Huckells in the Kimbles
THE HUCKELLS IN THE KIMBLES
The Huckell family lived in the "Kimbles" area of Buckinghamshire, England
until 1858 when they emigrated to Canada. This page outlines where they lived
prior to that date.
1- Marsh Hamlet, Benjamin Huckell (1781-1841) lived here
with his wife Sarah (1791-1856). They were farmers. Benjamin and possibly
Sarah are buried in the St. Nicholas churchyard in Great Kimble. They had
one son, also named Benjamin. At the time of the 1841 Census he was not living
on the farm with them.
2- Great Kimble, Location of St. Nicholas, the parish church
for Great Kimble parish. The William Reading family also lived here
and most of William's family is buried here. William's daughter Ann married
Benjamin Huckell (1822-1896) here in 1843. All of the British-born children
of Benjamin and Ann Huckell were christened there between 1843 and 1855. The
town itself sits at the base
of the Chiltern Hills.
3- Round Hill
Farm, Benjamin and Ann lived here with their family from 1843 until about
1848. Benjamin Jr (1843), Thomas (1845), Sarah (1846) and William(1847) were
born there.
4- Horsenden,
The family lived here until about 1852, working on the Horsenden Manor farm.
Born here were John (1849) and Elizabeth (1851)
5- Wendover, The last town in England that the Huckells
lived in. Benjamin worked as a miller. Children born here were Lucy (1853)
and Joseph (1855).
The Kimbles
The Kimbles are a group of villages to the south of Aylesbury in the county
of Buckinghamshire, that sit at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. The three
villages are called Great Kimble, Little Kimble and Kimble Wick. Their name
comes from Cymbeline (also known as Cunobelin) who was once King of the Catuvellauni,
an ancient Celtic tribe of pre-Roman Britain. Written about by William Shakespeare
in his tragedy of the same name, Cymbeline was able to successfully stave
off the planned Roman invasion of Britain led by Emporer Caligula by supporting
the fiercely anti-Roman Druids and offering refuge to exiled fighters from
Romanised Gaul.It is believed that earthworks found on the nearby Beacon Hill
that separates the Kimbles from Chequers were the foundations of a hillfort
built during the reign of Cymbeline; coins bearing his name have been found
in archaeological digs in the area. The three villages are respectively named
for "The Greater village of Cymbeline", "The Lesser village of Cymbeline",
and "The Settlement of Cymbeline".
Marsh, Buckinghamshire
Marsh is a hamlet in the parish of Great Kimble in Buckinghamshire, England.
Formerly a parish in its own right it was annexed into the parish of Great
Kimble in the late medieval period when its manor was purchased by Lord Hampden
(ancestor of John Hampden) who was also the lord of Great Kimble manor. The
hamlet name comes from the surname Marshall; this was the name of the man
who owned the manor in the Twelfth century. In the English Civil War it was
reputed that King Charles I of England spent some time in hiding in the pub
in the hamlet. Today the hamlet is just a small collection of houses, a pub
and a couple of farms. The name Marsh is also given to the nearby Marsh Level
Crossing on the railway line that runs from Princes Risborough to Aylesbury.
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment that stretches in a south-west
to north-east diagonal across several counties of southern England, but is
most prominent in Buckinghamshire. The ridge overlooks the Vale of Aylesbury,
and approximately coincides with the southernmost extent of the ice sheet
during the last Ice Age.
Its highest point is at Coombe Hill near Wendover. A prominent hill is the
nearby Ivinghoe Beacon, the starting point of the Icknield Way and The Ridgeway
long distance path, which follows the line of the Chilterns for many miles
to the west, where they merge with the Wiltshire downs and southern Cotswolds.
To the east of Ivinghoe Beacon is Dunstable Downs, a steep section of the
Chiltern scarp that is the site of the famous London Gliding Club and Whipsnade
Zoo.
The more gently sloping country to the south of the Chiltern scarp is also
generally referred to as The Chilterns, containing much Beech woodland and
many pretty villages. Due to the quality hardwood, the area was once renowned
for its chair making industry, centred on the town of High Wycombe
Wendover
Wendover is a picturesque market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern
Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. The mainly arable parish is 5,832 acres
in size and boasts many hamlets that nestle in amongst the lush forest on
the surrounding hills. The town name is of Brythonic origin and means "white
waters", pertaining to the stream that rises in the adjacent hills and flows
through the middle of the town, bringing chalk deposits on its way. The parish
church of St Mary sits outside the town to the east on the hillside: a feature
that is very common among towns with strong Celtic origins. The town was once
the home of Anne Boleyn whose father held the manor of Aylesbury among his
many estates. There is still a row of houses in the town today, known as
Anne Boleyn's Cottages.
Today the town is very popular with commuters for London and thus it is
a very expensive area in which to live. The popularity is due partly to the
town's close proximity to London by road, partly to the railway station in
the town on the Aylesbury branch line of the Great Western Railway, and partly
because it is so picturesque. The property value has risen dramatically in
recent years since the completion of the Wendover Bypass. The town is home
to racing driver Jackie Stewart and actor David Jason and is a popular stopping
off point for the Prime Minister due to its proximity to Chequers.