Haddenham, Buckinghamshire
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Haddenham is a large village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about 5 miles south west of Aylesbury and 2 miles north east of Thame.
The village name is Anglo Saxon and means Haeda's Homestead. It was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hedreham, though later in 1142 it had taken on its more modern form and was called Hedenham.
From the Norman conquest to the time of the dissolution of the monasteries the village was in the possession of the Convent of St Andrew in Rochester. King Henry VIII of England, who gained possession of the village after the dissolution, held on to it for the rest of his natural life, passing it at the time of his death to his daughter Elizabeth.
The village received Royal charter to become a market town between 1294 and 1301. The market was so short lived because the manor of Thame found they were seriously out of pocket by a rival market being held so close by.
Today Haddenham is reputed to be the largest village in England. It has its own industrial area, its own College of Further Education and its own commercial district. However it hasn't become a town, and won't until it receives the Royal charter, which many of its villagers don't want to happen.
Haddenham is renowned for its ponds which were used to breed Aylesbury ducks. Breeding has been revived recently and the pond in front of the parish church houses them. It is also known as one of the three unique wychert villages. Wychert describes the mud and straw walls topped with tiles and the largest building in the world made of wychert is the Methodist Church in Haddenham which collapsed in 2003 but is now rebuilt. Haddenham is also the home of the St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital.
The large parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin.
External links
- Village website (http://www.haddenham.net)