John Hampden Monument

Mentioned in the Domesday Book as Hamdenam, Great Hampden is the ancestral home of the Hampden family, the most famous of whom was the English Civil War hero, John Hampden. A wealthy landowner and MP, he opposed King Charles I’s imposition of Ship Money, a tax to raise money for the Royal Navy. The King’s failure to arrest him and four other leading Parliamentarians in the House of Commons triggered a chain of events which led to the start of the Civil War. Mortally wounded at the battle of Chalgrove Field, Hamden later died at Thame at the Greyhound Inn on the 24th June 1643.

Built by Lord Nugent in the early 19th century to commemorate the 200th anniversary of this refusal, the John Hampden monument can be found located within own its own small hedged enclosure just off Honor End Lane in Prestwood, Buckinghamshire. Now badly weathered, the inscription reads ‘For these lands in Stoke Mandeville, John Hampden was assessed in twenty shillings Ship Money levied by command of the King without authority of law. By resisting the King in legal strife, he upheld the rights of the people under the law and became entitled to grateful remembrance. His work in earth ended after the conflict in Chalgrove Field the 18th June 1643 and he rests in Great Hampden Church.’ With no parking nearby, the monument is reached via marked footpaths.

The current Hampden House, which has been rebuilt and remodelled many times, dates from the 14th century. Once a girls’ boarding school, it was subsequently bought by Hammer Films, who made twenty-two films there over about four years. Having lain empty for three years, it was eventually restored and is currently used as offices and a wedding venue. The church of St. Mary Magdalene stands near to the house and John Hampden is buried somewhere under the flagstones of the church. One theory is that his remains were hidden so that the Royalists couldn’t desecrate them.

There is also a statue of John Hampden in Market Square in Aylesbury in which he is supposed to be pointing towards his home in Great Hampden.

Hampden Monument

Honor End Ln,

Prestwood,

Great Missenden

HP16 9QZ

You can read about Boscobel House and the Royal Oak here.