Editing Beaconsfield (section)

==History and description==
The parish comprises Beaconsfield town and land mainly given over [[arable land]].  Some beech forest remains to supply an established beech [[furniture]] industry in High Wycombe, the making of [[modal (textile)|modal]] and various artisan uses.

Beaconsfield is recorded in [[Feet of fines|property returns of]] 1185 where it is spelt Bekenesfeld, literally ''beechen field'' which would less archaically be read as ''clearing in the beeches''.<ref name=page/>  Nearby [[Burnham Beeches]] is a forest named after the [[beech]] genus. Although, it is often incorrectly contested that Beaconsfield derived its name from a street called Beacon Hill in neighbouring village, [[Penn, Buckinghamshire|Penn]], which was a lookout point and beacon originating in [[Saxons|Saxon times]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Forbes|first=Hilary|date=10 February 2017|title=A Potted History of Penn & Tylers Green|url=https://pennandtylersgreen.org.uk/a-potted-history-of-penn-tylers-green/|access-date=4 February 2021|website=Penn and Tylers Green Residents Society|language=en-GB}}</ref> Local men were called to defend an island fort as the beacon was part of a chain from the naval base at Portsmouth via Butser Hill Hindhead, Hogsback and Windsor.<ref name=":0" /> 

The [[parish church]] at the crossroads of Old Beaconsfield is dedicated to [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|St Mary]], it was rebuilt of [[flint]] and [[bath stone]] by the Victorians in 1869. The United Reformed Church in Beaconsfield can trace its roots of [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] worship in the town back to 1704.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beaconsfield-urc.org|title=www.beaconsfield-urc.org History Pages |website=beaconsfield-urc.org}}</ref> Old Beaconsfield has a number of old [[coaching inn]]s along a wide street of red brick houses and small shops. It was the first (coach) stopping point on the road between London and [[Oxford]], as it is equidistant between the two places.

An annual [[charter fair]] is traditionally held on 10 May and has been held every year since 1269<ref>{{cite web |title=Attractions |url=https://www.beaconsfieldtowncouncil.gov.uk/community/attractions/ |website=Beaconsfield Town Council |access-date=28 March 2020}}</ref> celebrating its 750th year in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wareham |first1=Stephanie |title=Beaconsfield residents get ready for 750th historic charter fair |url=https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/17632006.beaconsfield-residents-get-ready-for-750th-historic-charter-fair/ |website=Bucks Free Press |date=10 May 2019 |publisher=[[Newsquest]] |access-date=28 March 2020}}</ref>

In the [[Victorian era]] the town was the home [[Electoral district|constituency]] of [[Benjamin Disraeli]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] in 1868 and then again from 1874 until 1880 (in fact his home, [[Hughenden Manor]] is in the nearby town of High Wycombe). In 1876 he was made the 1st Earl of Beaconsfield by [[Queen Victoria]] with whom he was very popular.  It was due to this that Beaconsfield became a popular road name in industrial cities across the country in the late [[Victorian era]].

It is the burial place of the author [[G. K. Chesterton]], [[Edmund Burke]] and the poet [[Edmund Waller]], for whom a tall stone [[obelisk]] was erected over the tomb chest in St Mary and All Saints’ [[churchyard]].<ref>[http://met.open.ac.uk/genuki/big/eng/bkm/Beaconsfield/Index.html Beaconsfield, GENUKI] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823223103/http://met.open.ac.uk/genuki/big/eng/bkm/Beaconsfield/Index.html |date=23 August 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:Beaconsfield church.jpg|thumb|250px|St Mary and All Saints’ Church, Beaconsfield and the tomb of the poet and politician [[Edmund Waller]] at left]]

In 1624, Waller's family acquired Wilton Manor and [[Hall Barn]] in the town.<ref name=page>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42542|title=Parishes: Beaconsfield - British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> "The Wallers, who came from Speldhurst, Kent," says the Victoria County history of Buckinghamshire, "were settled at Beaconsfield as early as the 14th century."

Beaconsfield is the home of [[Bekonscot]] model village, which was the first model village in the world; and [[Beaconsfield Film Studios]] becoming the [[National Film and Television School]], where many film directors (including [[Nick Park]]) and technicians have learned their craft. It is the birthplace of [[Terry Pratchett]], author of the [[Discworld]] series of fantasy novels. Several scenes in ''[[Brief Encounter]],'' a classic film about a woman in a dull [[middle class]] marriage who almost undertakes an affair, were filmed in the town: Station Parade served as Milford High Street and Boots on Burke's Parade was where Alec runs into Laura.<ref>{{cite web|title=Filming locations for Brief Encounter (1945)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037558/locations|publisher=IMDB.com|access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> The exterior of the Royal Saracens Head Inn can be seen in the [[James Bond]] film ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]],'' and the interior shots for the pub in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'' were filmed in the Royal Standard of England [[pub]]. Many other parts of the town have been used in films due to the old film studio and nearby [[Pinewood Studios]].{{cn|date=January 2022}}

[[File:BeaconsfieldFilmStudiosFront.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Beaconsfield Film Studios]] in 2011: as [[NFTS]]]]

The [[New town|New Town]] was built one mile further to the north, when the railway arrived, at the turn of the 20th century. The [[Beaconsfield railway station (Buckinghamshire)|railway station]] is on the [[Chiltern Main Line]] out of [[Marylebone station|Marylebone]] towards [[High Wycombe]], after which it then branches to Aylesbury, and [[Birmingham Snow Hill railway station|Birmingham Snow Hill]]. Old Beaconsfield which grew up on the Oxford Road in part to serve the coach traffic, is mirrored by New Beaconsfield which has grown up round the station.