I’m in jail but it’s so much fun. The 18th-century former gaol, built in the style of a mini-castle by local architect Sir Gilbert Scott, is Buckingham’s landmark building.
In the past it often housed poachers because Lord Cobham, of nearby Stowe House, was a strict enforcer of the hunting laws. Today, it is a fascinating museum of local history. In the 10th century, Buckingham was on the border between Saxon and Danish lands. It became an important frontier post when Edward the Elder, son of King Alfred, fortified the hill at the bend of the River Ouse.
Converted into a county town and with a Royal Charter, its heyday was the medieval period, when its market prospered (a prosperous modern version is held every Tuesday and Saturday). At the museum, you’ll learn the story of the Lenborough Hoard, the largest Anglo-Saxon coin ever found, discovered in nearby farmland in 2014. The hoard, from the reigns of Kings Aelthelred and Cnut, contained 5,248 silver pennies and two half cents. valued at £1.3 million.
A few years later, a metal detector enthusiast discovered another interesting find: a rare gold “half-angel” from the reign of Richard III. The beautiful coin is the only one of its kind on display anywhere. Buckingham is a rare example of a city contained within a river circuit. After a good look around the museum, local historian Ian Orton gives us more information about Buckingham’s past.
Ian explains that the town’s name derives from “Bucca’s village meadow”, Bucca being a prominent Anglo-Saxon settler. Meanwhile, the glory days ended with the Great Fire of 1725, which destroyed much of downtown and left more than 500 people homeless.
Taking off his shackles: On a tour of Buckingham, Neil Clark visits the Old Gaol Museum, which is reminiscent of a mini-castle
Buckingham’s heyday was the medieval period, when its market prospered, says Neil, noting that a thriving modern version is held every Tuesday and Saturday.
Stay overnight: the four-star Villiers Hotel in Buckingham
Double rooms at the Villiers Hotel (pictured above) cost from £108 B&B
The Villiers Hotel is a converted 16th century inn.
Elegant Georgian architecture replaced burned-out buildings. However, for a taste of the older Tudor Buckingham style, head to Church Street. Ian points out the half-timbered ‘Twisted Chimney House’, as well as a 16th-century manor house where Elizabeth I is said to have dined.
We passed the 18th-century parish church of Buckingham towards the old churchyard, the site of the original 13th-century church and a plaque dedicated to the town’s saint, St Rumbold, buried in the church. Buckingham’s population declined between the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 1966 the Beeching ax saw the last freight trains at its station. The MP then was not someone the city was likely to want to remember: one Robert Maxwell (who represented Buckingham from 1964 to 1970).
But since the 1980s there has been a resurgence, beginning with the founding of the University of Buckingham, Britain’s first private university. Lady Thatcher was his second chancellor, succeeding Lord Hailsham.
Neil discovers that the town’s name derives from “Bucca’s village meadow”, Bucca being a prominent Anglo-Saxon settler.
Neil stops at the White Hart (above), a “splendid” 18th-century inn in Market Square
A “nice lunch” costs £8.99 at the White Hart (above), which has recently been refurbished.
Double rooms are available at White Hart from £41 (greeneking.co.uk)
Pictured above is White Hart’s bar, where Neil is enjoying a liquid refreshment.
You can’t help but admire the riverside campus with its dam and old mill. The environment made me want to be a college student again.
After the tour it was time for refreshments at the White Hart, a splendid 18th century inn in Market Square, where a good lunch costs £8.99.
Buckingham may have lost its county town status to Aylesbury 500 years ago, but it has retained a status of its own.