Monument record 0702500000 - Latimer village

Summary

Medieval to modern village of Latimer

Protected Status/Designation

  • Conservation Area: Chenies & Latimer Conservation Areas (DBC7400)

Map

Type and Period (2)

  • SETTLEMENT (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 1999 AD)
  • VILLAGE (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 1999 AD)

Description

Conservation Area designated in 1971 and ammended to join with Chenies in 1992 (B1).
First recorded in legal documents in 1220, Latimer was known by various manorial names in the 13th and 14th centuries, with Latimer becoming dominant from the 16th century (B2).
Formerly part of Chesham, Latimer was constituted an ecclesiastical parish in 1868, and the civil parish was formed out of Chesham in 1898, confirmed by Local Government Board Order on 1 April 1899. In 1905 it contained 3,079 acres, of which rather more than half was arable land, while the amount of permanent grass was about double that of woodland. The parish is watered by the Chess, which forms its southern boundary. From its banks narrow lanes ascend to the higher ground in the north. Latimer village is prettily situated in a hollow near the River Chess. It formerly consisted of two parts, but the upper one, on the top of the hill, was destroyed about the middle of the last century [19th century] and merged into the grounds of Latimer House. A few half-timber whitewashed cottages, with small gardens before the doors, stand back from the green, where tall elms cluster round the pump. There is a post office, but no public-house. A steep path leads to the church and rectory-house, near which stands Latimer House, the seat of Lord Chesham (B3).


Latimer House and grounds has been taken over by the Ministry of Defence as a joint Sevices Staff College. Considerable development has taken place and no evidence of former buildings is apparent (B4).
The two parts of Latimer village appear on the 2" Drawing. The upper part, grouped round the church, is centred at TQ 000988 (B5).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.

Sources (6)

  • <1>SBC23441 Unpublished document: Chiltern District Council. 1992. Chenies & Latimer Conservation Areas.
  • <2>SBC8280 Bibliographic reference: A Mawer & F M Stenton. 1925. PLACE-NAMES OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (ENGLISH PLACE-NAMES SOCIETY VOL 2). Vol 2. pp225-226.
  • <3>SBC20462 Bibliographic reference: William Page (ed). 1925. A History of Buckinghamshire (Victoria County History) Volume III. Volume 3. p203.
  • <4>SBC29436 Unpublished document: C F Wardale (Ordnance Survey Field Investigator). 1959. Field Investigator Comments - F1 CFW 22-DEC-59.
  • <5>SBC29448 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1812. OS 2" Drawing No 154E 1812.
  • <6>SBC27441 Digital archive: Historic England. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE). Insert 1998; Update 2004.

Location

Grid reference TQ 00063 99112 (point)
Civil Parish LATIMER, Chiltern, Buckinghamshire

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Apr 10 2026 3:07PM

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