The Almshouses consist of 4-Cottages in the Churchyard, given to the Parish by the Dormer Family.
In 1816 Ellen Countess Conyngham, by her Will Proved 24th July, Bequeathed £500 of 4% Bank Annuities, now represented with Accumulations of Income by £635-8s-8d Consols, the Income to be distributed half-yearly to the Inmates of the Almshouses above referred to. The Stock was held by the Official Trustees, producing £15-17s-8d yearly.
At the South West Corner of the Churchyard is a Range of Buildings known as Church House. In pre-Reformation days this Site was occupied by a small Religious House for 6-Monks & a Prior. Between the Reformation and Queen Anne’s time it may have served as the House for the Parish Priest. At the beginning of the 19thC Church House was Converted by Countess Lady Conyngham into 3-Almshouses, with a 4th reserved for the Parish Clerk. In 1927, the Advent of Old Age Pensions having made its former use unnecessary, Major Coningsby Ralph Disraeli (1867-1936) [Due being 14-yrs of age, Coningsby as Heir was unable to Legally inherit his uncle’s Benjamin’s Estate Estate until his 21st Birthday, so Trustees managed the Inheritance until 1888.] Bought the Cottages with a view to making them into a Parish Hall.
The Story of the Restoration of the old Church House at Hughenden includes a rather wonderful coincidence. A 15thC 2-Storeyed Brick Building that stands near the Church had, for many years, been used as 4-Almshouses under 1–Roof, but with the advent of the Old Age Pension, the Cottages fell empty and the usual Decay set in. A Church Hall was badly needed and the Little Row of Almshouses was the only Building near at hand; so he decided to clear out the Dividing Walls, Chimney Breasts & Bedroom Floors & contrive from the Middle part a Hall for Meetings. He proposed to keep the Dormer Windows of the Middle Cottages as Upper Lights for the Hall, which would take in the whole height & depth of the Building, but not the whole Length, as they should want space for storage of chairs & other gear.
When Work began a number of Long Beams were discovered, and the Work which started as a Conversion Job quickly Developed into a Work of Restoration on which Major Disraeli (former Officer in the Buckinghamshire Yeoman Cavalry) would allow only a small Group of Expert Craftsmen to be Employed. Major Disraeli undertook much careful Research to ensure the Accuracy of the Restoration, and the Building now closely resembles its pre-Reformation appearance.
When the Workmen had dismantled the Chimney Breasts, and removed the Floor of the Upper Rooms, they began to strip the old Plaster off the Interior Walls. This revealed the half-Timber Work, and it was noticed that a much longer Sweep in the Beams than is usual in Cottage Building. Major Disraeli gave the Order to go carefully & before long his Suspicions were confirmed. The Hall they wanted was already there! When the Walls were stripped we found still intact the complete Timbered Framework of a beautifully proportioned Hall with a High Arched Roof.
What had for so many years been the Roof of the Bedrooms had for some Centuries before been the Roof of the Ground-Floor. The Bedroom windows of the Almshouses had Lit the same Hall as the Lower Windows – precisely what Major Disraeli had Planned to do with them in his own Scheme.
A finely Tooled Grille of Timber high in the Wall at 1-End suggested the Reading Loft of a Refectory, and as one detail after another came to light there was no longer any doubt that they had discovered the Old Manor House of a pre-Reformation Day when the Manor was still in Ecclesiastical Hands. The Cottage they had spared at the End was apparently the Clerk’s House whence he presided over the little Brotherhood of Priests who Dined in the Hall. Yet further evidence was forthcoming when they found that the Building was a Cellared one; Cellars in the 15thC were still a Luxury. Before the Main Door stood a Well, and opposite the Property on the Banks of the Hughen there is evidence of the Watermill where doubtless they Ground their Corn. The old mill Cutting is still to be seen. Fish they would also have harvested from the Hughen, a Trout bearing Chalk Stream.
For Queen Victoria‘s Visit to the Duke of Buckingham at Stowe House in 1844, the Regiment formed 2-Troops of Hussars. The following year the Queen Conferred the Title ‘Royal’ on the Regiment, as the 2nd Royal Bucks Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry, later known as the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Royal Bucks Hussars) – it had Adopted Hussar Uniforms throughout by 1850. On 17th April 1901 the Regiment was renamed the Buckinghamshire Imperial Yeomanry (Royal Bucks Hussars) and reorganised in 4-Squadrons and a Machine Gun Section. On 1st April 1908 the Regiment was renamed for the final time as the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry (Royal Bucks Hussars) & Transferred to the Territorial Force, Trained & Equipped as Hussars. Disraeli underwent a serious operation in July 1936, and died without Issue in a Nursing Home in Hove, East Sussex, in September that year, aged 69, after developing Pneumonia. Hughenden was Sold & eventually acquired by the National Trust in 1949.
Hughen Stream, sometimes called the Hitchin, is a Tributary of the Wye which Rises near Cryers Hill. The Hughen rarely Flows above the Pumping Station at the foot of Cryers Hill, but the Roadside Ditches in Warrendene Road and the contours of the North Dean Valley beyond the Harrow Pub indicate that it has the potential to Flow from either or both of these Valleys in unusually Wet years. Although Classed as a Winterbourne, the Hughen has a History of Ceasing to Flow entirely, not just in Summer but for several years, following a succession of Dry Periods. The Hughen Stream also enters a Culvert for the Last Section of its length, meeting the Wye somewhere underneath the Large Sainsbury’s in Wycombe Town Centre. This Culverting means a significant Section of River is devoid of Life, and also presents a Serious Barrier to Wildlife movements Up & Down River. The Hughen Stream Joins the Wye shortly after it enters the Town Centre Culvert.
The Work of Restoration took us about 3-yrs (c.1930) & the little Team of Carpenters & Masons seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. To Major Disraeli it provided an endless source of pleasure, and he was sorry when the absorbing Task of directing the Operations was at an end; but they had their Church Hall – not a Modern affair, out of keeping with the Ancient Sanctuary to which it Ministers, but itself a Relic of the Religious Community that once Held the Lordship of Hughenden. Indeed in some ways the Church House is a more Historic Building than the Church itself. For the Latter was pulled down – Tower & all – in the Philistine Period of the Last Century, when Lord Beaconsfield was, so to speak, not looking, being too immersed in Affairs of State.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 