Kiln Lane

research by Joan West.

Kiln Lane began as a track to village ponds. Subsequently cottages built had to give a right of way to the ponds and other land beyond. It was recognised officially as a road in 1823 although it was not tarmacked until the 1930's

For Ian Kelloway's article on the prehistory click Pre-History of Lacey Green

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Dennis Claydon published a booklet called "Tarmac and Beyond". Much was known about Kiln Lane, but Dennis Claydon researched and wrote about it so brilliantly that the history of the lane written here will include extracts from his booklet leaving nothing out. A few later facts have been added.

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Rosemary Mortham wrote the following introduction, dated February 2003 : -

"The coming of the year 2000 was celebrated in Kiln Lane with the burying of a time capsule in the garden of 'Pondside'; also a most enjoyable "Millennium" Party, held in midsummer rather than New Year's Day, in the hope of enjoying good weather. We were indeed blessed by a beautiful day. Everyone was out bright and early for a shared lunch in the field next to "Highwood", which had been kindly loaned for the occasion by Dennis Claydon.

The highlight of the day was a walk down our Lane, led by Dennis. We were fascinated by the stories which he told, and amazed by the amount of information which he had amassed about one small lane. It was generally felt that this should be recorded for future generations, and after some nagging by me, Dennis agreed to give it a try. A good deal of further research led to the production of this small book. Co-incidentally, it would appear that the area of Kiln Lane can be traced back for at least the 2000 years that brought about this production.

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The story of Kiln Lane is told here with information from "Tarmac and Beyond" by Denis Claydon

Chapter 1. Grim’s Ditch

The village of Lacey Green, south-east of Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire, is situated high in the Chiltern Hills, overlooking the Vale of Aylesbury. Kiln Lane lies towards the south-eastern outskirts of the village. From its junction with Main Road, this unpretentious lane heads north-eastwards, soon leaving the confines of the village, thence curving down into a deep narrow valley and continuing eastwards, towards Speen.

Undoubtedly, the oldest feature of Kiln Lane is Grim's Ditch, an ancient earthwork, consisting of an earthen bank and ditch. The name is derived from folklore, which attributed any mysterious earthwork to the Devil, sometimes known as Grim, hence Grim's Ditch.

For the full chapter given in "Tarmac and Beyond" click Grim's Ditch.

Chapter 2. The Brick Makers of ‘Lacey's Green’

From the dim mists of pre-history, a giant leap forward in time, to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. From this period documents and maps first make reference to ‘Lacies Green’, ‘Leasey Green’ and ‘Lacey’s Green’. It is reasonable to assume therefore that the first foundations of the community were being laid at this time.

For the full chapter given in "Tarmac and Beyond" click Brick Making in Kiln Lane.

Chapter 3. The Enclosures in Princes Risborough.

Common land, in medieval times, provided rights for the peasants. These rights included the removal of wood and stones, grazing of stock and the gathering of fallen fruit. During the twelfth century, lords of the manor began to claim direct ownership of such ground. From the thirteenth century, areas were fenced off in a trend known as enclosure. This practice rapidly escalated during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The survey and valuations of 1808-1810 were probably consulted and taken into account, the proposal to seek the Enclosure of the Parish of Princes Risborough was first suggested. Following the Royal Assent to the Bill in 1820, another three years were to elapse before the matter finally become reality.

For the full chapter given in "Tarmac and Beyond", click Enclosures campaign where Dennis reports on the local uproar when this was proposed.

Chapter 4. "Kiln Lane at the Enclosure", from Tarmac and Beyond. Despite the turmoil and emotional upset of the Enclosure, plus the devastating effect on certain individuals, the original document held in the County Record Office makes interesting reading. It records landownership by numbered plots, public and private roads, public footways and bridleways, and public ponds. This document provides the modern local historian with a wealth of information.

The Commissioners nominated and appointed to oversee the Enclosure were William Collisson of Brackley, Northamptonshire, Edward Horwood of Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, and Charles Smith of New Windsor, Berkshire. Their task would keep them occupied for a further three years, until the Enclosure was finally concluded on the thirteenth of March 1823.

Kiln Lane can readily be identified from the Enclosure Award Map, described as a ‘public Bridleway of the breadth of twelve feet’. It leads ‘from the new Lacey Green Road at the south-west corner of an allotment to John Grubb Esq., over the south side of the same allotment to the gate leading into High Wood, thence along the north-west side of the same wood to the Parish of Monks Risborough near Iron Beech Kiln’. This, in fact, includes part of the present day Bridleway L21, running towards Lily Bottom.

All the land bordering the northern edge of Kiln Lane was in the ownership of John Grubb. This land, apart from a small area now bounded by Main Road, Idle Corner, the Village Hall and Roundlands, extended eastwards, and northwards as far as The Windmill. It consisted of over one hundred acres, in a series of large fields, which Grubb had purchased from the Commissioners. The Windmill, at this time, was considered to be in Loosley Row.

Along the southern boundary of Kiln Lane, land was divided between two owners, Lord Cavendish and Grubb. Cavendish held one hundred and seventeen acres, comprising ‘Stockings Farm’ (Stocken Farm) in the tenancy of Ann Dell. Grubb had been successful in his claim for the Brick Kiln. He had thus been awarded ‘Plot 729°, comprising ‘Brick-kiln Cottage and Inclosures’, totalling a little over four acres. This area was termed as ‘Old Inclosures’, suggesting they had been enclosed in earlier times. ‘Brick-kiln Cottage’ was in fact ‘Malmsmead’, the only dwelling in Kiln Lane at this time.

Chapter 5. Public Ponds In hilltop settlements of the Chilterns, a long-standing problem for many generations was the supply of water for cattle and domestic purposes. In long dry summers areas were prone to periods of severe drought. If a community lacked a Parish Well, the only means of supply was water collected from cottage rooftops, stored in underground tanks, or from ponds. A shortage of water at Stokenchurch in the late 1860’s, during a period of drought, caused beer to be cheaper than water!

The Enclosure, maybe recognising the problems, made provision for nine Public Ponds within the Parish, (then the Parish of Princes Risborough). One of these was in Longwick, whilst the other eight, perhaps predictably, were in Lacey Green. Loosley Row was fortunate in that it possessed a Parish Well, whilst Speen, on the other hand, seemed to manage without either, possibly being able to survive by using private ponds

Two of these public ponds are situated in Kiln Lane. The smaller of the two lies at the western end of Kiln Lane and is known as Whitewashing Pond. It is described in the Enclosure Award as a ‘public pond or watering place... in an allotment of the said John Grubb containing eighteen perches with a road thereto of the breadth of twenty feet from the new Lacey Green Road, including the Public Bridleway No. 1’.

The second pond is situate a few metres to the north-east and is known as Deep Pit Pond. It bears a similar description in the Enclosure Award as Whitewashing, being in the “same Allotment near the Brick Kiln...containing twenty four perches’.

For the full stories of these ponds click Deep Pit Pond and Whitewashing Pond

Chapter 6. "Malmsmead"

At the time of the Enclosure, ‘Malmsmead’ was the only dwelling in Kiln Lane. Even at this stage the building was a mature one, reputedly dating from the seventeenth century. Over the course of time the dwelling has varied between being one main residence or two cottages. It is, today, composed of two cottages, ‘Malmsmead’ and ‘Walnut Cottage’, which together form one of the seven listed buildings of special architectural or historic interest in Lacey Green.

For the complete stories of these two cottages click Malmsmead and Walnut Cottage. Also click 1913 Smithson and Sikes, burglars, whose exploits are told in Chapter 7.

Chapter 7. ‘Smithson and Sikes’

The year 1913 proved to be an eventful one, both nationally and locally. It was the third year of King George V’s reign and Herbert Asquith, the last Prime Minister to preside over an exclusively Liberal government, had been in power for five years. The burning issue of the day was ‘Votes for Women’. During the spring, Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the campaign, was jailed for three years. A drama occurred in the summer, when thirty-eight year old Emily Davidson, another campaigner, ran onto the track at the Epsom Derby and seized the reins of King George V’s horse. She received fatal injuries when the horse trampled her. Locally, the Organ in Penn Parish Church and Saunderton Railway Station became victims of arson attacks to draw attention to the cause. Saunderton Station was to figure largely in the news for another reason before the year was through.

In Kiln Lane, the two young tenants of ‘Malmsmead’ were beginning to establish themselves. William Weatherill, aged twenty-two years, and Alfred Tragheim, aged twenty-one years, had viewed the property and considered it would be ideal for their needs. The new tenants readily agreed with the owner, Mrs. Hyde, who wished to let the property as furnished accommodation, to retain the gardener and housekeeper, so that the house and grounds might be cared for in a proper manner. To allay any anxiety that Mrs. Hyde may have had in letting to persons of such tender years, three months rent was paid in advance.

These two polite, fashionable and smartly dressed young men purported to be medical students whose work frequently took them to London. To reach the Station from Lacey Green involved a two and a half mile walk.

This picture of two high-class medical students, could not, in fact, have been farther from the truth. These young gentlemen had set up their headquarters in Kiln Lane, the nerve centre of operations for ‘Smithson and Sikes’, expert burglars and housebreakers. Weatherill and Tragheim had served Borstal sentences and both had just been released prior to their arrival in Lacey Green.

click 1913 Smithson and Sikes, burglars for stories of their exploits.

Chapter 8. The Nineteenth Century.

It was during the nineteenth century that ‘Malmsmead’, after standing alone for possibly two hundred years, began to be joined by other dwellings in Kiln Lane. As stated above, certainly by 1875, but probably much earlier, the two timbered cottages next door to ‘Malmsmead’ were in existence. These small cottages, of the ‘two up, two down’ type, seemed to have housed large families, even well into the twentieth century.

Amongst the families resident at various times were the Smith’s, Hussey’s, Baker’s, Rixon’s and Claydon’s. The late Harry Floyd, a native of Lacey Green, was born at the beginning of the twentieth century and in his latter days became a resident of Kiln Lane. In his youth he could recall the two cottages being occupied by a total of at least twenty people. As he remarked, speaking at the end of the twentieth century, that by contrast, the building has since been enlarged, converted into one dwelling and now houses only two persons!

One house, which could be accessed from Idle Corner or Kiln Lane, was ‘Hets Loo’. Initially a small cottage, dating from the late eighteenth century, the only means of access was via Idle Corner. However, various owners, over the years, have extended the property. Also, a sizeable amount of land has been purchased to extend the garden and create an orchard, allowing an entrance to be made from Kiln Lane.

There was a tradition, handed down by word of mouth, that the original cottage was the oldest building in the village, but no evidence has yet been found to substantiate this claim. During the early years of the twentieth century members of the De Beer family, famous for their diamond mining, occupied the property. The family, of Dutch origin, probably named the house ‘Hets Loo’, either after the Royal residence of that name in the Netherlands or from their estates in South Africa.

The entrance drive from Kiln Lane, immediately adjacent to the Main Road, followed the present course of the private drive into “Hets Orchard’. At the entrance stood two brick piers, supporting wooden gates, which had been produced from ship’s timbers. A very small plaque recorded the ship’s name and its home port of Bristol.

A tall hedge surrounded the land facing Main Road. In springtime the Orchard was a mass of daffodils. A ‘wartime’ baby of the Second World War was evacuated from Essex to Kiln Lane. In the years following, as a very young girl, holidays were spent in Kiln Lane. One lasting memory of that time are the daffodils in the orchard of ‘Hets Loo’. The house was demolished in the early 1970’s to make way for a development of six properties, known as ‘Hets Orchard’, with access onto Kiln Lane.

Lime Tree Cottages, two semi-detached dwellings, erected in the traditional ‘brick and flint’ of the Chilterns, date from the latter end of the nineteenth century. They were originally in the ownership of the Ward family of Loosley Row. Both properties later passed into the Currell family. Free Currell and his wife, Elizabeth Jane, occupied one cottage. Their son, William John Currell, aged twenty years, a Private in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, gave his life for his Country on 30" July 1917. Their daughter, Elsie Mabel, continued to live in the cottage for the whole of her eighty-two years.

Next door was George Currell and his wife, Mary. Both were ardent supporters of Lacey Green Methodist Church. They too, had a son, Charlie Currell, aged thirty-one, a Private in 2/1" Bucks Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, who was killed in action on 2™ April 1917. Mary was amongst the ladies of the village who pursued the art of Buckinghamshire lace making. George kept ducks, which found their way into Whitewashing Pond, at the end of the garden. Another cottage of similar vintage to Lime Tree Cottages lies to the north-east, a little farther down the Lane. Towards the end of the nineteenth century ‘Kiln Hill Cottage’ was in the ownership of a Mrs Buckmaster of Dunstable, Bedfordshire. This name crops up from time to time within the village, suggesting that this lady was perhaps a ‘property developer’ of the era. From eyewitness reports, by the early years of the twentieth century ‘Kiln Hill Cottage’ had fallen into disrepair and become semi-derelict. Horses from the neighbouring field were said to enter looking for shelter, and the 1901 Census listed it as “Not in occupation’. It was following this period that the cottage came into the hands of Frederick Rogers, who restored the property. By word of mouth Frederick Rogers is said to have been a ‘builder’. However, the 1901 Census records a Frederick Rogers, described as a bricklayer, with his wife and seven month old baby daughter, lodging at ‘The Whip’.

Almost half a century ago, when yet more new owners were once again restoring the property, they made a surprising discovery. Removing wallpaper from an interior wall it was discovered a doorway had been covered over at sometime in the past. In fact, the door was still intact and contained a pencilled message to the new owners! The message read:

‘To the persons who takes this door down. This house was built by Mr Oakley about forty-five years ago he was a shoe make this was is shop. Afterwards it came into the Cheshire family (or Buckmaster) then a Mrs Sheldon of risboro brought it. Then I bought it (F. Rogers £93) built the room out, put in a bay window, put in boarded floors, put in a new grate. Built skullery and shop, planted apple trees, planted hedge, fixed gass. I am 33 years old. I might be gone on before when you read this. JS dated Feb 1910.

If you are not saved do get right with God at once for life is uncertain and death is sure. Friend

God bless you

F Rogers”’

The door, of boarded construction, had been painted or varnished. After so many years the surface had begun to chip, making some of the lettering difficult to read. However, the above is a reasonably accurate transcription.

Unfortunately, Frederick Rogers omitted to record the date he purchased the property or when the message was written on the hidden door. However, research reveals that he died in 1952, at the age of seventy-three, and is buried in the Lacey Green Methodist Cemetery. This would suggest his birth was about 1879, yet the Census records him as twenty-four years of age in 1901.

If this were correct his birth would have been in 1877. f the message was therefore written at thirty-three years of age, then the year would have been 1910, or thereabouts. The message states the property was built ‘about forty-five years ago’, which would thus date the building back to around 1865. The Valuation Survey of 1910 records Frederick Rogers as the owner of the property, but James Lacey was in occupation as a tenant at that time. This fact may account for the strange statement above, ‘JS dated Feb 1910’. In the old fashioned handwriting, an ‘S’ could well be mistaken for an “L’. Exactly what this statement is meant to convey must remain a mystery!

As one progresses north-eastward down Kiln Lane the tarmacadam surface ceases, giving way to an unmade surface. This gravel section extends for a very short distance, before two public footpaths cross it, one leading north-westward to Goodacres Lane, the other south-eastward, to Turnip End and Speen. To the inhabitants of Kiln Lane, half a century or more ago, this crossing point marked the end of Kiln Lane. Beyond this point the road narrows considerably and was always referred to as the ‘horse road’ or ‘cart road’, marking the beginning of Highwood Bottom. Officially today, White House Farm and Kingswood House are situated in Kiln Lane, but evidence suggests this was not always so.

Trade Directories of the nineteenth and twentieth century refer to the inhabitants of Sunnybank Farm, (now White House Farm) as residing in ‘Highwood Bottom, Speen’. Likewise, however, the same directories list Kingswood Farm, (now Kingswood House) as Lacey Green! The problem was compounded in the 1970’s when the Parish Council were obliged to erect name plates to every road in the Parish. A shortage of cash led to a shortage of signs, Kiln Lane at this time being ‘extended’ to reach as far as Kingswood House.

Chapter 9.