GREAT HAMPDEN
Ha(m)dena (xi cent.); Magna Hamden (xiv cent.).
The parish of Hampden lies on the slopes of the
Chiltern Hills, the greatest height being 711½ ft.
above the ordnance datum at Hampden House. The
subsoil is chalk, (fn. 1) and the surface clay and gravel.
The inhabitants are chiefly occupied in farming,
1,128¼ acres being arable land and 470¼ permanent
pasture. There are 408¼ acres of wood in the parish. (fn. 2)
A road from Aylesbury to Amersham passes through the
parish. There is practically no village, the people living
in scattered farms and cottages. The nearest stations are
at Princes Risborough and Great Missenden. There
is a common in the southern part of the parish, lying
near Blakemore Farm, and various springs give an
excellent supply of water, but there are, however, no
brooks of any kind. The earthwork known as
Grim's Dyke can be traced for some distance not far
from Hampden House. In 1885 portions of Little
Hampden and Stoke Mandeville parishes were formed
into the civil parish called Great and Little Hampden by Local Government order, dated 25 March of
that year.
The principal house in the parish is Hampden
House, situated high on the Chiltern Hills in a breezy
and open park-like country. Though rich in associations and possessing many traces of old work, successive additions, particularly those of the 18th century,
have left only fragments of the earlier plans. As it
stands to-day, it is an E-shaped building facing south,
with a large east wing running north and south.
The principal entrance to the house is on the north
side of the main building. The oldest part is the
central projection of the E; it is at least as old as
the first half of the 14th century, and according to
local tradition was originally a tower, though the
walls, some three feet thick, do not confirm the idea.
It is of two stories, with a modern embattled parapet
projecting on corbels, below which is a flat band of
trefoiled arches, probably an 18th-century addition,
which runs round the whole house at this level. In
the south face of this building is a wide 15th-century
entrance doorway, but the inner doorway, which
leads to the body of the house, is of mid-14th-century
date with the characteristic wave-mould and hollow.
The rear arches of the windows of this room are also
of the same date. The body of the house dates, as
far as can be seen, from the beginning of the 17th
century, and is separated from the older portion by a
space of some eighteen inches or more. It is of two
stories and an attic, with wooden-mullioned windows,
and fine stacks of brick chimneys with octagonal
shafts, and contains in its eastern half the hall and the
great staircase, both of 17th-century date, but greatly
altered and 'embellished' in the 18th century, and
again later in comparatively modern times. The
hall runs through two stories, having balustraded
galleries on all sides on the first-floor level; its walls
are panelled and hung with portraits, and it has a
coved plaster ceiling. The kitchens and offices lie to
the west of the hall. The large east wing of the
house was completely altered in character by Robert,
afterwards first Viscount Hampden, about 1760, at
which time, or possibly later, almost the whole of the
exterior of the house was coated with cement. This
wing contains the present dining-room, with a bedroom beyond it to the north, a large drawing-room in
the middle of the wing, with smaller rooms north and
south of it, and at the south end the old dining-room,
now a billiard room. A passage runs along the west
side of the wing, being made at the expense of the
series of rooms, which were arranged after the fashion
of the day, to open one to another. They contain
some fine plaster ceilings and interesting examples of
Chinese wall papers, the bills for which were recently
discovered amongst some old documents, and are dated
1740. In the bedroom at the north end of the wing
is a fine Chippendale bed, in which tradition says that
Queen Elizabeth once slept; the claim has probably
been transferred from some older bed formerly here.
Hampden House contains many interesting portraits
of the Hampdens and Hobarts, and also of many
great people from the 16th century on. There are
full-length portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Queen
Henrietta Maria, of Oliver Cromwell, Bishop Bonner,
Sir Kenelm Digby, and others. Of John Hampden
'the patriot,' with whose name the chief interest of
the house must ever be associated, there are several
relics. A silver cup, dated 1568, is preserved as that
from which he received the Holy Sacrament before
his death in June 1643; a long room in the attic
story is called John Hampden's Library, and the room
in the angle between the hall and the east wing is
said to be the scene of his arrest for refusal to pay the
ship-money tax. There are two portraits of him in
the house, one by Jansen coming from Strawberry
Hill, but it seems doubtful whether they, or a small
bust also here, are really what they claim to be.
The surroundings of the house are very picturesque,
a splendid avenue of beech trees running eastwards
down the slopes from the east wing, and close by to
the south is the church of Great Hampden, approached
from the road by another avenue.
Manor
There is only one mention of HAMPDEN in Domesday Book, and this in all
probability refers to Great Hampden only. (fn. 3)
Before the Conquest Baldwin, a man of Archbishop
Stigand, held and could sell the manor of Hampden,
but afterwards it formed part of the lands of William
son of Ansculf. (fn. 4) With the rest of his lands it passed
to the Somery family, and formed part of the honour
of Dudley. (fn. 5) In 1302–3 it was held of John de
Bernak of the honour of Dudley, (fn. 6) and in 1346 of
Galfrid Bernak. (fn. 7) William son of Ansculf granted
the manor to Otbert, or Osbert, who held it at the
time of the Domesday Survey. (fn. 8) In a 17th-century
pedigree of the Hampden family, Osbert is said to
have been the son of Baldwin, the tenant in the time
of Edward the Confessor, and the descent of the
Hampden family is traced from him. (fn. 9) One name,
however, in the pedigree does not coincide with the
descent obtained from a lawsuit of the reign of
Henry III. In the pedigree Osbert was succeeded in
direct succession by Baldwin, Robert, and Bartholomew. In the lawsuit, Alexander appears instead of
Bartholomew, his mother being Alice, the daughter
and heiress of 'Remerus le Loherer.' (fn. 10) Alexander
was followed by Reginald (fn. 11) and another Alexander,
who held the manor, as one knight's fee, early in the
reign of Henry III. (fn. 12) He was Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1249 and 1259. (fn. 13) He
died between 1272–3 (fn. 14) and 1302–3, when he had
been succeeded by his second son Reginald. (fn. 15) John
de Hampden, the son of Reginald, held the manor in
1346, (fn. 16) and was a knight of the shire in two Parliaments of Edward III in 1351–2, and again in 1363. (fn. 17)
He died in 1375, and his son
Edmund inherited the manor, (fn. 18)
and, like his father, represented the county in Parliament. (fn. 19) He was also sheriff
of the two counties five times
during the reigns of Richard II,
Henry IV, and Henry V. (fn. 20)
John Hampden, his son, succeeded him, (fn. 21) and obtained, in
1446–7, a charter of liberties
within his manor of Great
Hampden, granting him a
view of frankpledge twice a
year, with the assize of bread, wine, and ale, and
other privileges. He also had a grant of free warren in
his demesne lands, and licence to inclose and impark
500 acres of land and 100 acres of wood in the
manor. (fn. 22) He was sheriff in 1456. (fn. 23) Thomas
Hampden succeeded him in 1457–8, (fn. 24) and held the
manor till his death, shortly after the accession of
Henry VII. (fn. 25) His heir was his son John Hampden, (fn. 26) but the manor seems to have been in the hands
of trustees or feoffees till 1495, when they demised
it to John Hampden. (fn. 27) He died the next year, (fn. 28)
and Great Hampden passed to his son John. (fn. 29) The
second John Hampden was knighted before 1513,
and in that year was with the royal fleet in command
of The Saviour. (fn. 30) He also may be identified with the
Sir John Hampden 'of the Hill' who followed
Henry VIII to the Field of the Cloth of Gold, (fn. 31) and
attended him at his meeting with the Emperor
Charles V. (fn. 32) On his death in 1553 (fn. 33) he left two
daughters as his heiresses, but he left Great Hampden
by will to his cousin John Hampden, (fn. 34) the son of
William Hampden of Dunton, and of Audrey one
of the daughters and heiresses of Richard Hampden
of Great Kimble. (fn. 35) John Hampden left the manor
to his son Griffith in tail male, and the latter
succeeded to it on his father's death in 1558. (fn. 36)
He died in 1591, and it passed to his son William
Hampden, (fn. 37) who married Elizabeth daughter of Sir
Henry Cromwell and aunt of the Lord Protector. (fn. 38)
He did not survive his father many years, dying in
1597, (fn. 39) and naturally had not taken so much part in
the public life of the county as some of his predecessors. His will is interesting, and suggests that his
life was mainly occupied with country pursuits, his
horses being carefully described and generally bequeathed by name. (fn. 40) His son and heir John was a
minor at the time of his father's death. (fn. 41) He afterwards became the most famous member of his family,
earning the name of the 'Patriot' (fn. 42) by his refusal to
pay the illegal tax of ship-money. He was born in
London, but probably lived as a boy at Great Hampden. (fn. 43) He was sent for three years to the grammar
school at Thame, and in 1609 became a commoner
of Magdalen College, Oxford. (fn. 44) In 1613 he was
admitted a student of the Inner Temple, (fn. 45) and six
years later he married his first wife Elizabeth Symeon.
The next year he was returned to Parliament for the
first time, (fn. 46) and from 1625 to 1628 he represented
the borough of Wendover without interruption. (fn. 47) In
these years he mainly lived in London, and though
sitting on many committees, did not take a leading
part in Parliamentary affairs. Before the dissolution
of 1629 he retired to the country and lived at Great
Hampden. (fn. 48) There are, however, practically no
records of his life there, his private letters that have
been preserved being very few in number. He is
said to have been fond of making improvements in his
estates and house, and parts of the present house may
have been built by him in 1629 and the succeeding
years.
Hampden Argent a saltire glues between four eagles azure.
To Great Hampden the sons of Sir John Eliot
frequently went during their father's imprisonment in
the Tower. (fn. 49) Eliot himself received provisions from
Great Hampden, one such present being sent with
the following letter: 'This bearer is appointed to
present you with a buck out of my paddock, which
must be a small one to hold proportion with the place
and soyle it was bred in.' (fn. 50) In the county he was
active as a justice of the peace for the Three Hundreds
of Aylesbury. (fn. 51) In 1634 he was presented at a special
ecclesiastical visitation for not always attending his
own parish church. His opposition to the Church
of England and the bishops had not at this time
become so pronounced as it did later, and he made
his peace with Sir Nathaniel Brent, the vicar-general,
promising his willing obedience to the laws of the
Church in the future. (fn. 52)
Clarendon describes him at this time as being 'of
ancient family, and a fair estate in the county Buckingham, where he was esteemed very much, which his
carriage and behaviour to all men deserved very well.
But there was scarcely a gentleman in England of so
good a fortune (for he was the owner of above £ 1,500
land yearly) less known out of the county in which he
lived than he was, until he appeared in the Exchequer
chamber to support the right of the people in the
case of ship-money.' (fn. 53) The determination, reached
in 1636, to oppose the levy of ship-money severed
the close connexion between John Hampden and his
own parish. From that date he was rarely at Great
Hampden, and after 1640 never lived there again. (fn. 54)
On the outbreak of war he raised a regiment of Buckinghamshire infantry, and commanded it until his
death. (fn. 55) At the battle of Chalgrove Field, where he
was mortally wounded, he would not wait for his
own regiment, but went as a volunteer with the
troops that had already come up. (fn. 56) He died shortly
after the engagement, and is supposed to have been
buried in Great Hampden Church, but the places of
his death and burial have been much disputed.
Richard Hampden, (fn. 57) the son of the patriot, succeeded his father in the family estates, (fn. 58) and shared
his political opinions. He was, however, an ardent
supporter of Oliver Cromwell and voted for his
accepting the crown in 1656. (fn. 59) He was nominated
in the same year a member of the Other House,
and so incurred the satire of a republican pamphleteer,
who ascribed his nomination to the desire 'to settle
and secure him to the interest of the new Court and
wholly take him off from the thoughts of ever following his father's steps or inheriting his noble virtues. . . .' (fn. 60) He sat in Parliament, either for Wendover or for Buckinghamshire, in many of the Parliaments after the Restoration. (fn. 61) He was a Presbyterian
and a great advocate of the Exclusion Bill. (fn. 62) He did
not, however, take part in any of the plots of the time,
though his son John was implicated in the Rye House
Plot in 1683, and two years later joined Monmouth's
Rebellion. (fn. 63) Richard Hampden sat in the Convention Parliament in 1689, and on the accession of
William III obtained office, being appointed Commissioner of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. (fn. 64) He died in 1695 (fn. 65) and was succeeded by
his son, who had obtained a pardon for his share in
Monmouth's rising. (fn. 66) John sat with his father for
Wendover in the Convention Parliament, (fn. 67) but
suffered from depression from the time of his trial for
high treason and finally committed suicide in 1696. (fn. 68)
He was succeeded by his son Richard, (fn. 69) who also
represented Wendover or the county in several Parliaments. (fn. 70) He was appointed Treasurer of the Navy
in 1717–18, (fn. 71) but in 1720 a deficiency of £73,706
odd appeared in his accounts, said to be due to
speculations in the South Sea scheme. (fn. 72) His estates
were liable to sequestration, and a bill was brought in
to enable the Treasury to compound with him. The
affair created great excitement, and is mentioned in a
news letter of the time—'Hampden's petition and
the Wycombe election, both scandalous, are the only
subject of talk. I know not what is done on the
first, I believe what Sir Robert hinted, but would not
propose, will be followed, to take half the estate to
the public, and to settle the remainder on his wife
and brother.' (fn. 73) This was practically the procedure
followed, and Great Hampden, which was preserved,
passed to John Hampden, the half-brother and heir
of Richard, who died in 1728. (fn. 74) John Hampden
was the last member of the family in the male line to
hold Great Hampden, which, on his death in 1753,
passed under his will to the descendants of Ruth, the
second daughter of John Hampden the patriot. (fn. 75)
She had married Sir John Trevor, and the Hampden
estates came to her grandson Robert Trevor. (fn. 76) By
royal licence he took the name of Hampden for himself and his heirs male in lieu
of his patronymic of Trevor. (fn. 77)
He succeeded his brother as
fourth Baron Trevor of Bromham in 1764, and in 1776
was created Viscount Hampden of Great and Little
Hampden. (fn. 78) His two sons
succeeded him at Great Hampden, (fn. 79) but on the death in
1824 of John, the younger
son, without children, the
estate passed under the will of
the John Hampden of 1753
to the descendants of Mary,
John Hampden the patriot.
John Hobart, bart., and her
descendant, George Robert
Hobart, fifth Earl of Buckinghamshire, succeeded to the
Hampden possessions. (fn. 80) In
1824 by royal licence he took
the name of Hampden only,
but died in 1849 without
direct heirs. He was succeeded by his brother, who
took the name of HobartHampden, (fn. 81) and his estates
are now held by the present
Earl of Buckinghamshire, his
great-grandson. The manor of Great Hampden
has been enfranchised, but the earl remains the sole
landowner in the parish.
Trevor. Party bend sinisterwise ermine and erminees a lion or.
Hobart. Sable a star or between two flaunches ermine.
Church
The church of ST. MARY MAGDALEN consists of a chancel 27 ft. 7 in.
by 15 ft. 10 in.; a nave with clearstory
42 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft. 3 in.; north and south aisles
9 ft. 3 in. and 8 ft. wide respectively; a south-west
tower 7 ft. 3 in. square, and a south porch, all measurements being internal. Previous to the 14th century the church appears to have consisted of an
aiseless nave and a chancel of the same size as
at present, or nearly so. Aisles were added to
the nave in the 14th century, between 1325 and
1350, the north aisle being probably the first to be
built. If they had predecessors no trace of them is
now visible. The lower part of the tower, which
carries on the lines of the south aisle and practically
forms its western bay, belongs to the same period.
The upper stages are of later date, and it may be that
the work here was interrupted by the Black Death.
The chancel arch was inserted towards the end of the
14th century, and at the beginning of the 15th century another scheme of enlargement was taken in
hand. The tower was completed, a clearstory added
to the nave, and the north wall of the north aisle
was taken down and the aisle widened, the junction
of the 14th and 15th-century work being still clearly
visible at both ends of the aisle. Up to this time the
aisles were probably roofed by an extension of the
high-pitched nave roof, the line of which is to be
seen on the east wall of the tower; but at the date
of the widening of the north aisle, the new north
wall of which was built higher than the old one, a
low-pitched roof was put on the aisle, and at the same
time the south aisle walls were raised and a similar
roof constructed on this side of the church. The
chancel seems to have been rebuilt or remodelled about
the same time, and its windows and those of the aisles
belong to this date. In modern times the tower has
been largely restored and an outer steep-pitched roof
put on the nave, but traces of both the older gables
are to be seen on the west wall of the nave and less
clearly on the east wall.
The chancel is lit by five three-light 15th-century
windows, one to the east and two in the north and
south walls. On either side of the east window is a
modern canopied image niche designed from fragments found here and now preserved in a glass case
in the north aisle. At the east end of the south wall
is a small 15th-century piscina, and in the western jambs
of the north-west and south-west windows are the
openings of squints from both aisles. The chancel
arch is of two orders, continuously moulded with a
hollow chamfer and a double ogee and irregular halfoctagonal moulded capitals.
The nave is of four bays. The north arcade,
earlier in date than the other, has piers of four halfround shafts with hollow chamfers between and
moulded capitals and bases. The arches are twocentred and of two moulded orders, with labels having
grotesque drips over the piers, while at a considerable
height above the crown of each arch is a two-light
clearstory window of 15th-century date with a segmental head, trefoiled lights, and a deep external
splay, the glass line being nearly in the middle of the
wall. The south arcade is of the same detail, except
in regard to the capitals, which are deeper and of a
somewhat later section. This arcade is of three bays
only, on account of the position of the tower at the
west end of the south aisle, and there are also only
three south clearstory windows. The west window
of the nave is of 14th-century date, with three trefoiled lights and flowing tracery of late and rather
clumsy design.
The north aisle has a three-light 15th-century east
window, of the same design as those of the chancel,
and two similar windows in the north wall, between
which is the north door. This is of 14th-century
detail, and must have been moved outwards when the
aisle was widened. There is no west window to this
aisle.
The south aisle has an east and a south window
like those of the north aisle. At the east end of the
south wall is a 14th-century piscina with a cinquefoiled head of two orders and a shelf. The south
door is of the same date, with plain chamfered jambs
and two-centred head, and opens to a contemporary
south porch with a moulded outer arch, small squareheaded windows on east and west, and stone benches.
In the western bay of the south aisle stands the
tower, its eastern arch being of two wave-moulded
orders which die into widely chamfered responds. The
tower has, in its lowest stage, two small lancets very
much modernized, and is of three stages with an
embattled parapet, its external masonry being in great
measure modern. The two-light belfry windows are
very small, and have above them two quatrefoiled
openings on each face, which are entirely in modern
stonework.
The woodwork of the church is of no special interest. The nave roof, resting on stone corbels carved
with shield-bearing angels, is of 15th-century style,
with moulded tie-beams and carved brackets beneath
them, and in the south porch is a good roof with
15th-century detail, ornamented with roses and a
shield of the Hampden arms.
There is also a 17th-century Communion table, and
within the altar rails two handsome carved oak chairs
of about the same date. The font, in the north aisle,
is circular and of 13th-century date with a circular
moulded stem and cup-shaped fluted bowl, with a
band of ornament round the upper edge. It belongs
to a type developed from the local 12th-century form.
On the south wall of the chancel is a Purbeck slab
to Elizabeth wife of John Hampden, 1634, daughter
and sole heiress of Edmund Symeon of Pyrton in
Oxfordshire. In the south aisle is a wall monument
to Richard Hampden, 1662, and his wife Anne
Lane, 1674, with a shield bearing the Hampden
arms, impaling Party azure and gules three saltires
argent, which are the arms of Lane.
In the chancel floor are the following brasses:—
The figures of John Hampden, esq., 1496, and his
wife Elizabeth Sidney, with four sons and six daughters.
On the slab are five shields: (1) Quarterly, 1st Hampden, 2nd and 3rd, Argent a chief gules and therein
two harts' heads caboshed or, for Popham, 4th, Six
lions; (2) Hampden impaling Or a pheon azure, for
Sidney; (3) and (4) Sidney; and (5) Hampden.
Griffith Hampden, 1591, and Anne Cave his
second wife, 1594. An inscription plate without
figures. On a shield are the following coats: Quarterly, 1st, Hampden; 2nd, Popham; 3rd, Six lions;
4th, Hampden with a border azure for Hampden of
Great Kimble; impaling: Quarterly, 1st and 4th
Azure fretty argent, for Cave; 2nd and 3rd Ermine
a bend with three boars' heads razed thereon.
William Hampden, 1597, son of Griffith Hampden,
and Anne his wife; no figures. On a shield of
twelve quarters: 1st, Hampden; 2nd, Popham; 3rd,
Six lions; 4th, A lion; 5th, Three spear-heads;
6th, A cheveron between three fleurs-de-lis; 7th,
Sidney; 8th, Cave; 9th, Ermine on a bend three
boars' heads razed; 10th, Three cheverons; 11th,
A lion; 12th, A lion.
The figures of live sons and three daughters, with
no inscription, but a shield with Azure three horses'
heads cut off at the neck with their bridles or impaling Hampden, which shield commemorates the match
of Sir Jerome Horsey, kt., with Elizabeth, eldest
daughter of John Hampden and Anne Cave.
The figures of Sir John Hampden, kt., 20 December, 1553, Elizabeth Savage his first wife, Philippa
Wilford his second wife, and three daughters. There
are three shields: (1) Quarterly, 1st, Hampden;
2nd, Sidney; 3rd, Popham; 4th, Six lions; impaling: Argent a pale indented sable, for Savage;
(2) The quartered coat as above; (3) The same, impaling Gules a cheveron between three leopards' heads
or with a ring on the cheveron, for Wilford.
An inscription plate to William Hampden, Lord of
Emmington, Oxfordshire, 1612.
On the north wall of the chancel is a large monument set up by Robert, afterwards first Viscount
Hampden, in 1754, bearing a relief of the battle of
Chalgrove Field, at which John Hampden was
mortally wounded. Above is a tree hung with
sixteen shields showing the alliances of the Hampden
family.
The grave which is said to be that of John Hampden was opened in 1828 in order to test the accuracy
of the accounts of his death, but the results were not
conclusive.
There are three bells, the treble by Taylor, 1906,
and the other two of 1625 by Ellis Knight.
The plate consists of a chalice of 1805, a paten of
1804, and a plated flagon and second paten.
The only old book of registers contains baptisms
from 1537 to 1812, burials 1557 to 1812, and marriages 1557 to 1752. The marriage register for 1752
to 1812 seems to be missing.
Advowson
The church of St. Mary Magdalen (fn. 82) is a rectory, the advowson of
which was held by the Hampdens,
and under the will of John Hampden passed to the
Trevors in 1754 and to the Hobarts in 1824. (fn. 83) The
Earl of Buckinghamshire is the patron of the living
at the present day.