Chiltern Society PhotoGroup Outing

Lane End, including nearby Cadmore End and Wheeler End, were recently visited by members of the Chiltern Society PhotoGroup. As a result, an upgraded photo album comprising 56 captioned images (including several taken in 1996/7) has been added to its photo archive. The Lane End album is available for general viewing at www.chilternphoto.org.uk/index/category/61.

As those on the photoshoot found, Lane End is a thriving village with an imposing Victorian Gothic church and many fine buildings. It is a civil parish just south of the M40, about two miles west of Booker, and forms part of Wycombe District Council. Historically, the village’s growth dates from the early 19th century when it supplied wheat and barley to the breweries in Marlow and Henley. Many villagers also manufactured chairs or worked in the local iron foundry.

Cadmore End is a smaller 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.

The Chiltern Society PhotoGroup’s archive is the most comprehensive record of the Chilterns’ special character, qualities and amenities. It has around 7,600 photographs in over 220 searchable locations, as well as 36 Special Collections albums. Besides recording the Chilterns for the benefit of future generations, several thousands of UK and overseas visitors, many with ancestral links to the region, access the archive each year.