Denham Conservation Area Character Appraisal September 2008 in

Denham Conservation Area
Catalogues of the Denham Place and Denham Court estates from the
1840s/1850s demonstrate the importance of farming in the parish. Farm land
surrounded the conservation area at that time. Farming has since suffered a
dramatic decline and the only farm left in the village (Court Farm) was
converted in the 1990s into a complex of residential, office and studio
accommodation.
Although Denham village is generally regarded as an affluent commuter
village, it is interesting for its retention of a variety of uses. In the
conservation area, apart from houses, there are the Village Hall, the parish
church, chapel, a woodworking factory, plenty of hostelries, studio/offices
and shops.
Although it has lost the range of shops it once had, there remains a
newsagents’ shop and Denham Gallery, once a grocery shop and last used as
an interior decoration showroom/shop. Evidence of earlier shops remains in
the form of some windows. Although beerhouses such as the Eight Bells
(White Cottage) and the Black Donkey (Ashbys) have closed the number of
surviving hostelries is still remarkable for such a small place, with the Falcon,
Swan, Green Man and Da Remo restaurant still in business. It is sometimes
said this phenomenon is a relic of coaching days but it seems unusual for
coaches to have used Denham as a stop;it was off the main turnpike and
nearby Uxbridge and Beaconsfield were already established as the main
coaching stops. Perhaps the inns are a reflection of the need for
accommodation for visitors to Denham Place and Denham Court. Nowadays
they provide another attraction for visitors.
Historic landscape characterisation
Characterisation of Denham’s surviving historic landscape (see map in the
Appendix) draws attention to the distinction between historic village core and
modern settlement areas, the latter apparently involving the partial infilling
of the water meadows south of the Misbourne. The surviving meadows south
of Village Road can be traced back to at least 1590 and form an important
element in the village’s character, and, as noted above, a series of
unidentified earthworks is visible in the meadow. Denham was largely
enclosed by the early 17 th century (Tate, 1946). The 1590 map shows the
extent of medieval open fields north and south of the village. The historic
village core is ‘book-ended’ by parkland landscapes to the east and west. The
map evidence suggests that 18 th or pre 18 th century irregular enclosure around
the village has been subject to subsequent piecemeal enclosure and
incorporation into Denham Court, now Buckinghamshire Golf Course.
The Colne Valley Park Historic Landscape Characterisation study divides the
conservation area between two zones. To the north of the village ‘Chalfont-
Denham parkland’ characterised by a series of post medieval parklands which
have become fragmented. Also noted are significant areas of ancient and 18 th
century woodland in the northern part of Denham Parish. The bulk of the
village falls within ‘Oxford Road settlement’, a zone characterised by small
settlements along the historic Oxford Road , ‘primarily a 20 th century
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Origins, development & uses