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54-554: 51°49′00″N 0°48′45″W  /  51.8168°N 0.8124°W  / 51.8168; -0.8124 Aylesbury ( / ˈ eɪ l z b ər i / AYLZ -bər-ee ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire , South East England . It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Waterside Theatre . It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes . Aylesbury

108-534: A council to govern itself. The right to establish a council was opposed by the prominent local landowner Thomas Pakington , and it seems likely that this element of the charter was not put into effect at that time. In 1650, following the English Civil War , the town did establish a degree of self-government under the auspices of the 1554 charter. However, in 1664, in the aftermath of the Restoration ,

162-606: A railway bridge at Ledburn , about six miles (9.7 km) from the town. A notable institution is Aylesbury Grammar School which was founded in 1598. The original building is now part of the County Museum buildings in Church Street and has grade II* architecture; other grammar schools now include Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School and Aylesbury High School . Other notable buildings are the King's Head Inn , (which, with

216-582: A royal manor with eight attached hundreds in 1086, and some historians have supposed that it was already a royal manor before the Norman conquest . Some lands here were granted by William the Conqueror to citizens upon the tenure that the owners should provide straw for the monarch's bed, sweet herbs for his chamber and two green geese and three eels for his table, whenever he should visit Aylesbury. The town includes an Early English parish church, St. Mary

270-542: A symbol of the town of Aylesbury. Aylesbury United F.C. are nicknamed "The Ducks" and include an Aylesbury duck on their club badge, and the town's coat of arms includes an Aylesbury duck and plaited straw, representing the two historic industries of the town. The Aylesbury Brewery Company, now defunct, featured the Aylesbury duck as its logo, an example of which can still be seen at the Britannia pub . Duck Farm Court

324-545: Is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire , England, about three miles south-east of Princes Risborough . It incorporates the villages of Great Hampden and Little Hampden , and the hamlets of Green Hailey and Hampden Row . Great Hampden is the ancestral home of the Hobart-Hampden family, the most famous of whom was the English Civil War protagonist John Hampden . The villages were first mentioned in

378-543: Is a large educational establishment, which has its own premises adjoining Aylesbury High School and rivals the Royal College of Music , having produced members of national orchestras. County town The concept of a county town is ill-defined and unofficial. Some counties in Great Britain have their administrative bodies housed elsewhere. For example, Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire , but

432-549: Is a shopping area of modern Aylesbury located near the historic hamlet of California , close to one of the main breeding grounds for ducks in the town, and there have been two pubs in the town with the name "The Duck" in recent years; one in Bedgrove that has since been demolished and one in Jackson Road that has recently been renamed. The town's population has grown from 28,000 in the 1960s to almost 72,000 in 2011 due in

486-554: Is immediately southeast of the upper River Thame that flows past Thame to Dorchester on Thames and is partly sited on the two northernmost outcrops of Portland stone in England bisected by a small stream, Bear Brook which gives a relatively prominent position in relation to the terrain of all near, lower, fields and suburbs, which have largely slowly permeable Oxford Clay and Kimmeridge Clay soils. Elevations range from 72.5m above mean sea level to 95m AOD in contiguous parts of

540-549: Is named after the king. Louis's wife, Marie Josephine of Savoy died at Hartwell in 1810 and is the only French queen to have died on English soil. After her death, her body was carried first to Westminster Abbey, and one year later to Sardinia , where the Savoy King of Sardinia had withdrawn during Napoleonic occupation of Turin and Piedmont; she is buried in the Cathedral of Cagliari . Aylesbury's heraldic crest displays

594-635: Is provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Oxford transmitting station . Aylesbury Waterside Theatre , a new £42 million theatre, with 1,200-seat auditorium, opened in October 2010. In addition to this, the surrounding area has been redeveloped a £100 million project known as the 'Waterside project'. When this is completed, there will be 260,000 sq ft (24,000 m) of new retail floor space and 1,100 new jobs created, although when this will be completed now

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648-480: Is the capital of Northern Ireland, it is not the county town of any county. Greater Belfast straddles two counties – Antrim and Down. Jamaica's three counties were established in 1758 to facilitate the holding of courts along the lines of the British county court system, with each county having a county town. The counties have no current administrative relevance. Great Hampden Great and Little Hampden

702-621: Is unclear. A Waitrose supermarket opened opposite the theatre in August 2013, along with a Travelodge Hotel. Branches of Wagamama and Nando's restaurants opened on 'The Exchange' in February 2014, next to the Odeon cinema on Exchange Street. This included luxury and high-end studio apartments, new restaurants including Zizzi, The Grill Steakhouse and Rococo Lounge, as well as a new public square including metal statues that represent Aylesbury as

756-719: The Aylesbury duck , which has been bred here since the birth of the Industrial Revolution , although only one breeder of true Aylesbury ducks, Richard Waller, remains today. The town also received international publicity in 1963 when the culprits responsible for the Great Train Robbery (1963) were tried at Aylesbury Rural District Council Offices in Walton Street and sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court . The robbery took place at Bridego Bridge,

810-466: The Domesday Book of 1086, when they were jointly called Hamdena after the owners of the local manor. By the 14th century 'Hamdena' was split into the two villages, Great Hampden at the top of one hill and Little Hampden on the next hill, with the lush arable land forming the rest of the two parishes spread out in the valley between them. It was also at about this time that Hampden House ,

864-616: The English Civil War when it became a stronghold for the Parliamentarian forces, like many market towns a nursing-ground of Puritan sentiment and in 1642 the Battle of Aylesbury was fought and won by the Parliamentarians. Its proximity to Great Hampden , home of John Hampden has made of Hampden a local hero: his silhouette was used on the emblem of Aylesbury Vale District Council and his statue stands prominently in

918-599: The Fleece Inn at Bretforton , is one of the few public houses in the country owned by the National Trust and still run as a public house) and the Queens Park Centre . James Henry Govier , the British painter and etcher , lived at Aylesbury and produced a number of works relating to the town including the church, canal, Walton, Aylesbury Gaol , the King's Head Inn and views of the town during

972-561: The Norman invasion of Wales , the Cambro-Normans created the historic shire system (also known as ancient counties). Many of these counties were named for the centre of Norman power within the new county (Caernarfonshire named for Caernarfon, Monmouthshire named for Monmouth) others were named after the previous medieval Welsh kingdoms (Ceredigon becomes Cardigan, Morgannwg becomes Glamorgan). The 1535 Laws in Wales Act established

1026-414: The constituents of Aylesbury town itself. Surrounding villages and some recent developments on the outskirts of Aylesbury like Fairford Leys & Watermead have their own parish council . In 2010 the district council decided that the new developments of Berryfields and Weedon Hill , both to the north of Aylesbury, should also join to form a new parish as of May 2011. The town council also elects

1080-721: The 1940s and 1950s, examples of which can be seen in the Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury. The town is the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. During the 1948 Olympics in London, German-British neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann , set up a small sporting event for World War II veterans known as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games (WWAG) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Rehabilitation Facility in Aylesbury. This eventually led to

1134-454: The Britons by one Cuthwulf following the Battle of Bedcanford ; the historicity of this event is doubtful, but the portrayal at least indicates that in the early Middle Ages the settlement was thought to be of some strategic importance. During the early medieval period, Aylesbury became a major market town , the burial place of Saint Osgyth , whose shrine attracted pilgrims . Aylesbury was

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1188-612: The English White. Since at least the 1690s ducks had been farmed in Aylesbury, and made Aylesbury known throughout England and beyond. They were bred and brought up by poor people, and sent to London by the weekly carriers. They went on to be known as the Aylesbury duck . The duck business in Aylesbury went into decline in the 19th century. By the time Beatrix Potter 's 1908 The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck —about an Aylesbury duck although set in Cumbria —caused renewed interest in

1242-806: The Roberts Bridge after a local councillor) opened in March 2009 connecting Southcourt to Aylesbury town centre. The focus of the footbridge is a central concrete pillar with four suspension cables supporting the structure. This bridge forms a central part of the Aylesbury Hub project. Bourg Walk was nominated and won the Engineering Excellence Award 2009 awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineers – South East England branch. There are two tiers of local government covering

1296-716: The Virgin's (which has many later additions). In 1450, a religious institution called the Guild of St Mary was founded in Aylesbury by John Kemp , Archbishop of York . Known popularly as the Guild of Our Lady it became a meeting place for local dignitaries and a hotbed of political intrigue. The guild was influential in the outcome of the Wars of the Roses . Its premises at the Chantry in Church Street, Aylesbury, are still there, though today

1350-622: The administrative headquarters in some cases moved away from the traditional county town. Furthermore, in 1965 and 1974 there were major boundary changes in England and Wales and administrative counties were replaced with new metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties . The boundaries underwent further alterations between 1995 and 1998 to create unitary authorities , and some of the ancient counties and county towns were restored. (Note: not all headquarters are or were called County Halls or Shire Halls e.g.: Cumbria County Council's HQ up until 2016

1404-445: The breed, the Aylesbury duck was in steep decline. The duckers of Buckinghamshire had generally failed to introduce technological improvements such as the incubator , and inbreeding had dangerously weakened the breed. Meanwhile, the cost of duck food had risen fourfold over the 19th century, and from 1873 onwards competition from Pekin and Pekin cross ducks was undercutting Aylesbury ducks at the marketplace. The First World War devastated

1458-530: The county council is in Preston . Due to the creation of unitary authorities , some county towns in Great Britain are administratively separate from the county. For example, Nottingham is separated from the rest of Nottinghamshire , and Brighton and Hove is separate from East Sussex . On a ceremonial level, both are in their own respective counties geographically. This list shows towns or cities which held county functions at various points in time. Following

1512-481: The county. Aylesbury is home to one college of general further education ( Aylesbury College on Oxford Road), three grammar schools , two community upper schools , an academy , a university technical college and a host of primary schools . The secondary schools are: There are also the following special schools : The Aylesbury Vale Secondary Support Centre is a Pupil referral unit (PRU), which caters for permanently excluded pupils. Aylesbury Music Centre

1566-580: The end of the 1950s the last significant farms had closed, other than a single flock in Chesham owned by Mr L. T. Waller, and by 1966 there were no duck breeders remaining in Aylesbury. As of 2021 the Waller family's farm in Chesham remains in business, the last surviving flock of pure Aylesbury meat ducks in the country. Although, there are still many hobbyists who keep the breed. The Aylesbury duck remains

1620-523: The growth of the phenomenon of the modern Paralympic Games that has been held immediately after every Summer Olympic Games since 1988, and the WWAG was held most years at Stoke Mandeville until 1997, when it has been held in other countries and cities ever since. During the 2012 Paralympics , the official mascot was called 'Mandeville' after Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The Rothschild Family acquired many large country estates and stately homes around and near

1674-543: The historic counties in English law , but in Wales they were later replaced with eight preserved counties for ceremonial purposes and the twenty two principal areas are used for administrative purposes. Neither of these subdivisions use official county towns, although their administrative headquarters and ceremonial centres are often located in the historic county town. With the creation of elected county councils in 1889,

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1728-716: The home of the Paralympics, as well as poetry covering the ground. Prior to this a Wagamama restaurant and a Nando's restaurant have also opened on the site of the new square at the Exchange, known officially as 'Festival Square'. Also, a new campus of the [Bucks New University] opened on the Waterside site next to the Waterside Theatre. The Bourg Walk Bridge (also called the Southcourt Bridge or

1782-461: The house belonging to the Hobart-Hampden family was rebuilt. After the death of John Hampden, a cross was erected just above the lane that leads from Hampden House to the nearby village of Prestwood . Where the cross stands is reputed to be the spot where John Hampden stood when he first refused to pay the Ship Money tax in 1636. However the nearby village of Great Kimble also claims to be

1836-416: The main to new housing developments, including many London overspill housing estates, built to ease pressure on the capital. Indeed, Aylesbury, to a greater extent than many English market towns, saw substantial areas of its own heart demolished in the 1950s/1960s as 16th–18th century houses (many in good repair) were demolished to make way for new, particularly retail, development. Aylesbury's population in

1890-492: The modern Aylesbury include: Distinct whole areas that have a notably high property price in the town are Bedgrove , the conservation area around St. Mary's Church and Queens Park , particularly facing onto the canal. Aylesbury has also been extended to completely surround the hamlets and former farms at: Anticipated developments are expected to raise the urban population of Aylesbury from its current approximation of 75,000 to over 100,000 between 2018 and 2023. Aylesbury

1944-465: The more prominent buildings in Aylesbury is the "Blue Leanie" office block, home to Lloyds Bank . When first built it was thought to be a potential hazard to passing motorists, due to the sun reflecting off its large mirrored surface. As a result, a line of mature trees was planted alongside the main road to prevent dazzling. BBC local radio station that broadcast to the town is BBC Three Counties Radio on 94.7 FM. Local news and television programmes

1998-464: The name once meant "Fort of Ægel" — though who Ægel was is not recorded. Nineteenth-century speculation that that the name contained the Welsh word eglwys meaning "a church" (from Latin ecclesia ) has been discredited. Excavations in the town centre in 1985 found an Iron Age hill fort dating from the early 4th century BCE. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle portrays Aylesbury as being captured from

2052-447: The nature of Hampden's death at the Battle of Chalgrove Field near Thame (he died as a result of an injury to his arm and shoulder) this was assumed to be the body of Hampden himself; however this assumption has since been challenged by other historians. Great Hampden church stands a mile or so from the village. Its isolation made it an attractive location for some scenes in the 1970 film Cromwell . In more modern times Hampden House

2106-864: The northern half of Buckinghamshire, succeeded continuously by younger rocks to the south of the Chilterns. The town centre is home to many pubs and bars. The Queens Park Centre , which is the UK's largest independent arts centre is also based in the town centre. The local newspaper is the Bucks Herald , which started publishing in January 1832. Local radio stations was named Mix 96 , which first broadcast in April 1994, and eventually ceased operations in September 2020, being replaced by Greatest Hits Radio . One of

2160-533: The place where he refused to pay the tax. From the cross there is a view of the Chiltern Hills . Hampden himself is buried at the church in Great Hampden, in an unmarked grave. His first wife had a stone tablet in her honour erected in the chancel . In the 19th century the floor below this tablet was lifted and a body exhumed which was missing its hand and had had its shoulder dislocated. Due to

2214-566: The remaining duckers of Buckinghamshire. By the end of the war small-scale duck rearing in the Aylesbury Vale had vanished, with duck raising dominated by a few large duck farms. Shortages of duck food in the Second World War caused further disruption to the industry, and almost all duck farming in the Aylesbury Vale ended. A 1950 "Aylesbury Duckling Day" campaign to boost the reputation of the Aylesbury duck had little effect; by

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2268-459: The site is used mainly for retail. Aylesbury was declared the new county town of Buckinghamshire in 1529 by King Henry VIII : Aylesbury Manor was among the many properties belonging to Thomas Boleyn , the father of Anne Boleyn , and it is rumoured that the change was made by the King to curry favour with the family. The plague decimated the population in 1603/4. The town played a large part in

2322-644: The ten-year period since 2001 has grown by two thousand primarily related to the development of new housing estates which will eventually cater for eight thousand people on the north side, between the A41 ( Akeman Street ) and the A413 and the expansion of Fairford Leys estate. According to the 2011 Census, the religious groupings in Aylesbury were: Christianity (55.7%), no religion (26.9%), Islam (8.3%), Hinduism (1.4%), other (0.4%). 6.7% of respondents did not state their religion. Housing estates in or neighbourhoods of

2376-530: The town centre. Aylesbury-born composer, Rutland Boughton (1878–1960), possibly inspired by the statue of John Hampden, created a symphony based on Oliver Cromwell . On 18 March 1664, Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin in the Peerage of Scotland was created 1st Earl of Ailesbury . The grade II* listed Jacobean mansion of Hartwell adjoining the southwest of the town was the residence of Louis XVIII during his exile (1810–1814). Bourbon Street in Aylesbury

2430-457: The town mayor from the serving town councillors every year. The process culminates in a formal "Mayor Making" ceremony where the new mayor takes over from the preceding mayor. The role of mayor is mainly a ceremonial role representing the town at various events and acting as an ambassador for the town. Aylesbury was made a borough by a charter from Mary I in 1554, which gave the town the right to elect two members of parliament and to establish

2484-496: The town's short-lived council was abolished and the rights it had held reverted to the Pakington family which had exercised them prior to the civil war. Thereafter the town was governed by its vestry in the same way as most rural areas, although it remained a parliamentary constituency . In 1849 a local board of health was established to govern the town. This board was replaced by Aylesbury Urban District Council in 1894, which

2538-438: The town, at parish and unitary authority level: Aylesbury Town Council, based at Aylesbury Town Hall at 5 Church Street, and Buckinghamshire Council , which is also based in Aylesbury, having its headquarters at The Gateway on Gatehouse Road. Aylesbury Town Council is the parish council for the town. As at May 2021 it comprises 25 councillors , 20 of whom are Liberal Democrats and 5 Conservative . The council represents only

2592-458: The town, however nearest villages range from 85m-90m to the north or from 85m to 115m on a narrow ridge to the southwest at Stone and towards the Chilterns to the southeast (Weston Turville, Stoke Mandeville and North Lee). The town centre's higher terrain is accurately described by Samuel Lewis in 1848 as a "gentle eminence". The county's oldest rocks of Jurassic age cover the whole of

2646-540: The town, including Waddesdon Manor in nearby Waddesdon Village, Halton House near Wendover and Tring Park in Tring across the border in Hertfordshire , although today most of these properties belong to the National Trust . They have brought in increased tourism to the town and the surrounding areas. In the 18th century selective breeding of white common ducks led to a white domestic duck, generally known as

2700-507: Was awarded Garden Town status in 2017. The housing target for the town is set to grow with 16,000 homes set to be built by 2033. The town name is of Old English origin. It is first recorded in the form Æglesburg in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , a text which took its present form in the later ninth century. The word Ægles is a personal name in the genitive case , meaning "Ægel's" and burg means "fortification". Thus

2754-476: Was called The Courts and has since moved to Cumbria House.) Before 1974, many of the county halls were in towns and cities that had the status of a county borough i.e. a borough outside the county council's jurisdiction. The follow lists the location of the administration of each of the 31 local authorities in the Republic of Ireland, with 26 of the traditional counties. Note – Despite the fact that Belfast

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2808-564: Was re-established in 2001, with its parish council taking the name Aylesbury Town Council. From 2001 to 2020 there were therefore three tiers of local government covering the town, at parish, district, and county level. Aylesbury Vale District Council was abolished in 2020, merging with Buckinghamshire County Council and other district councils to become a unitary authority called Buckinghamshire Council . Since 1 April 2020, when Buckinghamshire Council came into being, it has been responsible for almost all statutory local government functions across

2862-454: Was subsequently given municipal borough status on 1 January 1917, becoming Aylesbury Borough Council. The borough council was awarded a coat of arms in 1964. In 1974 Aylesbury Borough Council merged with several neighbouring districts to become Aylesbury Vale . No successor parish was initially created for Aylesbury, and it became an unparished area , directly administered by Aylesbury Vale District Council . The civil parish of Aylesbury

2916-465: Was used extensively by the Hammer film studios as the perfect gothic backdrop for many of their films. The nave of Little Hampden Church was built in the 13th Century and a distinctive half timbered porch was added in the 15th century. There are 13th century wall paintings of saints inside that were discovered in 1907, however they are incomplete due to a major rebuild of the chancel in 1859. Opposite

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