Buckingham

Coordinates: 51°59′44″N 0°59′12″W / 51.9956°N 0.9868°W / 51.9956; -0.9868

Buckingham
Buckingham High Street in 2009
Buckingham  Buckingham shown within Buckinghamshire
Population	11,572 [1]
OS grid reference	SP695335
District	Aylesbury Vale
Shire county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BUCKINGHAM
Postcode district	MK18
Dialling code	01280
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Buckingham
List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire

Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) from the border with Northamptonshire. The town has a population of 11,572 (United Kingdom Census 2001), (2007 est. 13,200). Buckingham is also a civil parish designated as a town council.

Historically, Buckingham was the county town of Buckinghamshire having been declared so in the year 888 by Alfred the Great^{[citation needed]}, until Aylesbury took over this role in the 16th century.

Buckingham has a variety of restaurants and pubs, typical of a small market town. It has a small number of local shops, both national and independent. Market days are Tuesday and Saturday, with a farmers' market held on the first Tuesday of each month. Buckingham is twinned with Mouvaux, France.

History

Old County Gaol in Buckingham, built 1748. It is now a museum.

In the 7th century, Buckingham, literally "meadow of Bucca's people"^{[citation needed]}is said to have been founded by Bucca, the leader of the first Anglo Saxon settlers.^[2] The first settlement was located around the top of a loop in the River Great Ouse, presently the Hunter Street campus of the University of Buckingham. Between the 7th century and the 11th century, the town of Buckingham regularly changed hands between the Saxons and the Danes, in particular, in 914 King Edward the Elder and a Saxon army encamped in Buckingham for four weeks forcing local Danish Viking leaders to surrender^{[citation needed]}. Subsequently a fort was constructed at the location of the present Buckingham parish church^{[citation needed]}.

The town received its charter in 1554 when Queen Mary created the free borough of Buckingham with boundaries extending from Thornborowe Bridge (now Thornborough) to Dudley Bridge and from Chackmore Bridge to Padbury Mill Bridge. The designated borough included a bailiff, twelve principal burgesses and a steward.^[3]

Geography

The town is centred on the historic market place and contains many 18th century buildings. There are three main roads crossing Buckingham, namely the A413, the A421 (the southern bypass) and the A422. Capability Brown's historic formal garden design at Stowe (on the A422 westbound) is an important attraction in the care of the National Trust.

There is a medieval well on the south side of the dismantled railway which borders the town. The well, which is now dry for much of the year, was positioned to exploit the spring line below the crest of a north facing slope overlooking the town.

Suburbs of Buckingham include Mount Pleasant, Page Hill, Bourton, Castle Fields and Maids Moreton (a village which has become contiguous with the Buckingham urban area).

Nearby towns include Aylesbury, Winslow, Bicester, Brackley, Milton Keynes and Towcester.

Education

The town is home to one of the UK's two private universities, the University of Buckingham. Unlike other UK universities, most of its students are from overseas.

Buckinghamshire operates the Tripartite System of state secondary education. The local state secondary schools are the Royal Latin School (a grammar school) and the Buckingham School (a secondary modern). Stowe School and Akeley Wood School, just outside the town, are independent schools. There are three community, primary schools serving different areas of the town: Buckingham Primary School, Bourton Meadow School and Grenville Combined School.

Industry

The town is home to a number of industrial estates and technology parks housing high tech companies in the pharmaceutical, electronic, ecommerce and composite materials fields.

Transport

Buckingham had a railway station on the Buckinghamshire Railway which closed in 1964. Details of local bus destinations from Buckingham can be found here.^[4]

Sport

There are two local football teams, a rugby union club and a cricket club. These are Buckingham Athletic F.C. based at Stratford Fields, Buckingham Town F.C. based at Ford Meadow, Buckingham Rugby Club based at Floyd Field, Maids Moreton and Buckingham Town Cricket Club based at Bourton Road.

Saint Romwald

SS Peter and Paul, Buckingham viewed from the south west

The town is said to be the final resting place of St Rumwold a little known Saxon saint and the grandson of Penda King of Mercia; the parish church at Strixton (Northamptonshire) is dedicated to him and the small northern town of Romaldkirk is also thought to be named after him. He was apparently born at King's Sutton, Northants, where he died just 3 days later. During his short life, he repeatedly professed his Christian faith and asked for baptism. He is also called Rumwald or Rumbold,^[5] the latter being the most common, as it can be found being used on a local road name and recent booklets about the subject.

Places of interest

• Buckingham Chantry Chapel (owned by the National Trust)
• Buckingham Old Gaol - Museum and Tourist Information Centre official website
• Stowe
• Stowe School
• There is a Confluence point on the edge of the town (here), at exactly 52°00′00″N 01°00′00″W / 52°N 1°W / 52; -1

Places of worship

• Buckingham Evangelical Church^[6]
• St Bernardine's Catholic Church, Buckingham
• St Peter and Paul Anglican Church, Buckingham^[7]
• United Reform Church, Well St, Buckingham

Notable people

• David Pickering (writer)
• Gillian Blake (actress)
• George Gilbert Scott (architect)

See also

• Duke of Buckingham
• Buckingham Palace
• Buckingham gave its name to Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

References

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Buckingham.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Buckingham

• Buckingham Town Council
• Buckingham Tourist Information Centre
• The Buckingham Society
• Buckingham - Mouvaux Twinning Association
• Old Gaolers Drama Group
• Bourton Meadow School
• Buckingham Primary School
• Grenville Combined School
• Buckingham Secondary School
• The Royal Latin School
• Events in Buckingham
• Buckingham Chamber Orchestra