Index of Distances from Town to Town in the County of Buckingham
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B C ING A S I E lis an inland county, bounded on the east by Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and .Middlesex; on the west,. by Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire~ on the north, by Bedfordshire t'nd NorthampJonshire; and on the south, by BerRshire and a point of ~urrey. Its length from north to south is about 45 miles, and it& gJ·eatest breadth, cros~ing a slip of Her·tford:,hir·f', which intersects it on the east, to the e,treme of its western side, nearly 23 miles: its circumference is 138 miles, containing 518,400 etatute acres. NAME and ANCIENT HISTORY.-The present appellation of the county was given it Ly the Saxons, and is supposed to be derived from the beech trees which then grew :>o plentifully in these parts, and were called Buccum; or from the abundance of deer, which were found in the wood~, with which this country was covered : Buc, in the Saxon lauguage, signifying a buck or hart. This part of Britain, together with the adjoining counties of Bedfol'd and Hertford, before the im·asion of Cresar, was inhabited by the Cattieuch lani, who Wt're, in tl1e opinion of Camden, the ancient Cassii; and tht:rc are some remains of the name in Cashio hundred, and Cashiobury, adjoining Watford, in Hertfordshire. By the invasion of Aulus Plautius this country became subject to the imperial power, under Claudius Cresar, and then formed part of Bri tannia prima; and was afterwards included in the province of ' Flavia Cresariensis.' TJ1e Roman station llfagiovintum is pretty well ascertained to have been within the limits of this county, near Fenny Stratford : its site is cal\ed Auld fields, where abundance of coius, and foundations of buildings have often been discorered. SoiL, PRODUCE and CLIMATE.-The face of the county is exceedingly varied : the southern parts are oc cupied by the chiltern hills and their appendages, and are chiefly composed of chalk, intermixed with flints; and though very inferior to the northern district, with respect to richness of soil, ha,·e been rendered n:ry productive by the great attention given to the cultivation aud improvement of the laud. The prolific vale of Aylesbury spreads through the middle of the COUIJty, furnishing rich pMturage to vast numbers of cattle, aud supporting numerous dairy and grazing farms. The more northern parts are diwrsified with gtntle sand hilts; h~ving also pasture and meadow laud, with a small proportion of arablf'. The great wei!lht of butter annually made on the dairy farms, is mo~tly purchased by the London de-alers, who contract for it half yeat•ly; and the skim and butter milk an: employed in fattening numerous herds of swine. Great attention is give& tb the rearing early ducks, and the suckling cah·es for the metropolitan markets. The southern division of the county produces large quantities of tine beech; near a sixth -part of the land bet\1een the road to Oxford and the Thames is suppo~ed to be covered with that wood. The application of the soil in the chilte-m cjistrict is to the growth of wheat, barley, oats, beaus and saiufoin. The CLIMATE of this county is thought to be as favorable to health and longevity as any other in the kingdom. The air on tbe chiltern hills is remarkably healthy; and t>ven in the vales it is more :salubrious than in the low grounds of other counties. MANUFACTURES and TRADE.-The chief manufactures of this county are those of lace and paper, the forme~ giving employment to a great proportion of the females belonging to the humbler class. l\lany vt>ry young children are also employed in this m terestiug branch of manufactures, who make the edgings and narrower eort of laces ; and there are throughout the ':ounty many ~chools where the bobbins on the pillow are actively plyed, to the exclusion of the works of the sempstress. But this branch has suffered severely of late years; the article produced from the machines of Nottingham having shorn it, to a great extent, of its prosperity. Besides paper and lace, the trade of the county is of a general and agricultural nature, having a tolerably pros perous traffic in grain, timber, malt, &c. The grand junction tanal, which pas8es through this county, is of comsiderable impurtance to its trade, communicating with the metropolis, and, by its navigable cuts, al~o witll the principal towns in this and the neighbouring counties. RIVERS and CANALs.-The principal rivers from which this connty derives advantagrs are the THAMES, the OusE, and the COLNE. Th~ Thames forms part of the boundary, dividing it from Berkshire, during a comse of about thirty miles, and is navigable the whole of the way. fhe Ouse enters the western side of the county, and passing Water Stratford, Buckingham, Newport Pa~ne1 and Olney, leaves the county near Snelson. The Colne forms part of the eastern boundary of the county, separating it from Middlesex, and falls into the Thames between Ankerwyke and Staines. The Thame rises 11ear to the borders of the county, in Hertford shire, and after receiving the waters of several small streams, enters Oxfordshire near Thame, where it unites with the Isi!o, and both conjointly form the Thames. The only canal is the ~rand junction, above mentioned, which enters this county near Wolverton, and after passing several of the principal towns, leaves it near Mansworth. There are also cuts or branches communicating with Aylesbury, Buckingham and Wendover. Buckinghamshire is in the diocese of Lincoln, and iucluded in the Norfolk circuit~ it is divided into eie;ht hundreds, viz. AsHENDON, AvLESBURv,BucKINGHAM, BuRNHAM, CoTTESLOE, DESBOROUGH, NEWPORT and SToKE. These divisions collectively contain about two hundred parishes, one county town (Buckinghdm), and fourteen other market towns. The county sends fourteen members to parliament-two for the shire,. and two each for the boroughs of Amersham, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Great Marlow, Wendover and W,ycnmbe. The prf'sent representatives of the shire are the Marquis of Chandos & the Hon. Robert J. Smith. PoPULATION.-According to the census of 1821, there were hou~es inhabited in the county, 24,876; unin habited, 549; and houses buildi11g, 148. The number of families then resident in the county was 28,867; comprising 64,867 males, aud 69,201 females; total, 134,068: and by a calculation made by order of ~ovemment, which included persons in the army and navy, for which was added after the ratio of about one to thirty prior to the year 1811, and oue to fifty for that year and the census of 1821, to the returns made from t'he several districts ; the population of the county, in ronnd numbers, in the year 1700, was 80,500-in 1750, 90,700-in 1801, Ill.OOO-in 18ll, 121,600-and in 1821, 136,800. The increased population in the fifty years, from the year 1700, was 10,200-from 1750 to 1801, the increa.'~e was 20,300-from 1801 to 1811, the increase was 10,600-and fwm 1811 to 1821. the augmented number of persons was 15,200; the grand total i'ncrease in the population of the county from the year 1700 to the census of 1821, being about 56,300 persons. Index of Distances from Town to Town in the County of Buckingham. The names of the respective towns are on the top and side, and the square where both meet gives the distance. Distance from London. Amersham.......... • . • . • . • . • • • . • . • . • • • . • . • . • • • . • . 26 Aylesbury •••••••••• 15 Aylesbury.... • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 38 Beaconsfield • • • • .. • • 5 20 Beaeonsfield • . • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • 23 Buckingham •••••••. 32 17 35 Buckingham , • • • • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • 57 Chesham • . • . • • • • • • 3 13 8131 Cheshan1 • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • 28 .Fenny Stratford •••. 30 15 34 14 27 Fenny Stratford........ • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • 44 lvinghoe••••••••••.• 14 9 19 21 ll 12 lvmghoe •••••.•••.•••.•••••.•.•.•••• 33 l\Iarlow •••••••••••. 12122 8 36 15 33 21!\larlow •••...•...•••••••• , ....... 31 Newport Pagnell •••• 28 23 33j14 25 7 15 36 Newport Pagnell ••••••• , •••••.•• 51 Olney •••.•••••••••• 33 30 38 19 30 12 20 41 5 Olney •••••••••••••••••••.•• 56 Princes Risborough •. ll 8 14 26 13 23 24 13 23 28\Princes Risborough .••.•••. 37 Stoney Stratford .... 34 19 37 8 24 714 37 6 11 25 StonPy StratfoJ'd •.•.•••. 51 Wendover •••••••••. IO 51322 919 8162126 424Wendover ............. 35 Winslow ........... 25 l0j29 7 23 12 14 29 16 19 17 10 15/Winslow • . • • • . • . • • 48 Wycombe High •••. 117 534 9l27,151 5 29,34 8 321123 I Wycombe ...... 29 1 69 ~ucfdnnfJamsJJire. Nigot & Qto.'tf AMERSHAl\1 AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. A.MERSHAM, formerly spe1Ied .Agmond~sham, ie gothic architecture; and the interior is fitted up with an anrient and remarkably nt'at borough an et market remarkable neatness. 'J'he li\'ing, which is one of the town, in the hundred of Bum ham; 26 mile!! from hest in the connty, is a rectory in the gift of Thomas London, 32 from Buckingham, 15 from Aylesbm·v, Drake, esq. M.P., and in the enjoyment of the Rev. and 3 from Chesham. The town is finely situated in John Drake; his prt'sent curate is the Rev. Henry Ni.. a beautiful and fertile vale, between wood-clad hills, chobon. The other places of worship are two baptise and principally consists of one long and spacious well- chapels, called first and 5econd denominations, and a paved street, intersected near the centre by a !!maller meeting-hou:~e for the society of friends. The bap one. It is a parliamentary borough by prescription, tists are most ref'pectable congregations, and their and recovered its right of returning member~ to par- mini1-ters highly 'tespected : the first de.,omination is liament (which had been disused fo1·nearly 400 years) under the ministry of the Rev.