High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in

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. Lying in the valley of the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...

surrounded by the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

, it is west-northwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

in London, south-southeast of

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 ...

, southeast of Oxford, northeast of Reading and north of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

. According to the

2021 United Kingdom census The decennial 2021 censuses of England and Wales and of Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021, and the census of Scotland took place on 20 March 2022. The censuses were administered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in England an ...

, High Wycombe's built up area has a population of 127,856, making it the second largest town in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire after

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 ...

. The High Wycombe Urban Area, the conurbation of which the town is the largest component, has a population of 140,684. High Wycombe is mostly an unparished area. Part of the urban area constitutes the civil parish of Chepping Wycombe, which had a population of 14,455 according to the 2001 census – this parish represents that part of the ancient parish of Chepping Wycombe which was outside the former municipal borough of Wycombe. There has been a market held in the High Street since at least the Middle Ages. The market is currently held on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

History

Early history

The town once featured a Roman villa (built 150–170 AD) which has been excavated three times, most recently in 1954. Mosaics and a bathhouse were unearthed at the site on what is now the Rye parkland. The name Wycombe would appear to come from the river Wye and the old English word for a wooded valley, " combe", but according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary of Place-Names'' the name, which was first recorded in 799–802 as "Wichama", is more likely to be Old English "wic" and the plural of Old English "ham", and probably means "dwellings"; the name of the river was a late back-formation. Wycombe appears in the '' Domesday Book'' of 1086 and was noted for having six mills. The existence of a settlement at High Wycombe was first documented as 'Wicumun' in 970. The parish church was consecrated by Wulfstan, the visiting

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, in 1086. The town was described as a borough from at least the 1180s, and built its first moot hall in 1226, with a market hall being built later in 1476. The 1841 census reports the population that year was 3,184.

Trade and industrial development

High Wycombe remained a mill town through Medieval and Tudor times, manufacturing lace and

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

cloth. It was also a stopping point on the way from Oxford to London, with many travellers staying in the town's taverns and inns. The paper industry was notable in 17th and 18th century High Wycombe. The Wye's waters were rich in chalk, and therefore ideal for bleaching pulp. The paper industry was soon overtaken by the cloth industry. Wycombe's most famous industry, furniture (particularly Windsor chairs) took hold in the 19th century, with furniture factories setting up all over the town. Many terraced workers' houses were built to the east and west of town to accommodate those working in the furniture factories. In 1875, it was estimated that there were 4,700 chairs made per day in High Wycombe. When Queen Victoria visited the town in 1877, the council organised an arch of chairs to be erected over the High Street, with the words "Long live the Queen" printed boldly across the arch for the Queen to pass under.

Wycombe Museum Wycombe Museum (aka Wycombe Local History and Chair Museum) is a free local museum located in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. By the 1920s, many of the housing areas of Wycombe had decayed into slums. A slum clearance scheme was initiated by the council in 1932, whereby many areas were completely demolished and the residents rehoused in new estates that sprawled above the town on the valley slopes. Some of the districts demolished were truly decrepit, such as Newland, where most of the houses were condemned as unfit for human habitation. However, some areas such as St. Mary's Street contained beautiful old buildings with fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. Former town hall, High Wycombe (geograph 3237429)

Former town hall, High Wycombe (geograph 3237429)

From 1940 to 1968 High Wycombe was the seat of the

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

. Moreover, during the Second World War, from May 1942 to July 1945, the U.S. Army Air Force's 8th Air Force Bomber Command, codenamed "Pinetree", was based at a former girls' school at High Wycombe. This formally became Headquarters, 8th Air Force, on 22 February 1944. In the 1960s the town centre was redeveloped. This involved culverting the River Wye under concrete and demolishing most of the old buildings in Wycombe's town centre. Two shopping centres were built along with many new multi-storey car parks, office blocks, flyovers and

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

Modern-day High Wycombe

High Wycombe comprises a number of suburbs including Booker, Bowerdean, Castlefield, Cressex, Daws Hill, Green Street, Holmers Farm, Micklefield, Sands, Terriers, Totteridge,

Downley Downley is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, which was included in Wycombe district before its abolition. It is high in the Chiltern Hills, overlooking the town of High Wycombe, although today it is almost indistinguishabl ...

and Wycombe Marsh, as well as some nearby villages: Hazlemere and Tylers Green. Particular areas in the suburbs of Castlefield, Micklefield, Terriers and Totteridge have high levels of deprivation compared to the rest of the urban area. Although situated in the county of

, which is one of the most affluent parts of the country, Wycombe contains some considerably deprived areas. In 2007, a GMB Union survey ranked the Wycombe district as the 4th dirtiest in the South East and the 26th dirtiest in the whole UK. The survey found litter on 28.5% of streets and highways. Data for the survey were taken from the Government's 2005/06 Audit Commission. The town has undergone major redevelopment, including development of the town's existing shopping centre, completion of the Eden Shopping centre, and redevelopment of the Buckinghamshire New University with a large student village and new building on Queen Alexandra Road. These developments prompted the building of larger blocks of flats, a multimillion-pound hotel in the centre, and a Sainsbury's store on the Oxford road next to the Eden shopping centre and bus station.

Demography

High Wycombe's population figure differs with the varying definitions of the town's area. For the town which doesn't include it's suburbs was 77,178. However, Hazlemere is now regarded as part of Wycombe, which makes the population of High Wycombe town 92,300. The High Wycombe urban area (the town with some surrounding settlements) had a population of 133,204. This is an increase of 13% since the 2001 population of 118,229. Notes: According to the 2011 census, the parliamentary constituency of Wycombe consists of approximately 108,000 people.http://data.parliament.uk/resources/constituencystatistics/census2011/census2011-Wycombe.pdf White British people comprised 67.2% of the constituency's population. The next largest group in the constituency were

Pakistanis Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...

, who comprised 11.8% of the population. 52.3% of the population were Christians, 24% were no religion and 13.4% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. Wycombe is home to the largest population of Vincentians in the United Kingdom. 65.7% of the constituency owned their own home either outright or with a mortgage. 14.6% were social renters and 17% were private renters. 15.8% of households in the constituency did not own an automobile.

Governance

Parliamentary constituency

Wycombe's political history extends back to 1295. The Wycombe Constituency has continuously elected Conservative Members of Parliament since 1951. High Wycombe has been home to two Prime Ministers: * William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, who lived at what is now Wycombe Abbey and was MP for the town. *

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

, who lived at nearby Hughenden Manor, was defeated as a

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

candidate for the seat three times in the 1830s but won election in 1868 and 1874-1876 as a Conservative. Disraeli made his first political speech in Wycombe, from the portico over the door of the Red Lion Hotel at 9-10 High Street. High Wycombe was also in the constituency represented by John Hampden (1594-1643), a leading MP and Parliamentarian commander who was killed in action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The town is currently represented by Conservative MP Steve Baker. He was chairman of the eurosceptic European Research Group and was a junior minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2018. In July 2018, Baker resigned alongside Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in opposition to the

Chequers plan The Chequers plan, officially known as ''The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (Cm 9593)'', was a UK Government white paper concerning Brexit, published on 12July 2018 by the prime minister, Theresa May. The ...

proposed by Prime Minister Theresa May.

Local government

Since 2020, there has only been one tier of local government covering High Wycombe, being the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire Council. There is no parish or town council for High Wycombe, which has been an unparished area since 1974 when the former High Wycombe Borough Council was abolished. Instead of a town council, the councillors elected to Buckinghamshire Council to represent the unparished area of High Wycombe also act as charter trustees, meeting to choose the town's mayor. The

ancient 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. ...

of Chepping Wycombe covered both the town of High Wycombe and a large rural area around it. To distinguish it from the neighbouring parish of West Wycombe, the parish was historically known variously as East Wycombe, Great Wycombe, High Wycombe, and Chipping or Chepping Wycombe. The latter version eventually became the official name of parish, despite the town itself being more usually known as High Wycombe. The town does not appear to have been a borough at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, but was being described as a borough by the 1180s. In the 1220s and 1230s there were disputes with the lord of the manor, Alan Basset, as to the extent of the town's independence. These disputes were settled in favour of the town, with its borough rights being confirmed in 1237. Charters confirming the town's borough status were subsequently issued on a number of occasions. As part of the general overhaul of ancient boroughs across the country under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

, the town became a municipal borough on 1 January 1836, under the name of Chepping Wycombe. The borough only covered the built-up area of the town, rather than the whole parish. The borough council was therefore responsible for the secular elements of local government within its area, whereas the Chepping Wycombe parish vestry was responsible for secular matters in the part of the parish outside the borough, whilst being responsible for ecclesiastical matters across the whole parish, including the borough. In 1866, under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866, the old parish of Chepping Wycombe was split into two civil parishes: one called "Wycombe" or "Wycombe Borough" which covered the area of Chepping Wycombe municipal borough, and another parish which retained the name " Chepping Wycombe" which covered the rural parts of the old parish outside the borough. By that time, the urban area was starting to expand beyond the old borough boundaries into the newly separated parish of Chepping Wycombe, particularly in the Wycombe Marsh area. To deal with growing urbanisation in its area, the parish of Chepping Wycombe was declared to be a local government district in 1868, governed by a local board. The situation was partially simplified in 1880 when the local board was abolished and the borough boundaries were extended to cover the more built-up parts of Chepping Wycombe parish. The parish boundaries were not changed at the same time to match, making the Chepping Wycombe Borough Council responsible for all of the Wycombe parish area and part of the Chepping Wycombe parish area. When parish and district councils were established under the Local Government Act 1894, it was stipulated that parishes could not straddle district boundaries. The Chepping Wycombe parish was therefore split again in December 1894, with the part within the borough becoming "Chepping Wycombe Urban" and the part outside it becoming "Chepping Wycombe Rural". Chepping Wycombe Rural was placed in the Wycombe Rural District, whilst the Chepping Wycombe Municipal Borough covered the two parishes of Wycombe and Chepping Wycombe Urban. The two parishes within the borough merged on 30 September 1896 to form a single parish called High Wycombe, although the official name of the borough council which governed that parish remained "Chepping Wycombe Borough Council" until 1 August 1946, when it changed its name to "High Wycombe Borough Council". The surrounding Chepping Wycombe Rural parish changed its name to Chepping Wycombe parish in 1949. From 1757 until 1932 the borough council met at the Guildhall. The council built

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

on Queen Victoria Road in 1904 as a public assembly hall and entertainment venue, with the intention of later extending it to also serve as council offices and meeting place, but the extension was never built. Instead, the council built the Municipal Offices on Queen Victoria Road in 1932, which then acted as its meeting place and offices until the council's abolition in 1974. From 1974 to 2020, High Wycombe formed part of Wycombe District, with its council being based at the former borough council's Municipal Offices (renamed District Council Offices) on Queen Victoria Road. Following further local government reorganisation in 2020 Wycombe District was abolished to become part of Buckinghamshire Council.

Weighing the mayor

A ceremony carried out in the town since 1678 involves the weighing of the mayor. At the beginning and end of each year of service, the mayor is weighed in full view of the public to see whether or not he or she has gained weight, presumably at the taxpayers' expense. The custom, which has survived to the present day, employs the same weighing apparatus used since the 19th century. When the result is known, the town crier announces "And no more!" if the mayor has not gained weight or "And some more!" if they have. Their actual weight is not declared.S. Roud ''The English Year: A month-by-month guide to the Nation's customs and festivals from May Day to Mischief Night''. Penguin (2006).

Education

Buckinghamshire is one of the few counties that still has a selective educational system based on the former tripartite system. Pupils in their last year at primary school take what is commonly known as the

11+ exam Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...

. Their score in this exam determines whether they are accepted into a grammar school or a secondary modern school.

Primary schools

Catchment area primary schools in High Wycombe * Ash Hill Combined School *Beechview Junior School *Booker Hill Combined School *Castlefield Combined School *Chepping View Combined School *Hamilton Academy *Hannah Ball School *Highworth Combined School & Nursery *High Wycombe Church of England Combined School *Kings Wood Combined School *Marsh Infants School *Millbrook Combined School *Oakridge Combined School * St Michael's Catholic School (combined primary and secondary school) *The Disraeli Combined School and Children's Centre Gateway building BNU

*West Wycombe Combined School

Secondary schools

Cressex Community School Cressex Community School is a cooperative trust secondary school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is a foundation school, which takes children from the age of 6 through to the age of 23. The school has approximately 754 pupils. Cressex Co ...

* Highcrest Academy * John Hampden Grammar School * St Michael's Catholic School (combined primary and secondary school) * Royal Grammar School * Wycombe High School *

Sir William Ramsay School Sir William Ramsay School is a co-educational secondary school in Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 with a total of approximately 1,180 pupils attending. The school shares a common catchme ...

Holmer Green Senior School Holmer Green Senior School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire, England. The school has approximately 860 pupils. The school shares a common catchment area with the n ...

Independent schools

*Crown House School *Godstowe Preparatory School *

Pipers Corner School Pipers Corner School is an private independent day school for girls in Great Kingshill, Buckinghamshire, England. There are 605 pupils aged from 4 to 18 years. The school is an Educational Charitable Trust administered by a Board of Governors. ...

* Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Preparatory School

Further and higher education

Buckinghamshire College Group is a

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

college located near High Wycombe at Flackwell Heath, with campuses also at

and

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

. High Wycombe is home to the main campus of Buckinghamshire New University. It is located in the centre of the town on the former site of the High Wycombe College of Art and Technology. It received its university charter in summer 2007.

Media coverage

High Wycombe has been featured in the national media in recent years for a number of different reasons, including seasonal coverage of the local library's refusal to display a Christmas carol service poster and other stories such as the triple shooting of three young Asian men, a small-scale riot between feuding families and gangs in which knives, metal poles, and an axe were used whilst a gunman sprayed bullets; and the shooting and murder of Natasha Derby at point-blank range in the middle of a busy dance floor at a town centre venue. The town appeared in national and international media after anti-terrorism raids were carried out across the town on 10 August 2006 as part of the

2006 transatlantic aircraft plot The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives, carried aboard airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada, disguised as soft drinks. The plot was discovered by British M ...

. Five arrests were made at three different houses in the town's Totteridge and Micklefield areas. A small number of houses in High Wycombe were evacuated in Walton Drive, which is thought to be because one of the raided houses contained dangerous liquid chemicals. A no-flight zone over the town was ordered. Other raids and arrests were also made in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

and Birmingham. King's Wood to the north of the town was cordoned off for four months to be searched by police, and many suspicious items were allegedly found including

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s, detonators, weapons and hate tapes. Other woodlands in the Booker area of the town and the M40 at High Wycombe as well as nearby woods were also under observation. Explosives officers were called to the motorway, as were forensic officers. A lane of the motorway was closed as a precaution. On 21 December 2009, heavy snowfall hit the town, paralysing its road network (which is mainly on steep hills), and causing major disruption to refuse services for several weeks. Staff and customers of the John Lewis department store were stranded overnight, leading to national news reports and interviews from

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

and other radio stations on the morning of 22 December.

Notable residents (past and present)

Entertainment and the media

* Colin Baker – actor who played the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', and columnist for the '' Bucks Free Press''. *

Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired ...

stars Noel Fielding and Dave Brown met when they attended

Bucks New University Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) is a public university in Buckinghamshire, England, with campuses in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Uxbridge and Great Missenden. The institution dates from 1891, when it was founded as the School of Science and Art, ...

in Wycombe. Julian Barratt then joined the group after Fielding scouted him performing in the

Wycombe Swan Wycombe Swan is a theatre in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the ...

theatre. * Charlotte Bray, composer was brought up in High Wycmobe * Theo James (born 1984), actor *

Aaron Taylor-Johnson Aaron Perry Taylor-Johnson (né Johnson; born 13 June 1990) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in '' Kick-Ass'' (2010) and its 2013 sequel, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character Pietro Ma ...

(born 1990), actor * Leigh-Anne Pinnock (born 1991), singer, songwriter and actress * Terry Pratchett (1948–2015), worked as a journalist at the ''Bucks Free Press''.

Sports

* Elliot Benyon – footballer with Oxford City. *

Dominic Blizzard Dominic John Blizzard (born 2 September 1983) is an English actor, and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He worked his way through the Watford youth side and turned professional at the club in 2002. In 2007, he joined Sto ...

– former footballer, most recently with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. * Simon Church – retired footballer, most recently with

, also represented Wales internationally. * Ross Gunn - motor-racing driver, currently racing in the IMSA sportscar championship. * Matt Dawson – retired rugby player, scrum-half for the England rugby union team which won the Rugby World Cup in 2003. Educated at the Royal Grammar School. *

Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour. Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winnin ...

– former world no.1 golfer, educated at the Royal Grammar School. * Jack Goff – motor-racing driver, currently racing in the British Touring Car Championship. * Isa Guha – former cricketer, Women's World Cup winner with England. *

Jean Hawes Jean Mary Hawes (16 January 1932 – 16 October 2008) received an MBE in 2007 for her services to hockey from The Queen at Buckingham Palace. When she was 14, she joined Wycombe Rye Ladies Hockey Club, based in High Wycombe High Wycombe, ...

– former hockey player who received an MBE in 2007. * Tom Ingram – motor-racing driver, currently racing in the British Touring Car Championship. * Matt Ingram – footballer with Hull City, formerly with Wycombe Wanderers. * Mike Keen – former footballer and manager, winner of the

1966–67 Football League Cup The 1966–67 Football League Cup was the seventh season of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition started on 23 August 1966 and ended with the final on 4 March 1967. This was the first s ...

with Queens Park Rangers. * Robbie Kerr – motor-racing driver, most recently in the A1 Grand Prix. *

Phil Newport Philip John Newport (born 11 October 1962 in High Wycombe) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played primarily as a seam and swing bowler. Newport was a stalwart of Worcestershire County Cricket Club for most of the 1980s and 19 ...

– former Worcestershire and England cricketer. * Tom Rees – former England and Wasps Rugby Flanker. Educated at the Royal Grammar School. *

Nicola Sanders Nicola Clare Sanders (born 23 June 1982) is a former British track and field sprinter. She began her career as a 400 metres hurdles specialist before concentrating on the 400 metres from 2006 onwards. Her 400 metres personal best is 49.65 seco ...

– former track and field athlete, Olympic bronze medal winner. * Wilf Slack – former Middlesex and England cricketer. *

Christian Wade Christian Wade (born 15 May 1991) is an English rugby union footballer, and former American football player, currently playing as a wing for French Top 14 club Racing 92. Wade played for Wasps for seven seasons and scored 82 tries in Premier ...

– former Wasps player, now

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

American football player. Educated at the Royal Grammar School.

Other fields

* Heston Blumenthal – celebrity chef and owner of the

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

3-star

Fat Duck The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England. It is run by celebrity chef proprietor Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building that had previously been the site of the Bell pub, the Fat Duck opened on 16 Au ...

restaurant. He was educated at John Hampden Grammar School. * Mitford family – aristocrats. * Roger Scruton –

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, educated at the Royal Grammar School. * Geoffrey De Havilland – aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer. Born at Terriers House. *

– 19th century prime minister, politician, and literary figure. * Eric Gill – sculptor and print maker. *

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the cl ...

– philosopher. * Jean Shrimpton – supermodel. * Frances Dove - Women's campaigner and Educator.

Transport

Road

The town's nearest motorway is the M40, which has two junctions serving Wycombe: junction 3 for Loudwater and High Wycombe (east) and junction 4 at

Handy Cross roundabout Handy Cross roundabout is a major road interchange at Handy Cross, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire; the junction for High Wycombe, the M40 motorway and the A404 dual-carriageway. It is the terminus of the A4010 which runs to Aylesbury. History ...

for central Wycombe, Marlow and

. Junction 4 is a major interchange between the M40 and A404 trunk road which provides a link to the M4. It had suffered from heavy congestion but was improved by the Highways Agency in 2006. Junction 3 is restricted; only traffic going towards and coming from London can join and exit respectively. The M25 and M4 are also fairly close. Other roads include the A404 towards Marlow and

; the A4010 towards

; and the A40 towards

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

and Oxford.

Bus

High Wycombe Cressex park and ride waiting room

High Wycombe Eden bus station is served by

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary o ...

and

Carousel Buses Carousel Buses is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, ...

. Major destinations include Reading,

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, Watford, Chesham, Uxbridge and Berkhamsted. In November 2013, First Berkshire & The Thames Valley added express route X9 to Maidenhead to its existing X74 express to Slough. Other operators serving the town include Redline, Red Rose and Z&S Buses. High Wycombe is served by one of Buckinghamshire's Rainbow Routes network of services. Originally piloted in

, its success led to a network being set up in the town. Rainbow Routes is a partnership between Buckinghamshire County Council and local operators Arriva Shires & Essex and Carousel Buses. They provide regular services within the town and its suburbs, and this network includes: *Pink Route 30 – Arriva Shires & Essex, every 15 minutes to

*Green Route 31 – Arriva Shires & Essex, every 15 minutes to Penn and Hazlemere *Blue Route 32 – Arriva Shires & Essex, every 15 minutes to Micklefield and Booker *Red Route 33 – Arriva Shires & Essex, every 12 minutes to Totteridge and Castlefield *Purple Route 35/36 – Carousel Buses, every 30 minutes to Flackwell Heath *Orange Route 39 – Carousel Buses, every 20 minutes to Hicks Farm The town also has a Park and Ride facility located in Cressex, near junction 4 of the M40. Services run to the town centre, passing the railway station, it also serves Wycombe Hospital and Hicks Farm Rise.

Coach

As of January 2022, no National Express coaches enter High Wycombe Town centre. "The Airline", operated by Oxford Bus Company, operates coach services from Oxford to Heathrow and Gatwick airports via Handy Cross Hub.

Rail

2015 at High Wycombe station - main building

The town is served by High Wycombe railway station on the Chiltern Main Line, with services operated by

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...

from London Marylebone to

, Oxford,

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, Birmingham Snow Hill and Kidderminster. The station is the busiest in South Buckinghamshire. Express services travel to London in 23 minutes, slower trains take up to 45 minutes. The Wycombe Railway ran from High Wycombe to

on the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...

through Loudwater and Bourne End. However, it was a victim of the Beeching cuts with the Wycombe to Bourne End section closed in May 1970. The southern section remains open as part of the Marlow Branch Line.

Air

is the nearest

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

, located just outside Buckinghamshire in Hillingdon. Wycombe Air Park on the southern edge of the town is popular with learning pilots and gliders.

Facilities and places of interest

There are two shopping centres: the Eden Centre which spreads from the High Street under the Abbey Way flyover to the south of the A40; and the Chilterns Centre, which is located between Queen's Square and Frogmoor to the north. The High Street ( pedestrianised in the early 1990s) has a number of 18th and 19th century buildings, and ends at the colonnaded Guildhall that was built in 1757 by Henry Keene, funded by the Earl of Shelburne, and renovated in 1859. The small octagonal-shaped Cornmarket opposite, known locally as the Pepper Pot, was rebuilt to designs by Robert Adam in 1761. The large parish church of All Saints was founded in 1086, enlarged in the 18th century and extensively restored in 1889. There is a large, well equipped theatre, the

, which hosts many acts and shows before or after their appearance in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. In March 2008, a new development of the town centre was completed. This included the demolition and movement of the bus station and the brand new '' Eden Shopping Centre'', with 107 shops, new restaurants, a large bowling alley and cinema and new housing. The old Octagon shopping centre was connected to the new development. The complex, one of the largest in the country, is seen as a major milestone in the regeneration of the town. There are out-of-town retail outlets in the suburbs of Cressex (including John Lewis, Asda and TGI Fridays), Loudwater (including Tesco, Dunelm and Homebase), and Wycombe Marsh, where there is a small retail park of shops and restaurants including Hobbycraft, PC World, Pets at Home, and M&S Simply Food. Desborough Road provides a secondary shopping area with more independent traders and a number of takeaways. To the east of the town centre is the extensive Rye park (and river) and dyke. The park had an outdoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, which closed in 2009. The pool has now reopened together with a new gym and has been renamed as the Rye Lido. The River Wye winds through the green space, which is particularly attractive during the summer. Wycombe's yearly "Asian Mela" takes place on the Rye. There is a museum on Priory Avenue in the town centre situated on its own grounds and including a Norman

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

mound. The theme of the museum is the history of Wycombe, with the main focus being the chair industry. Wycombe town centre is home to many public houses and bars, especially in the Frogmoor area. The White Horse pub appeared on 'Britain's toughest pubs'. The town features the old

Wycombe Summit The Wycombe Summit was a dry ski slope situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It has been closed since 22 November 2005, when a fire destroyed the lodge. In November 2016, Wycombe District Council approved a planning application for 30 dwelli ...

, formerly the largest dry ski slope in England, before it was destroyed in a fire. Construction work was due to start in September 2008, on what would have become England's third and largest indoor real snow ski centre. In May 2009, it was announced that construction would be delayed due to 'difficulties getting a planning consent amendment.' As of 31 January 2012 it was announced that the site was up for sale. Hughenden Manor borders the northern urban fringe of High Wycombe, approximately from the centre of town. Built in the Regency period, the architecturally appealing house was also home to

for three decades in the mid-19th century. The three-floor mansion is situated in its own extensive grounds with beautifully landscaped gardens which back into the attractive Chiltern countryside. It is open to the public all year round as an historical attraction. The local council maintains a landmark statue of a red lion above the former Woolworth's store on the High Street. Its significance dates back to when the building was the ''Red Lion Hotel''. Since its installation, the lion has been replaced several times and has had to undergo extensive repair due to damage from both the elements and human interference. Another notable landmark is the ruins of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, which is located on Easton Street, just east of the town centre opposite the Rye parkland, and dates to the 12th century. The stone structure is one of the very oldest in Wycombe, and is said to contain stone used from the Roman villa on the Rye. The site of the ancient Desborough Castle is situated between the Desborough and Castlefield suburbs of the town, and provides their names.

Industry

Wycombe was once renowned for chairmaking (the town's football team is nicknamed the 'Chairboys') and furniture design remains an important element of the town's university curriculum, Buckinghamshire New University. Among the best known furniture companies were Ercol and

E Gomme G Plan is a British furniture brand. It began as a pioneering range of furniture in the United Kingdom produced by E Gomme Ltd of High Wycombe. The success of G Plan led to E Gomme becoming one of the UK's largest furniture manufacturers, with p ...

. The

runs through the valley, where

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

trees were cut down by the chair industry to forming the town centre (circa 1700), with housing along the slopes (some areas are still surrounded by woods). The town was also home to the worldwide postage stamp and banknote printer Harrison and Sons. More recent industries in the town include the production of paper, precision instruments, clothing and plastics. Many of these are situated in an industrial area of the Cressex district, southwest of the town centre. The two largest sites belong to the companies

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

(tobacco papers, filters and matches) and Verco (office furniture), who until 2004 sponsored the local football team, Wycombe Wanderers. Wycombe's industrial past is reflected on the town's motto ''Industria ditat'', "Industry enriches". The motto can be found on town crest and Mayor's badge of office.

Local attractions

St. Lawrence's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

* Dashwood Mausoleum * The Rye and Holywell Mead * Odds Farm Park * Disraeli Monument * Wycombe Wanderers F. C. * Bradenham Manor House *

* High Wycombe Chair Making Museum * Hughenden Manor * Hellfire Caves * West Wycombe Park *

Wycombe Museum Wycombe Museum (aka Wycombe Local History and Chair Museum) is a free local museum located in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.flying schools are based at Wycombe Air Park, the modern name for Booker Airfield, to the south of the M40 motorway on the western edge of the town. Many of the replica aircraft used in the film industry, for example in films such as '' Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines'', '' Aces High'' and '' The Blue Max'' were built and flown from there. Wycombe Air Park is one of the busiest general aviation airfields in the UK. The Air Park is also home to Buckinghamshire Squash and Racketball Club.

Leisure

Hollywell Mead, an open swimming pool site in the town's Rye Park, closed in March 2009 due to high running costs and was mothballed. However, in summer 2012, after a £2 million investment into the site, a new sports & leisure facility was reopened. Further redevelopment works later took place, with improved tennis courts reopening in late 2013 and an upgraded pool reopening in May 2016. There is a large

leisure centre A leisure centre in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia (also called aquatic centres), Singapore and Canada is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people ...

to the south of town at the top of Marlow Hill, close to the

. Many sporting activities take place here and there is an Olympic-size swimming pool. The original leisure centre was designed by renowned architect John Attenborough, and opened in 1975. In 2011, proposals were made for a new leisure centre to be constructed on the site of the existing running track, with the relocation of the existing

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

pitch to the nearby John Hampden Grammar School and the running track to Little Marlow. In January 2014, the artificial turf pitch had been relocated. By May 2014, construction work on the new facility had commenced. The old leisure centre closed in December 2015, with the new leisure centre opening in January 2016. The old leisure centre was later demolished to make way for other developments.

Housing

A new experimental scheme to knock down old council flats in Micklefield and replace them with housing association properties was approved by John Prescott in 2003 after overwhelming approval by council residents. There are many different housing areas within the town, some of which such as the Castlefield district have gained a bad reputation for crime and drug-related problems. The town is a diverse mixture of large council estates built in the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s that sprawl up the valley sides, compact

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

terraces in the bottom of the valley to the east and west of town, and desirable areas for wealthy commuters. The Amersham Hill area is noted for its large period properties and leafy streets. Recent developments are showing a tendency towards blocks of flats, and developers are mainly making use of brownfield sites.

Sport

The town's

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 ...

team, Wycombe Wanderers, play at

Adams Park Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers in League One. It was also leased from 2002 to 2014 to the rugby union club London Was ...

, named after Frank Adams who donated the old Loakes Park ground to the club. They relocated to their current stadium in 1990. They currently play in

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and have been members of the English Football League since 1993 when they were promoted as champions of the

1992–93 Football Conference The GM Vauxhall Conference season of 1992–93 was the fourteenth season of the Football Conference. Overview Wycombe Wanderers, runners-up a year earlier, finally gained the Conference title – and a place in the Football League at the expense ...

. Since then they have enjoyed two notable cup runs (to the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2001 and the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

in 2007) and five recent promotions from the fourth tier of the English league to the Championship (via playoffs in 1994 and 2020, and automatically in 2009, 2011 and 2018). They have been managed by a number of high-profile football figures, including Martin O'Neill, Lawrie Sanchez and Tony Adams. Their current manager is former Queens Park Rangers player/manager Gareth Ainsworth. The Wasps rugby union team also played at Adams Park for home games between the 2002–03 season and December 2014, the club's most successful spell.

Closest cities, towns and villages

(),

(), Marlow (),

(), Oxford (), Reading ()

Twin towns

High Wycombe is twinned with: * Kelkheim, Germany

In popular culture

High Wycombe is sometimes portrayed as a rather dull town where nothing much happens, as in this exchange between Kenneth Horne and Kenneth Williams in ''Round the Horne'': The town was mentioned several times in series 4 episode 3 (''The Lying Detective'') of the BBC TV series ''Sherlock (TV series), Sherlock'', much in the same key. Scenes in series 2 episode 3 (''The Waldo Moment'') of the Channel 4 TV series ''Black Mirror'' were filmed in High Wycombe.

References

External links

Wycombe District Council

The High Wycombe Society

SWOP – Sharing Wycombe's Old Photographs
{{Authority control High Wycombe, Market towns in Buckinghamshire Towns in Buckinghamshire Unparished areas in Buckinghamshire