Chartridge occupies a finger of high ground extending from the Chiltern scarp and the Vale of Aylesbury in the west, towards Chesham in the south east. A crescent of villages surrounds Chartridge from the south to northeast. To the south, across the Vale of Pednor, are Hundridge and South Heath and beyond is Hyde Heath. The Lee (which has connections with the Liberty family) and Ballinger occupy higher ground to the west of Chartridge and, to the northwest, is St Leonards. The ancient village of Cholesbury lies to the north and, to the northwest, Asheridge and Bellingdon sit atop similar ridges to the one occupied by Chartridge. Most of the farms and houses that make up the village of Chartridge are scattered along Chartridge Lane. Before the age of the motorcar this was the most direct route from Chesham to Wendover.
Like many Chiltern hilltop villages and hamlets Chartridge is not mentioned in William the Conqueror's Doomsday survey of 1068. Before the Norman conquest it is likely that the fertile ridges above Chesham were inhabited by people living in scattered farmsteads. Earlier still, before the Romans occupied England in the 1st century AD, there is some evidence to suggest that the ridges may have been inhabited. During the Romano-British period villa farms occupied the low ground in and around Chesham, but a few traces of Roman activity have also been found on higher ground. Later, in the medieval period, moated farm houses dotted the Chiltern ridges
The name 'Chartridge' or 'Charteridge' is thought to have its origins in a Saxon personal name 'Caerda' - Caerda's ridge.
By the early 13th century 'de Charderugge' or 'de Chardrugge' appears as a personal name in charters and other documents recording transfer of land and property.
By the 17th century Chartridge and the surrounding ridges supported at least 15 farms. Robert Mordon's map of 1695 shows 'Chartridg' as a substantial village stretching along both sides of the road between Chesham and Wendover (now Chartridge Lane).
Until the late 19th century the most people who lived in Chartridge were farm workers.
Until 1898 Chartridge, Asheridge, Hundridge, Pednor, Hyde Heath and Bellingdon hamlets were part of the parish of Chesham.
The present-day parish of Chartridge is a civil rather than an ecclesiastical parish and does not have its own parish church. The nearest Anglican church is St John's Church at Bellingdon. Chartridge Reading Room (Chartridge Village Hall) was used for Anglican church services at one time and it is believed that the congregation adopted the name St Christophers. Chartridge Mission Church was originally built as a Baptist chapel in 1844
The cache can be found , almost a mile away ,at
N51 43.abc W00 40.(d-c-e) b (e+f)
where
a is the number of signs ‘Chartridge Mission Church’ x2. Count these carefully
A stone plaque on the front of the building has two dates . The earlier is 18cc and the later 188d
Find the item erected in loving memory of Henry Pitkin 19eb-200f
You may wish to drive closer to GZ but even at the closest point on the road the cache is a further 0.3 miles and the paths are muddy especially in the winter.
Congratulations to happy_hunter-hp20 on their FTF,
“If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list”