View source for History of Buckinghamshire

{{mcn|date=August 2024}}
[[Image:EnglandBuckinghamshireTrad.png|thumb|Ancient extent of Buckinghamshire]]
Although the name '''[[Buckinghamshire]]''' is [[Old English language|Anglo Saxon]] in origin meaning ''The district (scire) of Bucca's home'' (referring to [[Buckingham]] in the north of the county) the name has only been recorded since about the 12th century.  The [[Historic counties of England|historic county]] itself has been in existence since it was a subdivision of the [[monarchy|kingdom]] of [[Wessex]] in the 10th century.  It was formed out of about 200 communities that could between them fund a castle in Buckingham, to defend against invading [[Denmark|Danes]].

==Human settlement in pre-history==
[[File:MiltonKeynesHoard.JPG|thumb|Reproductions of the [[Milton Keynes Hoard]] of [[Bronze Age]] [[torc]]s and bracelets]]
Some of the places in Buckinghamshire date back much further than the Anglo-Saxon period.  Aylesbury, for example, is known from [[archeology|archaeological]] digs to date back at least as far as 1500 <small>B.C.</small> and the [[Icknield Way]], which crosses the county, is pre-[[Roman Britain|Roman]] in origin.  There are a wealth of places that still have their [[Britons (historical)|Brythonic]] names ([[Penn, Buckinghamshire|Penn]], [[Wendover]]), or a compound of Brythonic and Anglo Saxon ([[Brill, Buckinghamshire|Brill]], [[Chetwode]], [[Great Brickhill]]) and there are pre-Roman [[Earthworks (Archaeology)|earthworks]] all over the county.  Also, [[Cunobelinus]],  a [[List of legendary kings of Britain|legendary king]] of the [[Catuvellauni]] (an [[Britons (historic)|ancient British]] tribe) is said to have had a stronghold in the area (and to have inspired the name of a group of [[village]]s known as the [[Kimbles]]).

Settlement began in the area that was to become [[Milton Keynes]] around 2000 [[Common Era|BCE]], mainly in the valleys of the rivers [[River Great Ouse|Ouse]] and [[River Ouzel|Ouzel]] and their tributaries (Bradwell Brook, Shenley Brook). Archaeological excavations discovered several burial sites dating from 2000&nbsp;BCE to 1500&nbsp;BCE. Evidence for the earliest habitation was found<ref>[http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/mkm/mkarchaeology/Web%20pages/stoneage.html Archaeology in the Milton Keynes District – Stone Age<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> at [[Wolverton and Greenleys|Blue Bridge]] — production of flint tools from the [[Middle Stone Age]]. In the same area, an unusually large (18 metre diameter) round house was excavated<ref>[http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/mkm/mkarchaeology/Web%20pages/Bronze%20Age.html Archaeology in the Milton Keynes District – Bronze Age<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and dated to the [[Late 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&nbsp;BCE.

==Roman Britain==
The Roman influence on Buckinghamshire is most widely felt in the [[Roman road]]s that cross the county. [[Watling Street]] and [[Akeman 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 older [[Icknield Way]].  The first two were important trade routes linking [[London]] with other parts of Roman Britain, and the latter was used by the Romans as a line of defence.

==Anglo-Saxons==
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 the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' was fought between [[Cerdic of Wessex]], his son [[Cynric of Wessex|Cynric]] and the Britons at [[Chearsley]], which is named after Cerdic himself.  Also no fewer than three [[saint]]s from this period were born in [[Quarrendon (village)|Quarrendon]] ([[Osyth|Saint Osyth]], [[Edburga of Bicester|Saint Edburga]] and [[Edith of Aylesbury|Saint Edith]]) and in the late Anglo-Saxon period a royal [[palace]] was established at [[Brill, Buckinghamshire|Brill]].  The sheer wealth in the county was worthy of note when the [[Domesday Book|Domesday Survey]] was taken in 1086.

==Norman conquest==
[[William the Conqueror]] annexed most of the [[Manorialism|manors]] for himself and his family: [[Odo of Bayeux|Odo, Bishop of Bayeux]], William's half brother, became a major landowner locally.  Many ancient [[hunting|hunts]] became the king's property (worthy of note are [[Bernwood Forest]], [[Whaddon Chase]] and [[Princes Risborough]]) as did all the wild [[swan]]s of England.  The ancient tradition of breeding swans in Buckinghamshire for the king's pleasure much later provided the inspiration for the [[heraldry|heraldic]] supporter for Buckinghamshire County Council's [[coat of arms]]. The [[Plantagenet]]s continued to take advantage of the wealth of the county.

==Henry VIII: Buckingham gives way to Aylesbury==
Another flush of annexations of local manors to the Crown accompanied the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] (1536), when almost a third of the county became the personal property of [[Henry VIII of England|King 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 with [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire|Thomas Boleyn]] so that he could marry his daughter [[Anne Boleyn|Anne]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}  Another of Henry's wives, [[Catherine Parr]], also had a sphere of influence within the county at [[Beachampton]].

{| class="wikitable" align="center"
! Towns of the ancient county
|-
| 1. [[Slough]]<br />2. [[Beaconsfield]]<br />3. [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Great Marlow]]<br />4. [[High Wycombe]]<br />5. [[Chesham]]<br />6. [[Princes Risborough]]<br />7. [[Wendover]]<br />8. [[Aylesbury]]<br />9. [[Winslow, Buckinghamshire|Winslow]]<br />10. [[Buckingham]]<br />11. [[Fenny Stratford]]<br />12. [[Stony Stratford]]<br />13. [[Newport Pagnell]] 
|}

==English Civil War==
In the [[English Civil War]] (1642–1649) Buckinghamshire was mostly [[Parliament of England|Parliamentarian]], although some pockets of [[Cavalier|Royalism]] did exist. The Parliamentarian [[John 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 and [[Boarstall]] for example) were under constant conflict for the duration of the war, given their equidistance between Parliamentarian Aylesbury and Royalist [[Oxford]]. 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 and [[Newport Pagnell]] was Parliamentarian: the line of control between the sides echoed the [[Danegeld]] 700 years earlier.

==Industrial revolution==
The [[Industrial Revolution]] and the arrival of the [[railway]] completely changed the landscape of certain parts of the county.  [[Wolverton, Milton Keynes|Wolverton]] in the north (now part of [[Milton Keynes]]) became a national centre for [[railway carriage]] construction, and [[furniture]] and [[paper]] industries took hold in the south. In the centre of the county, the [[lace]] industry was introduced and grew rapidly, because it gave employment to women and children from poorer families.  [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] was once quoted as preferring "Bucks lace" for her [[pillow]]s. Buckinghamshire still has good rail links to London, [[Birmingham]] and [[Manchester]] and furniture is still a major industry in parts of south Bucks.

In the early to mid [[Victorian era]] a major [[cholera]] [[epidemic]] and agricultural [[famine]] took their hold on the [[farm]]ing industry which for so many years had been the stable mainstay for the county. Migration from the county to nearby [[city|cities]] 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, the [[Rothschild banking family of England|Rothschilds]], arrived in Bucks during this time and they built or renovated a [[Rothschild properties in England|wealth of magnificent houses]] in the county.

==20th century urbanisation==
Mass [[urbanization|urbanisation]] of the very north and south of the county took place in the 20th century, which saw the [[new town]] of [[Milton Keynes]] being formed and [[Slough]] 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) become [[Unitary authority|unitary authorities]] in their own right and are administratively distinct from the area controlled by [[Buckinghamshire Council]]. Milton Keynes remains within the boundaries of the [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] of [[Buckinghamshire]], but Slough was transferred in 1974 to [[Berkshire]].

Today, Buckinghamshire is considered by many to be the idyllic rural landscape of [[Edwardian]] fiction and is known colloquially as ''leafy Bucks''. This point of view is supported by much of the area being classed as [[Green Belt]] land, and has led to many parts of the county being very popular with [[commuter]]s for London, which in turn has led to an increase in the general cost of living for local people. However, pockets of [[poverty]] still remain in the county, particularly in the large towns of Aylesbury and [[High Wycombe]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
* [[History of Milton Keynes]]
* [[History of England]]
* [[Buckinghamshire (UK Parliament constituency)]]

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{{History of England|bar=yes}}

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[[Category:History of Buckinghamshire| ]]
[[Category:History of England by county|Buckinghamshire]]