The first written record of Chalvey dates back to 1217. The name comes from the Old English word 'cealf', and means 'Calf Island'. The Chalvey Stab Monk legend has become a local tradition: an organ-grinder's monkey bit a child, whose father stabbed the monkey to death. The crowd took up a collection for the organ-grinder, and spent some of the money on a funeral for the monkey. On the anniversary of the monkey's death the villagers marked the occasion by following the original funeral route and burying a model of the monkey - although some accounts hint that the procession got no further than the nearest pub, and that the first person to get drunk was dumped in the monkey's grave or Chalvey Brook and named 'Mayor of Chalvey' for the following year.