Holmer Green - History

History

Holmer Green is named after the manor of Holmer that covered a significant part of the parish of Little Missenden in the medieval period. The early history of the village is essentially one of people moving out of Little Missenden over the centuries and settling on a large area of heath (now vanished) known as Wycombe Heath or Holmer Heath. The 'Holmer' part of the name was first recorded as Holeme in 1208 and is probably Anglo Saxon in origin. It is commonly thought to derive from 'mere in a hollow' which would refer to Holmer Pond. However there are certain factors which don't support this theory and the -mer element may actually translate to an old Saxon word meaning 'boundary'. The 'Green' part of the name refers to a large and ancient Green, probably dating from the 13th century that used to exist here but was reduced to a mere 4 acres (16,000 m²) in size in 1854.

The location of the original medieval manor house of Holmer remains obscure, although local historians McLain-Smith and Riches have suggested its location at a moated site in nearby Colemans Wood where they have excavated medieval pottery.

The oldest houses are The Old Rookery, Hollands Farm and Penfold, all of which probably date from the early 16th century when the hamlet thrived due to sheep farming.

During the 19th century, Christina Rossetti and Dante Gabriel Rossetti visited their grandfather Gaetano Polidori's house in the village. It is said that Christina received some of her poetic inspiration from the rural landscape.

In the hundred years between 1850 and 1950, the village became well-known locally for its cherry orchards, and there remain many references to orchards and cherries in road names and house names.

In 2008, the village formally celebrated 800 years of recorded settlement.