Country Pubs, Bucks

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A history in the making

In 1832 50 people in Aylesbury died in an outbreak of cholera. However amenities in Aylesbury improved in the 19th century. From 1834 the streets of Aylesbury were lit by gas. An infirmary opened in 1833. It later became the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital. The first police force was formed in 1837. A cemetery opened in 1857. In 1867 a waterworks opened and the town soon had a piped water supply. Also in the 1860s a network of sewers was built.

The famous clock tower was built in 1876. A public baths was built in 1895. In 1894 Aylesbury was made an urban district council.

In the early 19th century the lace industry died out but there was a silk industry in Aylesbury. Other industries were printing and brewing. In the late 19th century condensed milk was made in Aylesbury. However Aylesbury remained a market town rather than a manufacturing centre. In 1865 a corn exchange was built where grain could be bought and sold. Aylesbury continued to be famous for its ducks.

In 1901 Aylesbury had a population of 9,240.

A museum opened in Aylesbury in 1908. In 1912 a statue of John Hampden was erected in the town.

Aylesbury gained an electricity supply in 1915.

In 1917 Aylesbury was made a borough.

In 1920 the council began building Southcourt Estate. It was greatly expanded in the 1950s.

Vale open-air swimming pool opened in 1935. Stoke Mandeville Hospital opened in 1940. Aylesbury Technical School opened in 1947.

In 1951 the population of Aylesbury was still only 21,240 but in 1952 it was agreed it would become an overspill town for London. The population then boomed. Grange school opened in 1954. In 1966 a new County Hall was built and Friars Square was created. In 1974 Aylesbury was made part of Aylesbury Vale Council. The Civic Centre was built in 1975.

Hale Leys Shopping Centre opened in 1983. The Market Square was pedestrianised in 1984. In 1987 the cattle market closed, a sure sign Aylesbury had ceased to be a rural market town. The Friars Square Shopping Centre closed for refurbishment in the early 1990s. It re-opened in 1993.

Today the population of Aylesbury is 55,000.

The northern region of Buckinghamshire is dominated by the new town of Milton Keynes. It was developed in the 1960s when there was a general move to provide housing away from the sprawling mass of London, and though the town itself is modern there are numerous ancient villages close by. This is William Cowper's part of the world, and a visit to his museum at Olney tells the story of his life and times. here, too, is a 20th century place of interest: Bletchley Park, the top-secret codebreaking station of the Second World War, where thousands of man and women worked round the clock to decipher the enemy's messages to help bring an earlier end to the war.

Though many of the county's towns and villages have histories going back well before the Norman Conquest, the influence of London is never far away, and several have been linked with the capital for many years by the Metropolitan Railway.

Chesham Assimilating the old and the new, the Buckinghamshire town of Chesham is a successful combination of country town; industrial centre; commuter dormitory and bustling community. It has integrated the needs of its businesses and residents, survived the developers and retained many of the hallmarks of its 1000 year history.