IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
The Spinney, HIGH WYCOMBE, HP15 6TP

Situated at the East end of The Common, this Church was opened in January 2000 replacing the old Chapel at the West end of Common, which is now a private dwelling. For SatNav purposes, its postcode is HP15 6TD.

This photo shows the Church at the East end of The Common, with the notice "BAPTIST CHURCH" to the left and its blue noticeboard to the right. Services are held here every Sunday at 10.45am, with activities taking place during the week.

This photo shows the plaque on the left with the words "BAPTIST CHAPEL 1869" which was when the original chapel was built at the West end of The Common. The plaque on the right lists the sixteen men of that Chapel who were killed during the Great War (1914-1918). The wording at the bottom of the plaque says "Greater love hath no man than this", which is from John 15:13.

Autumn in Earl Howe Road

This information board, which has been erected by the Holmer Green Village Society, is at the east end of the Common HP15 6TD, and shows a view looking towards the north end of The Common with Holmer Green Village Hall to the left of the board. It has the following wording: Top left FLORA The most notable tree is the magnificent Horse Chestnut which stands in the North West corner. Many species of tree are planted around the perimeter amongst them are Beech, Silver Birch, Japanese Crab Apple, Mountain Ash, Swedish Whitebeam, Lime, Cherry, Holly, Sycamore, Field Maple and probably the oldest tree here, the English Oak. Scan the QR code below for information about all the trees around the Common. Images of English Oak, Field Maple, Horse Chestnut, Cherry, Silver Birch and Whitebeam. Lower left HOLMER GREEN The first real glimpse of our village as a whole is through the 1742 map of the Manor of Holmer where we see a very open landscape with ancient woodland on the outskirts. We also see an established but scattered settled population. Most of these inhabitants would be involved in farming and general rural pursuits. We see the first evidence of fruit growing and in some of the place names much evidence of sheep rearing and droving. We can also identify some of the buildings that survive to this day. This 1742 layout of the village remained almost unaltered until Holmer Green was enclosed by act of parliament in 1854 when the road lay-out we know today was introduced. Map: Holmer green; 1854 Common inserted on the 1742 Manor map. Top right THE COMMON It could be said that our hill top village has two main centres with the first being around the cross roads with our ancient pond and shops. The attractive and busy area of the Common provides the second focal point. Around its three sides you will find the Middle School and Baptist Church, while the Bat and Ball pub stands proud on one corner overlooking the children's playground. The Church community hall lies adjacent to Christ Church. which modestly dominates the skyline with its high perched golden cockerel weather vane. The main village hall known as the Village Centre evolved from the Victorian school. Further around the Common is the original Baptist Chapel which is now converted to a dwelling. On the south side is the Clementi estate that up until the 1970s was the country house known as Holmer Court, home to Sir Cecil and Lady Clementi. Photos (top right anticlockwise to lower right) i) Peddles Cottage c.1910 ii) The Common 2008 iii) The Bat & Ball c.1950 iv) Christ Church c.1905 v) Sunnyside & The Old School 1900 vi) The White House 1899 vii) Baptist Chapel Late 1920s

Village pond by the crossroads.

The Green at Holmer Green

This information board which has been erected by the Holmer Green Village Society, is located at the junction of Earl Howe Road and Pond Approach. It has the following wording: Holmer Green Pond Left side Illustrations of: Hornbeam Yew Oak Larch Horse Chestnut Willow Archangel Bluebell Flag FLORA & FAUNA Between 1960 and 1980 the pond underwent several renovations which changed the topography and the flora and fauna. Reeds were removed, trees planted and wild fowl introduced. There are now many indigenous trees from Oak and Larch, adjacent to Pond Approach, to Hornbeam, Willow and Yew on the other side. In addition there are Horse Chestnut, Lawson's Cypress, Norway Spruce, Ash, Beech and Sycamore trees. Ground cover is mainly Ivy and Brambles, but there are also Yellow Archangel and Bluebells. In 2018 new water plants were introduced including Yellow Flag, Juncus and Carex. Moorhen, Mallard and a crossbreed of Mallard and Indian Rubber Duck are frequently seen on Holmer Green pond. In the lower left are illustrations of Moorhen, Mallard, Mallard/Rubber Duck whilst in the middle is an illustration of the pond itself. Right side HISTORY 'Holmer' was first recorded as 'Holeme' in 1208 and is probably Anglo Saxon in origin. Commonly thought to derive from 'mere hollow' which would refer to Holmer Pond, however the first official mention of the pond was in the 1578 Boundary Survey. Holmer Green is a mile from the river Misbourne and therefore this, and other local ponds, were a very important source of water for both farm animals and domestic use. Ducks were banned as they polluted the water. Photos of Holmer Green Pond taken in 1905, 1966, 1966, 1998, 2009 in a clockwise direction. HOLMER GREEN Holmer Green is named after the manor of Holmer that covered a significant part of the parish of Little Missenden in the Middle Ages. The early history of the village is essentially one of people moving out of Little Missenden over the centuries and settling on a large area of heath (now vanished) known as Wycombe Heath or Holmer Heath. The 'Green' part of the name refers to a large and ancient Green, probably dating from the 13th century that used to exist here but was reduced to a size of only 4 acres (1.6 ha) in 1854. In the hundred years between 1850 and 1950, the village became well-known locally for its cherry orchards, and there remain many references to orchards and cherries in road names and house names. In 2008 the village formerly celebrated 800 years of recorded settlement.