Sarratt Green and Chess Valley

About trip

In the late 18th century Flaunden village migrated uphill to cottages built by Lord Latimer, who owned the manor. These rows of flint and brick cottages remain today. In 1838 the rector of Latimer's nephew, the young George Gilbert Scott, designed his first church here, a humble start for the great Victorian architect. He later described it as 'the poor barn'.

On a romantic site, within a copse in the water-meadows of the River Chess, is the lost church of Flaunden. East of Latimer village, you can leave the path to read an information board that tells the story of Flaunden's old church. Built in about 1230 for Thomas de Faundel, it was a small cruciform church, in the shape of a Greek cross with arms of equal length. Now vanished, in 1910 it was still standing but described thus: 'Condition - Very bad; the ruins are loaded with heavy ivy, and much damage has been done by visitors'. The old church was abandoned and partially dismantled when the new one opened further up the hill, reusing the old font and a few floor tiles. There is a non-churchyard burial further east of the old church, alongside the Chess Valley Walk. It is the tomb of William Liberty who died in 1777 and consists of a brick structure with a stone slab, surrounded by railings.

Further east along the Chess Valley, south of Valley Farm, are working watercress beds, once a common sight along the Chess and many of the Chilterns' other rivers, such as the Misbourne, Ver and Gade. Back up on the Chiltern plateau, Sarratt is a village of two distinct parts. The original centre around the church is over ½ mile (800m) from the present core of the village, which is clustered around the long, narrow green, itself ½ mile (800m) from end to end. Sarratt was a famous droving stop on cattle and sheep routes to London. At one time there were more than five pubs as well as three ponds for watering the stock. The village gravitated to the green, leaving the church in comparative isolation, with just the manor house, a couple of cottages, the Cock Inn and the row of almshouse, with Gothic-arched windows, built by Ralph Day of Sarratt Hall in 1821. Sarratt's Church of the Holy Cross is an almost complete one from around 1190. Its chancel was lengthened later in the Middle Ages and a west tower was added to the short two-bay nave.

What to look for

Along the Chess Valley, between Points f and g, you pass working watercress beds, making good use of the fast flowing clean, chalk stream. Rich in dissolved lime, its waters are ideal for growing this nutritious crop.

While you're there

Just over the Buckinghamshire border south of the River Chess is Chenies Manor which is often open to the public. A Tudor brick house of the late 15th century built for the Cheynes, it passed in 1526 to the Russells, later the Dukes of Bedford. Prominent courtiers, they added a grand brick range of lodgings with massive chimney stacks.

Where to eat and drink

Two pubs at Sarratt Green are the Cricketers (by the south pond) and the Boot (half-way along the green). By Sarratt's church is the Cock Inn and in Flaunden is the Green Dragon. All of the pubs serve food. Also, at the start on Sarratt Green there is the Sarratt Post Office Store and Off-licence for snacks.