Boxing Day Walk

Very different weather from yesterday and a good day for walking in the Chilterns.  The church is Great Hampden Church, next to Hampden House which was the family home of the Hampdens until 1938.  It's interesting that while it is so close to the House it is a good half mile from the village - a bit like the Church in Great Missenden.  One theory I have heard is that when there was an outbreak of the plague in the middle ages, the village houses were destroyed because of the belief that the cause of the plague was in the wood and wattle of the houses, so the villagers moved away and built new homes.  Not so easy for stone buildings like the manor houses and churches, so it meant a long walk.