Chenies village lies in the very eastern part of south Buckinghamshire, near the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated to the east of Chesham and the Chalfonts. Chenies is also a civil parish within Chiltern district. Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead.
There were two villages here, called Isenhampstead Chenies and Isenhampstead Latimers, distinguished by the lords of the manors of those two places. In the 19th century the prefix was dropped and the two villages became known as Chenies and Latimer. Near the village there was once a royal hunting-box, where both King Edward I and King Edward II were known to have resided.[2] It was the owner of this lodge, Edward III’s shield bearer, Thomas Cheyne, who first gave his name to the village and his descendant, Sir John Cheyne, who built Chenies Manor House in around 1460 on the site.
After the Battle of Hastings,William crowned himself king of England. He set about dividing up parts of the country and giving it to people who had helped him.Also this would have been a way of making sure the Barons remained loyal to him.One such Baron, called Maigno the Breton,a mercenary,who assisted William, was given the area around Chalfont.It is probable that Chenies was included in this area,although there is no mention of it in the Domesday Survey of 1086. Originally Chenies was called Isenhampstead,a Saxon name. The first mention of Isenhampstead is in 1165 when it was held by the Knight,Alexander de Isenhampstead.He was probably the ancestor of Alexander Cheyne who lived there during the 13th. Century. For many years Chenies was know as Isenhampstead-Cheyne.
Several paper mills were once established in Chenies, operated by the River Chess, which flowed here from further west in Buckinghamshire. The parish church of St Michael includes the Bedford Chapel, burial place of many notable members of the Russell family. The church is not of great architectural interest but stands in a delightful position in the Chess Valley near the manor house. “The fabulous series of monuments to the Russells, Dukes of Bedford, and their connexions … [are according to] the late Mrs. Esdaile …’one of the finest collections of tombs in England’.”
When the Duke of Bedford’s estate was split up and sold for auction in 1954, much of it was purchased by a property developer who hoped to be allowed to build more housing on the land. However this was not allowed,and many of the properties were then resold to those who already rented them.In this way some of the farms continued as they had been previously run. However there has been a gradual ‘Gentrification’ of the farms,with many of the large farmhouses being converted to private residences,and old farm workers cottages changed to farm housing. Also outhouses have been converted to housing and land rented to neighbouring farms. In this way the character of the village and its farms has changed dramatically