English Village to be Preserved

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 654, 4 May 1929, Page 26

English Village to be Preserved

£17,000 FOR PURCHASE

APPEAL FOR FUNDS A committee recommendation that the village of West Wycombe, Bucks, be purchased for preservation as a typical English village was endorsed at the meeting of the Council of the Royal Society of Arts. “A deposit has already been paid.” an official of the Royal Society of Arts told a “Daily Chronicle” representative, “and we are issuing an appeal to the public for £17,000 to cover the purchase price and to execute some very necessary repairs.” It is hoped that the subscribers will include a number of American wellwishers who are actively interested in the work for the preservation of ancient cottages. West Wycombe, which is being sold by Sir John Dashwood, contains about 50 cottages and three inns. It is on the main Oxford Road, two and a-half miles from High Wycombe, and its selection as a typical English village has caused surprise in some quarters.

“No one could describe this interesting village as secluded, beautiful or serene.” a “Daily Chronicle” critic wrote of the village, in describing it as “simply a part of the Oxford Road, through which there is incessant traffic.”