CHECKENDON
Checkendon
is a pleasant rambling Chilterns village surrounded
by beech woods, with bluebells in the spring, and the
rich colour of the autumn leaves. The older part of the
village is at one end and is centred around the Church
of St. Peter and St. Paul. The area around Checkendon
Court and St. Peter's and St. Paul's Church is a conservation
area.
The area has a long history of settlement and the parish
itself has a record of continuous settlement since the
C7 AD. It is listed in the Domesday Book under the name
Cecadene, which is Old English for Ceaca's hill or hill-pasture.
The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was built in the
C12 by friars from the monastery of Bec in Normandy and
probably replaced an earlier timber building which in
turn replaced an earlier pagan structure. The lych-gate
commemorates the men who fell in the two World Wars. For the history and full information about the Church of St Peter and St Paul click here.
Next to the church is a fine Tudor mansion known as Checkendon
Court with its long drive flanked by clipped yew trees
and a pair of imposing cast iron gates. The drive to Checkendon
Court runs by the church and part of its length is a public
footpath. This estate dates from 1030. Across the road
from the church are several timber framed buildings, among
them one that used to be the old smithy, also the former
post office and the village pub. Next to the church is
the primary school, village hall and new rectory.
Newer development is at the other end of the village and
here, in a C20 bungalow, is the post office and stores.
Between the newer part of the village and the conservation
area is a large village green. Around and about the village
are dotted a number of country houses.
Checkendon
lies between Woodcote and Stoke Row, north of the
A4074 between Wallingford and Reading.