Bledlow is a village in the civil parish of Bledlow-cum-Saunderton, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about west-southwest of Princes Risborough, and is on the county boundary with Oxfordshire.

The toponym "Bledlow" is derived from Old English and means "Bledda's burial mound". A 10th century document records it as Bleddanhloew; the Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Bledelai. A more common derivation is from "Bled-Hlaw" meaning Bloody Hill which commemorates an undated battle between Saxons and Danes.

Bledlow was an ancient parish. In 1934 the parish was merged with the neighbouring parish of Saunderton to form a new civil parish called Bledlow-cum-Saunderton. At the 1931 census (the last before the abolition of the parish) Bledlow had a population of 925.

Geography

The village is on the ancient Icknield Way and is where several springs form a small pool called the Lyde. The water from the springs is said to wear away the chalk on which the village stands, giving rise to the simple local medieval nursery rhyme:

The brook running from the pool into the nearby valley (called the Lyde Brook) provided water power for two watermills for many years.

Notable people

Actress Samantha Eggar lived in Bledlow as a child, and was a neighbour of Oliver Reed while there.

Transport

Bledlow railway station was an intermediate station on the Wycombe Railway that served the village from 1862 to 1963. It was the first of two stations to serve the village, the second being on the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway. It was to the south and closer to the village. It was opened in 1906 and closed in 1957. The potential for reopening the Wycombe Railway through Bledlow, which is now part of a long-distance footpath, was evaluated and dismissed by Chiltern Railways, the franchise holder for the Chiltern Main Line that runs through Princes Risborough.

References

Sources and further reading

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  • Bledlow-cum-Saunderton Parish Council
  • Bledlow, Holy Trinity