Coordinates: 51°31′14″N 0°30′26″W / 51.5206°N 0.5071°W / 51.5206; -0.5071

Iver
Iver  Iver shown within Buckinghamshire
Population	9,925 [1]
OS grid reference	TQ037810
District	South Bucks
Shire county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	IVER
Postcode district	SL0
Dialling code	01753
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Beaconsfield
List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire

Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.

Iver railway station is in Richings Park.

Etymology[link]

The village name Iver is Anglo Saxon in origin and means (place by) the brow of the hill.

History[link]

The Parish of Iver[link]

The parish of Iver covers about eight square miles (21 km²) and it includes the villages of Iver Heath and Iver. To their south is Richings Park. The centre of London is about twenty miles (30 km) away. The parish flanks the Greater London border in the vicinity of Uxbridge for several miles, and it is to the east of the town of Slough. Iver Heath, Iver and Richings Park straddle the M25 motorway which is intersected to the north above Iver Heath by the M40, and to the south beneath Richings Park, by the M4.

History of the Parish[link]

In the Domesday Book of 1086 the whole area was recorded as Evreham or homestead by the brow of a hill and it was in the possession of a man called Robert Doiley.

It has been suggested by some that the area is actually named after a contemporary of Doiley, Roger de Iveri, also a Norman gentleman who arrived in England with William the Conqueror. However, there are no records to suggest that Iveri ever owned the manor here, although he did own property elsewhere in Buckinghamshire.

The area was in 1351 granted a Royal charter to hold a weekly market. This charter was confirmed 110 years later in 1461, at which time Iver was considered a place of some importance.

Village of Iver Heath[link]

Iver Heath is the location of Heatherden Hall, a Victorian estate with spectacular grounds. It was purchased by Lt. Col. Grant Morden, a Canadian financier, who transformed the mansion by adding a huge ballroom and Turkish bath. During the 1930s it became a retreat and private meeting place for politicians and diplomats. The agreement to form the Irish Free State was signed at Heatherden Hall.

When Grant Morden died in 1934 the estate was purchased at auction by Charles Boot, who had recently inherited a large construction firm from his father Henry Boot, who died in 1931. Within twelve months Charles Boot transformed Heatherden Hall into the office building for a film studio complex. He based his new studios on the latest Hollywood, USA designs of that era. Charles Boot named it Pinewood Film Studios, reflecting the numerous pine trees surrounding the area. The entrance to the studio is on Pinewood Road.

Adjoining the studio complex is Black Park, with a lake that extends over 530 acres (2.1 km²). Due to it's proximity to Pinewood Studios, Black Park was used for outdoor sequences in some of Hammer's Dracula films, a number of Carry On films, and in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger.

To the south, Black Park is separated from Langley Park by the A412 road. Langley Park covers 130 acres (0.53 km²) and is known for its rhododendron and azalea-filled Temple Gardens.

Iver Heath village itself is centred around a triangle of roads. The village post office is on the Slough Road to the south, while a parade of shops can be found along Church Road to the north. Slough Road and Church Road are connected by Bangors Road North to the east.

The Church of St Margaret was built in 1862.

The film Ali G Indahouse made satirical reference to fictional gangster life in Iver Heath; the film and other Ali G works also mention the adjoining village of Langley.^[2] As the video to Shaggy and Ali G's hit single "Me Julie" begins, there is a reference to the Crooked Billet pub, which is just off of the Uxbridge Road A4020 on the Five Points Roundabout.

Village of Iver[link]

Iver village on the Uxbridge to Langley road has a pre-Domesday foundation in which Neolithic pottery fragments and other artefacts have been discovered. The village church has shards of a Saxon window, and elements dating from the 15th century, 16th century and 17th century can be seen. The village has numerous houses from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Richings Park[link]

Richings Park was once the estate of Lord Bathurst. Richings Park mansion was destroyed during World War II, and its site is now a residential area with its own shopping facilities. Richings Park mansion was very briefly the home of RAF Bomber Command, and the cellars of the house are still visible in fields now overlooking the M4.

Iver Heath Drama Club[link]

Established by John Hargreves in 1948, Iver Heath Drama Club contributed to the construction of the current village hall. The group puts on plays and pantomimes. In 2008, it celebrated 60 years by performing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.^[3]

In September 2008, Pinewood Studios became the club's sponsor. Pinewood helped with rent and funded the 60th birthday pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, which played to over 300 people in January 2009. It was co-sponsored by South Bucks District Council.

Notable people[link]

• Prince Michael of Kent, member of the British Royal Family, was born in Iver^[4]
• Princess Victoria (1868-1935), daughter of Edward VII, lived in Iver 1925-1935^[5]
• Linford Christie, Olympic gold medalist sprinter, lives in Iver^[6]
• John Fairey (1935-2009), aviator son of Charles Fairey (founder of the Fairey Aviation Company), was born in Iver^[7]
• James Gambier (1756-1833), notorious admiral of the Royal Navy, lived in Iver^[8]
• Sid James (1913-1976), Carry On film legend, lived in Iver^{[citation needed]}
• Brian Muir, sculptor of Darth Vader's helmet and armour and the Stormtrooper armour in Star Wars, lives in Iver^[9]
• John Nash (1893-1977), painter of landscape and still-life, grew up in Iver^[10]
• Edward Schroeder Prior (1857-1932), Arts and Crafts Movement architect, lived at Bridgefoot (shown on the postcard above)^{[citation needed]}

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Iver

• Langley & Iver Rotaract - a social & community group for 18-30 year olds

References[link]

1. ^ Neighbourhood Statistics 2001 census
2. ^ BBC Ali G Film review
3. ^ Iver Heath Drama Club
4. ^ "Prince and Princess Michael of Kent". The Official Website of the British Monarchy. http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/PrinceandPrincessMichaelofKent/PrinceandPrincessMichaelofKent.aspx. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 
5. ^ "Introduction: Ralph Hancock". http://www.ralphhancock.com/introduction. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 
6. ^ Harvey, Michael (4 August 1997). "Linford Slows Down in his £1 Million Mansion". The Daily Mail. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110875449.html. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 
7. ^ "Obituary: Captain John Fairey". telegraph.co.uk (The Daily Telegraph). 23 July 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/5895456/Captain-John-Fairey.html. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 
8. ^ The Gentleman's magazine, Volume 103, Part 1. 1833. p. 559. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=N043AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA559&lpg=PA559&dq=%22james+gambier%22+iver&source=bl&ots=smWLoxaEF8&sig=LFrOgx36z8lGPOd6zlsCFrwPEC0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E2AsT4q_A4SR0AW0zfisCA&ved=0CB4Q6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=%22james%20gambier%22%20iver&f=false. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 
9. ^ "Interview with Brian Muir". http://www.bigbaddaddyvader.com/interviewsection.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 
10. ^ "Nash, John Biography". The Bookroom Art Press. http://www.bookroomartpress.co.uk/biographies/19.html. Retrieved 2012-02-03. 

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Anaïs Mitchell
New Bedford Summerfest July 4, 2010
Background information
Born	(1981-03-26) March 26, 1981 (age 31)
Origin	Montpelier, Vermont, U.S.
Genres	Folk, Indie folk
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Righteous Babe Records
Associated acts	Bon Iver, Ani DiFranco
Website	Official Website

Anaïs Mitchell (English: /ɑːneɪˈs/; born March 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter.

Early life[link]

Anaïs Mitchell is the daughter of a novelist and a college professor. She began writing and performing songs at the age of seventeen. As a child she grew up on a farm in Addison County, Vermont, traveled to the Middle East, Europe and Latin America and later attended Middlebury College.^{[1] [2]}

Career[link]

On a single afternoon in 2002, Mitchell recorded her debut album The Song They Sang When Rome Fell.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 Mitchell won the New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival.^[1][3]

Her album, Hymns for the Exiled, was released on Chicago's Waterbug Records label in 2004.^[1] This recording attracted the attention of singer/songwriter, Ani DiFranco who signed Mitchell to the Righteous Babe Records label.^[2]

In 2006 Mitchell debuted a draft of her Hadestown "folk opera" which she wrote in collaboration with arranger Michael Chorney and director Ben T. Matchstick.^[4] A revised version of Hadestown was staged in 2007 and Mitchell's third album, The Brightness, was released on Righteous Babe Records that same year.^[5]

In 2008 Mitchell was nominated in the Contemporary Artist category of the third annual Folk Alliance awards show broadcast.^[6] In September that same year Righteous Babe Records released country e.p., a split vinyl/CD EP Mitchell recorded with Rachel Ries.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2009, Mitchell said she intended to release a recording of Hadestown. Mitchell lent her vocals to the song "Miss Independence", off of Burlington-based singer Myra Flynn's album "Crooked Measures".^[7]

Hadestown, a recording of Mitchell's folk opera was released on Righteous Babe records in March 2010 in the US (late April 2010 in the UK) and received favorable reviews.^[8][9] Her manager, Slim Moon, described it as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America." The album includes guest appearances by Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem, and The Haden Triplets (Petra, Rachel, and Tanya Haden).

Mitchell released an album called Young Man in America, on her Wilderland Records label in 2012.^[10]

Reception[link]

Mitchell has received favorable reviews on her musical style, sound and performance. An article in Acoustic Guitar magazine calls Mitchell "fearlessly emotive" and compares her to Dylan, Cohen, and Welch.^[11]

A review in No Depression magazine describes Mitchell as "girlishly sprite and brimming with innocence" and says that she "brings to mind the hippie-throwback charm of Victoria Williams and "80s pop star Cyndi Lauper".^[12]

Margaret Reges of Allmusic describes Mitchell as having "the earthiness of Shawn Colvin, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco"^[13]

Discography[link]

• The Song They Sang... When Rome Fell (2002)
• Hymns for the Exiled (2004) Waterbug Records
• The Brightness (2007) Righteous Babe Records
• Country E.P. (2008) Righteous Babe Records (with Rachel Ries)
• Hadestown (2010) Righteous Babe Records (with Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Greg Brown and Ben Knox Miller)
• Young Man in America (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anaïs Mitchell

• Official website
• Boston Globe music review
• Sing Out! sound recording review of The Brightness by Rich Warren June 22, 2007.
• State of Mind Our Lady of the Underground: A Conversation with Anais Mitchell by Matt Bushlow March 2010.
• nthWORD Magazine Interview by Ryan O'Connor June 7, 2010
• NPR Music Review