Buckinghamshire means The district (scire) of Bucca's home. Bucca's home refers to Buckingham in the north part of the country. It is Anglo Saxon and is named after the landowner. The county of Buckinham has existed since it was a subdivision of Mercia perhaps as early as 585 and as late as 919. It received the name 'Buckingham' in about the 12 century.

Aylesbury is a settlement in Buckinghamshire that dates back at least as far as 1500 B.C. which was before the time of the Anglo-Saxons. There were excavations in the town centre in early 1990's. They found a settlement dating that far back. Penn and Wendover still have their Brythonic names. There are also numerous pre-Roman earthworks throughout the county.

The Roman roads in Buckinghamshire reflect the Roman influence in the county. They were used as trade routes to London and other parts of Roman Britain and were also used as a line of defence.

The Anglo-Saxon period had much influence on the history of this county. The present geography is much as it was at that time. Some great battles fought between Cerdic of Wessex and the Britons at Chearsley are mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Domesday Book Survey, ordered by Guillaume Peuerel, The Conqueror, in 1086 mentions the great wealth of Buckinghamshire.

The Plantagenets took advantage of the county's wealth and most of the manors were annexed by The Conqueror for himself and his family. Aylesbury was one of the towns he took and it was listed as a royal manor in the Domesday Book, 1086. His half brother, Odo, bishop of Bayeux also was a major landowner of Buckhimshire.

Buckhamshire traditionally bred swans for the King's pleasure. This then became the heraldic supporter for the county coat of arms.

About 9 miles south of Aylesbury lies Risborough Estate. It has always been royal hunting land from the time it was mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle in 903 until King Henry VIII of England. These estates came to Edward, The Black Prince in the late fourteenth century. They became known as the Prince's estate and as Princes Risborough. The Black Prince had grand palace in the town located next to St. Mary's Church.

The Kings annexed more manors and disolved monasteries about 1536 and King Henry VIII owned almost a third of the counties property himself. He made Aylesbury the county town over Buckingham so that he would have favor with the father of Anne, Thomas Boleyn, as he wanted to marry her. Catherine Parr, who was another wife of Henry VIII also had much influence here.

About 9 miles south of Aylesbury lies Risborough Estate. It has always been royal hunting land from the time it was mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle in 903 until King Henry VIII of England. These estates came to Edward, The Black Prince in the late fourteenth century.

The English Civil War occurred in mid 1600's. It was fought between the Parliamentarian and the Royalism factions. John Hampden of Buckinghamshire became a Parliamentarian hero when he helped defend Aylesbury in a battle in 1642.

CASTLES, MANORS, ABBEYS

Ashridge Estate and house are in Hertfordshire, England and part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an area of natural beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of London.

King Edward the Confessor gave land to one of his men for slaying a wild boar that had been in the Bernwood Forst. The man built a mansion on the land and called it 'Boar-Stall' which in Anglo Saxon means 'Boar House'.

In the Domesday Book (a survey of England published in 1086), Claydon House was listed as belonging to the Peverell family, who arrived from Normandy with William the Conqueror.

There has been a manor house at Halton since the Norman conquest, when it belonged to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Halton House is a country house situated in the Chiltern Hills above the village of Halton in Buckinghamshire, England. It is currently used as the main Officers' Mess for RAF Halton.

Hartwell House was first mentioned in the Doomsday book and belonged to an illegitimate son of William the Conqueror. However, the core of the present house was constructed in the early 17th century for the Hampden family and then the Lee family. Close to Hartwell House is the ruined Hartwell Church which was designed by the architect Henry Keene and completed in 1756.

There were many ancient manors within the parish border, including Hughenden Manor, and in addition to Odo, King Henry I of England, King Henry VIII of England, Simon de Montfort and Benjamin Disraeli have all at one time owned property in the parish.

Mentmore Towers is a large English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. It takes its name both from the village in which it stands, and the fact that the house has numerous towers and pinnacles. Historically it was always known as just Mentmore, and by locals and estate staff as The Mansion.

Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. The house was built in the style of a French chateau between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898). The Baron, a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty, chose as his architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur.

MAPS

1. South Bucks 2. Chiltern 3. Wycombe 4. Aylesbury 5. Milton Keynes (Unitary)

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts
Subject to disclaimer

PHOTOS

Buckinghamshire County Hall, Aylesbury, taken from the Canal Basin, 14th October 2005

I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible, I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. (Francs2000)

Quainton Village Green, and windmill

One of the most highly visible buildings in the parish is the 65ft high windmill, built in 1830. Derelict for the greater part of the 20th century it is now fully restored and can again grind wheat into flour.

This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. This applies worldwide.
Subject to disclaimers

Pancakes for Pancake Day in Olney

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "Text of the GNU Free Documentation License."

Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) is a tradition started in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England in 1445, when a housewife from Olney was busy making pancakes when the curfew bell rang and took her by surprise. She ran out of the house carrying the frying pan and went to the church.

The Pancake Day race in Olney is still held every year. The contestants carry a skillet and race to finishing line tossing pancakes as they go. There is great skill requited to toss the pancakes successfully while running as the pancakes are thin. In order to win one must cross the line having tossed the pancake a certain, predetermined number of times.

The people in Liberal, Kansas, USA have held the 'International Pancak Day' race between the two towns since 1950. The frist woman to reach the church gets a 'Kiss of Peace; from the verger there.

Sources:

(Information from Wikipedia.com)

HOME    COUNTRIES