Early history At the time of the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 949 there was no distinction made between the three separate villages: the whole area was known as
Ceadeles funtan, meaning
chalk springs. The villages were however separated by 1237 when in
manorial rolls Chalfont St Peter was referred to as
Chalfund Sancti Petri. The suffix St Peter is taken from the dedication of the church in the village. Chalfont St Peter was described in 1806 in
Magna Britannia as follows: :"Chalfont St Peter, in the hundred and
deanery of Burnham, lies about five miles from
Amersham, on the road to London, and nearly six miles from
Uxbridge in
Middlesex. The manor, which belonged to
Missenden Abbey, was granted in 1536 to
Robert Drury, esquire, whose descendants sold it in 1626 to the
Bulstrodes: in 1646 it was conveyed to Thomas Gower esq. of whom, in 1650, it was purchased by Mr. Richard Whitchurch, ancestor of Mrs. Anne Whitchurch, the present proprietor. :"An ancient manor in this parish takes its name from the family of
Brudenell, (collateral ancestors of the
Earl of Cardigan), who formerly possessed it; from them it descended by female heirs to the Drurys and Osbornes. It afterwards came into the
Duke of Portland's family, of whom it was purchased by
Charles Churchill esq. the late proprietor; it is now the property of Thomas Hibbert esq. Mr. Hibbert's seat, which is called Chalfont-house, was a distinct property; and before it came into Mr. Churchill's hands, was in the families of Wilkins and Selman. :"Newlands, in this parish, the seat of
Sir Henry Thomas Gott, was purchased by its present possessor about the year 1770, of Mr. Croke of Beaconsfield: it had been formerly in the family of Saunders, and was sold by Sir John Saunders to Mr. Hopkins, of whom it was purchased by Mr. Croke. :"In the church are memorials for the family of Whitchurch. The advowson and impropriation which belonged formerly to Missenden abbey, and afterwards to the Drurys, was given by Sir Thomas Allen to the president and scholars of St. John's college in Oxford, who present the vicar and grant him a lease of the great tithes. :"The
Earl of Portland built a school at Gerrard's Cross, in this parish, adjoining the road from London to High Wycombe. It has no endowment, but has always been supported by the Portland family: the duke appoints the master, and allows him a salary for teaching a number of boys of this and some of the neighbouring parishes. :"William Courtnay, who died in 1770, gave a loaf of bread weekly to each of eleven unmarried poor women of this parish, and one to the clerk."
Modern history Today, Chalfont St Peter is one of the largest villages in the United Kingdom partly due to the proximity to
Gerrards Cross railway station which lies between
London Marylebone and
Birmingham Snow Hill on the
Chiltern Main Line. Modern buildings and urbanisation now dominate the village centre and very little historic architecture remains. The first major development of the village were rows of
Georgian shops (some of which still remain). Much larger developments came in the late 1920s and these shops that run up the main street towards Gold Hill common now comprise most of the village centre. Modernisation and urbanisation continued up until the 1960s when most of the Georgian shops were demolished in favour of a concrete development of flats, offices and shops fronts surrounding a central car park. ==Population==