Thame in Trust

Thame in Trust A Vision and Action Plan 2004 - 2007 Draft 3 1 24 May 2006 Contents Page Foreword and Acknowledgements (Still to be drafted) 1 Introduction • History and Development of the Town • Thame Today and Tomorrow • Community Plan 2000 Objectives 2 The Healthcheck • The Launch • A Town Partnership • The Catchment Area 3 Key findings • A -Economy • B -Environment • C -Social and Community • D -Transport and Access 4 The Vision • The Vision Statement • Strategic Aims 5 The Action Plan 6 Appendices (still to be compiled) • Thame, A Snapshot • The Steering Group • The Working Groups • The Catchment Area • Links to other Strategies • Surveys Draft 3 2 24 May 2006 PHOTOGRAPH OF THAME HIGH STREET AND TOWN HALL TODAY: Draft 3 3 24 May 2006 1. INTRODUCTION 600’s, which was subsequently replaced by the Normans. The position History and Development of of Thame as the market town for the neighbourhood meant that there was a the Town full range of trades and crafts, from fishmonger and horsemonger to Our knowledge of the town’s history saddler and parchment-maker, with the begins in the Anglo Saxon period, bakers and brewers probably thanks to evidence revealing a possible predominating. The craft for which Saxon settlement by the River Thame, Thame gained a wider reputation was a theory strengthened by stray finds of that of glass painting, much of the jewellery and pottery. glass in Merton College Chapel being made by Thame glaziers. It is probable that Roman contact existed at Thame, the evidence William Forrest, one of the monks at including a coin of Julius Caesar, found Thame Abbey, has been portrayed as in the Recreation Ground in the early a ‘minor’ poet, and “Grysilde the 1870s and, various artefacts found Second”, written in 1558 gives an during works near the British Oxygen account of the divorce of Henry V111. site. It describes the journey of the King and Anne Boleyn through Thame – “that The Norman Conquest in 1066 brought gentle market towne” – at Michaelmas about some expansion for Thame. So 1530, with Katherine of Aragon enormous was the diocese of Lincoln following behind. ” that its bishops divided it up into a number of prebends for its better Following the dissolution of the administration at a time when travelling monasteries and the disposal of much was an adventure not to be lightly of the Church land, the 16 th century undertaken. Thame was one of these was a period of increasing prosperity prebends and the Prebendal was built and development in the town. The to house the reeve or bishop’s market brought great numbers of representative. people to the centre, encouraging secondary trades, notably innkeepers Thame’s significance as a market town and victuallers (of whom there were 20 was established in 1219 when the in 1587). Bishop of Lincoln, keen that any traveller should patronise his market, Lord Williams, who had been a minor obtained a licence to divert the Oxford- figure in Elizabethan political history, Aylesbury road so that it passed right was nevertheless a major figure in through the market place. The Bishop Thame and in the county of Oxford. As stood to gain a sizeable sum in the way a landowner, Member of Parliament of tolls, stall fees and the fines of unruly and Sheriff he represented both attenders. nationally. In his will of 18 March 1559, Lord Williams bequeathed property to There is little evidence of the town’s sustain ‘a free school in the town of development during the later Middle Thame’. He also founded the attractive Ages although North Street appears to th black-timbered almshouses in Church have been in existence by the 15 Road. century. The present St Mary’s Church was built in 1241. There is evidence of By all accounts, the 16 th century a church on the same site in the late schoolboy at Lord Williams’s had a Draft 3 4 24 May 2006 hard life. Pupils were expected to attend school from 6 am to 11 am and 1 pm to 6 pm (an hour earlier in winter). Paradoxically, the relative poverty of The boys had to pay for candles to light the town and the lack of any large- their gloom during those dim hours, for scale redevelopment have led to its cleaning materials, and for ‘rods’ to be current fortune in possessing several punished with. Knowledge was examples of timber-framed buildings frequently beaten in rather than from the late Middle Ages. imparted, although the statutes contained a specific instruction that Thame Today and Tomorrow chastisement was to be confined to the nether quarters and not the head. Today, Thame is an attractive and expanding market town. The Civil War in the 1640’s saw Thame as a “no-man’s land” between opposing During the 1970s and ‘80s Thame grew forces, the King and Rupert holding rapidly. New homes were built to the Oxford, while the Parliament held north and east of the town and Aylesbury. John Hampden, the great according to the 2001 Census the Parliamentarian (and cousin of Oliver population exceeded 11,000. Cromwell), had been a pupil of Lord Williams’s. He died in Thame in 1643 The long boat-shaped main street after being wounded at the Battle of remains remarkably wide and lined with Chalgrove. a remarkable number of ancient inns and houses in a variety of styles and The Civil War did not affect the materials, creating a scene that has importance of the market and in the th been described as ‘picturesque in an early years of the 17 century the rise unpretentious way’. of wool stapling contributed to Thame reaching the peak of its wealth and Market towns always have challenges importance as a prosperous market to face and the Town Council town. The peak soon passed. The continuously strives to keep abreast of lack of any staple industry and the those challenges and plan for the consequent dependence on agriculture future. In response to concerns about caused a rapid decline in the town’s th recreational and community facilities income during the last part of the 18 and, in particular, to address the needs century and particularly later between of young people in the town, a group 1815-1888 because of a slump in was formed in 1996 to produce a agriculture. Community Plan for Thame, which was revised in 2000. (PHOTOGRAPH HERE: 1960’s SHOWING LARGE SPACE FOR Voluntary groups have instigated a MARKETS) number of actions from that plan but further progress has been difficult to assess because the plan required updating. This Market Town Healthcheck will produce an Action Plan to replace the old one. The plan will be comprehensive, with regular monitoring and feedback. Draft 3 5 24 May 2006 Community Plan 2000 Objectives b) ‘to establish a youth council.’ a) ‘to investigate the provision of a The Town Council invited young people swimming pool’ to an informal gathering in April 2003 to gauge the enthusiasm for forming a A primary objective of the previous youth council . At the end of the Community Plan consultation was the meeting six young people expressed provision of a swimming pool in their interest in creating a steering Thame. This had been identified in the group to further the formation of a South Oxfordshire Local Plan in 1997, youth council. Adult members included and came after forty years of lobbying Councillors, the Head of Sixth Form at by local people. The Town Council Lord Williams’s School and the Leader worked in partnership with the District of the First Thame Scout Group. The and County Councils to provide a Youth Council was launched in swimming pool. A site was identified November 2003. on the edge of the town adjacent to a thriving sports centre now known as c) ‘to increase local knowledge and Thame Leisure Centre. understanding of Thame’s heritage’ The Earl and Countess of Wessex officially opened the Jubilee Pool in In 1992, reorganisation of the January 2003. Construction of the pool magistrates’ service led to the closure was funded by the sale of the Town of many of the smaller courthouses in Council land known as Pickenfield, England and Wales and Thame was no which was purchased by Wates Homes exception. Despite a vigorous appeal for a housing development. The public by the County Council, it finally closed open space lost by the sale of in January 2003 and all magistrates Pickenfield was replaced by new business was transferred to Oxford playing fields created at Church Farm City. The building lay empty for about beside Thame’s northeastern link road. a year and was then offered for sale by the County Council. Insert photo Countess Wessex opening pool Meanwhile, the Thame Historical Society, which had been searching for a building suitable for a local museum for some years, approached the Town Council about the possibility of purchasing the Court House. A Museum Working Group was formed with a number of partners who worked hard to achieve the purchase of the building by the Town Council in March 2004. Subsequently a Museum Trust was formed and is responsible for overseeing the conversion of the building to a museum expected to open in 2005. Draft 3 6 24 May 2006 d) to develop an outdoor recreation site March 2002 saw the opening of a skate park at the Church Farm site. In July 2004 a new ramp was installed there, providing the opportunity for more advanced skateboarding. Insert photo skate ramp Draft 3 7 24 May 2006 2. HEALTHCHECK that had evolved from the Thame Community Plan.

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