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ritage & Culture...
Literary Connections
Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)
The handsome young poet frequented the Pink & Lily Public
Throughout the centuries the area has inspired
House at Lacey Green immediately prior to the First World War,
some great writers ……
and the area inspired his poem The Chilterns.
John Milton (1608-1674)
Enid Blyton (1897-1968)
The poet and politician moved to Chalfont St Giles in 1665 to
The children's author lived in Bourne End at Old Thatch, where
escape the Plague in London. He completed Paradise Lost and
the garden is open to the public on selected days, and in
started Paradise Regained during his stay in the area. Milton’s
Beaconsfield at a house called Green Hedges. It is here that she
Cottage is open to the public and contains exhibits of his life
wrote some of her most successful stories including The Famous
and chief publications.
Five and The Secret Seven. Unfortunately the house no longer
stands but is immortalised at Bekonscot Model Village which
Mary (1797-1851) &
features in The Enchanted Village. There is an Enid Blyton Room
Percy Bysshe Shelley
nearby at The Red Lion pub in Knotty Green, which has a gallery
(1792-1822)
of photographs and original prints along with a library of the
The famous novelist and
author's books,donated by members of the Enid Blyton Society.
romantic poet lived in Marlow
and it was here that Mary
Roald Dahl
completed her gothic tale,
(1916-1990)
Frankenstein.
In 1960, Roald Dahl and his
Along with fellow Marlow
family moved to Gypsy House in
resident and romantic novelist
Great Missenden and it was in
Thomas Love Peacock, the couple
his writing hut in the garden that
joined the radical literary circle
most of his unforgettable stories
that surrounded James Leigh
were written. He lived in the
Hunt in pressing for electoral
village until his death in 1990,
reform in the early 1800s.
after which his wife, set up the
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932)
Roald Dahl Foundation in his
He was born in Edinburgh, but following the death of his mother,
memory. The Roald Dahl Museum
came to live with his grandmother in Cookham Dean. His novel
and Story Centre offers the public an opportunity to discover his
The Wind in the Willows was set on the banks of the River
life and work and inspires creativity in all.
Thames and Cliveden was one of the inspirations for Toad Hall.
Industry
Wycombe by famous people were sometimes celebrated by
arches of chairs. The largest of these marked the arrival of Prince
Edward in 1884 and comprised over 400 Prince of Wales chairs.
Visit the museums at
Wycombe, Amersham
Watercress and Cherries
and Chesham to find
Both the Misbourne and the Chess rivers are ideal for
out more...
watercress and the beds in the north of the area were farmed
for their produce. Prestwood and the surrounding villages were
The craft of chair making in the
famous for their cherry orchards, the ‘Prestwood Blacks’ variety
Chilterns dates back to before
being a particular favourite.
1700. In the early days most of
the chair legs and spindles were
Lace and Straw Plaiting
turned on simple pole lathes by
The area was also renowned for its cottage industries such as
‘bodgers’ living in the beech
Bucks Point Lace and straw plaiting. In Amersham, lace makers
Museum
woods north of High Wycombe.
worked in black silk, which was very popular with the Parisian
The parts were then taken to
fashion houses, and further north in Chesham the local
© Wycombe
factories in the town and made
speciality was straw piping made for the Luton hat makers.
into chairs. Between 1800 and
Chesham was also noted for the three Bs – beer, boots and
1950 chair production in the Chilterns soared, with some of the
brushes and there is evidence that the residents of the Chilterns
larger firms producing furniture for important events such as the
practised a whole host of other skilled trades including: fullers,
wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke of
dyers, weavers, brickmakers, tilemakers, potters, blacksmiths,
York and Princess Mary in the early 20th century. Visits to High
wheelwrights, tanners and cobblers.
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