Iver
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Iver is located in the south-east corner of the county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest parishes under the authority of South Bucks District Council.
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The Parish of Iver
The Parish of Iver covers about eight square miles (21 km²) and it includes the villages of Iver Heath and Iver. To their south is Richings Park. The center of London is located approximately twenty miles (30 km) away. The parish flanks the Greater London border in the vicinity of Uxbridge for several miles and it is located to the east of the town of Slough. Iver Heath, Iver and Richings Park straddle the M25 motorway which is intersected to the north above Iver Heath by the M40, and to the south beneath Richings Park, by the M4.
History of the parish
The village name Iver is Anglo Saxon in origin and means (place by) the brow of the hill. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the whole area was recorded as Evreham or homestead by the brow of a hill and it was in the possession of a man called Robert Doiley.
It has been suggested by some that the area is actually named after a contemporary of Doiley, Roger de Iveri, also a Norman gentleman who arrived in England with William the Conqueror. However there are no records to suggest that Iveri ever owned the manor here, although he did own property elsewhere in Buckinghamshire.
The area was (in 1351) granted a Royal charter to hold a weekly market. This charter was confirmed 110 years later in 1461. At that time Iver was a place of some importance.
The family names Eure and Ewer are said to originate from this area.
Village of Iver Heath
Iver Heath is the location of Heatherden Hall, a Victorian estate with spectacular grounds. It was purchased by Lt. Col. Grant Morden, a Canadian financier, who transformed the mansion by adding a huge ballroom and Turkish bath. During the 1930s it became a retreat and private meeting place for politicians and diplomats. The agreement to form the Irish Free State was signed at Heatherden Hall.
When Grant Morden died in 1934 the estate was purchased at auction by Charles Boot who had recently inherited a large construction firm from his father Henry Boot, who died in 1931. Within twelve months Charles Boot transformed Heatherden Hall into the office building for a new movie complex which occupied the grounds. He based his new studios upon the latest Hollywood, USA designs of that era. Charles Boot named it Pinewood Film Studios after seeing the large number of pine trees that surrounded the area. The entrance to the studio is located on Pinewood Road.
Adjoining the studio complex is Black Park with a lake that extends over 530 acres (2.1 km²). It was used by Pinewood Film Studios for outdoor sequences in the filming of the Hammer Films' Dracula horror movies.
To the south, Black Park is separated from Langley Park by the A412 road. Langley Park covers 130 acres (0.53 km²) and is known for its rhododendron and azalea-filled Temple Gardens.
Iver Heath village itself is centred around a triangle of roads. The village post office is located on the Slough Road to the south, whilst a parade of shops can be found along Church Road to the north. Slough road and Church road are connected by Bangors Road North to the east.
The Church of St Margaret was built in 1862.
Village of Iver
Iver village on the Uxbridge to Langley road has a pre-Domesday foundation in which Neolithic potsheds and other artifacts have been discovered. The village church has fragments of a Saxon window and elements dating from the 15th century, 16th century and 17th century are to be seen. The village has numerous houses from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Richings Park
Richings Park was once the estate of Lord Bathurst. Richings Park mansion was destroyed during World War II and its site is now a residential area with its own shopping facilities.