History

The Dinton Hermit Inn, in the small hamlet of Ford, is situated in the peaceful Buckinghamshire countryside, between Aylesbury and Thame.  The village pub dates back to the 16th century and is on the ancient turnpike leading from Aylesbury to Thame.

It takes its name from a local legend surrounding the execution of King Charles I.

A man called Simon Mayne (Jnr) was a prominent member of the Parliamentary Party during the Civil War and Oliver Cromwell came to stay with him at his home, the nearby Dinton Hall.  Mayne later sat as a Judge of the High Commission Court which tried King Charles and he was one of those who signed the king's death warrant.

Later, after trial and conviction at the Old Bailey, Mayne died in the Tower of London in 1661 and his body was brought back to Dinton for burial.

Mayne's clerk, a man called John Bigg, became a recluse in the years following the Restoration and took to living in a cave near to Dinton Hall.  He thus became known as the Dinton Hermit.

He was apparently fed by the local people and renewed his clothing by patching them with leather and cloth, to the extent that he ended up with literally hundreds of patches on his clothes.  One of his boots, made from patches of leather, is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.  It is rumoured that the other boot is still in Dinton Hall.

It is also rumoured Bigg was Charles's executioner - hence the reason for hiding himself away as a recluse.  Its is said that “…he kept 3 bottles that hung to his girdle, for strong and small beer, and milk...".

Bigg died in 1696 at about the age of 67.

The Dinton Hermit Inn is a listed building of historical significance.  The Barn is famously built mostly of 'witchert' - a local material.  From a base made of several layers of local stone to prevent damp, a mixture of local clay, which contains limestone, and straw and water is applied in layers and allowed to set hard before the next layer is built.

Now, The Dinton Hermit Inn is a hotel, restaurant and pub serving the needs of the village as well as attracting guests to dine from across Buckinghamshire, and to stay from all over the UK and beyond.