A Timeline of Downley

Timeline

65 Million Year Old Fossil
65 Million Year Old Fossil

This fossilised marine mollusc was found on Downley Common, on the bridleway between Moor Lane and Hughenden Manor.  It was subsequently identified by the Department of Palaeontology at the British Museum (Natural History) as an Inoceramus lamarcki, that lived in the Cretaceous period approximately 65-70,000,000 years ago, when the area…
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300 AD A Copper Coin is Lost
300 AD A Copper Coin is Lost

A copper coin, found in a field near Downley in 1904, shows the bust of the Emperor Galerius and has the inscription - MAXIMIANUS NOB(illissimus) CAES(ar).  The full name of this Emperor was Galerius Valerius Maximianus, who died in 311.

1207 First Recorded Mention of Downley

A History of the County of Buckingham: Vol 3 (1925) contains the following reference: Among the Bishop of Winchester's documents (now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners) are rent rolls of the manor of West Wycombe, dating from the year 1207 onwards.  The manor and parish (of West Wycombe…
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Downley’s Earliest Known Residences

Blacksmith's Cottage, immediately opposite the cricket pitch, is probably the oldest house to be found in Downley today.   A Grade II listed building; some accounts ascribe it to the 12th/ 13th century.  Two ‘cruck’ trusses can be seen internally (a cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a…
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1566 Queen Elizabeth I Passes By
1566 Queen Elizabeth I Passes By

On her return from visiting the University of Oxford, one of the many overnight stays of Queen Elizabeth I was Bradenham House, then the residence of Lord Windsor.  The following day, her Majesty continued on to what is now called High Wycombe by way of Downley Common and Tinkers Wood. …
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1736 The Murder of Edward Pontyfix

Edward Pontyfix farmed at Downley Farm and would regularly attend Wycombe market.  He dressed somewhat showily, wearing a large watch on a chain and rings on his fingers,.  On this occasion, in the middle of January, he walked to the Wycombe market accompanied by his 13-year-old son.  Having finished his…
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1797 Plomer Hill House
1797 Plomer Hill House

Begun construction in 1797, Plomer Hill House eventually became the family home of John Hicks from Plomer Hill, Bath.  It was located near the bottom of the west side of what is now Plomer Hill.  On the death of John Hicks in 1821, the house was rented to various personnel…
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1813 Well Cottage
1813 Well Cottage

Well Cottage, built in 1813, was vital to the villagers living around the common.  At over 60m deep its well never dried up, even in the most severe droughts.  Cottages higher in the valley had cisterns cut in the chalk and lined with brick as water tanks.

1824 Wesleyan Chapel
1824 Wesleyan Chapel

The first religious building in Downley, the Wesleyan Chapel, was very unpretentious, being only 22 feet long by 17 feet wide, and considerably lower than at present.  Mr John Wright, a local preacher of independent means, residing at Flackwell Heath, lent the money for its construction.  Although small, however, it…
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1862 Wesleyan Day School
1862 Wesleyan Day School

As well as being the first religious building in Downley, the Wesleyan Chapel at the end of what is now Moor Street, was the first school in the village.  The certified teacher, Miss Steel, taught both boys and girls, who were each charged 3d per week, for six hours of…
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1893 Formation of Wycombe Ho Golf Club

Downley Common became the site of a nine-hole golf course, the home of the 'Wycombe Ho Golf Club' under the presidentship of Sir Edward Dashwood.  The annual subscription for gentlemen and ladies was £1 and 10s respectively.  The venture was not a commercial success and eventually the club moved to…
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1903 A Blue Rose

Mr Alfred Smith of Reliance Nurseries succeeded in raising, after more than four years' effort, a beautifully shaded blue rose.  Given the name of 'Lady Coventry', the rose on opening was vermilion shaded and veined with intense blue, which predominates and extends becoming the ruling colour.

1912 Col Cody Force Lands near in Downley
1912 Col Cody Force Lands near in Downley

Colonel Cody was an early pioneer of manned flight and in 1908 was the first man to fly an aeroplane in Britain.  In the early morning of late September he left Farnborough, planning to fly to Cambridge with his son as passenger, but experienced problems with the weather and the…
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1925 War Memorial Hall Completed

The Hall was built by the inhabitants of Downley on a site donated by Sir John Dashwood. Work began in April 1923 with the laying of the stone by 85-year-old Mr George Giles, a Chapel Street resident who lost two sons in the war.There followed the laying of bricks by…
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1932/33 Water and Electricity Come to Downley

Piped mains water cost £3 per household (equating to approximately £200 in 2018).  Each household had 3 light fittings and two powerpoints installed free of charge. However extra lights cost 15s (equivalent to £50 in 2018).

1937 Three Hamlets Become One Village

By 1937 the building of houses along the triangle of Commonside, Littleworth Road and Plomer Green Lane meant that the individual hamlets of Downley, Littleworth and Plomer's Green had merged to become Downley village.  The middle cottage in the row adjacent to Hillside Garage in Littleworth Road still bears the…
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1945 Celebrations on the Common

The end of the war was a cause for festivities across the country, and Downley was no exception with an evening of celebrations on the Common.  Note the design of a number of the torches - tin cans fixed to staves - still used today for the torchlight procession to…
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1987 Downley Becomes a Parish
1987 Downley Becomes a Parish

Downley was originally within the 1890s civil parish of West Wycombe, however, in the 1930s West Wycombe village was incorporated into the Borough of High Wycombe and the remainder of the original civil West Wycombe Parish, which included Downley, became known as West Wycombe Rural Detached Parish. As a consequence…
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1995 The Last Furniture Factory Closes
1995 The Last Furniture Factory Closes

The Mines and West Factory re-located to Princes Risborough and the site became the Mines Close and West Close housing estates.

2002 Downley Community Centre Opens

The old Victorian Downley School took on a new lease of life when it opened as the new Downley Community Centre, growing steadily in popularity in the village.  It is run by a small group of committed volunteers who meet regularly to develop and manage the facility on behalf of…
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2014 The Downley Donkey Becomes a Morrisons Local
2014 The Downley Donkey Becomes a Morrisons Local

The last pub to be built in Downley closed its doors and re-opened as a Morrison's Local before finally changing ownership to a Co-Op store.

2020 Corona Virus Locks Down Downley
2020 Corona Virus Locks Down Downley

Government rules in  the Spring of 2020 placed severe restrictions on the mixing of the public in general in an effort to reduce the incidence of Covid-19, by limiting social distancing to 2.0m.  The Tesco Express at Cross Court introduced a one-way system in the store and 2.0m  pavement markings. …
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