St Mary and St
Nicholas
The missing church
of St Nicholas
St Nicholas. allowed to fall
into decay from the middle of the 15th century
Great
Saunderton.. the place in which the church is said formerly to have stood
westward of the edifice now remaining ; and in 1807 enclosure of the fields
some old foundations were discovered in the gardens of a small public house,
and eastward of the latter; and many human bones and skeletons were dug up in the
gardens and osier beds, in the ground now covered with water; which certainly
countenance the belief that there were formerly buildings in those low grounds,
which surround this decayed and almost depopulated village.
( Lipscomb
History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham vol III 1847 )
(my
thoughts) West of present church the only wet ground is the stream past
Frogmore Cottage to the pond at rear of Frogmore Farm. There is a clear line of
old willows there, which could perhaps be the osier beds noted in 1807.
The 1834 OS
map and 1841 census shows many houses around Frogmore Farm.
There are no
fields in the enclosure list that specifically mention osiers or willows, and
there are no basket-makers in the census (though there is a watercress grower
at the Three horseshoes!)
The small
public house mentioned could be The Three Horseshoes? This was opposite the
Saunderton Mill in Bledlow Road and was a pub in all census returns, but many
houses also sold beer at that time so perhaps Frogmore Cottage?
Here is a
report written by the then Rector Rev Grace about the rebuilding of the church
in 1888 - before and after pictures on the IMAGES
page
