St Michael's, Chenies
St Michael's Church at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Oxford in England. It is not of great architectural interest but stands in an attractive position in the Chess Valley near the Chenies Manor House. The church is famous for its Bedford Chapel (photo), the mausoleum of the Russell family (Dukes of Bedford of Woburn Abbey) which is private and not open to the public. Parish church History The present parish church mainly dates from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, replacing an earlier, mainly wooden church dating from the 12th century. The first church on this site and dedicated to St. Michael is believed to have been built in the latter part of the 12th century by Alexander de Isenhampstead. "Isenhampstead" was the original name of the village that later came to be known as "Isenhampstead Chenies" and by the 19th century simply as "Chenies". In 1556 the Russell family (later Dukes of Bedford) added the Bedford Chapel, which was subsequently rebuilt and enlarged. After the church had fallen into disrepair during the 18th century, a major period of repairs and amendments was begun in 1829 by Lord Wriothesley Russell,