Aylesbury History Modern Aylesbury Trade And Industry

The town name is Anglo-Saxon though excavations in the town centre in the early 1990s found a settlement dating from around 1500 BC. It is not known whether the hill on which the town centre is built is naturally occurring or man-made. Aylesbury was a major market town in Anglo-Saxon times, which was famous as the burial place of Saint Osyth. The Early English parish church of St. Mary (with many later additions) is built over remains of the Saxon crypt. At the Conquest, the king took the manor of Aylesbury for himself, and it is listed as a royal manor in the Domesday Book, 1086.

In 1450 a religious institution called the Guild of St Mary was founded in Aylesbury by Chancellor Cardinal Kemp and the Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York Primate of England, is the metropolitan of the Province of York, and the junior of the two archbishops of the Church of England, after the Archbishop of Canterbury. His cathedral is York Minster in central York and his official resi. 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 final outcome of the Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses 1455 to 1487, is the name generally given to the intermittent civil war fought over the throne of England between adherents of the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Both houses were branches of the Plantagenet royal house, tr. Its premises at the Chantry in Church Street, Aylesbury, are still there, though today it is occupied mainly by almshouses.

Aylesbury was declared the county town of Buckinghamshire in 1529Events April 22 Treaty of Saragossa divides the western hemisphere between Spain and Portugal that the dividing line should lay 297. 5 leagues west of the Moluccas. Spain gets monetary compensation in return for giving Portugal more territory that was in by King Henry VIII: Aylesbury Manor was among the many properties belonging to the father of the infamous Anne BoleynHans Holbein the Younger. Legend has it that this image is the basis for the queens in a deck of cards, but the actual inspiration was Anne's mother-in-law Elizabeth of York Anne Boleyn, Marchioness of Pembroke (about 1507 May 19, 1536) was the second wif and it is rumoured that the change was made by the king in order to curry favour with the manor. (Previously the county town of Buckinghamshire was BuckinghamThis article is about the town of Buckingham in Buckinghamshire, England. For other places in the world called Buckingham see Buckingham (disambiguation Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire approximately 10 miles from the border with Nor).

The town played a large part in the English Civil WarThe English Civil War is the period of conflict in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland between 1639 and 1651, and also refers specifically to the two wars ( 1642 1645 and 1648 1649) between the Royalist supporters of Charles I of England and the when it became a stronghold for the ParliamentarianA parliamentarian is a specialist in parliamentary procedure. The adjective parliamentarian refers to any person or thing especially associated with a parliament (see parliamentary system). A Parliamentarian (as an upper-cased noun) often labels a Member forces. This is due to its proximity to Great Hampden, home of John Hampden. Hampden is now considered a local hero to the town: his silhouette is on the emblem used by Aylesbury Vale District Council and his statue stands prominently in the town centre.

The Jacobean mansion of Hartwell nearby was the residence of Louis XVIII during his exile (1810 - 1814). The town also received international publicity in the 1960s when the culprits responsible for the Great Train Robbery were tried at Aylesbury Crown Court. The robbery took place at Bridego Bridge , a railway bridge at Ledburn, about six miles from the town.

2 Modern Aylesbury

Aylesbury's population is soon to increase further during the years 2003 and 2005 due to the inclusion of a new housing estate designed to cater for 8000 people on the North side of Aylesbury sandwiched between the A41 ( Akeman Street) and the A413.

Housing estates in the modern Aylesbury include: Bedgrove, Broughton, Elm Farm, Elmhurst, Fairford Leys, Meadowcroft, Prebendal Farm, Quarrendon, Southcourt, Stoke Grange, Walton Court and Watermead.

The local radio station is Mix 96.

3 Trade and industry

Traditionally the town was a commercial centre with a market dating back to the Saxon period. This is because it was established on the main Akeman Street which became an established trade route linking London to the south west. In 1180 a gaol was established in the town (it is still there though has moved locations two or three times) which only really happened in main towns across the country.

By 1477 flour was being ground in the town for surrounding parishes. By the modern period this had grown into a huge established industry: the last mill in Aylesbury was closed in the 1970s. By 1560 the manufacture of needles had become a huge industry in Aylesbury, and was the only place in the country where needles were made.

In 1672 poor children in Buckinghamshire were taught to make lace as a way to make a living. Bucks lace as it became known quickly became very sought after and production boomed as the lace was mainly made by poor women and children. The lace-making industry had died out by Victorian times, however, as new machine-made lace became preferable.

In 1764 Euclid Neale opened his clockmaking workshop in Aylesbury. In the 18th century he was one of the best clock makers in the country.

In 1814 the Aylesbury arm of the Grand Union Canal was opened bringing major industry to the town for the first time. By the late 19th century the printers and bookbinders Hazell, Watson and Viney and the Nestlé dairy were the two main employers in the town, employing more than half the total population.

Today the town is still a major commercial centre and the market still meets on the cobbles of the old Market Square four days a week. Nestle and Hazell, Watson and Viney have both gone, though three major industrial centres make sure the town has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

4 Geography

Aylesbury is located at 51°50'00" North, 00°50'00" West (51.8333, -0.8333) ¹.

5 See also

Aylesbury Prison

6 External links

Aylesbury Vale District Council's website

Towns in Buckinghamshire

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1 History