History of Coombe Hill

The Boer War memorial on Coombe Hill | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

Once part of the Chequers Estate, Coombe Hill was given to the National Trust in 1918 by Lord & Lady Lee of Fareham.

The geology of the Chilterns

Coombe Hill forms part of the Chiltern Hills. These were formed by an outcrop of chalk, overlain by clay-with-flints, on the north-western side of the London basin.

The chalk rock of the Chiltern Hills started forming around 145 million years ago in shallow subtropical seas far from land. Around 65 million years ago, these soft sedimentary rocks started to be compressed and uplifted under huge tectonic forces, and they emerged from the sea. Subsequent weathering and erosion have shaped the gently rolling landscape.

The countryside around the hills is steeped in history, ranging from Iron Age hillforts to Elizabethan mansions, and areas of common woodland worked by local families.

One of the oldest features on Coombe Hill is the visible earthwork remains of a late prehistoric cross-dyke. The shallow ditch is on the west facing slope about 400m south of the monument. It was probably dug to defend a route or to mark a territory.

Coombe Hill in Buckinghamshire — Stand at the heighest viewpoint in the chilterns | © Hugh Mothersole

Boer War Memorial

Coombe Hill Monument is one of the first and largest examples of a war memorial built to honour the names of individual men who fell whilst fighting for their country, rather than celebrating victories.

The monument was built in 1904 in memory of 148 men from Buckinghamshire who died during the Second Boer War. It was almost totally destroyed by lightning in 1938. It now has lightning conductors to stop this from happening again. On 21 October 2010, the monument was re-dedicated after it underwent substantial restoration work.

The monument is not owned by the National Trust.

A clump of formerly coppiced beeches with bright green spring leaves emerging — Coppiced beeches in Low Scrubs in the Chilterns | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

Low Scrubs

For many centuries, perhaps dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, Low Scrubs was part of common woodlandl; local families were allotted their own compartments of trees. This practice continued until the Second World War.

Some beech trees within Low Scrubs were regularly coppiced and then allowed to grow back. This regular cutting extended the life of the trees and has resulted in Low Scrubs containing some of the oldest surviving beech trees in the Chilterns.