Church and priory, Chetwode
(photo by Andrew Smith)
Chetwode is a village in west Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Oxfordshire. It was initially an Augustinian priory founded in 1244 by Sir Ralphe de Norwich. It is about 4 miles to the west of Buckingham.
In ancient times, the area in which the priory was founded was known simply as Cet, that being the Brythonic word for 'woodland'. Following the settlement of Anglo Saxon tribes in the area, the suffix 'wood' was added to the name to form a compound word of British and Anglo-Saxon origins: a common occurrence in this part of the country (see, for example, Brill). In 949 the area was known as Cetwuda.
In 1460, owing to its poverty, Chetwode Priory was dissolved, and annexed to the nearby abbey of Nutley in Long Crendon. This led to the first recognition of Chetwode as a village rather than just a priory.
There is a manor at Chetwode that stayed in the same family from the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 through to the 1960s. In 1086 the manor was owned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux and managed for him by Robert de Thain.
Coordinates: 51°57'N, 1°04'W
(Source: Wikipedia) |