32-519: Paul Nicholas Sussman (11 July 1966 in Beaconsfield – 31 May 2012) was a best-selling English author , archaeologist and journalist . His novels were described by The Independent as "the intelligent reader's answer to The Da Vinci Code ". Paul Sussman was the only son of Stanley, a sales manager for a textile manufacturer, and Sue, an actress-turned-psychoanalyst. After a few years in Hampstead
64-556: A ruptured aneurysm . He was survived by his wife and two sons. Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( / ˈ b ɛ k ən z f iː l d / BEK -ənz-feeld ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire , England, 23 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (38 kilometres) northwest of central London and 16 miles (26 kilometres) southeast of Aylesbury . Three other towns are within five miles (eight kilometres): Gerrards Cross , Amersham and High Wycombe . The town
96-460: A score that makes them eligible to go to grammar schools , as well as to the county's upper schools. The population in 1841 was 1,732. Burnham Beeches Burnham Beeches is a 374.6-hectare (926-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated west of Farnham Common in the village of Burnham , Buckinghamshire . The southern half is owned by the Corporation of London and
128-620: A stock enclosures or possibly places of refuge. It comprises a range of earthworks which have been dated to the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age . It is a Scheduled Monument . The close proximity of Pinewood , Shepperton and Bray Studios and the outstanding natural beauty of the Beeches have made it a desirable filming location. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves , The Crying Game , First Knight , Goldfinger , The Princess Bride ,
160-491: A theatre company "run by young people for young people" and winners of the All British Festival of One Act Plays in 2004. Local pop band The Hit Parade released their single "On The Road To Beaconsfield", a celebration of Enid Blyton and her life in the town, in 1994. The parish of Beaconsfield is within the parliamentary constituency of Beaconsfield (which also covers Marlow and other neighbourhoods) towards
192-587: Is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has Georgian , neo-Georgian and Tudor revival high street architecture, known as the Old Town. It is known for the first model village in the world and the National Film and Television School . Beaconsfield was Britain's richest town (based on an average house price of £684,474) in 2008. In 2011, it had the highest proportion in
224-408: Is in the nearby town of High Wycombe). In 1876 he was made the 1st Earl of Beaconsfield by Queen Victoria with whom he was very popular. It was due to this that Beaconsfield became a popular road name in industrial cities across the country in the late Victorian era . It is the burial place of the author G. K. Chesterton , Edmund Burke and the poet Edmund Waller , for whom a tall stone obelisk
256-420: Is named after Sir Henry. At this time local authorities were encouraged to provide open spaces with public access to provide some relief from polluted towns and cities. (Summarised from Hansard and various contemporary newspaper reports.) The largely beech woodland has been regularly pollarded , with many trees now several hundred years old. Their age, and the amount of deadwood in and around them, means that
288-497: Is open to the public. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation . Burnham Beeches came into ownership of the City of London Corporation after the land came up for auction in 1879. The auction followed the death of the land owner who had permitted public access. Its special status was recognised and discussed in the House of Commons. The land failed to sell at
320-504: The A355 which connects Amersham and Slough via Beaconsfield. The A40 parallels the M40 from London to Oxford and for years was the main road between the two cities as its precursor. The B474 connects the town to Hazlemere . Beaconsfield railway station provides services to Birmingham Snow Hill and Moor Street , Aylesbury , Oxford and London Marylebone . There are fast and slow services,
352-950: The Amarna Royal Tombs Project in the Valley of the Kings . Among other finds, at Tomb KV56 , in the Valley of the Kings, he unearthed the first items of pharaonic jewellery to have been excavated in the Valley since the discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922. As a journalist, he was a long-time contributor to The Big Issue , where he won a Periodical Publishers Association Columnist of the Year Award for his satirical "In The News" column. He also wrote for, among others, The Independent , The Guardian , The Evening Standard , The Daily Telegraph , The Spectator , Cosmopolitan and CNN.com . On 31 May 2012, Sussman died suddenly after suffering
SECTION 10
#1732852451237384-675: The 1952 Disney film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men , Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 , Maleficent: Mistress of Evil , Horrible Histories: The Movie , and the Doctor Who story State of Decay are some of the films and TV productions that have been shot at Burnham Beeches. Filming is tightly controlled in recognition of
416-434: The Beeches' international importance for wildlife. Filming is restricted to no more than twenty days per year and to certain times of year. Filming in environmentally sensitive areas has also been banned. Revenue from filming goes directly to fund the upkeep and management of the Beeches. Burnham, New Zealand , was named after the village of Burnham. Burnham Beeches F.C. are an amateur football team who currently compete in
448-534: The Oxford Road in part to serve the coach traffic, is mirrored by New Beaconsfield which has grown up round the station. Beaconsfield is also home to the Chiltern Shakespeare Company, which annually holds amateur performances of Shakespeare plays, Beaconsfield Theatre Group (over 60 years old), Beaconsfield Musical & Operatic Society (over 100 years old) and to The Young Theatre (at Beaconsfield),
480-576: The UK of £1 million-plus homes for sale (at 47%, compared to 3.5% nationally). The parish comprises Beaconsfield town and land mainly given over arable land . Some beech forest remains to supply an established beech furniture industry in High Wycombe, the making of modal and various artisan uses. Beaconsfield is recorded in property returns of 1185 where it is spelt Bekenesfeld, literally beechen field which would less archaically be read as clearing in
512-507: The auction. Subsequently Sir Henry Peek purchased the land at the reserve price £12,000. Sir Henry Peek sold 374 acres (151 hectares) to the City of London Corporation (£6,000), retaining the "enclosed" portion of the land of 175 acres (71 hectares). Purchase was funded from duties levied on grain landed at the Port of London. Money was also spent on roads to improve access (estimated cost £500), one of these
544-533: The beeches . Nearby Burnham Beeches is a forest named after the beech genus. Although, it is often incorrectly contested that Beaconsfield derived its name from a street called Beacon Hill in neighbouring village, Penn , which was a lookout point and beacon originating in Saxon times . Local men were called to defend an island fort as the beacon was part of a chain from the naval base at Portsmouth via Butser Hill Hindhead, Hogsback and Windsor. The parish church at
576-512: The crossroads of Old Beaconsfield is dedicated to St Mary , it was rebuilt of flint and bath stone by the Victorians in 1869. The United Reformed Church in Beaconsfield can trace its roots of non-conformist worship in the town back to 1704. Old Beaconsfield has a number of old coaching inns along a wide street of red brick houses and small shops. It was the first (coach) stopping point on
608-504: The family moved to Northwood in north-west London. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and St. John's College, Cambridge , where he won a Joseph Larmor Award and a boxing blue and was lead singer in a college band, Dr and the Glasscocks. His novels have been translated into 33 languages and are set mainly in Egypt , where he worked for many years as a field archaeologist , notably with
640-491: The former currently reaching London in around twenty-five minutes. It has a car park for commuters who drive towards the capital along the M40 . Beaconsfield has been twinned with Langres , France, since 1995. Buckinghamshire Council operates a selective secondary education system, rather than a comprehensive system. Pupils can take the 11+ test at the beginning of year 6, when they are age 10 or 11. Approximately 30% attain
672-583: The road between London and Oxford , as it is equidistant between the two places. An annual charter fair is traditionally held on 10 May and has been held every year since 1269 celebrating its 750th year in 2019. In the Victorian era the town was the home constituency of Benjamin Disraeli , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1868 and then again from 1874 until 1880 (in fact his home, Hughenden Manor
SECTION 20
#1732852451237704-478: The south. There are also areas to the north of the town (particularly in the parish of Penn ) which have Beaconsfield postal address, but fall within the Chesham and Amersham constituency. Joy Morrissey is the current MP for Beaconsfield constituency, which has its office in Beaconsfield town. She defeated fellow Conservative , Dominic Grieve QC, in the 2019 general election . Grieve, the former Attorney General ,
736-714: The town have been used in films due to the old film studio and nearby Pinewood Studios . More recently it has often been used as a "location" for the TV murder mystery series, Midsomer Murders and the Inspector Morse spinoff Lewis . The New Town was built one mile further to the north, when the railway arrived, at the turn of the 20th century. The railway station is on the Chiltern Main Line out of Marylebone towards High Wycombe it then branches to Aylesbury, and Birmingham Snow Hill . Old Beaconsfield which grew up on
768-494: The town is represented by Councillors Anita Cranmer ( Conservative Party ), Jackson Ng ( Conservative Party ) and Alison Wheelhouse (Independent). All three are also sitting councillors of Beaconsfield Town Council. The parish of Beaconsfield was made a local board district in 1850, which became Beaconsfield Urban District in 1894. Beaconsfield Urban District Council built itself Beaconsfield Town Hall on Penn Road in 1936 to serve as its headquarters. Beaconsfield Urban District
800-658: The town: Station Parade served as Milford High Street and Boots on Burke's Parade was where Alec runs into Laura. The exterior of the Royal Saracens Head Inn can be seen in the James Bond film Thunderball , and the interior shots for the pub in Hot Fuzz were filmed in the Royal Standard of England pub . The New Town also features in two other postwar colour films, John & Julie and The Fast Lady. Many other parts of
832-428: The woodland is rich in wildlife . More than sixty of the species of plants and animals here are either rare or under threat nationally. The area is protected as a National Nature Reserve , Site of Special Scientific Interest and a candidate Special Area of Conservation . Seven Ways Plain hill fort is located in the south west part of Burnham Beeches. It is a rare example of a single rampart earthwork used either as
864-538: The world; and Beaconsfield Film Studios becoming the National Film and Television School , where many film directors (including Nick Park ) and technicians have learned their craft. It is the birthplace of Terry Pratchett , author of the Discworld series of fantasy novels. Several scenes in Brief Encounter , a classic film about a woman in a dull middle class marriage who almost undertakes an affair, were filmed in
896-453: Was abolished in 1974, with the area merging with part of Eton Rural District to become Beaconsfield District , which (despite the name) chose to base itself at the old Eton Rural District Council's offices in Slough rather than in Beaconsfield. Beaconsfield District Council renamed itself South Bucks District Council in 1980. The district council was abolished in 2020. Beaconsfield Town Council
928-409: Was created in 1974 as a successor parish , covering the area of the abolished urban district. Beaconsfield Town Council is based at the urban district council's old headquarters at Town Hall. The M40 runs very close to the town with Junction 2 on the parish boundary and is 4 lanes wide in either direction (junctions 1a to 3). Junction 2 is home to Beaconsfield motorway services . Local roads include
960-515: Was erected over the tomb chest in St Mary and All Saints’ churchyard . In 1624, Waller's family acquired Wilton Manor and Hall Barn in the town. "The Wallers, who came from Speldhurst, Kent," says the Victoria County history of Buckinghamshire, "were settled at Beaconsfield as early as the 14th century." Beaconsfield is the home of Bekonscot model village, which was the first model village in
992-463: Was first elected in 1997, and stood as an independent in the 2019 election having had the party whip removed. As a young man, Tony Blair , later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , stood as Labour's candidate in the 1982 Beaconsfield by-election , but lost to the Conservative candidate, Tim Smith . Smith was later found to be involved with Neil Hamilton in the cash-for-questions affair which
Paul Sussman - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-566: Was the financial part of the Major ministry sleaze uncovered before the 1997 general election . This was the only election Tony Blair ever lost. Liam Fox was a GP in Beaconsfield before being elected to Parliament, though he represented a seat in Somerset . There are two tiers of local government covering Beaconsfield, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Beaconsfield Town Council and Buckinghamshire Council . On Buckinghamshire Council,
#236763