High Wycombe
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High Wycombe Buckinghamshire Historic Towns Assessment Report Wickham from the Marlow Road by W. Turner 1803 – Etching with watercolour High Wycombe Historic Town Assessment Final Report The Buckinghamshire Historic Towns Project was carried out between 2008 and 2012 by Buckinghamshire County Council with the sponsorship of English Heritage and the support Wycombe District Council © Buckinghamshire County Council 2011 Report produced by David Green and Ruth Beckley Historical documentary report by Peter Diplock, Leicester University All the mapping contained in this report is based upon the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office © Crown copyright. All rights reserved 100021529 (2011) All historic mapping contained in this report © Intermap Technologies Ltd All Historic Photographs are reproduced courtesy of the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies unless otherwise stated. Copies of this report and further information can be obtained from: Buckinghamshire County Council Planning Advisory and Compliance Service, Place Service, Buckinghamshire County Council County Hall Aylesbury Bucks HP20 1UY Tel: 01296 382656 Email: [email protected] 2 Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 6 I DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................. 11 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Project Background and Purpose .......................................................................................... 11 1.2 Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 11 2 Setting ............................................................................................................................................. 18 2.1 Location, Topography & Geology .......................................................................................... 18 2.2 Wider Landscape ................................................................................................................... 18 3 Evidence .......................................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Historic Maps .......................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Documentary Evidence .......................................................................................................... 20 3.3 Built Heritage .......................................................................................................................... 20 3.4 Archaeological Evidence ........................................................................................................ 22 3.5 Environmental Evidence ........................................................................................................ 30 4 Archaeological & Historical Development ................................................................................... 36 4.1 Prehistoric period (c.10,000 BC – AD 43) .............................................................................. 36 4.2 Roman period (AD 43 – 410) ................................................................................................. 38 4.3 Saxon period (AD 410 – 1066)............................................................................................... 43 4.4 Medieval period (1066-1536) ................................................................................................. 48 4.5 Post medieval period (1536-1800) ......................................................................................... 60 4.6 Modern period (1800-Present) ............................................................................................... 71 II ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................................. 98 5 Designations ................................................................................................................................... 98 5.1 Conservation Areas (I) ........................................................................................................... 98 5.2 Registered Parks and Gardens .............................................................................................. 98 5.3 Archaeological Notification Areas .......................................................................................... 98 5.4 Scheduled Monuments .......................................................................................................... 98 6 Historic Urban Zones ................................................................................................................... 101 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 101 6.2 Historic Urban Zones ........................................................................................................... 101 6.3 Archaeological Assessment ................................................................................................. 101 6.4 Heritage Values .................................................................................................................... 103 6.5 Historic Settlement ............................................................................................................... 106 6.6 Modern Settlement ............................................................................................................... 116 III RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................. 130 7 Management Recommendations ................................................................................................ 130 7.1 Conservation Area Appraisals .............................................................................................. 130 7.2 Registered Parks and Gardens ............................................................................................ 130 7.3 Archaeological Notification Areas ........................................................................................ 130 7.4 Scheduled Monuments ........................................................................................................ 130 8 Research Agenda ......................................................................................................................... 131 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 132 9 Addresses ..................................................................................................................................... 135 1 Appendix: Chronology & Glossary of Terms ............................................................................ 136 1.1 Chronology (taken from Unlocking Buckinghamshire’s Past Website) ................................ 136 1.2 Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................................ 136 2 Appendix: HER Records .............................................................................................................. 138 2.1 Monuments HER Report ...................................................................................................... 138 2.2 Landscapes HER Reports .................................................................................................... 145 2.3 Find Spots ............................................................................................................................ 145 2.4 Listed Buildings .................................................................................................................... 153 3 Appendix: Trade Listings and Population Data ........................................................................ 158 4 Appendix: Historical Consultancy Report ................................................................................. 161 High Wycombe Historic Town Assessment Final Report List of Illustrations Figure 1: Urban Character Zones for High Wycombe ............................................................................... 8 Figure 2: High Wycombe in location ........................................................................................................ 12 Figure 3: Geology of town (BGS) ............................................................................................................ 13 Figure 4: Superficial geology around Wycombe...................................................................................... 14 Figure 5: Diagram of Connections from High Wycombe (representational only) .................................... 15 Figure 6: High Wycombe in the wider historic landscape using Bucks HLC ........................................... 16 Figure 7: Dispersed settlement around High Wycombe .......................................................................... 17 Figure 8: Listed Buildings by century .....................................................................................................