Holmer Green

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Holmer Green
Holmer Green shown within Buckinghamshire
Population	4,077
OS grid reference	SU904971
District	Chiltern
Shire county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	High Wycombe
Postcode district	HP15
Dialling code	01494
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
European Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Chesham & Amersham
List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire

Coordinates: 51°39′56″N 0°41′40″W / 51.66542, -0.69432

Historically, Holmer Green was a hamlet in the parish of Little Missenden, in Buckinghamshire, England. Today it is considered a village in its own right even though it looks to the casual observer like a far corner of High Wycombe. It is next to Hazlemere, about three miles south of Great Missenden but unlike Hazlemere, Holmer Green is part of both Little Missenden parish and Chiltern District – a reflection of its origins which lie in Little Missenden.

Contents 1 History 2 Modern development 3 Social and Community 4 Education 5 Transport 6 Demography 7 See also 8 External links 9 References

[edit] History

Holmer Green is named after the manor of Holmer that covered a significant part of the parish of Little Missenden in the medieval period. The 'Holmer' part of the name was first recorded as Holeme in the early 13th century and is probably Anglo Saxon in origin. It is commonly thought to derive from 'mere in a hollow' which would refer to Holmer Pond. However there are certain factors which don't support this theory and the -mer element may actually translate to an old Saxon word meaning 'boundary'. The 'Green' part of the name refers to a large and ancient Green, probably dating from the 13th century that used to exist here but was reduced to a mere 4 acres (16,000 m²) in size in 1854. The settlement developed in a corner of a large area of heath (now vanished) known as Wycombe Heath or Holmer Heath.

The location of the original medieval manor house of Holmer remains obscure, although local historians McLain-Smith and Riches have suggested its location at a moated site in nearby Colemans Wood where they have excavated medieval pottery.^[1]

The oldest houses are The Old Rookery, Penfold and Hollands Farm, all of which probably date from the early 16th century when the hamlet thrived due to sheep farming.

During the 19th century, Christina Rossetti and Dante Gabriel Rossetti visited their grandfather Gaetano Polidori's house in the village. It is said that Christina received some of her poetic inspiration from the rural landscape.

In the hundred years between 1850 and 1950, the village became well-known locally for its cherry orchards, and there remain many references to orchards and cherries in road names and house names.

[edit] Modern development

The village was subjected to a wave of housing development during the 1960s and early 1970s and now has about 4,000 inhabitants (almost double that of nearby Great Missenden).^[2] Residents nevertheless jealously guard the village's independence from the Wycombe-based urban sprawl next door. A small but significant number still refuse to acknowledge High Wycombe as the official postal town.

The big individual developments of the 1960s and 1970's included an expanded range of shops around Turners Place, the Winter's Way estate, the Fox Road and Harries Way estate and the Holmer Court estate (Clementi Avenue). A significant number of newcomers to the village came from Middlesex during that period.

[edit] Social and Community

Maintenance of an independent community separate from the Wycombe conurbation has been helped not only by the village's historic connections with the Missendens, Penn Street and Amersham but also by the presence in the village of a full range of pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, three different Christian denomination (Anglican, Baptist, Methodist) churches, a GP practice, a dental practice, three pubs, two private clubs and good sports facilities (particularly Football, Squash, Bowls and Tennis).

Ethnicity in 2001 was 98% white. Received Pronunciation and Estuary English are the village's two predominant English accents. Traces of the old Buckinghamshire accent can be found among some of the village's older native residents.

Holmer Green's most desirable roads range from older roads like Watchet Lane and Penfold Lane through to newer developments like Mead Park. The village's most famous residents are television presenter Fern Britton and her husband celebrity chef Phil Vickery.

Surrounded as it is by Green Belt countryside, the village is well placed for walking, horse riding, and cycling - the Chiltern Heritage Cycling Trail runs right through the centre of the village.^[3]

[edit] Education

Holmer Green First school (ages 5-7) and Holmer Green Junior School (ages 7-11) are part of a cluster of local primary schools used by Holmer Green families. A significant proportion of villagers use the Holmer Green schools while others make use of spare places at Little Kingshill school and the Church of England schools at Penn Street and Great Kingshill.

In 2006, Holmer Green Junior School led this cluster of schools at Key Stage 2 and came joint-tenth in the county for aggregated score.^[4] Previously, Little Kingshill school led the group. All four primary schools are consistently in the top half of KS2 results in Buckinghamshire.

Most Holmer Green children who are not selected under Buckinghamshire’s 11+ selective system go to either Holmer Green Senior School or to the Sir William Ramsay School which share a common catchment area. A smaller number go to the Misbourne School and the Amersham School despite both being out of catchment.

Local pupils selected at age 11 – about a third of all primary school pupils – have traditionally attended Amersham and Chesham schools: Dr Challoner's Grammar School (boys), Dr Challoner's High School (girls) and Chesham High School (mixed). New catchment areas were implemented by Buckinghamshire Local Education Authority in 2004 so that selected pupils may now attend The Royal Grammar School (boys), Beaconsfield High School (girls), or Wycombe High School (girls). Some selected pupils still choose to attend Chesham High School and John Hampden Grammar School (boys) despite both now being out of catchment.

A number of independent schools are available in nearby villages and towns. The Gateway School^[5] (primary) and Pipers Corner School^[6] (primary and secondary girls) are popular with villagers who choose the independent sector.

It is said that Holmer Green people enjoy an unusually wide choice of schools.^[7]

[edit] Transport

Holmer Green is near the A404, a main road which connects junctions of the M4, M40 and M25.

Being only a short drive from both Amersham to the east, and High Wycombe to the south-west, the village is suitably located for commuting into London by fast mainline railway on the Chiltern line which takes about 40 minutes, or on the Metropolitan line which is slower. Consequently, some of the working population commute to London every day. The proportion of London commuters is however lower than some surrounding villages – most villagers work in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire or Hertfordshire. A regular bus service connects Holmer Green to Chesham, Amersham and High Wycombe. The village is also up to an hour's drive from all four of London's main international airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted.

[edit] Demography

Holmer Green compared
2001 UK Census	Holmer Green ward	Chiltern borough	England
Population	4,077	89,228	49,138,831
Foreign born	4.4%	9.3%	9.2%
White	97.8%	95.5%	90.9%
Asian	1.1%	2.8%	4.6%
Black	0.4%	0.3%	2.3%
Christian	77.8%	74.7%	71.7%
Muslim	0.6%	1.9%	3.1%
Hindu	0.0%	0.5%	1.1%
No religion	14.0%	15.0%	14.6%
Unemployed	1.7%	1.7%	3.3%
Retired	16.4%	14.6%	13.5%

As of the 2001 UK census, the Holmer Green electoral ward had a population of 4,077. The ethnicity was 97.8% white, 0.5% mixed race, 1.1% Asian, 0.4% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 95.6% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 0.9% other Western European countries, and 3% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.8% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0% Hindu, 0.2% Sikh, 0.3% Jewish, and 0.6% Muslim. 14% were recorded as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 7% did not state their religion.^[8]

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.9% in full-time employment, 14.1% in part-time employment, 12.5% self-employed, 1.7% unemployed, 2.5% students with jobs, 2.8% students without jobs, 16.4% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 1.7% permanently sick or disabled and 1.2% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 17% retail, 15.6% manufacturing, 7.9% construction, 19.5% real estate, 9.1% health and social work, 6.9% education, 5.6% transport and communications, 4.1% public administration, 2.6% hotels and restaurants, 3.8% finance, 1.1% agriculture and 6.8% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in real estate and construction. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 21.5% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.^[8]

[edit] See also

• Spurlands End
• Beamond End

[edit] External links

• Holmergreen.com
• Holmer Green and Penn Street churches
• Little Missenden Parish Church
• Holmer Green Players
• Holmer Green Sports Association
• Holmer Green Football Club
• AFC Holmer Green
• Holmer Green First School
• Holmer Green Junior School
• Holmergreenparents.info school choice website
• Photos of Holmer Green past and present

[edit] References