Darvills Hill
From Lacey Green History
click Hamlets for more of these
click Turnip End to find research by Dennis Claydon on the name of Turnip End
Darvills Hill is a small hamlet. Just a cluster of houses and and a farm to begin with. The cottages at Turnip End also give their address as Darvills Hill in early documents.
1837 Edward Anderson Purchased Lot 1, at the bankruptcy sale of Thomas Dell of Speen Farm. for £580.
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1861 Census Darvills Hill
cottage. Benjamin Saunders 32 sawyer born Loosley Row, Mary wife 29 dressmaker born Lacey Green, Rosa 6 lacemaker born Turnip End, Elizabeth 5 scholar born Darvills Hill, Miriam 3 born Darvills Hill, Robert 11 months born Darvills Hill
farm house. Edward Anderson 66 farmer of 30 acres widower, Mrs Ward, sister in law, housekeeper, Thomas 36 son farm lab. married. Timey/Simey 27 son farm lab single, Ann 18 granddaughter lacemaker, Ann West 6 granddaughter
cottage. Soloman Randell 46 agricultural lab born Combs, Mary wife 51 lacemaker born Radnage, Caroline18 lacemaker born Lacey Green, Ann 12 lacemaker born Lacey Green
1911 Census Darvills Hill
1 cottage of 8 rooms. George Henry Wiltshire 25 head teacher, Constance Ethel, wife 24. married 1910
2 cottage of 2 rooms. Jane Lovett 48 widow born Flowers Bottom, Lizzie Lovett 22 domestic servant born Highwood Bottom, Sarah Lovett 19 domestic servant born Highwood Bottom
3 cottage of 4 rooms. Charles Brown 36 brickmaker born Gt. Missenden, Charlotte, wife 41 born Gt Missenden, William G Brown 15 agricultural lab. born Chesham, Arthur J Brown 13 agricultural lab. born Chesham, Bertie Brown 10 born Bradenham, Lily Rose Brown 6 born P.Ris, Frederick Brown 4 born P Ris, Edward Brown 2 born P Ris.
4 cottage of 4 rooms. Charles Bowler 60 farmer born Longwick. Frances wife 58 born Bledlow
5 house of 6 rooms. Ernest Anderson 40 builder born P Ris, Rose wife 42 born P Ris
The following letter published in Hallmark in 1972 was written by Frances E Wallace of 'Glenmore' Darvills Hill :-
Dear sir,
I thought that some of your readers might be interested n a fragment of carved stone which I found in our garden at Darvills Hill, and indeed in some of the history of our district as given to me by an archaeologist. His report reads as follows :-
"I have been looking into the place name, folk lore and mythical connections with the carved stone found at Darvills Hill.
Firstly this is the main entrance to the vast rectangular earthworks about Great Hampden. The design of the stone looks as if it of Dark Age or early medieval origin and at that time the three Buckinghamshire Chiltern Hundreds of Desborough, Burnham and Stoke were still in fact, if not officially, ruled by the three families of the Hampdens, Penns and Bulstrodes, descendants of the British Chiefs.
Darvilles Hill is surrounded by Grims Ditches. Darville derives from the Cornish Deverel, meaning to build or raise up. The Hill was in fact raised up to form the defences called Grims Dykes, which derive from Grym Deges, i.e. "the enclosure of power". Nearby is Turnip-end, derived from Yh Dynow-Pen, i.e. "within the chief earthworks (or hill fort)", which it is.
On the stone the crosses are of the Celtic type, of which pre Christian examples have been found in Cornwall and elsewhere. The little figure is most interesting, as this is in the form of the Lamda (Greek L shaped) form of the Ansate cross, which originated in the Middle East as "the breath of life" of the great goddess.
In the Celtic Ogam Calendar Alphabet 'T' is the Holly, associated with Christmas and the male saviour and 'L' with the Rowan, protection from evil and symbol of the month that covers Candlemas 2nd February the feast of St. Bride, the pagan goddess Briget, mother of the pagan Lord born in a manger. She was locally known as Anne or Anner, as her symbol was a red (i.e. nubicle) heifer (Anner in Welsh). She had a very ancient shrine at Oxford, where there is still a St. Brides Well and they still use her red heifer, now an ox, in the city's arms.
The cross is the symbol of Bride or Briget, the goddess of Spring and increase, four is the Pythagorean number of increase. The fragment could therefore be pagan not Christian and even pre Roman, though it is probably Dark Age, half Christian, half pagan."
Note The position of the figure is similar to that of the figures on Hitcham Church files, reputed 1100-1200
Yours sincerely Frances E. Wallace.