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History

Great and Little Hampden incorporates the villages of Great Hampden and Little Hampden, and the hamlets of Green Hailey and Hampden Row. Great Hampden is the ancestral home of the Hobart-Hampden family, the most famous of whom was the English Civil War hero John Hampden.

Published: 7 September 2023

Great and Little Hampden incorporates the villages of Great Hampden and Little Hampden, and the hamlets of Green Hailey and Hampden Row. Great Hampden is the ancestral home of the Hobart-Hampden family, the most famous of whom was the English Civil War hero John Hampden.

The villages were first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, when they were jointly called Hamdena after the owners of the local manor.

By the 14th century ‘Hamdena’ was split into the two villages, Great Hampden at the top of one hill and Little Hampden on the next hill, with the lush arable land forming the rest of the two parishes spread out in the valley between them. It was also at about this time that Hampden House, the house belonging to the Hobart-Hampden family was rebuilt.

After the death of John Hampden, a cross was erected just above the lane that leads from Hampden House to the nearby village of Prestwood. Where the cross stands is reputed to be the spot where John Hampden stood when he first refused to pay the Ship Money tax in 1636. However the nearby village of Great Kimble also claims to be the place where he refused to pay the tax. From the cross there is a view of the Chiltern Hills.

Hampden himself is buried at the church in Great Hampden, in an unmarked grave. His first wife had a stone tablet in her honour erected in the chancel. In the 19th century the floor below this tablet was lifted and a body exhumed which was missing its hand and had had its shoulder dislocated. Due to the nature of Hampden’s death at the Battle of Chalgrove Field near Thame (he died as a result of an injury to his arm and shoulder) this was assumed to be the body of Hampden himself; however this assumption has since been challenged by other historians.

Great Hampden church stands a mile or so from the village. Its isolation made it an attractive location for some scenes in the 1970 film Cromwell.  In more modern times Hampden House was used extensively by the Hammer Film Studios as the perfect gothic backdrop for many of their films.

The nave of Little Hampden Church was built in the 13th Century and a distinctive half timbered porch was added in the 15th century. There are 13th century wall paintings of saints inside that were discovered in 1907, however they are incomplete due to a major rebuild of the chancel in 1859. Manor Farm sits opposite the church and is plastered white.

Hampden House

Hampden House is a country house in the village of Great Hampden, between Great Missenden and Princes Risborough.  It is named after the Hampden family. The Hampdens (later Earls of Buckinghamshire) are recorded as owning the site from before the Norman Conquest. They lived continually in the house until 1938.

The core of the present house is Elizabethan. However the south wing known as King John’s Tower, for some anachronistic reason, dates to the 14th century. This tower is constructed of clunch, a building material peculiar to Bucks, which is a combination of chalk and mud. The tower has traceried Gothic windows and the remains of the original spiral staircase.

A legend, relevant to this part of the house, is that King Edward III and the Black Prince stayed at Hampden House. During the stay the prince and his Hampden host were jousting when a quarrel arose, during which the prince was punched in the face by his host. This act of lèse majesté caused the king and Prince to quit the place in great wrath, and cause their host to forfeit some of his estates to the crown. There is, however no documentary evidence for this act, or of the subsequent revenge although the Black Prince is known to have possessed land in nearby Princes Risborough during his life.

The greater part of the original house was rebuilt in brick in the 17th century; this was again altered in the 18th century. The East wing overlooking the gardens is of a severe classical 18th century style, built between two earlier wings.

The chief feature of the grounds is ‘The Glade’, an avenue through the woods bordered by rhododendrons and ancient oaks. It is terminated by two small lodges known, because of their design, as the ‘Pepper Pots’. It is said that the avenue was cut through the wood to facilitate easy access to the house for Queen Elizabeth I when she was entertained at Hampden, during one of her progresses, by Griffith Hampden Esq.

Gothic rebuilding

It is the north and west ranges of the house that have never received the architectural acclaim they deserve, remodelled circa 1750 to a design by the architect Thomas Iremonger, with battlements and ogee topped windows, they are a form of gothic known as Strawberry Hill. This style predates the so-called invention of Strawberry Hill Gothic at Horace Walpole’s house by nearly twenty years.

The interior of the house was also remodelled at this time, when a suite of magnificent state rooms were created with remarkable rococo ceilings, and superb marble fireplaces. One fireplace is of especial note carved by Sir Henry Cheere. The 60-foot-long (18 m), panelled, Great Hall with its huge fireplace is the largest room in the house.

The Hampden and Hobart families

The Parish Church is also in the grounds and it contains many memorials to the Hampden family including a monument to John Hampden.  John Hampden died of wounds received during the Battle of Chalgrove during the English Civil War in 1643 fighting for the Parliamentarians.  He had earlier achieved fame and notoriety by his refusal to pay the Ship Money Tax, introduced by the near bankrupt Charles I.  Consequently Hampden was later prosecuted for refusing to pay the tax on his lands in Bucks and Oxon.  After trial he was found guilty, and consequently became a public hero, known as ‘The Patriot’. A monument in the grand avenue at Hampden House marks the spot where he refused to pay, although the exact location of the actual site is in dispute.

Like many old aristocratic families, the Hampdens were for many generations closely associated with the Whig party, eventually found themselves with financial problems. These were exacerbated by one owner of the house who, while Treasurer of the Navy, invested heavily personally, and with Government funds in the South Sea Bubble the resultant crash in 1720 was devastation for the family fortune. Large parts of the estate were sold until only the house and its immediate surroundings remained in the family’s hands. The family never completely regained its former position or wealth.

The true male line of the Hampden family eventually died out. In 1824 the 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire inherited Hampden House and its estates from the heirless Hampden family. His ancestor, Sir John Hobart, 3rd baronet, had married Mary Hampden, a daughter of the house circa 1655. The 5th Earl then joined the Hampden name to his own. The present head of the family is George Miles Hobart-Hampden, 10th Earl of Buckinghamshire.

 Hampden House today

As you can imagine, Hampden House suffered as a result of the family’s financial problems. Brickwork was not repaired correctly and was rendered in cement to hide any damage.  Other repairs were not carried out and so the house deteriorated further.  The family then decided to let the house in 1983. The first tenants were a private girls’ school.  The house still suffering was let again and the second tenants were the Hammer Film Company (specialising in horror films which were shown in the 1980’s on British television.

The house was later sold to Market Run-Off Services (now Hampden PLC), who were a specialist Insurance and Financial Support Services company.  Between 1986 and 1989 they started a huge programme of essential rebuilding. The magnificent state rooms were restored to their former glory, while the unseen upper floors and service areas were converted to internally modern offices. These offices have since been converted to luxurious bedrooms.

The house and grounds are still used occasionally for filming, and though not open to the public; the state rooms are available for hire as a wedding venue. The building is a Grade I Listed Building.

Cottages in Great Hampden

Little Hampden Church

Hampden House Main Entrance

Hampden House

 

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