Stoke Poges is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred 3 mi north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and 2 mi southeast of Farnham Common.

Etymology

In the name Stoke Poges, stoke means "stockaded (place)" that is staked with more than just boundary-marking stakes. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village was recorded as Stoche. William Fitz-Ansculf, who held the manor in 1086 (in the grounds of which the Norman parish church was built), later became known as William Stoches or William of Stoke. Amicia of Stoke, heiress to the manor, married Robert Pogeys, Knight of the Shire 200 years later, and the village eventually became known as Stoke Poges. Robert Poges was the son of Savoyard Imbert Pugeys, valet to King Henry III and later steward of the royal household. Poges and Pocheys being an English attempt at Pugeys which ironically meant "worthless thing". The spelling appearing as "Stoke Pocheys", if applicable to this village, may suggest the pronunciation of the second part had a slightly more open "o" sound than the word "Stoke".

Stoke Poges Manor House

A manor house at Stoke Poges was built before the Norman Conquest and was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book. In 1555 the owner, Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, pulled down much of the existing fortified house. He replaced it with a large Tudor brick-built house, with numerous chimneys and gables. In 1599 it was acquired by Sir Edward Coke, who is said to have entertained Queen Elizabeth I there in 1601. A few decades later, the married lady of the manor, Frances Coke, Viscountess Purbeck, the daughter of Sir Edward Coke, had a love affair with Robert Howard, a member of parliament. The affair's discovery was received as a scandal upon the three people involved, and in 1635 Lady Frances was imprisoned for adultery. She later escaped from prison to France, and eventually returned and lived at Stoke Poges Manor for a time. She died at Oxford in 1645 at the court of King Charles I. Charles I himself was imprisoned at Stoke Poges Manor in 1647 before his execution. Later the manor came into the possession of Thomas Penn, a son of William Penn who founded Pennsylvania and was its first proprietor. Thomas Penn held three-fourths of the proprietorship. The manor property remained in his family for at least two generations, as his son John Penn "of Stoke" also lived there. Thomas Gray's 1750 poem "A Long Story" describes the house and its occupants. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was a frequent visitor to the house and rented it as a studio for some time. His most famous painting, The Monarch of the Glen (1851), is said to have been created at Stoke Poges, with the deer in the park used as models.

Education

Stoke Poges has a primary school called The Stoke Poges School. It was rated 'Good' by Ofsted in 2022. On 6 May 1985 four pupils drowned at Land's End during a school trip. Their bereaved parents were angered by Buckinghamshire County Council's offer of £3500 compensation per child. A Sikh faith secondary school called Pioneer Secondary Academy opened in 2022. On the site had been Khalsa Secondary Academy which had been rated 'Inadequate ' by Ofsted in 2019 and subsequently closed. Larchmoor School in Gerrards Cross Road was a major school in England for deaf children which was opened in 1967 by Elizabeth II and ran by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. It closed in the late 20th century. Halidon House School was founded 1865, based in Slough and then in 1948 moved to Framewood Manor, Framewood Road. It was a girls school which closed in 1983. St. James Roman Catholic School moved from Richmond in 1830 to Baylis House. The school closed in 1907. Rafael Merry del Val, Cardinal Secretary of State under Pope Pius X was educated at the school. Stoke House School in Stoke Green was a preparatory school from 1841 to 1913. In 1913 Ted Parry, the headmaster relocated the school to Seaford and later it was renamed Stoke Brunswick School. Long Dene School, moved from Jordans, Buckinghamshire to the Manor House in 1940. In 1945 the school relocated to Chiddingstone Castle, Kent. Teikyo School United Kingdom is near Stoke Poges.

St Giles' Church

Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is believed to have been written in the churchyard of Saint Giles. The church is a Grade I listed building. Other churches have claimed the honour, including St Laurence's Church, Upton-cum-Chalvey and St Mary's in Everdon, Northamptonshire. Gray is buried in a tomb with his mother and aunt in the churchyard. John Penn commissioned James Wyatt to design a monument which is a Grade II* listed building. It bears lines from the Elegy. The monument stands adjacent to St Giles' church and owned by the National Trust. A lychgate which is now located in the middle of the churchyard was designed by John Oldrid Scott and completed in 1887. In 2022 it became a national heritage asset being Listed Grade II. A gothic style rectory having a battlemented parapet was built by James Wyatt, 1802–1804 for John Penn of Stoke Park. It is now a private residence called Elegy House.

Sport

There are two public recreation grounds: Bells Hill and Plough Lane. In the late 20th century, large private sports facilities operated for the main benefit of Glaxo Laboratories staff at Sefton Park and for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Paints Division at Duffield House, Stoke Green. Badminton: Stoke Poges Badminton Club has for many decades run in the Village Centre. Bowls: Stoke Poges Bowls Club was founded in 1978 and closed in 2020. The bowling green was situated in the grounds of the Polish Association in Church Lane. The bowling green had opened in 1949 by St. Helens Cable and Wire Company. Cricket: Stoke Green Cricket Club in Stoke Green has been playing there since 1879 with support of the then landowner, Howard-Vyse of Stoke Place. Stoke Poges Golf Club at Stoke Park used to run a cricket club in the early 20th century, playing home matches in Farnham Royal. Darts: In 2023 darts teams from the Village Centre and the Rose and Crown public house in Stoke Poges, compete in the Chalfont and District Darts League. Football: Stoke Poges Football Club plays on the Bells Hill recreation ground. Golf: Stoke Park golf course was designed by Harry Colt for Nicholas Lane Jackson who founded it in 1908 as part of England's first golf and country club. It was known as Stoke Poges Golf Club. The South Buckinghamshire Golf Academy consisted of a 9 holes golf course and a golf driving range. It was opened in 1994 and owned by Buckinghamshire County Council. It closed down after the granting of a planning application in 2018 to turn it into a public Country Park. The South Buckinghamshire Golf Course, formerly known as Farnham Park Golf Course, is an 18-hole pay and play course, set in 130 acres of mature wooded parkland owned by Buckinghamshire Council. In 2023 there were two golf clubs using the course: South Buckinghamshire Golf Club and Farnham Park Golf Club. The latter was established at the course in 1977. Wexham Park Golf Centre in Wexham Street, straddles Stoke Poges and Wexham Parishes. It has a variety of golf facilities with a nine hole course being located in Stoke Poges Parish. Padel: In 2023 Buckinghamshire Council submitted plans to build two padel tennis courts at the South Buckinghamshire Golf Course. Table Tennis: Stoke Poges Table Tennis Club was founded in 1950. Play used to take place in the pavilion at Sefton Park. In the 21st century it plays at St Andrew's Church Centre in Rogers Lane. Tennis: Stoke Poges Lawn Tennis Club operates on Bells Hill recreation ground and commenced there in 1949.

In media

Notable natives and residents

Notable organisations

Demography

At the 2001 UK census, the Stoke Poges electoral ward had a population of 4,839. The ethnicity was 93.3% white, 1.3% mixed race, 4.8% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of residents was 88.1% United Kingdom, 1.6% Republic of Ireland, 2.5% other Western European countries, and 7.8% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 76.5% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.7% Hindu, 2.7% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, and 1.1% Muslim. 10.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 7.6% did not state their religion. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 40.8% in full-time employment, 11.6% in part-time employment, 12.6% self-employed, 1.8% unemployed, 1.5% students with jobs, 3.1% students without jobs, 16.8% retired, 6.7% looking after home or family, 2.5% permanently sick or disabled and 2.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 15.4% retail, 13.4% manufacturing, 6.9% construction, 21.1% real estate, 9.2% health and social work, 7.3% education, 8.8% transport and communications, 3.5% public administration, 3.4% hotels and restaurants, 2.8% finance, 0.8% agriculture and 7.4% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in real estate, transport and communications. According to Office for National Statistics estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households was £870, compared with an average of £660 in South East England. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 28.4% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide. In 2011, The Daily Telegraph deemed Stoke Poges as Britain's eighth richest village and the third richest village in Buckinghamshire.

Geography

Hamlets within Stoke Poges parish include: