Buckingham, Buckinghamshire
Historical Description
Buckingham, a municipal borough and a market and union town in Bucks. The town stands on a bend of the river Ouse, and has a station on the L. & N.W.R., by which it has communication in five directions toward Banbury, Oxford, Aylesbury, Bedford, and London, and a branch canal of 10 miles, formed in 1801, goes from it north-eastward down the valley of the Ouse to the Grand Junction Canal and Stony-Stratford. The town dates from ancient times. Remains of a Roman villa were discovered within two miles of it in 1837. The Roman general Aulus Plautius on some spot near it surprised and routed the Britons under the command of the sons of Cunobelin. The Saxon saint Rumbald, the subject of wondrous legends, was buried in it, and a shrine being erected over his grave and afterwards renovated attracted for ages crowds of pilgrims. Edward the Elder resided a short time in it in 918, and raised two forts for its defence. The Danes ravaged it in 941, and again in 1010. A castle was built on an eminence within it soon after the Conquest, but does not make any figure in history, and has disappeared. A great fire in 1725 laid waste 138 dwelling-houses, and destroyed property to the amount of £38,000. The town had previously been the capital of the county, but it then lost that character, and has never since acquired any great prosperity.
Buckingham is surrounded on every side except the north by the river Ouse, which is crossed by two ancient bridges and one modern one, all solid and substantial structures. It consists chiefly of one long irregular street, and is built almost entirely of brick. Its water supply is derived from waterworks constructed in 1893, and the water is obtained from the Akeley Hills, and supplied by gravitation. The town hall is a large brick structure of 1685. The ground floor contains a private council chamber and offices for the borough and county magistrates, and there is a large hall and a court room for quarter sessions and county court business on the first floor. The jail, a castellated structure erected by Lord Cobham in 1748 and enlarged in 1839, is not now in use. The church stands on the mount of the ancient castle, was built in 1784 at a cost of about £7000, and has a handsome steeple, 150 feet high. The church itself was formerly considered one of the ugliest in England, but since 1862 it has undergone extensive alterations, and has been greatly improved in accordance with the plans of Sir G. G. Scott, R.A., who was a native of Gawcott
Buckingham is surrounded on every side except the north by the river Ouse, which is crossed by two ancient bridges and one modern one, all solid and substantial structures. It consists chiefly of one long irregular street, and is built almost entirely of brick. Its water supply is derived from waterworks constructed in 1893, and the water is obtained from the Akeley Hills, and supplied by gravitation. The town hall is a large brick structure of 1685. The ground floor contains a private council chamber and offices for the borough and county magistrates, and there is a large hall and a court room for quarter sessions and county court business on the first floor. The jail, a castellated structure erected by Lord Cobham in 1748 and enlarged in 1839, is not now in use. The church stands on the mount of the ancient castle, was built in 1784 at a cost of about £7000, and has a handsome steeple, 150 feet high. The church itself was formerly considered one of the ugliest in England, but since 1862 it has undergone extensive alterations, and has been greatly improved in accordance with the plans of Sir G. G. Scott, B.A., who was a native of Gawcott, a hamlet in the parish. The churchyard is surrounded by a broad, shady walk, and from its elevated position commands extensive views of the surrounding country. The living is a discharged vicarage forming a peculiar in the diocese of Oxford; gross yearly value, £478 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Oxford. The Congregational chapel was built in 1857, and is in the Early English style. There are also Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels. The cemetery was opened in 1856, and has two neat chapels. The grammar school was the chapel of a chantry founded in 1268 by Archdeacon Stratton, has a Norman doorway, and fine carved seats, and is inclosed by ancient walls. It was restored in 1875 from designs furnished by Sir G. G. Scott, and its approach was greatly improved in 1890. The town possesses numerous endowments and charities, but they are all of small amounts. The workhouse cost £5500, and it has accommodation for 125 persons. There is a Nursing Home, established in 1868 in connection with the parish church, which now occupies a handsome building erected in 1887 at the cost of Lord Addington. Lambard's house occupies the site of a mansion which was inhabited some time by Catherine of Arragon, the first queen of Henry VIII., was built in 1611, occupied next year by Prince Rupert, and gave quarters for a night in 1645 to Charles I. Another house still extant was visited by Queen Elizabeth. The prebendary-house, of the same date as Lambard's, is a curious edifice with a crooked chimney.
The town has a head post office and three banks, is a seat of petty sessions, and publishes two weekly newspapers. Markets are held on Monday and Saturday, and fairs on the third Saturday in June for wool, and Saturday after Old Michaelmas Day for pleasure. There is also a large fat-cattle fair and sale early in December. The town contains a brewery, three water and steam corn mills, several mailings, and a manufactory of artificial manure. Pillow lace is also made in the town, chiefly by the poorer female inhabitants. The town was regularly incorporated as a borough in the reign of Queen Mary by charter dated 27 Jan., 1553. This was renewed by Charles II. in 1684; and by the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 the government was vested in a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors. From the 36th of Henry VIII. to the year 1867 the borough constantly sent two members to parliament. In 1867 the number was reduced to one, and by the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 the representation of the borough was merged in that of the county. Population of the town and municipal borough, 3364; acreage, 5007.
The parish includes the precinct of Prebend-End, the chapelry of Gawcott, and the hamlets of Lenborough, Bornton, and Bourtonhold. Gawcott was formed into a separate chapelry in 1862. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; total gross yearly value, £478 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Oxford. The church, erected in 1828, consists of chancel, south porch, and western tower. Lenborough is 2 miles S of the town, Bourton 1 mile E, and Bourtonhold forms part of the town itself. Buckingham has given the title of duke to the families of successively Stafford, Villiers, Sheffield, and Grenville, but in 1889 the title became extinct by the death of the last Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. Buckingham manor belonged anciently to the Giffords, Earls of Buckingham; passed to successively the Clares, the Breoses, and the Staffords; suffered forfeiture, and was given to Richard Fowler in 1460; was restored to the Staffords in 1485, and forfeited again in 1521; passed to successively Lord Marney, the Careys, and the Brocas family; and was leased in 1574, for 999 years, to the corporation. Lenborough manor lay annexed to Buckingham manor till 1521, was held thence for nearly a century by the Crown, passed then to the Dormers, was purchased in 1718 by Edward Gibbon, Esq., the grandfather of the historian, and passed afterwards to the Goodriches. Stowe, formerly the magnificent seat of the Duke of Buckingham, is in the neighbouring parish of Stowe. Population of the ecclesiastical parish, 2889.
Buckingham Parliamentary Division, or Northern Bucks, was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, and returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 57,401. The division includes the following:-Buckingham (three hundreds of)-Addington, Adstock, Akely, Barton Hartshorn, Biddlesden, Charndon, Chetwode, Edgcott, Foscott, Hillesden, Leckhampstead, Lillingstone Dayrell, Lillingstone Lovell, Luffield Abbey, Maidsmoreton, Marsh Gibbon, Middle Claydon, Padbury, Powndon, Preston Bissett, Radclive-cum-Chackmore, Shalstone, Steeple Claydon, Stowe, Thornborough, Thornton, Tingewick, Turweston, Twyford, Water Stratford, Westbury; Stony Stratford-Beachampton, Bradwell Abbey, Calverton, Castle Thorpe, Loughton, Shenley Brook End, Shenley Church End, Stony Stratford (East), Stony Stratford (West), Wolverton; Newport (first division of the three hundreds of)-Astwood, Bletchley, Bradwell, Brickhill (Bow), Brickhill (Gieat), Brickhill (Little), Broughton, Chichley, Clifton Reynes, Cold Brayfield, Crawley (North and Little), Emberton, Gayhurst, Hanslope, Hardmead, Haversham, Lathbury, Lavendon, Linford (Great), Linford (Little), Milton Keynes, Mulsoe, Newport Pagnell, Newton Blossomville, Newton Longville, Olney, Olney Park, Petsoe Manor, Ravenstone, Sherington, Simpson, Stantonbury, Stoke Goldington, Stoke Hammond, Stratford (Fenny), Tyringham and Filgrave, Walton, Warrington, Water Eton, Wavendon, Weston Underwood, Willen, Woolstone (Great), Woolstone (Little), Woughton; Ashendon (three hundreds of)-Ashendon, Boarstall, Brill, Chearsley, Chilton, Dorton, Grendon Underwood, Ickford, Kingswood, Long Crendon, Ludgershall, Oakley, Shabbington, Woodbam, Worminghall, Wotton Underwood; Winslow (part of)-Claydon (East), Drayton Parslow, Dunton, Grandborough, Hogshaw, Hogston, Holwood (Great), Holwood (Little), Marston (North), Mursley, Nash, Swanbourne, Tattenhoe, Whaddon, Winslow; Buckingham, municipal borough.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Buckinghamshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Buckingham St. Peter and St. Paul | |
| Hundred | Buckingham | |
| Poor Law union | Buckingham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register of baptisms and burials dates from the year 1561; marriages, 1559
Churches
Church of England
SS. Peter and Paul (parish church)
The most conspicuous building in Buckingham is the church of SS. Peter and Paul, erected in 1777-81 on a hill of natural rock, supposed to be the site of an ancient castle built by one of the Giffards, Earls of Buckingham, prior to the Conquest, parts of the foundations of which are occasionally uncovered and constitute its only vestiges. The old church, a cruciform edifice, had a lofty spire, 163 feet in height from the ground, which collapsed on the 7th Feb. 1699: the building remained for a series of years in a dilapidated state, until on the 26th March, 1776, the tower fell, and the whole structure was thereupon removed and the present church erected on a new site: the site of the old church was used as a burial ground for many years and contains some quaint epitaphs and head stones: on the right side of the path connecting Hunter street with Church street is the remains of the old stone market cross, which marks the western entrance to the old church. A large and ancient well, substantially lined with stone, was discovered near the church several years since by some workmen, and is assumed to be St. Rumbold's well. In 1877 some good masonry was revealed under the bank on the south-east side of the hill. The church, begun in 1777, was completed in four years at an expense of £7,000, the greater part of which was contributed or raised by Richard, Earl Temple K.G.; it is constructed of stone, and consists of chancel with aisle, nave of 6 bays, aisles, south porch and a battlemented western tower with pinnacles and a light tapering spire, which rises to the height of 150 feet from the ground, and containing 8 bells and clock: the interior was originally designed in the Classic style, with columns and arched ceiling, richly ornamented: the altar piece, presented by a former Marquess of Buckingham, being a copy of Raphael's Transfiguration: but from 1862 extensive repairs and alterations were made from plans by Sir George G. Scott R.A, who was a native of Gawcott, a hamlet of this parish, and these were continued under the direction of his son, John Oldrid Scott esq.: the nave was completely reconstructed, with new windows, buttresses and parapets of the Early Decorated style; a noble chancel was added at the cost of the last Duke of Buckingham and Chandos K.G. (d. 1889), and a spacious chancel aisle, the gift of the 1st Lord Addington, erected to serve as an organ chamber and vestry; the total cost, including the chancel, amounted to about £15,000: the side-chapel, begun in 1916 and completed in 1926, is the gift of Mrs. Harrison in memory of her husband, Mr. J. T. Harrison, the author of an interesting history of the town of Buckinham; it was designed by Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson bart. F.R.I.B.A.: in the side chapel were placed old choir, stall ends from the old church, dated 1626: the handsome candelabra were presented by Browne Willis, the historian of Bucks, in 1702, on his election to Parliament: in the church is also to be seen the manuscript bible given by John Rudyng, prebend of Buckingham in 1471, which at one time was chained to a desk in the chancel: there are many stained windows, which include one to the Rev. H. Roundell, a former vicar, who died on St. Stephen's Day, 1863: another to a former curate, who died at Zanzibar, and the stained east window, presented in 1890, at a cost of over £400, by the Buckingham Needle and Thread Society: in 1883 the high pews were removed and the side galleries taken down: in 1888 the organ was enlarged by private subscription, and in 1890 the chancel floor was laid with black and white marble at a cost of £110: the total cost of the various restorations from 1873 to 1890 amounted to £6,383: since that date the floor of the sanctuary has been repaved with marble, a chiming apparatus fixed in the tower, and the whole of the carving in the chancel completed at a cost of £4,200: attached to the church is an endowment of £18 18s. yearly, given by the late Mr. Box for the repair and maintenance of the organ, which has since been considerably enlarged at the cost of an anonymous donor: a reredos of interesting character was given by the Needle and Thread Society in 1904: the design is the Nativity of our Lord; on the scroll are the words Peace on earth, good will towards men: a chancel screen of Gothic style was presented in 1921 by Mrs. Rogers in memory of her husband, Charles Alfred Rogers, who was mayor of the borough on seven occasions and also High Steward: there is a carved oak panelling erected by all ranks of the Royal Bucks Hussars to the memory of Captain and Adjutant Charles Henry Bennett M.C. who was drowned in the Lessowe Castle when she was torpedoed by an enemy submarine in 1918: there is also a memorial tablet to the 157 officers and other ranks of the Royal Bucks Hussars who fell in the Great War, 1914-18: there are 960 sittings. In the churchyard is a cross of stone erected in 1920 as a memorial to the men of the borough who lost their lives in the Great War, 1914-18.
Congregational
Congregational chapel
The Congregational chapel was first founded in 1700; the present structure, built in 1857 at a cost of £1,995, is an edifice with a gabled front of Cosgrove stone and Bath stone dressings in the Early English style, and consists of nave and an aisle separated by an arcade of four Pointed arches resting on circular pillars and has an open arcaded porch: there are 460 sittings.
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic College of St. Bernardine of Siena, London Road
The Roman Catholic College of St. Bernardine of Siena, in the London road, was founded in 1894 by the Rev. Father Thaddeus O.F.M.; the existing church was erected in 1911 from designs by Messrs. Pugin and Powell, at a cost of £1.500: further additions were made to the College in 1933; the church was enlarged and two new wings were added to the college in 1938.
Civil Registration
Buckingham was in Buckingham Registration District from 1837 to 1935
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Buckingham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Buckingham (St. Peter and St. Paul))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Buckinghamshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Buckingham are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Buckinghamshire papers online:
Villages, Hamlets, &c
LenboroughPrebend End
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitation of Buckinghamshire, 1634 is online