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Although the nameBuckinghamshire isAnglo Saxon in origin meaningThe district (scire) of Bucca's home (referring toBuckingham in the north of the county) the name has only been recorded since about the 12th century. Thehistoric county itself has been in existence since it was a subdivision of thekingdom ofWessex in the 10th century. It was formed out of about 200 communities that could between them fund a castle in Buckingham, to defend against invadingDanes.
Some of the places in Buckinghamshire date back much further than the Anglo-Saxon period. Aylesbury, for example, is known fromarchaeological digs to date back at least as far as 1500B.C. and theIcknield Way, which crosses the county, is pre-Roman in origin. There are a wealth of places that still have theirBrythonic names (Penn,Wendover), or a compound of Brythonic and Anglo Saxon (Brill,Chetwode,Great Brickhill) and there are pre-Romanearthworks all over the county. Also,Cunobelinus, alegendary king of theCatuvellauni (anancient British tribe) is said to have had a stronghold in the area (and to have inspired the name of a group ofvillages known as theKimbles).
Settlement began in the area that was to becomeMilton Keynes around 2000BCE, mainly in the valleys of the riversOuse andOuzel and their tributaries (Bradwell Brook, Shenley Brook). Archaeological excavations discovered several burial sites dating from 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE. Evidence for the earliest habitation was found[1] atBlue Bridge — production of flint tools from theMiddle Stone Age. In the same area, an unusually large (18 metre diameter) round house was excavated[2] and dated to theLate Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, about 700BCE. Other excavations in this Blue Bridge/Bancroft hill-side uncovered a further seven substantial settlement sites, dating from then until 100 BCE.
The Roman influence on Buckinghamshire is most widely felt in theRoman roads that cross the county.Watling Street andAkeman Street both cross the county from east to west though there is circumspection that these are based on older roads. The Romans also made use of the much olderIcknield Way. The first two were important trade routes linkingLondon with other parts of Roman Britain, and the latter was used by the Romans as a line of defence.
The single group of people who probably had the greatest influence on Buckinghamshire's history, however, are the Anglo-Saxons. Not only did they give most of the places within the county their names, but the modern layout of the county is largely as it was in the Anglo-Saxon period. One of the great battles worthy of mention in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle was fought betweenCerdic of Wessex, his sonCynric and the Britons atChearsley, which is named after Cerdic himself. Also no fewer than threesaints from this period were born inQuarrendon (Saint Osyth,Saint Edburga andSaint Edith) and in the late Anglo-Saxon period a royalpalace was established atBrill. The sheer wealth in the county was worthy of note when theDomesday Survey was taken in 1086.
William the Conqueror annexed most of themanors for himself and his family:Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, became a major landowner locally. Many ancienthunts became the king's property (worthy of note areBernwood Forest,Whaddon Chase andPrinces Risborough) as did all the wildswans of England. The ancient tradition of breeding swans in Buckinghamshire for the king's pleasure much later provided the inspiration for theheraldic supporter for Buckinghamshire County Council'scoat of arms. ThePlantagenets continued to take advantage of the wealth of the county.
Another flush of annexations of local manors to the Crown accompanied theDissolution of the Monasteries (1536), when almost a third of the county became the personal property ofKing Henry VIII. Henry VIII was also responsible for making Aylesbury the official county town over Buckingham, which he is alleged to have done in order to curry favour withThomas Boleyn so that he could marry his daughterAnne.[citation needed] Another of Henry's wives,Catherine Parr, also had a sphere of influence within the county atBeachampton.
| Towns of the ancient county |
|---|
| 1.Slough 2.Beaconsfield 3.Great Marlow 4.High Wycombe 5.Chesham 6.Princes Risborough 7.Wendover 8.Aylesbury 9.Winslow 10.Buckingham 11.Fenny Stratford 12.Stony Stratford 13.Newport Pagnell |
In theEnglish Civil War (1642–1649) Buckinghamshire was mostlyParliamentarian, although some pockets ofRoyalism did exist. The ParliamentarianJohn Hampden was from Buckinghamshire, known particularly for his significant and successful battle tactics at Aylesbury in 1642. Some villages to the west of the county (Brill andBoarstall for example) were under constant conflict for the duration of the war, given their equidistance between Parliamentarian Aylesbury and RoyalistOxford. Many of these places were effectively wiped off the map in the conflict, but were later rebuilt. In the north of the county,Stony Stratford was Royalist andNewport Pagnell was Parliamentarian: the line of control between the sides echoed theDanegeld 700 years earlier.
TheIndustrial Revolution and the arrival of therailway completely changed the landscape of certain parts of the county.Wolverton in the north (now part ofMilton Keynes) became a national centre forrailway carriage construction, andfurniture andpaper industries took hold in the south. In the centre of the county, thelace industry was introduced and grew rapidly, because it gave employment to women and children from poorer families.Queen Victoria was once quoted as preferring "Bucks lace" for herpillows. Buckinghamshire still has good rail links to London,Birmingham andManchester and furniture is still a major industry in parts of south Bucks.
In the early to midVictorian era a majorcholeraepidemic and agriculturalfamine took their hold on thefarming industry which for so many years had been the stable mainstay for the county. Migration from the county to nearbycities and abroad was at its height at this time, and certain landowners took advantage of the cheaper land on offer that was left behind. One of the county's most influential families, theRothschilds, arrived in Bucks during this time and they built or renovated awealth of magnificent houses in the county.
Massurbanisation of the very north and south of the county took place in the 20th century, which saw thenew town ofMilton Keynes being formed andSlough becoming heavily urbanised. This was a natural extension of the industrialisation of the landscape, and also provided employment for many local people. Both of these towns have (together with their surrounding areas) becomeunitary authorities in their own right and are administratively distinct from the area controlled byBuckinghamshire Council. Milton Keynes remains within the boundaries of theceremonial county ofBuckinghamshire, but Slough was transferred in 1974 toBerkshire.
Today, Buckinghamshire is considered by many to be the idyllic rural landscape ofEdwardian fiction and is known colloquially asleafy Bucks. This point of view is supported by much of the area being classed asGreen Belt land, and has led to many parts of the county being very popular withcommuters for London, which in turn has led to an increase in the general cost of living for local people. However, pockets ofpoverty still remain in the county, particularly in the large towns of Aylesbury andHigh Wycombe.
