England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Chenies St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Chenies lies in southeastern Buckinghamshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Hertfordshire. Chenies is located about 3 miles east of the market town of Amersham and stands just north of the A404 road which links Amersham with the Hertfordshire town of Rickmansworth. Chenies is dominated by the estate of Chenies Manor, initially held by the Cheynes family whose name came to the parish, it became one of the many seats of the Earls, becoming Dukes, of Bedford, many of this family being buried in the church. Chenies is a small and compact village sitting atop a steep drop into the course of the River Chess, most of the properties are gathered around a three-way junction of lanes. Like many estate villages the local economy was derived from the needs of the estate with farming, largely arable, forward in the mix; here, however. the economy was varied with an industry of paper-making, power and the abundant water required for this process largely supplied by the Chess. Modern developments have come to the parish with the construction, through the southern portion of the parish, of one of the most remote outliers of the London Underground system, it doesn't, however, grant Chenies a station as it heads for Amersham. The Chess drains the parish eastwards, meeting the Colne to the east of Rickmansworth, the latter turn water southwards to meet the Thames at Staines turning east and passing through the capital to the North Sea. Chenies is sited at around 120 metres above the sea at its crossroads, some 45 metres above the Chess, in rolling countryside, a precursor to the nearby Chiltern Hills, local high points reach 161 metres to the northwest on Tyler's Hill. Covering 1,400 acres Chenies parish was fairly typically sized for a rural southern parish, that acreage would have supported a population of around 600 parishioners. Chenies is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Michael's church sits a little to the west of the main centre of the village, within the semi-parkland surrounding Chenies Manor House and accessed by a track from the junction of Claypit Lane and Latimer Road. Whilst there was an early medieval church here that church was essentially rebuilt in the 15th century in a Perpendicular style. The church was rebuilt in a single phase and consists of the standard layout of nave with a slightly lower chancel augmented with aisles and arcades and a western tower complete with a taller stair-turret. The first significant change came with the construction of the Bedford Chapel to the north, this chapel was built in 1556 to hold the mortal remains of the Earls, later Dukes, of Bedford, whilst its fabric is nothing architecturally significant the tombs and memorial monuments held within are the main attraction for visitors to the church, an ensemble showing great sensitivity and skill and worth a visit. Here the Victorians, too, had their usual interventions and there were two and both were substantial, almost amounting to a complete rebuild. The first came in 1861-2 whilst the second was in 1886-7. Parking should be found either around the extensive village green, a feature of great benefit to the community, or in the parking bays just into the track, from here it is only a short walk to the churchyard. For the photographer the church is something of a challenge, the churchyard, itself, being compact and large spreading trees stand close by at both southeastern and southwestern corners impacting the usually favoured aspects, care to select views is required.