Cadsden

History

The origin of the name, which also appears as Catsdean, is doubtful and it is not known when it was first used. If it dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when most of the other local place names first appeared, it probably meant 'Valley frequented by wild cats'. It is certainly at the bottom of a steep valley.

It is said that in 1643 a wake was held in Cadsden for John Hampden by his beloved Greencoats, whilst escorting his body back to the family home at Great Hampden from Thame, where he died following the Battle of Chalgrove Field

On 30 January 1943 a Royal Air Force (RAF) Avro Anson Mk1 serial no. L7964 was on a Night Navigation Training exercise from the Central School of Navigation, flying from RAF Cranage, Cheshire. The weather conditions were poor and at 0250 hrs the Anson crashed at Longdown Farm in Cadsden

The accident was witnessed by an Instructor in a second aircraft. All four crew members died, they were:

Sgt Edward A. Merry, Pilot, Sgt James R. Craven Pilot, Sgt Kenneth R. Blaskey Pilot, Sgt Albert C. Poulton Wireless Operator/ Air Gunner.

Transport

The railway service in the area was improved in 2011 with the Chiltern Mainline project. The two nearest mainline railway stations are Princes Risborough (2 miles, usually 33/40 mins to Marylebone) and Great Missenden (9 miles, 40 mins to Marylebone) with a branchline station at Monks Risborough (1 mile, 52 mins to Marylebone).

Local amenities and traditions

The Plough at Cadsden is a country pub which is used by Prime Ministers due to its proximity to Chequers. David and Samantha Cameron, during one of their many stays at Chequers, watched the Whitchuch Morris Men perform at the Plough several times on Boxing Day. There is even an old picture of Ted Heath propping the bar up at the Plough, a copy of which can be seen on the Plough's website

Every year on the first Sunday in August there is a Cherry Pie Festival, which has been a tradition in Cadsden for over 100 years.

Grangelands and Pulpit Hill, which stretch from Cadsden to Kimble, are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with an array of wildlife including glow worms and the bee orchid. Up on Pulpit Hill, set within Pulpit Woods, are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, a scheduled ancient monument.

In 2009, Bucks County Council in partnership with Plantlife International started a juniper conservation programme on Pulpit Hill where pens have been created to support juniper growth.

Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence, is the first property encountered along The Ridgeway path north east from Cadsden. This walk was featured in an article published by the Sunday Times in June 2010.

Whiteleaf Golf Course, which occupies the land between Whiteleaf and Cadsden, is a 9-hole course established in 1907. During the winter months when it snows, the Cadsden end of the course is used for tobogganing.

Local issues are addressed and events organised by the Whiteleaf and Cadsden Resident's Association

Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud is a resident of Cadsden.

Controversy

Cadsden and the Plough at Cadsden were brought to attention when David and Samantha Cameron left their 8-year-old daughter, Nancy, behind in the Plough following a Sunday lunch at the Plough.

Nancy had wandered off to the toilets while they were arranging lifts. When Cameron left the pub he went home in one car with his bodyguards and thought Nancy was with his wife and their other children in another car. Samantha Cameron had assumed her eldest daughter was with her father. The mistake was only discovered when they got home.

"Thankfully when they phoned the pub she was there safe and well. The prime minister went down straight away to get her." said a Downing Street spokesman

TV location

Cadsden was featured in the Midsomer Murders episode "Down Among the Dead Men" where it was called Cadsden Ridge for TV purposes.

Cadsden Road was used in an episode of the Hammer House of Horror's, where Warren Clarke (Dasil & Pascoe fame) crashed his car there.