name ''Missenden'' is first attested in the [[Domesday Book]] as ''Missedene'', with other early attestations including the spellings ''Messedena'' and ''Musindone''.<ref name=":0">Mills A.D., ''A Dictionary of English Place Names'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 330.</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Page |editor-first=WH |editor-link=William Henry Page |date=1908 |chapter=Little Missenden |title=A History of the County of Buckingham |volume=II |series=[[Victoria County History]] |place=London |publisher=[[Archibald Constable]] & Co |pages=354–360 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol2/pp354-360 |access-date=16 July 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814112817/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol2/pp354-360 |url-status=live}}.</ref> The ''-den'' element probably comes from [[Old English]] ''denu'', meaning "valley", but the etymology of the first element is uncertain. It is thought to occur in the name of the [[River Misbourne]], which rises in Great Missenden, and also in the [[Hertfordshire]] place-name ''Miswell''. [[Frank Stenton]] and [[Allen Mawer]] guessed that it came from a hypothetical Anglo-Saxon personal name ''Myrsa'', which they also supposed to be found in the name of [[Mursley]].<ref>Mawer A. and Stenton F.M., ''The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire'', English Place-Name Society, 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925).</ref>
[[Eilert Ekwall]] suggested that the name ''Missenden'' came from a lost Old English word related to English ''moss'', and to Danish ''mysse'' and Swedish ''missne'' (which denote plants of the genus ''[[Calla]]'', such as water arum).<ref>Ekwall, Eilert; ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names'', 4th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1960), p. 328 (s.v. ''Misbourne'').</ref> Recent researchers have tentatively preferred Ekwall's guess, in which case the name ''Missenden'' would once have meant something like "valley where water-plants/marsh-plants grow".<ref name=":0" /><ref>Hough, Carole, 'Place-name evidence for Anglo-Saxon plant-names', in ''From Earth to Art, the many aspects of the plant-world in Anglo-Saxon England: Proceedings of the First ASPNS Symposium, University of Glasgow, 5–7 April 2000'', Costerus New Series, 148 (Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2003), pp. 41-78 (pp. 54-55).</ref>
==History== Great Missenden lay on a major route between the Midlands and London. Several [[coaching inn]]s, particularly the Red Lion (now an estate agency){{fact|date=March 2026}} and The George, provided rest and refreshment for travellers and their horses. The first railway line in the area was, however, routed alongside the [[Grand Union Canal]] to the east.{{fact|date=March 2026}} Once the [[mailcoach]]es stopped running, the village declined in importance and prosperity, becoming an agricultural town.{{fact|date=March 2026}} Following the arrival of the [[Metropolitan Railway]] (later the [[London Underground]]'s [[Metropolitan line]]) in 1892, Great Missenden became a village where writers, entertainers and even prime ministers resided.<ref name="missenden"/>
The village is overlooked by the [[medieval]] [[Church of England]] parish church, the [[Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden|Church of St Peter and St Paul]], whereas the High Street itself is home to the Catholic Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, one of the largest Catholic churches in the Chiltern District.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ihmmissenden.org.uk/ |title=The Catholic community of Great Missenden |website=Ihmmissenden.org.uk/ |access-date=5 November 2019 |archive-date=5 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105111719/http://www.ihmmissenden.org.uk/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The position of the parish church away from the town centre suggests an earlier settlement around the church, with a move of the village's heart to its present location in the early [[Middle Ages]].{{fact|date=March 2026}} In the twelfth century, Great Missenden was granted a charter allowing it to hold an annual fair in August.{{fact|date=March 2026}} [[Missenden Abbey]], founded in 1133 as an [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] monastery, was ruined following the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], and the remains were incorporated into a Georgian mansion; it is now a conference centre.{{fact|date=March 2026}}
[[Gipsy House]] was the home of author [[Roald Dahl]], from 1954 until his death in 1990, and still remains in the family.<ref name=GIPS/> Many local scenes and characters are reflected in his work.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Dahl is buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church; his children still leave toys and flowers at his grave.<ref>{{cite news |title=A giant peach of a property in Dahl country |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/property-home/article/a-giant-peach-of-a-property-in-dahl-country-j5l35k9jvsb |work=The Times |date=14 July 2015 |access-date=14 July 2015 |archive-date=14 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714170137/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/property/article3946352.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2005, the [[Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre]] opened in the village to honour his work.<ref>{{cite web |last=Heald |first=Claire |date=11 June 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4079720.stm |title=Chocolate doors thrown open to Dahl |access-date=24 March 2026 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
[[Robert Louis Stevenson]], the writer of famous works such as ''[[Treasure Island]]'' and the ''[[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'', stayed a night at The Red Lion, now 62 High Street, in October 1874, which he wrote in an essay called "An Autumn Effect".{{fact|date=March 2026}}
The espionage novelist David Cornwell, who wrote as [[John le Carré]], noted in a posthumously published introduction to a 2021 reissue of his first novel, ''[[Call for the Dead]]'', that "I lived in Great Missenden in those days and commuted to Marylebone station."<ref>{{cite news |title=John le Carré on the real characters behind George Smiley |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/john-le-carre-on-the-real-characters-behind-george-smiley-m6s7gw5t2 |work=The Sunday Times |date=2 May 2021}}</ref>
==Geography== Great Missenden is located in the centre of the Chilterns [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty |url=http://www.chiltern.gov.uk/article/2496/The-Chilterns-Area-of-Outstanding-Natural-Beauty |website=Chiltern.gov.uk |access-date=18 March 2016 |archive-date=27 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327022158/http://www.chiltern.gov.uk/article/2496/The-Chilterns-Area-of-Outstanding-Natural-Beauty |url-status=live}}</ref> The source of the [[river Misbourne]] is to be found just north of the village, although its upper reach runs only in winter and the perennial head is in Little Missenden.
The following villages and hamlets lie within or close to Great Missenden: * [[Ballinger, Buckinghamshire|Ballinger]], located north-east of the village, between [[Lee Common]] and Ballinger Common * [[Ballinger Bottom]], to the north-east, near South Heath * [[Ballinger Common]], to the north-east, near Ballinger * Bryant's Bottom, west of Prestwood, near [[Speen, Buckinghamshire|Speen]] * Frith-hill, to the east * [[Heath End, Buckinghamshire|Heath End]], near to the border with [[Hughenden Valley|Hughenden]] parish, near [[Great Kingshill]] * Hotley Bottom, north of Prestwood * [[Hyde End, Buckinghamshire|Hyde End]], between South Heath and Hyde Heath * [[Hyde Heath]], near Little Missenden * Little Wood Corner, south of South Heath * Mobwell, in village * [[Prestwood]], a large village to the west * South Heath, to the north-east.
==Demography== At the 2021 UK census, the Great Missenden [[electoral ward]] recorded the following statistics:<ref name=Stat>{{cite web |title=Neighbourhood Statistics |work=Statistics.gov.uk |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.do?a=3&b=5948332&c=Great+Missenden&d=14&g=424677&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1208774848406&enc=1&domainId=16 |access-date= 20 April 2008 |archive-date=26 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526015812/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.do?a=3&b=5948332&c=Great+Missenden&d=14&g=424677&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1208774848406&enc=1&domainId=16 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* It had a population of 9,955; ethnicity was 94% white, 2.6% mixed race, 2.5% Asian and 0.9% other. * The place of birth of residents was 91.3% UK, 3.4% EU, 4.1% Middle East and Asia, 1.5% Africa and 1.87% other. * Religion was recorded as 54.2% Christian (down from 69.9% in the 2011 Census), 0.43% Buddhist, 0.7% Hindu, 0.32% Sikh, 0.33% Jewish and 0.77% Muslim. 37.2% were recorded as having no religion, up from 20.8% in 2011, 0.34% had an alternative religion and 5.7% did not state their religion.<ref>{{cite web |work=QPZM |url=http://great-missenden.localstats.co.uk/census-demographics/england/south-east/chiltern/great-missenden |title=Great Missenden Demographics (Chiltern, England) |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref> * The economic activity of residents aged 16 and over shows that 40.4% were in full-time employment, 17.4% in part-time employment, 2.0% unemployed, 0.9% were full-time students with jobs and 4.0% were full-time students without jobs. * Among those economically inactive, 28.3% were retired (up from 19% in 2001), 3.9% were looking after home or family, 1.6% were long-term sick or disabled and 1.2% were inactive for other reasons. * Of residents in employment, 23.8% worked as managers, directors or senior officials; 23.3% in professional occupations; and 15.4% in associate professional and technical roles. 9.6% were in administrative and secretarial work, 9.2% in skilled trades, 6.6% in caring and leisure services, 5.2% in sales and customer service, 2.3% as process or machine operatives, and 4.6% in elementary occupations. * Of residents aged 16–74, 37.5% of the population had level 4 qualifications or above, compared to 31.4% nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://censusdata.uk/e04001573-great-missenden |title=Great Missenden |work=Census Data |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref>
==Governance== There are two tiers of local government covering Great Missenden, at [[civil parish|parish]] and [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] level: Great Missenden Parish Council and [[Buckinghamshire Council]].
It lies is within the [[Mid Buckinghamshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Buckinghamshire]] parliamentary constituency, represented by [[Greg Smith (British politician)|Greg Smith]] of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] since 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greg Smith |website=Parliament.uk |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4778/contact |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref>
==Education== The village is home to the following schools:
* The private Gateway School<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gatewayschool-bucks.co.uk/ |title=Gateway School |access-date=14 January 2012 |archive-date=22 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122190725/http://www.gatewayschool-bucks.co.uk/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * Great Missenden CofE Combined School<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.greatmissendenschool.co.uk/ |title=Great Missenden CofE Combined School |website=Greatmissendenschool.co.uk/ |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref> * [[Misbourne School|The Misbourne]] [[Secondary education#England, Wales and Northern Ireland|secondary school]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Misbourne |url=https://www.themisbourne.co.uk/# |website=Themisbourne.co.uk/ |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref>
Many children attend the local grammar schools in nearby [[Amersham]], [[Chesham]], [[Little Chalfont]] and [[High Wycombe]], as well as other leading local preparatory schools.
==Transport== [[Great Missenden railway station]] lies on the [[London to Aylesbury Line]]. [[Chiltern Railways]] operates regular services between {{rws|London Marylebone}}, {{rws|Aylesbury}} and {{rws|Aylesbury Vale Parkway}}.<ref>{{cite web |work=Chiltern Railways |title=Download our timetable |date=14 December 2025 |access-date=24 March 2026 |url=https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/before-you-travel/download-our-timetable}}</ref> It is the first station on the line that does not fall into a London fare zone.
Two local bus routes are operated by Red Rose Travel and [[Carousel Buses]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Missenden bus services |url=https://bustimes.org/localities/great-missenden |website=Bustimes.org |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref> * 41: High Wycombe - Amersham * 55: Aylesbury - Wendover - Halton - Chesham.
The narrow and historic High Street is bypassed by the main [[A413]] London to Aylesbury Road.
==In popular culture== Given its quaint and historic high street, the village has been used extensively as a filming location for TV drama ''[[Midsomer Murders]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bridget Jones film crew moved on after chaos in town car park |url=http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/prestwood_great_missenden/13872236.Bridget_Jones_film_crew_moved_on_after_chaos_in_town_car_park |work=Bucks Free Press |date=15 October 2015 |access-date=24 March 2026}}</ref>
During 1980, [[Hammer Film Productions]] filmed a small series of horror films for television, many of them filmed in and around Great Missenden. Of note is the episode "[[Hammer House of Horror#Notable episodes|Rude Awakening]]", starring [[Denholm Elliott]] who plays an estate agent trapped in a recurring nightmare.{{fact|date=March 2026}}
==Notable people==<!-- Please respect alphabetical order --> * [[Clement Attlee]], former [[Prime Minister (UK)|prime minister]] of the United Kingdom<ref name="missenden">{{cite web|title=Great Missenden |url=http://www.greatmissendenpc.co.uk/ |website=Greatmissendenpc.co.uk |access-date=13 July 2010 |archive-date=14 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314192835/http://greatmissendenpc.co.uk/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Adam Carse]], composer, lived at Winton, Martin's End Lane until his death in 1958 * David Cornwell (John le Carré), English novelist<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dwcp6|access-date=6 February 2021 |website=Bbc.co.uk |title=BBC Four: Mark Lawson talks to...John le Carré |archive-date=24 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124011320/http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dwcp6/Mark_Lawson_Talks_To..._John_le_Carre/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Jamie Cullum]], English musician<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/travel/world/europe/museum-in-great-missenden-england-devoted-to-matilda-writer-roald-dahl-is-aimed-squarely-at-children/news-story/ec1dd6c8b794fd0c958cb644d49fb34d |title=Museum in Great Missenden, England, devoted to Matilda writer Roald Dahl is aimed squarely at children |access-date=25 April 2016 |archive-date=29 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329051457/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/travel/world/europe/museum-in-great-missenden-england-devoted-to-matilda-writer-roald-dahl-is-aimed-squarely-at-children/news-story/ec1dd6c8b794fd0c958cb644d49fb34d |url-status=live}}</ref> * Roald Dahl, British writer * [[Patricia Neal]], American actress{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} * [[Geoffrey Palmer (actor)|Geoffrey Palmer]], English actor<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/18853793.looking-back-james-bond-tv-star-geoffrey-palmers-time-bucks/ |title=Looking back at James Bond and TV star Geoffrey Palmer's time in Bucks |work=Bucks Free Press |last=Sheth Trivedi |first=Shruti |date=6 November 2020 |access-date=17 November 2020 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117035930/https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/18853793.looking-back-james-bond-tv-star-geoffrey-palmers-time-bucks/|url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], Scottish novelist<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://robert-louis-stevenson.org/chiltern-hills/ |title=Robert Louis Stevenson walking the Chilterns |website=Robert-Louis-Stevenson.org |access-date=25 April 2016 |archive-date=9 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409134539/http://robert-louis-stevenson.org/chiltern-hills/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Harold Wilson]], former prime minister of the United Kingdom.<ref name="missenden" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Great Missenden}}
* [http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/ Roald Dahl Museum website] * [http://www.afclightning.co.uk/ AFC Lightning football club website]
{{Chiltern}}
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[[Category:Great Missenden| ]] [[Category:Villages in Buckinghamshire]] [[Category:Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire]] [[Category:Chiltern District]]