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Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village in Buckinghamshire, England, just to the north of High Wycombe. It is almost 8,000 acres (32 km²) in size, divided mainly between arable and wooded land.
The parish was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and was called Huchedene, or Hugh's Valley in modern English. There are some however that argue the original name refers to the Anglo Saxon man's name Huhha rather than the French Hugh. At the time of the Domesday Book, the village was in the extensive estates of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was the half brother of William the Conqueror.
There were many ancient manors within the parish border, and in addition to Odo, King Henry I of England, King Henry VIII of England, Simon de Montfort and Benjamin Disraeli have all at one time owned property in the parish.
Benjamin Disraeli, later Earl of Beaconsfield lived at Hughenden Manor, a Georgian mansion, altered by the Disraelis when they purchased it in 1848. The manor sits on the brow of the hill to the west of the main road that links Hughenden to High Wycombe. The Earl, who died in 1881 was buried in a vault beneath the church, accessed from the churchyard. The church contains a memorial to the Earl erected by Queen Victoria: the only instance a reigning monarch has ever erected a memorial to a subject. The Manor House was given to the National Trust in 1947.
In the 18th century the parish church was one of few in the whole of England where marriages could take place without either the bride or groom residing in the parish. Hughenden became infamous locally as a place of clandestine marriages, and is referred to extensively as such in local records.
Today the village is in a very beautiful part of the Chiltern Hills and the manor with its extensive gardens are open to the public. It is a very popular place to live for executives travelling into London.
Hamlets
Hamlets in Hughenden Valley include:
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