The
village of Haddenham is in the rural Vale of Aylesbury.
A large, picturesque village full of interesting old houses, winding lanes
and most modern facilities. Haddenham has won
the Best Kept Village in Buckinghamshire award for the past two years
and it is a great place just to wander round. There are many shops and
pubs within a short walk of the cottage.
The village has a modern medical centre,
four churches, several restaurants and even a small museum of its own.
Haddenham
has an excellent garden centre that has lovely gifts in addition to all
things for the garden.
The village is the home of the St Tiggywinkles Wildlife
Hospital, where you can visit rescued animals such as hedgehogs, foxes
and deer.
For bird watchers the village is a great place to see
the Red Kites of the Chilterns. They are an amazing sight, gliding effortlessly
over the village all the year round.
Just
in front of the cottage is an excellent bakery where you can purchase
wonderful bread and cakes. 100 metres away is a set of shops that include
a general store, an off-license, a green grocer and a library. Even closer
is an expresso bar with internet access. On the other side of the village
is a good quality family butchers.
There are 3 duck ponds in the village,
all just a short walk away.
The main line railway station (Haddenham
and Thame Parkway) is just 10 minutes walk from the cottage.
A bit of History
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.
Local Website
The Haddenham village website is: www.haddenham.net
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