Loudwater, Buckinghamshire

For other uses, see Loudwater (disambiguation).

Loudwater
Loudwater sign depicting a mill that once stood there
Loudwater  Loudwater shown within Buckinghamshire
Population	4,170
OS grid reference	SU905905
Civil parish	Chepping Wycombe
District	Wycombe
Shire county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HIGH WYCOMBE
Postcode district	HP10
Dialling code	01494, 01628
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Beaconsfield
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire

Loudwater is a hamlet in the parish of Chepping Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the valley to the east of the main town, on the A40 London Road.

History

The hamlet name refers to the River Wye nearby, that also flows through High Wycombe. Its literal meaning is 'noisy water'. In manorial records in 1241 the hamlet was referred to as La Ludewatere.

St Peter's Church, Loudwater

The brick built St Peter's Church dates from 1788 with a gothic style chancel added in 1903 and further improvements in recent years, including new windows. On the London Road there is a Victorian mansion called Burleighfield House that was once the studio of the stained glass designer Patrick Reyntiens.

There was once a blotting paper mill in the valley and Loudwater had its own railway station on the Wycombe Railway that opened in 1854 and closed in 1970.

Today there is little to distinguish the hamlet from the urban sprawl of High Wycombe, though it is signed along the London Road. A 1744 milestone can still be seen and there is also still a traditional village pub 'The Derehams Inn' in Derehams Lane.

Features

Loudwater is home to several retail and industrial concerns - a large Tesco supermarket, the world's largest envelope supplier,an industrial estate, a small retail park, a Brewers Fayre motel and also the office of the local newspaper, the Bucks Free Press. The M40 motorway crosses over the valley close to the village, and facilitates the eastbound only Junction 3, signposted as 'Wycombe East'.

Loudwater was once served by the High Wycombe to Bourne End railway line, the station being situated at the bottom of Treadaway Hill. The line and station closed in 1970.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Flackwell Heath and Loudwater Local History Group