Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Marylebone. It closely adjoins the villages of Little Kingshill, Little Missenden and the larger village Prestwood. The narrow and historic High Street is bypassed by the main A413 London to Aylesbury Road. It is located in the heart of The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The source of the Misbourne is to be found just north of the village, although the upper reach of the river runs only in winter and the perennial head is in Little Missenden. The village is now best known as home to the late Roald Dahl, the world famous author.
In 2011, The Guardian featured an article referring to how the village has been "prime stockbroker belt for over a century" and remarked favourably on its "ancient churches, beech woods, deep valleys, rolling Chiltern Hills, higgledy-piggledy streets. That's why Dahl chose to live here." The paper also mentions its "grand piles tucked away in the folds of the Chilterns, all paddocks, ponies and leafy lanes, such as Dahl's, Martinsend Lane, or Nags Head Lane." The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, lists Great Missenden in its "List of Britain's richest villages." The Telegraph also ranked the village #4 in its "Best Places to Raise a Family in the UK" 2015 survey, describing it as a "gem of a town."
Great Missenden lay on a major route between the Midlands and London. Several coaching inns, particularly the Red Lion (now an estate agency) and The George (which still exists), 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. Once the coaches stopped running Great Missenden declined in importance and prosperity, becoming an agricultural village. Following the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway, (later the London Underground's Metropolitan line) in 1892, Great Missenden became a commuter village for London with writers, entertainers and even Prime Ministers among the passengers. Great Missenden railway station is now on the Chiltern Railways line and offers fast services running into London Marylebone.
The village is overlooked by the medieval Church of England parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul and the High Street is also home to the thriving Catholic Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, one of the largest Catholic churches in the Chiltern District. The position of the parish church away from the village centre, however, suggests an earlier settlement around the church with a move of the village's heart to its present location in the early Middle Ages. In the twelfth century Great Missenden was granted a charter allowing it to hold an annual Fair in August. Missenden Abbey, founded in 1133 as an Augustinian monastery, was ruined following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the remains were incorporated into a Georgian mansion which is now a conference centre.
Gipsy House in Great Missenden was the home of author Roald Dahl from 1954 until his death in 1990, and still remains in the family, and many local scenes and characters are reflected in his work. Dahl is buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church and children still leave toys and flowers at his grave. In June 2005 the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre opened in Great Missenden to honour the work of Dahl. Great Missenden was also temporarily home to Robert Louis Stevenson, the writer of famous works such as Treasure Island and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is currently home to actor Geoffrey Palmer, and his wife Sally. Model turned cookery show presenter Sophie Dahl (granddaughter of Roald Dahl) and her husband jazz musician Jamie Cullum also own a property in the village.
The village is home to the exclusive Gateway School (one of the leading preparatory schools in the South East), Great Missenden Combined School and The Misbourne secondary school. Many children attend the local grammar schools in nearby Amersham, Chesham and High Wycombe.
The village has been used extensively as a filming location for tv drama Midsomer Murders.[which?] 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 "Rude Awakening" starring Denholm Elliott who plays an Estate Agent trapped in a recurring nightmare. The location of the premises used as the Estage Agent's office is located in the centre of the village. Nowadays the property is a Gentlemen's Hairdresser.
At the 2001 UK census, the Great Missenden electoral ward had a population of 2,192. The ethnicity was 98.1% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 90.6% United Kingdom, 1.5% Republic of Ireland, 2.8% other Western European countries, and 5.1% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.7% Christian, 0% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.1% Muslim. 14.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 35.7% in full-time employment, 11.3% in part-time employment, 14.9% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.8% students without jobs, 19% retired, 8% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 1.6% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.3% retail, 11.6% manufacturing, 5.5% construction, 24.1% real estate, 9.7% health and social work, 8.8% education, 4.7% transport and communications, 3.6% public administration, 4.2% hotels and restaurants, 4.3% finance, 1.9% agriculture and 8.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.8% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
Places in Great Missenden parish include
- Ballinger, located to the north east of Great Missenden, between Lee Common and Ballinger Common
- Ballinger Bottom, located to the north east of Great Missenden, near South Heath
- Ballinger Common, located to the north east of Great Missenden, near Ballinger
- Bryant's Bottom, located to the west of Prestwood, near Speen
- Frith-hill, located to the east of Great Missenden, on the road to Chesham
- Heath End, located near the border with Hughenden parish, near Great Kingshill
- Hotley Bottom, located to the north of Prestwood
- Hyde End, located between South Heath and Hyde Heath
- Hyde Heath, located near Little Missenden
- Little Wood Corner, located to the south of South Heath
- Mobwell, located in Great Missenden itself
- Prestwood, a large village to the west of Great Missenden
- South Heath, located to the north east of Great Missenden
- Clement Attlee, Britain's deputy Prime Minister through World War II, and later architect of the post-war consensus.
- Harold Wilson, Labour Prime Minister
- Jamie Cullum
- Sophie Dahl
- Robert Louis Stevenson