Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England, close to the borders of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a #Civil parish, civil parish in its own right, with a town council#England and Wales, town council. The district is approximately long by w ...

, south-east of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, and north-east of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Buckingham was the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

of Buckinghamshire from the 10th century, when it was made the capital of the newly formed shire of Buckingham, until

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

took over this role early in the 18th century. Buckingham has a variety of restaurants and pubs, typical of a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

. It has a number of local shops, both national and independent. Market days are Tuesday and Saturday which take over Market Hill and the High Street cattle pens. Buckingham is twinned with

Neukirchen-Vluyn Neukirchen-Vluyn () is a town in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 5 km west of Moers, and 15 km north of Krefeld. Mayors Mayors since 1836: * 1836–1875 Gustav Haarbeck * 1875–1 ...

, Germany and

Mouvaux Mouvaux (; nl, Mouvouw) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry Twin towns – sister cities Mouvaux is twinned with: * Buckingham, England, United Ki ...

, France.

History

Buckingham and the surrounding area has been settled for some time with evidence of Roman settlement found in several sites close the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

, including a temple south of the A421 at Bourton Grounds which was excavated in the 1960s and dated to the 3rd century AD. A possible Roman building was identified at Castle Fields in the 19th century. Pottery,

kiln furniture Kiln furniture are devices and implements inside furnaces used during the heating of manufactured individual pieces, such as pottery or other ceramic or metal components. Materials Commonly used materials are cordierite (up to 1275 °C), mull ...

and areas of burning found at Buckingham industrial estate suggest the site of some early Roman pottery kilns here. Buckingham OldCountyGaol02

In the 7th century, Buckingham, literally "meadow of Bucca's people" is said to have been founded by Bucca, the leader of the first

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

settlers. The first settlement was located around the top of a loop in the

, presently the Hunter Street campus of the

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...

. Between the 7th century and the 11th century, the town of Buckingham regularly changed hands between the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

, in particular, in 914 King

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...

and a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

army encamped in Buckingham for four weeks forcing local Danish

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

leaders to surrender. Subsequently, a fort was constructed at the location of the present Buckingham

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. Buckingham is mentioned in the

Burghal Hidage The Burghal Hidage () is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of over thirty fortified places (burhs), the majority being in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance.Hill/ Rumb ...

, a document commonly ascribed to the early tenth century, but more probably of the period 878–9, which describes a system of forts set up by King Alfred (d.899) over the whole of the West Saxon kingdom. When King Edward encamped at Buckingham with his army in 914, he was therefore restoring a fort which had already existed for more than a generation. This tactical move was part of a ''putsch'' against the Danish Vikings who controlled what had been southern Mercia, and which involved the taking of control of Viking centres at Bedford, Northampton, Cambridge and eventually the whole of East Anglia by the end of 917. Buckingham is the first settlement referred to in the Buckinghamshire section of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. Buckingham was referred to as Buckingham with Bourton, and the survey makes reference to 26 burgesses, 11 smallholders and 1

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

. The town received its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

in 1554 when Queen Mary created the free

Borough of Buckingham Buckingham was an ancient borough in England centred on the town of Buckingham in the county of Buckinghamshire, and was first recorded in the 10th century. It was incorporated as a borough in 1553/4 and reformed under the Municipal Corporations ...

with boundaries extending from Thornborowe Bridge (now Thornborough) to Dudley Bridge and from

Chackmore Chackmore is a hamlet in the parish of Radclive-cum-Chackmore, in north Buckinghamshire, England. The hamlet is approached using the avenue that links Buckingham with Stowe Park. History The hamlet name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Ce ...

Bridge to

Padbury Padbury is a village within the Buckinghamshire unitary authority area, England. It is located on the A413 main road that links Buckingham with Winslow. History The village name is Old English in origin, and means 'Padda's fortress'. In the D ...

Mill Bridge. The designated borough included a

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

, twelve principal burgesses and a steward. Yeomanry House, the offices and home of the commanding officer of the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry, was built in the early 19th century. The town suffered from a significant fire that raged through the town centre on 15 March 1725, with the result that many of the main streets of the town were destroyed including Castle Street, Castle Hill and the north side of Market Hill. The result was 138 dwellings (out of a total of 387 in the town at that time) being consumed in the fire. The current fine range of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

in these streets today is as a direct result of that fire, but the immediate aftermath was difficult for the town. Collections were made in surrounding towns such as Aylesbury and Wendover to help those made homeless and by 1730, only a third of the homes had been rebuilt. Due to many buildings being considered to be of historic interest, a number of them have been granted 'listed building' status. These include the Grade I listed Castle House on West Street, which dates back to the 15th century.

Buckingham Town Hall Buckingham Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Square, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Buckingham Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The first town hall in B ...

, which is Grade II* listed, dates back to the late 18th century. The town was connected to the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

by the

Buckinghamshire Railway The Buckinghamshire Railway was a railway company in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England that constructed railway lines connecting Bletchley, Banbury and Oxford. Part of the route is still in use today as the Oxford to Bicester Line. Hist ...

in 1850. The municipal borough had a population of 1,816 in 1841. In 1971,

Buckinghamshire County Council Buckinghamshire County Council was the upper-tier local authority for the administrative county and later the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom established in 1889 following the Local Government Act 1888 ...

set up the Buckingham Development Company with other local councils, and undertook a significant project to grow the town and provide a bypass, mainly to the south and east of the historic town centre. The population rose from just over 5,000 to 9,309 in 1991.

Saint Rumbold

The town is said to be the final resting place of St Rumbold (also known as Saint Rumwold), a little-known

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

and the grandson of Penda King of Mercia; the

at Strixton (

) is dedicated to him and the small northern town of

Romaldkirk Romaldkirk is a village in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England. The village lies within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but has been administered by County Durham since 1974. It is thought that the name might be derive ...

is also thought to be named after him. He was apparently born at

King's Sutton King's Sutton is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire, England in the valley of the River Cherwell. The village is about south-east of Banbury, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Astrop contiguous ...

Northants Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is kn ...

, where he died just three days later. During his short life, he repeatedly professed his Christian faith and asked for

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

. He is now most often referred to as St Rumbold, the latter being the most common, as it can be found being used on a local road name and recent booklets about the subject.

Geography

The town is centred on the historic

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

place and contains many 18th century buildings. There are three main roads crossing Buckingham, namely the

A413 The A413 is a major road in England that runs between Gerrards Cross (west of London) to Towcester (northwest of Milton Keynes). It passes through or near various towns and villages including (in northbound order) Amersham, Great Missenden, W ...

, the

A421 The A421 is an important road for east/west journeys across south central England. Together with the A428 road, A428, the A43 road, A43 and A34 road (England), A34, it forms the route from Cambridge through Milton Keynes to Oxford. The sectio ...

(the southern bypass) and the

A422 The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow sin ...

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

's historic formal garden design at

Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...

(on the A422 westbound) is an important attraction in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. There is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

known as St Rumbold's 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, Badgers, Linden Village, Castle Fields and Lace Hill.

Maids Moreton Maids Moreton is a village and civil parish in north-west Buckinghamshire, England, around north of Buckingham. The village sits on top of a plateau overlooking Buckingham and is less than 1km away from the Foxcote Reservoir SSSI Description ...

, a village on the north eastern borders of the town has become

contiguous Contiguity or contiguous may refer to: *Contiguous data storage, in computer science *Contiguity (probability theory) *Contiguity (psychology) *Contiguous distribution of species, in biogeography *Geographic contiguity of territorial land *Contigu ...

with the Buckingham urban area. Nearby towns include

Winslow Winslow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, a market town and civil parish * Winslow Rural District, Buckinghamshire, a rural district from 1894 to 1974 United States and Canada * Rural Municipality of Winslo ...

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

and

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the oldest ...

. Local villages in the immediate vicinity include

and

Gawcott Gawcott is a village about south-west of Buckingham in the Buckinghamshire district in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Gawcott with Lenborough. History The toponym is derived from the ...

to the south,

to the north and

Shalstone Shalstone is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the north of the county, about four miles north west of Buckingham. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and mean ...

to the north west. It is also very near

, the location of

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on th ...

Stowe Gardens Stowe or Stowe Gardens, formerly Stowe Landscape Gardens, are extensive, Grade I listed gardens and parkland in Buckinghamshire, England. Largely created in the eighteenth century the gardens at Stowe are arguably the most significant example ...

and

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

. There is a degree confluence point on the edge of the town, at exactly .

Bourton

Bourton was a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the parish of Buckingham. The hamlet name is Old English in origin, and means 'fortified enclosure'. It is now an integral part of the town of Buckingham, with a road and old mill named Bourton still visible to visitors. Bourton was once the location of a great house that belonged to the Minshull family. In the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

the house was plundered by Parliamentarian forces. The house has long since disappeared.

Population

At the 2011 Census, the population of the Buckingham

built-up area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as city, cit ...

, which includes

but excludes Lace Hill, was 12,890. The population of the Buckingham

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

(which excludes Maids Moreton but includes Lace Hill) was 12,043. The town has continued to grow since 2011 and thus the figures at the prospective 2021 Census are expected to be significantly greater. , the Town Council estimates the population of its civil parish at 15,000.

Education

The town is home to the

, the oldest of the UK's five

private universities Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

. Like other UK universities, a large proportion of its students are from overseas. The Buckinghamshire Council operates the

Tripartite System The Tripartite System was the arrangement of state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementation of the Education Act 1944 and the ...

of state secondary education. The local state

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

are the

Royal Latin School The Royal Latin School (RLS) is a co-educational grammar school in Buckingham, England. It has continually existed for almost six hundred years; receiving a Royal Charter in this time and moving premises three times. In September 2011 the scho ...

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

) and the

Buckingham School The Buckingham School is a co-educational secondary school in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. It is a community school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school is expanding and currently has ...

secondary modern A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

and

Akeley Wood School Akeley Wood School is a coeducational private primary and secondary school, with an attached sixth form near Buckingham. It is owned by Cognita, which is an independent schools company.School's homepage introduction. The school accommodate ...

, just outside the town, are

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

. There are four primary schools, one a community school and the other three

academies An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, serving different areas of the town: Buckingham Primary School is the community primary, and the three academies (Bourton Meadow Academy, George Grenville Academy and Lace Hill Academy) are all operated by Campfire Education Trust.

Industry and business

The town is home to a number of

industrial estates An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

and technology parks housing high tech companies in the pharmaceutical, electronic, foods and composite materials fields, including

Racelogic RACELOGIC Ltd is a technology company based in Buckingham, United Kingdom. The company specialise in the development of GPS, CAN-bus, Inertial and video based equipment, designing applications for use in vehicle testing, motorsport, marine, defenc ...

and

Wipac Wipac is a British automotive engineering company based in Buckingham. The company resulted from a merger in 1941 of the British subsidiary of the American Witherbee Igniter Company (Wico) and British spark plug manufacturer Pacy to become the W ...

. Buckingham was home to the Thomas Rickett

steam car A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE) in which the fuel is combusted outside of the engine, unlike an internal combustion engine (ICE) in which fuel is combusted ins ...

, an innovative vehicle from 1860, though considered ahead of its time and only two are thought to have been made. Most retail is located in the town centre with a variety of independent stores, cafes and restaurants as well as national chains. The Hidden Quarter, located mainly in Well Street and Bridge Street, hosts a number of independent retailers selling everything from handmade home wares to retro wooden toys. Currently, there are two banks in the town centre - Barclays and Lloyds.

Town markets

Buckingham's historic street market has been in the town for over 600 years and dates from the Charters granted by Queen Mary in 1554 and Charles II in 1664, giving the markets a unique heritage.

Street market A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

s are held every Tuesday and Saturday. Regular and casual market traders offer a wide variety of products, including fish, fruit and veg, award-winning bread, household goods, tools, flowers and clothes. There is a

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

held every Saturday on the site of the town's former cattle pens, offering a wide selection of antiques, collectables and jewellery.

Governance

Buckingham Centre, Verney Close, Buckingham

There are two tiers of local government in Buckingham, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Buckingham Town Council and

Buckinghamshire Council Buckinghamshire Council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary Local Government in England, local authority in England, the area of which constitutes most of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire. It was created in April 2020 from the ar ...

. The town council is based at the Buckingham Centre on Verney Close in the town. Historically, Buckingham was an

ancient borough The ancient boroughs were a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales. The ancient boroughs covered only important towns and were established by charters granted at different times by the monarchy. Their history is large ...

, and it became a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

in 1836. Buckingham Borough Council was based at

until 1965, when it moved to Castle House on West Street. The borough was abolished in 1974 to become part of

Aylesbury Vale The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the Borough of Milton Keynes and South Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum ( Hertfor ...

district, with Buckingham Town Council being established as a

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the fo ...

covering the former borough.

Aylesbury Vale District Council Aylesbury Vale District Council was the non-metropolitan second tier authority for Aylesbury Vale in Buckinghamshire. It was responsible for housing, waste collection, council tax, local planning, licensing and cemeteries, while Buckinghamshire Co ...

in turn was abolished in 2020, merging with

and the county's other districts to become Buckinghamshire Council.

Transport

Road

Buckingham stands at the crossroads of the

(north-south),

and

(east-west) roads. The town was by-passed in the early 1980s by creating a new section of the A421 to the south.

Bus

Buckingham is linked to Milton Keynes, Winslow and Aylesbury by the regular X60 bus. An inter-city

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

service, the X5, links the town to both

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

(via

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

) and

(via

). Some surrounding villages are connected to Buckingham by a market day bus and there is a community bus scheme called Bart.

Canal

Buckingham was served by the

Buckingham Arm The Buckingham Arm is an English canal that once ran from Cosgrove, Northamptonshire to Buckingham. It was built as an arm of the Grand Junction Canal in two separate phases, a broad canal to Old Stratford, which opened in 1800 and a narrow c ...

of the

Grand Junction Canal The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-p ...

from 1801 until the end of the 19th century. In 1928, the Grand Junction Canal Company offered to re-open the canal if a minimum income of tolls could be guaranteed, but this was not forthcoming, with only occasional use reported up to 1932, and the canal was finally abandoned in 1964. The canal ran from

Cosgrove, Northamptonshire Cosgrove is a village in Northamptonshire, England about north of Stony Stratford, north of central Milton Keynes and south of Northampton along the A508 road and south-east of Towcester along the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road (the Roman ...

to the centre of Buckingham to a

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

. A short section of the canal to the east of the town has now been restored.

Rail

Buckingham had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, which opened in 1850 and closed to passengers in 1964 and freight in 1966.

Finmere railway station Finmere was a railway station on the former Great Central Main Line which ran between and London Marylebone. It was opened in 1899 and served the nearby village of Finmere. The station was closed in 1963 and the line through it was closed in 1 ...

on the

Great Central Main Line The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...

was originally called "Finmere for Buckingham" when it opened in 1899, despite being from Buckingham. Finmere station dropped the "for Buckingham" from its name in the early 1920s, and closed in 1963. The closest stations to Buckingham are now

Wolverton Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Gre ...

and Milton Keynes Central to the east and Bicester North and

Bicester Village Bicester Village is a designer outlet shopping centre on the outskirts of Bicester, a town in Oxfordshire, England. It is owned by Value Retail plc. The centre opened in 1995. The centre is the second most visited location in the United Kingdom ...

to the south west. The new East West rail link will have a stop at nearby

, scheduled to start running by the end of 2023.

Leisure and wellbeing

Sport

There are two local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams, and a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club including teams for women and young women. These are Buckingham Athletic F.C. based at Stratford Fields, Buckingham United F.C based at Lace Hill and Buckingham RUFC based at Floyd Field,

. Moretonville Junior Football Club also has boys and girls teams from u7s – u16s. The town used to be home to

Buckingham Town F.C. Buckingham Town Football Club, known as Milton Keynes Robins for the last year of their existence, was a football club based in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. They were established in 1883 and were one of the founding members of the He ...

founded in 1883 until their relocation to

Fenny Stratford Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 1895 ...

in 2019; they played at Ford Meadow from 1883 until being evicted in 2011. The town also has the Buckingham Town Cricket Club, based at Bourton Road and the Buckingham Hockey Club which plays at

. Since 2014, Buckingham has been host to a weekly

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

. The town has several public sports facilities including the Swan Leisure Centre with an indoor swimming pool, climbing wall, an all weather sports pitch, squash courts. There are two bowls pitch and tennis courts managed by clubs and several private golf clubs in the vicinity of the town.

Culture

Buckingham Old Gaol Buckingham Old Gaol, sometimes known as Lord Cobham’s Castle, is an historic building in Buckingham, the former county town of Buckinghamshire, England. The building is now a museum, shop and tourist information centre and is located on Mark ...

is the town's museum which was established in 1993 in the historic town centre Old Gaol building. It also houses temporary exhibitions and the

Tourist Information Centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

. The Chandos Cinema was in operation from 1934 and closed in 1987, but in 2005 an independent community cinema opened in the university called the Film Place. Live music events are regularly held in the Radcliffe Centre. A library is located in the town centre, operated by Buckinghamshire County Council. The town is home to numerous clubs and associations including the Buckingham Society, a civic amenity society linked with

Civic Voice Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement in England. It was set up in 2010 following the demise of the Civic Trust. It is based in Birmingham at the Coffin Works. Its Executive Director and Joint Founder is Ian Harvey. The presi ...

, a large

U3A The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community—those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U3A. It ...

with over 900 members, and many music, photography and arts clubs. The town holds an annual Charter

Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

. It is held in October over two successive Saturdays starting on the first Saturday after the 11th of the month. During the 19th century it was called the Statute Fair. The public roasting of an ox, sheep and pig often took place at the same time.

Tourism

The town's tourist attractions include the

Chantry Chapel A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...

, the

museum, the

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

designed St.Peter & St Paul Church and a number of picturesque Georgian streetscapes. Nearby to Buckingham include

Stowe Landscape Gardens Stowe or Stowe Gardens, formerly Stowe Landscape Gardens, are extensive, Listed building, Grade I listed gardens and parkland in Buckinghamshire, England. Largely created in the eighteenth century the gardens at Stowe are arguably the most signi ...

and

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...

. Buckingham has a number of hotels including the Villiers Hotel and White Hart in the town centre, and Best Western Buckingham Hotel and Travelodge on the outskirts.

Healthcare

Buckingham is served by one GP surgery (The Swan Practice) and a

community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public, and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, i ...

. A minor injuries unit at the hospital was closed in 2009 and the nearest major hospital with an

accident & emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

department is in

Media

The town is served by the Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser weekly newspaper and is within the broadcast area of local independent radio Mix 96,

Heart Four Counties Heart Four Counties was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. The station launched on Friday 16 July 2010 as a r ...

(now

Heart East Heart East is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart statio ...

) and the

BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via ...

stations. The town sits between two television transmitters, with residents able to choose between

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...

BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, northern Buckinghamshire, and the majority of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex. It is headquartered in The Forum, Norwich since 2003. It ...

and

ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned an ...

BBC South BBC South is the BBC English Region serving Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying betwee ...

Places of worship

* St Bernardine's Catholic Church, Buckingham * Buckingham Evangelical Church * St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

) *

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

* Well Street United Church, Buckingham (Methodist, Baptist and

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

)

Notable people

George Baldock George Henry Ivor Baldock (Greek: Τζορτζ Μπόλντοκ; born 9 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Sheffield United. Born in England, he plays for the Greece national team. Club career Milton K ...

(footballer), who attended the

Sam Baldock Samuel Edward Thomas Baldock (born 15 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Oxford United. He grew up in the village of Steeple Claydon, Buckinghamshire, while attending the Royal Latin School in Bucking ...

(footballer), who attended the Royal Latin School *

Bill Benyon Sir William Richard Benyon ( Shelley; 17 January 1930 – 2 May 2014), usually known as Bill Benyon, was a British Conservative Party politician, Berkshire landowner and High Sheriff. Life and career Benyon was the eldest of four sons of Vi ...

elected Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1970-83 *

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior to ...

Speaker of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Gillian Blake Gillian Blake (born 10 May 1949), Buckingham, England is a retired British actress who became well known in the early 1970s as Dora in ''Follyfoot''. Blake studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and began her professional c ...

(actress) *

Wyndham Hazelton Edward Wyndham Hazelton (8 May 1894 – 13 March 1958) was an English cricketer. Hazelton was a right-handed batsman who bowled both leg break and right-arm medium pace. He was born in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, and was educated at Wellingbor ...

(cricketer) *

Dan Jones (writer) Daniel Gwynne Jones (born 27 July 1981) is a British historian, TV presenter, and journalist. He was educated at The Royal Latin School, a state grammar school in Buckingham, before attending Pembroke College, Cambridge. Early life and educati ...

attended the Royal Latin School *

Frank Markham Sir Sydney Frank Markham (19 October 1897 – 13 October 1975) was a British politician who represented three constituencies, each on behalf of a different party, in Parliament. Born in Stony Stratford, he left school at the age of fourteen. ...

, elected member of parliament for Buckingham 1951–64 *

Bernie Marsden Bernard John Marsden (born 7 May 1951) is an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs, such as "Fool for Your Loving", ...

(guitarist/songwriter with rock band

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

) was born in Buckingham *

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

, businessman and member of Parliament for Buckingham, 1964–1970 *

Shan Morgan Dame Shan Elizabeth Morgan (born 12 March 1955) is a former British civil servant. Formerly the Deputy Permanent Representative, UK Representation to the European Union, she was the Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Government until October 202 ...

, a civil servant who attended the Royal Latin School *

Prince Philippe, Count of Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. ...

, an exiled claimant to the French throne, leased Stowe *

Craig Pickering Dr Craig Keith Pickering (born 16 October 1986, in Crawley, West Sussex) is an English retired sprinter and bobsleigher. As a sprinter, he was based at the Marshall Milton Keynes Athletics Club; however, he also ran for the University ...

(athlete), attended the Royal Latin School * David Pickering (writer) reference books compiler *

Mary Pix Mary Pix (1666 – 17 May 1709) was an English novelist and playwright. As an admirer of Aphra Behn and colleague of Susanna Centlivre, Pix has been called "a link between women writers of the Restoration and Augustan periods". Early years M ...

(1666 – 1709), novelist and playwright *

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

(architect) *

Anthony Seldon Sir Anthony Francis Seldon (born 2 August 1953) is a British educator and contemporary historian. As an author, he is known in part for his political biographies of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Ther ...

, vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham *

Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos Richard Plantagenet Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, (11 February 1797 – 29 July 1861), styled Viscount Cobham from birth until 1813, Earl Temple between 1813 and 1822 and Marquess of Chand ...

, born at Stowe *

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Wil ...

, a member of Parliament for Buckingham 1705–1708

Twin towns

Buckingham has been twinned with

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina, in the Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre. Joinville is also a ...

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, since 1963. In 2002, Buckingham became twinned with the French town of

. In 2020, Buckingham formalised its links with the German town of

, Mouvaux's twin town in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the three towns (Buckingham, Mouvaux and Neukirch-Vluyn) became officially twinned.

Citations

General references

* . * .

External links

Buckingham official website

Buckingham Town Council

Bucks County Council Unlocking Buckinghamshire's Past: Buckingham

The Buckingham Society

Buckingham – Mouvaux Twinning Association
{{Authority control Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire Market towns in Buckinghamshire Populated places on the River Great Ouse Towns in Buckinghamshire