STONE HUNDRED 



HARTWELL 



our Lady on the other seeks to counteract him. On 

 the north wall is a mass of painting of various dates. 

 There are two particularly finely drawn lions to a 

 large scale and of i^h-century workmanship, and 

 part of a large 15th-century figure of St. Christopher, 

 while to the west of the north doorway is a very 

 interesting figure, also representing St. Christopher, 

 but of early I4th or late ijth-century style. 



There is only one bell, which was cast by Thomas 

 Mean in 1791. 



The church plate consists of a chalice of 1771, a 

 paten of 1 86 1, and a pewter flagon and almsdish. 



There are only two old books of registers, the first 

 containing baptisms and burials from 1672, and 

 marriages from 1701 to 1768, while the second book 

 has the baptisms and burials from 1770 to 1812. 

 The marriage register for this period is missing. 



The church of Little Hampden 

 was appendant to the church of 

 Hartwell." How closely the con- 

 nexion was maintained is not certain, but presenta- 

 tions were made to the two churches together." In 

 1754 there were, however, separate churchwardens 

 for Little Hampden." 



The ecclesiastical parishes were separated by an 

 Order in Council dated 28 June 1892, and Little 

 Hampden was then united with Great Hampden. 



The advowson was held by the lords of the manor 

 until the latter was sold to the family of Dodd. Sir 

 Thomas Lee retained the advowson, and his descend- 

 ants presented to the rectories of Hartwell and Little 

 Hampden " until the separation of the parishes. The 

 Earl of Buckinghamshire now holds the advowson of 

 the united living of Great and Little Hampden. 



HARTWELL 



Herdwelle (zi cent.) ; Hertwell (xiii cent.). 



The parish of Hartwell lies in the Vale of Ayles- 

 bury, bordering on Aylesbury parish on the west. 

 The height of the land varies from 200 ft. to 300 ft. 

 above the Ordnance datum. Various streams run 

 through the parish and join the River Thame, and 

 there are several springs of water. The subsoil is 

 London Clay, Kimmeridge Clay, and Portland Beds; 1 

 the surface soil is rich loam. The population is 

 chiefly occupied in agriculture, on grazing farms or 

 in market gardens. A large brick-kiln, however, pro- 

 vides work for a considerable number of men. The 

 main road from Thame to Aylesbury passes through 

 the parish, and the nearest station is also at Ayles- 

 bury. The common fields of Hartwell were inclosed 

 under an Act of 16 George III, the award being 

 given in 1779. The 

 parish contains 9 1 8 

 acres ;' 853 are laid 

 down in permanent 

 grass, and 234 are 

 arable land.' Various 

 Anglo-Saxon remains 

 have been dug up, 

 chiefly consisting of 

 iron weapons. The 

 park in which Hart- 

 well House stands 

 takes up a great part 

 of the parish, and the 

 church is within its 

 boundaries and close 

 to the house. The 

 old rectory is a pretty 

 piece of early i8th- 

 century brickwork 

 with a well designed 

 cornice. There is no 

 village of Hartwell, 

 but the chief collec- 

 tion of houses is known 

 as Lower Hartwell, on 



the north-west boundary of the park, end is com- 

 posed for the most part of small half-timbered and 

 thatched cottages. 



Hartwell House is an interesting example of a mid- 

 i8th-century remodelling of an early 17th-century 

 plan. The latter was evidently of the |-| form, with 

 a main block standing east and west, about 105 ft. 

 long, and east and west wings of about the same 

 length, the main block joining the wings near their 

 north ends ; the wings extended southwards and 

 formed two sides of a courtyard open to the south, 

 with projecting buildings in the north-cast and north- 

 west angles, the former containing the principal stair- 

 case, while the site of the latter is now occupied by 

 the chapel, an arrangement which may have existed 

 in the older building. In the middle of the i8th 



HARTWELL HOUSE : THE ENTRANCE FRONT 



" Ft of F. Buckt. Ett. 55 Hen. 

 Ill ; RecoT. R. Trin. 14 Ja. I | ibid. 

 Trin. 11 Chat. II. 



" P.R.O. Intt. Bki. 1694. 



Churchwardeni' Acct. Bk. in poi- 

 icuinn of the rector of Great Hamp- 

 den. 



P.R.O. Init. Bka. 1694, 1793. 



293 



> V.C.H. Buck, i, GeoL Map. 

 1 Ord. Surv. 



1 Inf. from Bd. of Agric. (1905). Thcie 

 return! include land in other pariihei. 



