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Ivinghoe village, south of Leighton Buzzard, is an important point on the Icknield Way that is claimed to be the oldest road in Britain. It is also the starting point, or end, of The Ridgeway that runs 87 miles to Wiltshire. Its buildings include fine examples of Tudor architecture.   The hamlet of Ivinghoe Aston is within the parish of Ivinghoe to the north east.   Most of the photographs were taken in 2022 by John Fitzgerald.   Click here to see location on a map  

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The village is on the edge of Dunstable Downs. Although now in Bedfordshire, Kensworth used to be in Hertfordshire until it was ‘swapped’ for Markyate in 1897. The photographs were taken and captioned by John Hockey in July 2011.

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The villages lie at the foot of the Chilterns near Wendover and the Prime Minister’s country home, Chequers. We have photographed the village medieval churches, both well worth visiting. Most of the photographs were taken in August 2010.

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Lane End is a thriving village and civil parish just south of the M40, about two miles west of Booker. From the early 19th century the village's growth was sustained by supplying wheat and barley to the breweries in Marlow and Henley. In addition to working the land, the inhabitants traditionally manufactured chairs or worked in a local iron foundry.

Cadmore End is a small village two miles away on the Marlow Road. It is largely located on a narrow by-pass, so has retained its rural serenity despite the close proximity of the M40 motorway. At one time the village supported a large brickworks.

Wheeler End is a hamlet between Lane End and the A40; it dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period.

Most of the photographs were taken in 2016; those taken in 1996/7 were by a local resident, Simon Griffin.

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Latimer, east of Chesham, was originally joined to Chenies with the name Isenhampstead. Most of the photographs were taken in May 2010.

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Chiltern escarpment village southwest of Princes Risborough along the Icknield Way, “the oldest road in Britain” and a main cross-country route from pre-Roman times extending from Wells-next-the-Sea on the Norfolk coast to the source of the River Kennet in Wiltshire. The photographs were taken in 2008 and 2009 unless otherwise stated.

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Lilley is a small village on high ground set within rural undulating countryside. Though the A505 dual carriageway from Luton to Hitchin is only a short distance away, it is easy to lose oneself in the architecture and the tranquility of the many byways that exist locally. Pirton, in Hertfordshire, is a lovely village enclosed by three old roads. With 54 listed buildings it lies on rising ground some four miles from Hitchin and has a population of 1,300. The photographs were taken, and the captions written, by John Hockey in August 2013.

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A village on the north bank of the R Thames about a mile east of Marlow, Little Marlow has a 12th century church, a Village Green and two pubs. Tony Hyde's photographs were taken in 2008 and 2013; Keith Guy's were taken in late 2016.

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Little Missenden is widely renowned for its many fine 17th and 18th century dwellings and a parish church that goes back to Saxon times. The village is on the route of the South Bucks Way, passing through the Misbourne Valley, while the A413 by-pass to the north helps retain Little Missenden’s relative tranquility. Barry Hunt took the photographs in 2014 unless otherwise stated.

Click here to see location on a map.

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Alison Beck contributed all the photographs and captions in this album that is in two parts. She writes “I have long felt that Luton was a strange omission from the PhotoGroup's portfolio. There has been some sort of settlement here since Palaeolithic times and Luton is now the largest town in the Chilterns as well as being one of the most populous towns without city status in the country. Luton possesses over 100 listed buildings, a beautiful Grade 1 listed church, and enough stories to fill a book.”   The project was somewhat thwarted by the pandemic and the petrol shortage so that Alison took the photos in Part One in February 2020 and then did not return until July and October 2021.   One of the founders of the Chiltern Society's PhotoGroup, Guy Patterson, wrote in 1996 “We want to record our towns as they are today so we are not looking for pretty pictures but informative records.” Remembering that, I asked Alison to reflect the fact that 44% of Luton's population is BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) when she returned to complete her project. She ended up with over 350 photographs so the selection is a mere glimpse of a diverse and fascinating town.   Quiller Barrett, Website Editor

Click here to see location on a map

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The A4 links Maidenhead, on the Thames and with a population c60,000, with Reading to the west and Slough to the east. A major reshaping of the town is expected and it is also scheduled to become the western terminus of the new Crossrail project.

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Markyate is a village on the old Roman road, Watling Street, between St Albans and Dunstable. It was a major coaching stop and once had 40 inns and pubs. A bypass now takes the A5 to the east. During the 12th century a community of Benedictine nuns was established in the area. Markyate became a civil parish in 1897. The photographs were taken by John Fitzgerald between March and May 2014.

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Marlow is on the River Thames 30 miles west of London, with the Chiltern Hills to the north. The town has some fine, mainly Georgian, buildings and has many literary associations: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Jerome K Jerome, Izaak Walton and T S Eliot. Ken Poyton took the photographs attributed to him in August 2005. The most recent photographs were taken in 2010–2012.

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Alison Beck writes: “Like many Chiltern villages, Marsworth has changed considerably since the photographs taken in 2007. Once it had five pubs: in 2022 only two remain. Once there were three village shops, now there are none. Many more houses have been built. There are over 30 listed 'buildings' in the parish, many of which are locks and buildings associated with the canals. The coming of the canal in the 19th century, and the building of two great arms to Aylesbury and Wendover, made Marsworth Junction, as it became known, of considerable commercial importance.”   Unless otherwise indicated the photographs were taken in 2021 and 2022.