Facts and places of interest in Beaconsfield

Facts about Beaconsfield

• Did you know that the Bekonscot Model Village in Beaconsfield is the oldest model village on earth and inspired Enid Blyton to write of "Noddy" and "toy Town".

• Beaconsfield is mainly given over to arable land, though some beech forest remains from that planted to supply the furniture trade of High Wycombe.

• During the Victorian era Beaconsfield was the home to Benjamin Disraeli who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1868 and then again from 1874 until 1880. In 1876 Disraeli was made the 1st Earl of Beaconsfield by Queen Victoria, with whom he was very popular.

• In 1982 former Prime Minister Tony Blair stood for selection as a candidate in a by-election in the safe Conservative seat of Beaconsfield and won only ten percent of the vote and lost his deposit. However, he did manage to impress the then Labour Party leader Michael Foot and obtained a profile within the Labour party.

• Some scenes of the famous film ‘Brief Encounter' were filled in the town.

• The outside of the Royal Saracens Head Inn featured in the James Bond film ‘Thunderball'.

• The interior shots for the pub in the film ‘Hot Fuzz' were filmed inside the Royal Standard Pub.

• Beaconsfiled has often been used as a location for the TV murder series ‘Midsomer Murders'.

Places of Interest in Beaconsfield:

 Bekonscot

Bekonscot is the oldest model village in the world and portrays an entire minature kingdom with aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s. There are six little villages in a 1½ acre miniature landscape of farms and fields, castles and churches, woods, lakes and rolling hills.  Bekonscot has been run by the Church Army since 1978 and raises a large sum of money for charity.

Old Beaconsfield  

The parish church, St Mary and All Saints Church, is situated at the crossroads of Old Beaconsfield. It was rebuilt by the Victorians in 1869 using flint and bath stone.

There are a number of old coaching inns in Old Beaconsfield built along a wide street of red brick houses and shops. This was the first coach stopping point on the road between London and Oxford.

Annual Fair  

An annual fair is traditionally held in May and has been held for over 735 years. The charter originally allowed for a yearly market to trade goods and livestock, but this has now developed into a fun fair erected for one day only in the Old Town .