Buckingham ( ) is 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 rura ...

in north

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England, close to the borders of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, south-east of

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

, and north-east of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Buckingham was the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

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, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

took over this role in the 18th century. Buckingham has a variety of restaurants and pubs, typical of a market town. 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, Germany and Mouvaux, France.

History

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

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

In the 7th century, Buckingham (literally "hemmed in land of Bucca's people") is said to have been founded by Bucca, the leader of the first

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...

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

, presently the Hunter Street campus of the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

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

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an 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. History Early history Denmark ...

, in particular, in 914 King

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?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 cousi ...

and a Saxon army encamped in Buckingham for four weeks forcing local Danish

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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 (building), 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 com ...

. 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

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 * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

. 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 ...

in 1554 when Queen Mary created the free Borough of Buckingham with boundaries extending from Thornborowe Bridge (now Thornborough) to Dudley Bridge and from Chackmore Bridge to

Padbury Padbury is a village and civil parish in north Buckinghamshire, 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 Domesday ...

Mill Bridge. The designated borough included a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

, 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 a significant fire that raged through the town centre on 15 March 1725, with the result that many 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

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 Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

on these streets today is a consequence of the 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, 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 Municipal Borough of Buckingham, Buckingham Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building. ...

, which is Grade II* listed, dates 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 LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

by the Buckinghamshire Railway in 1850. The municipal borough had a population of 1,816 in 1841. In 1971, Buckinghamshire County Council 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

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. 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 *Marketing, the act of sat ...

place and contains many 18th century buildings. There are three main roads crossing Buckingham, namely the A413, the A421 (the southern bypass) and the A422.

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

's historic formal garden design at Stowe (on the A422 westbound) is an important attraction in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. There is a

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

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth 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, Tingewick Road Estate 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. Descript ...

, 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 Geographic contiguity is t ...

with the Buckingham urban area. Nearby (10 miles radius) settlements include Winslow,

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England, north-west of Oxford. The town is a notable tourist attraction due to the Bicester Village shopping centre. The historical town centre � ...

, Brackley,

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

and

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

. Local villages in the immediate vicinity include

and Gawcott to the south, Chackmore to the north and Shalstone to the north west. It is also very near Stowe, the location of

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...

Stowe Gardens Stowe Gardens, formerly Stowe Landscape Gardens, are extensive, Listed building, Grade I listed gardens and parkland in Buckinghamshire, England. Largely created in the 18th century, the gardens at Stowe are arguably the most significant exampl ...

and

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

. 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 Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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 or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

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 Buildup may refer to: * Atomic buildup In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, the Aufbau principle (, from ), also called the Aufbau rule, states that in the ground state of an atom or ion, electrons first fill Electron shell#Subshells, sub ...

, 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

(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 15,700.

Education

The town is home to the

, the oldest of the UK's six private universities. 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 selective school system of State school#United Kingdom, state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 onwards in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementa ...

of state secondary education. The local state

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

are the Royal Latin School (a

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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

) and the Buckingham School (a

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. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupils ...

and Akeley Wood School, just outside the town, are

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

. 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 tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, 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 or 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 and Wipac. Buckingham was home to the Thomas Rickett steam car, 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 street market or open-air market, with alternative names such as: market square and sometimes charity market, in cases where the sale is made for charity reasons, is a market that is set up on certain days of the week, generally on the street i ...

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 (secondhand) 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

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 the Local Government in England, local authority for the Buckinghamshire (district), Buckinghamshire district in England. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, performing both county and district- ...

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

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

, and it became a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

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 district, with Buckingham Town Council being established as a

successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...

covering the former borough. Aylesbury Vale District Council in turn was abolished in 2020, merging with Buckinghamshire County Council and the county's other districts to become Buckinghamshire Council.

Transport

Road

Buckingham stands at the crossroads of the A413 (north-south), A421 and A422 (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

, Winslow and Aylesbury by the regular X6 bus. An interurban bus service, the X5, links the town to both

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

(via Milton Keynes) 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 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 English Midlands, Midlan ...

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 to the centre of Buckingham to a

wharf A wharf ( or wharfs), 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 Berth (mo ...

. 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 using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line, which opened in 1850 and closed to passengers in 1964 and freight in 1966. Finmere railway station on the Great Central Main Line 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 Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban ar ...

and Milton Keynes Central to the east and Bicester North and Bicester Village to the south west. The new East West rail link will have a stop at nearby Winslow, scheduled to start running by the end of 2025.

Leisure and wellbeing

Sport

There are two local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams, and a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

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. founded in 1883 until their relocation to

Fenny Stratford Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, a city in Buckinghamshire, England. It is administered by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, a civil parish under the Milton Keynes City Council. It is located around Watling Street, at the ...

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 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

. 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 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 or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic ce ...

. 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 now a fully remote organisation but with office space and registered address in Poundbury, Dorchester i ...

, a large U3A 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. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

. 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 set of Church service, Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantr ...

, the Buckingham Old Gaol museum, the

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely 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 ...

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

, Stowe Landscape Gardens and

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

. 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 department is in

Media

The town is served by the Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser weekly newspaper. Local radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio, Heart East, Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts and 3Bs Radio, a community based station that broadcast to the town as well as to

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

( ITV Meridian/ BBC South) and Sandy Heath (

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 b ...

/ BBC East).

Places of worship

* St Bernardine's Catholic Church, Buckingham * Buckingham Evangelical Church *

St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham St. Peter and St. Paul, known commonly as Buckingham Parish Church, is the Anglican parish church in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. The current rector is Revd Will Pearson-Gee who leads a range of services; traditional and modern in st ...

(

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

) *

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

* 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 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

)

Notable people

* George Baldock (footballer), who attended the Royal Latin School * Sam Baldock (footballer), who attended the Royal Latin School *

Bill Benyon Sir William Richard Benyon ( Shelley; 17 January 1930 – 2 May 2014) was a British Conservative Party politician, Berkshire landowner and high sheriff. Life and career Benyon was the eldest of four sons of Vice-Admiral Richard Shelley (1 ...

elected Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1970-83 *

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

, former Speaker of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

* Gillian Blake (actress) * Wyndham Hazelton (cricketer) * Dan Jones (writer) attended the Royal Latin School * Frank Markham, elected member of parliament for Buckingham 1951–64 * Bernie Marsden (guitarist/songwriter with rock band

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

) was born in Buckingham *

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

, businessman and member of Parliament for Buckingham, 1964–1970 * Shan Morgan, 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 (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 Stuart Restoration, Restoration and Augustan litera ...

(1666 – 1709), novelist and playwright *

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely 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 ...

(architect) *

Anthony Seldon Sir Anthony Francis Seldon (born 2 August 1953) is a British contemporary historian and educator. As an author, he is known for his political biographies of consecutive British Prime Ministers, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Camer ...

, vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham *

Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

, 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 Wi ...

, a member of Parliament for Buckingham 1705–1708

Twin towns

Buckingham has been twinned with

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

, in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, since 1963. In 2002, Buckingham became twinned with the French town of Mouvaux. In 2020, Buckingham formalised its links with the German town of Neukirchen-Vluyn, Mouvaux's twin town in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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