In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Great Missenden like this:
MISSENDEN (GREAT), a village and a parish in Amersham district, Bucks. The village stands in a charming valley, near the source of the rivulet Mise or Miss, 4¾ miles NW of Amersham, and 5¾ NNE of Wycombe r. station; is a considerable place; and has a post office under Amersham, and fairs on Easter Tuesday and the Monday after Old Michaelmas day. ...
The parish comprises 5,731 acres. Real property, £7,623. Pop. in 1851,2,097; in 1861,2,250. Houses, 479. The property is much subdivided. The manor, with Missenden Abbey, belongs to Mrs. Carrington. Mobwell House is the residence of T. Honnor, Esq.; Woodlands Lodge, of J. E. M 'Connell, Esq.; and Hill House, of S.Percy, Esq. Hampden House was the residence of the patriot Hampden, and belongs now to the Cameron family. A cottage above the village was long the retreat of Mr. Stephen, the brotherin-law of Wilberforce, and his coadjutor in the struggle against slavery. An abbey for Black Canons was founded within the parish, in 1133, by the family of D'Oiley; was endowed, about 1293, by Admiral Sir Thomas Missenden; became the property of the Oldhams in 1787; belongs now to Mrs. Carrington; and is still represented by its cloisters, and by some sparce remains of flint walls, at her mansion of Missenden Abbey. The living is a Vicarage in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £250.* Patrons, the Trustees of J. O. Oldham, Esq. The church is ancient and cruciform, with a tower; and contains brasses of 1536 and 1596. There are a neat Baptist chapel in the Grecian style, and charities £29. J. Randall, the theologian, was a native.
Great Missenden through time
Great Missenden is now part of Chiltern district. Click here for graphs and data of how Chiltern has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Great Missenden itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Great Missenden, in Chiltern and Buckinghamshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4567
Date accessed: 26th April 2024
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