Reviving and thriving, the medieval market town of Buckingham has a rich history – and a bright future

I’m in jail, but it’s a lot of fun. Built in the style of a mini castle by local architect Sir Gilbert Scott, the 18th-century Old Gaol is Buckingham’s landmark building.

In the past, poachers were often held there because Lord Cobham of nearby Stowe House was a strict enforcer of the game laws. Today it is a fascinating museum of local history. In the tenth century Buckingham lay on the border between Saxon and Danish lands. It became an important border post when Edward the Elder, son of King Alfred, fortified the hill at the bend of the River Ouse.

It became a provincial town and received a royal charter. Its heyday was the medieval period, when the market flourished (a thriving modern version is held every Tuesday and Saturday). At the museum you will learn the story of the Lenborough Hoard, the largest Anglo-Saxon coin find ever, discovered on nearby farmland in 2014. The hoard, from the reigns of Kings Aelthelred and Cnut, contained 5,248 silver pennies and two half pennies. valued at £1.3 million.

A few years later came another exciting find in the form of a rare gold ‘half-angel’ from the reign of Richard III, discovered by a metal detector enthusiast. The beautiful coin is the only one of its kind on display anywhere. Buckingham is a rare example of a town within a river loop. After a good look at the museum, even more insight into Buckingham’s past comes courtesy of local historian Ian Orton.

Ian explains that the town name is derived from ‘pasture of Bucca’s people’, with Bucca being a prominent Anglo-Saxon settler. Meanwhile, the glory days ended with the Great Fire of 1725, which destroyed much of the center and left more than 500 homeless.

Throwing off the shackles: On a tour of Buckingham, Neil Clark visits the Old Gaol Museum, which reflects a mini-castle

Buckingham’s heyday was the medieval period, when the market flourished, says Neil, noting that a thriving modern version is held there every Tuesday and Saturday.

Where to stay: the four-star Villiers Hotel in Buckingham

Double rooms at the Villiers Hotel (pictured above) cost from £108 B&B

Villiers Hotel is a renovated 16th century coaching inn

Elegant Georgian architecture replaced the burned-out buildings. For a taste of older, Tudor Buckingham, head to Church Street. Ian points out the half-timbered ‘Twisted Chimney House’ and a 16th-century country house where Elizabeth I is said to have dined.

We walk past the 18th century Buckingham Parish Church to the Old Churchyard, site of the original 13th century church and a plaque to the town’s own saint, St Rumbold, buried in the church. Buckingham’s population declined between the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 1966 the Beeching ax saw the last freight trains at the station. The MP then was not someone the town is likely to want to remember – a certain Robert Maxwell (who represented Buckingham from 1964 to 1970).

But there has been a revival since the 1980s, starting with the founding of the University of Buckingham, Britain’s first private university. Lady Thatcher was the second Chancellor, succeeding Lord Hailsham.

Neil discovers that the town name is derived from ‘meadow of Bucca’s people’, with Bucca being a prominent Anglo-Saxon settler

Neil stops at the White Hart (above), a ‘beautiful’ 18th century inn on the market square

A ‘proper lunch’ costs £8.99 at the White Hart (above), which has recently been refurbished

Doubles is available at the White Hart from £41 (greeneking.co.uk)

Above is White Hart’s bar, where Neil enjoys a liquid refreshment

You can’t help but admire the campus on the river, with its weir and old mill. The setting made me wish I was a student again.

After the tour it was time for liquid refreshment at the White Hart, a beautiful 18th century inn on Market Square, where a good lunch costs £8.99.

Buckingham may have lost its county town status to Aylesbury 500 years ago, but it has retained a status all its own.