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High Wycombe

High Wycombe (pronounced /haɪ ˈwɪkəm/), (previously Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe as late as 1911)^[2] is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 29 miles (47 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town. According to the 2001 census High Wycombe had a population of 92,300, making it the largest town in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire now that Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area, and the second largest in the ceremonial county. The High Wycombe Urban Area, the conurbation of which the town is the largest component has a population of 118,219.

High Wycombe is mostly an unparished area in the Wycombe district. Part of the urban area constitutes a civil parish of Chepping Wycombe, which had a population of 14,455 according to the 2001 census — this parish represents that part of the ancient parish of Chepping Wycombe which was outside the former municipal borough of Wycombe.

Wycombe is a combination of industrial and market town, with a traditional emphasis on furniture production. There has been a market held in the High Street since at least Medieval times. The town has always had a presence of industry, which in the 17th century exceeded the market town and now Wycombe remains more industrial in character.

An interesting and individual custom of High Wycombe is that it is the only place in the world that weighs its Mayors.^[3]

History

The name Wycombe comes from the river Wye, and the old English word for a wooded valley, combe. Wycombe appears in the Domesday Book and was noted for having six mills. The town once featured a Roman Villa (2 A.D) which was excavated three times, most recently in 1954. Mosaics and a bathhouse were uncovered at the site on what is now the Rye parkland. High Wycombe was the site of a minor English Civil War battle featuring John Hampden, and the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

The existence of a settlement at High Wycombe was first documented in 970, as Wicumun. The Parish church was consecrated by the visiting Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester in 1086. The town received market borough status in 1237, although the market has featured in the town since early in the 12th century.

High Wycombe remained a mill town through Medieval and Tudor times, with the manufacture of lace and linen cloth. It was also used as a stopping point on the way from Oxford to London, with many travellers staying in the town's taverns and inns. The paper industry was the most notable in 17th and 18th century High Wycombe. The Wye's waters were rich in chalk, and therefore ideal for bleaching the pulp. The paper industry had soon overtaken from cloth.

Wycombe's most famous industry, furniture (particularly chairs) took hold in the 19th century, with furniture factories setting up all over the town. Many terraced workers houses were built to the east and west of town to accommodate those working in the furniture factories. In 1875, it was estimated that there were 4,700 chairs made per day in High Wycombe. The town's population grew from 13,000 residents in 1881, to 29,000 in 1928. When Queen Victoria visited the town in 1877, the council organised an arch of chairs to be erected over the High Street, with the words "Long live the Queen" printed boldly across the arch for the Queen to pass under. Wycombe was completely dominated socially and economically by the industry and, consequently, there was considerable unemployment and social problems when the industry declined in the 1960s.

By the 1920s, many of the housing areas of Wycombe had decayed into slum conditions. A slum clearance scheme was produced by the council, whereby many areas were completely demolished and the residents were re-housed in new estates, that sprawled above the town on the valley slopes. Some of the districts demolished were truly decrepit, such as Newlands, where most of the houses were condemned unfit for human habitation, with sewage pouring down the street and people sharing one room in cramped courtyards of subdivided flats. However, some areas such as St. Mary's Street contained beautiful old buildings with fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture, which was a terrible shame and an injustice to the town.

From 1940 to 1968 High Wycombe was the seat of the RAF Bomber Command. Add to this, during World War II, from May 1942 to July 1945, the U.S. Army Air Force's 8th Air Force Bomber Command was based at a former girls' school at High Wycombe. This became formally Headquarters, 8th Air Force, on 22 February 1944.^[4] Since 1968 all commands of the Royal Air Force are housed in High Wycombe.

In the 1960s the town centre was redeveloped. This involved culverting the River Wye under concrete, and demolishing most of the old buildings in Wycombe's town centre. Two shopping centres were built along with many new multi-storey car parks, office blocks, flyovers and roundabouts. Areas of cottages and period buildings have been replaced with a town centre which looked like any other built in the aesthetically challenged decade of the 1960s. On the open area known as Frogmoor the original cast iron fountain and some Georgian buildings have gone. A recent town centre regeneration project (the 'Eden Project') was originally going to uncover the Wye, however in a change of plan the new shopping centre has been built over the whole area, right up to the road which runs parallel with the river.

Modern Day High Wycombe

High Wycombe comprises a number of suburbs including Booker, Bowerdean, Castlefield, Cressex, Daws Hill, Downley, Green Street, Holmers Farm, Micklefield, Sands, Terriers, Totteridge and Wycombe Marsh, as well as four former nearby villages: Hazlemere and Tylers Green.

Although situated in the county of Buckinghamshire which is one of the most affluent parts of the country^[5] Wycombe contains some considerably deprived areas.^[6] In 2007, a GMB Union survey ranked the Wycombe district as the 4th dirtiest in the South East and the 26th dirtiest in the whole UK.^[7][8] The survey found litter on 28.5% of streets and highways. Data for the survey was taken from the Government's 2005/06 Audit Commission.

The town is currently undergoing a large redevelopment of the centre, including the development of the town's existing shopping centre and the completion of the new Eden Shopping centre and the redevelopment of the Buckinghamshire New University with a large student village and new building on Queen Alexandra road.

These two developments have brought new life to the town and caused an influx of interest in the town^{[citation needed]}, with larger apartment buildings and a new multi-million pound hotel being built in the centre and a new Sainsbury's store on the Oxford road next to the Eden shopping centre and bus station.

Weighing the Mayor

A traditional ceremony of the town since the medieval period is the weighing of the mayor, where at the beginning and end of the mayor's serving year, they are weighed in full view of the public to see whether or not they have gained weight at the taxpayers' expense. This custom is still in use, and the same weighing apparatus is used as in the 19th century. The Town Crier announces "And no more!" if the Mayor has not put weight on or "And some more!" if they have. The actual weight of the Mayor is not declared.

Demographics

High Wycombe's population figure differs due to the varying definitions of the town's area. The town proper (that is with none of the suburbs) is 77,178. However Hazlemere is now regarded as a suburb of Wycombe and so the population of High Wycombe town is 92,300. The High Wycombe urban area (with some surrounding settlements) population is 118,229.

Politics

Wycombe's political history spans back to 1295. The Wycombe constituency is currently Conservative voting. The constituency contains strong Conservative areas outside High Wycombe town, and the town itself where the Liberal Democrats gain some support, as well as the Conservatives. Over the years it has been a mix of Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

High Wycombe has been home to two Prime Ministers; the Earl of Shelburne lived at what is now Wycombe Abbey (and was also MP for the town), and Benjamin Disraeli, who was defeated as an independent candidate in 1832. Disraeli made his first political speech in Wycombe, from the portico over the door of the Red Lion Hotel on the High Street (now Woolworths/Maven Management).

Education

Buckinghamshire is one of the few counties that still has a selective educational system. Students in their last year at primary school take what is commonly known as the 11+ exam. Their score in this exam determines whether they are accepted into a grammar school or a secondary modern school.

Primary Schools

Ash Hill Primary School

Beechview School

Booker Hill School

Carrington Junior School

Castlefield School

Cedar Park School

Chepping View Primary School

Hamilton Primary School

Hannah Ball Infant School

Hazlemere Church of England Combined School

High Wycombe Church of England Combined School

Highworth Combined School and Nursery

Juniper Hill School

Kings Wood Combined School

Loudwater Combined School

Manor Farm Combined School

Marsh School

Millbrook Combined School

Naphill and Walters Ash School

Oakridge School

St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

St Paul's Church of England Combined School

The Disraeli School

The Downley School

Secondary Schools

Cressex Community School

Highcrest Community School

John Hampden Grammar School

Pipers Corner School

Sir William Ramsay School

St Bernard's Catholic School

The Royal Grammar School

Wycombe High School

Independent Schools

Crown House School

Godstowe Preparitory School

The Wycombe Abbey School for girls.

Further and Higher Education

Amersham & Wycombe College is a further education college located close to High Wycombe at Flackwell Heath. It also has campuses at Chesham and Amersham. High Wycombe is home to the main campus of Buckinghamshire New University (BNU). The university located in the centre of the town on the former site of the High Wycombe College of Art and Technology. It received its university charter in Summer 2007.

Media

High Wycombe has featured in the national media in recent history for a number of different reasons including seasonal coverage of the local library's refusal to display a Christmas carol service poster and more serious stories such as the triple shooting of three young Asian men; a small-scale riot between feuding families and gangs in which knives, metal poles, and an axe were used, whilst a gunman sprayed bullets; and the shooting and murder of Natasha Derby at point-blank range in the middle of a busy dancefloor at town centre venue.

The town made national and international media after anti-terrorism raids were carried out across the town on 10 August 2006, as part of the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot. Five arrests were made from three different houses in the Totteridge and Micklefield areas of the town. A small number of houses in High Wycombe were evacuated in Walton Drive, which is thought to be because one of the houses raided contained dangerous liquid chemicals.

A three mile no-flight zone was issued over the town. Other raids and arrests were also made in East London and Birmingham.

King's Wood to the north of the town was cordoned off for four months to be searched by police, and many suspicious items have allegedly been found including explosives, detonators, weapons and hate tapes. Other woodlands in the Booker area of the town, the M40 at High Wycombe and nearby woods were also under observation. Explosive officers were called to the motorway as were forensic officers. A lane of the motorway was closed as a precaution.

Famous residents (past and present)

Colin Baker - Actor, who played Dr Who, and columnist for the Bucks Free Press.^[9]

Dominic Blizzard - Footballer currently playing for Bristol Rovers.

Heston Blumenthal - Celebrity chef and owner of the 3-Michelin star Fat Duck restaurant. He was born in the town.^[10]

Judy Boucher - A country and RnB singer originally from St. Vincent.

Fern Britton - TV presenter.

Jimmy Carr - TV & stand-up comedian. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.^[11]

Simon Church - Welsh international footballer.

James Corden - Actor and writer.

Matt Dawson - England rugby union scrum half who won the rugby world cup in 2003. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.^[12]

Geoffrey De Havilland - Aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer. Born at Terriers House.

Benjamin Disraeli - Politician, Prime Minister & literary figure.^[13]

Luke Donald - Golfer, educated at the Royal Grammar School.

Ian Dury - Rock & roll singer and songwriter. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.^[14]

Paul Galbraith - Former England volleyball player.

Eric Gill - Sculptor and print maker.^[15]

Isa Guha - England Women's cricketer and Women's World Cup winner.

Alex Kew - Actor and musician.

Adam Paul Harvey - Actor.

Aaron Johnson- Actor.^[16]

Howard Jones - Singer and Songwriter.^[17]

Mike Keen - Former footballer & manager, winner of the League Cup in 1967.

Robbie Kerr - Motor racing driver current member of the British A1GP team.^[18]

Sally Philips - Comic actress.^[19]

Karl Popper - Philosopher.^[20]

Tom Rees - England and London Wasps Rugby Flanker.^[21]

Nicola Sanders - Olympic athlete.

Dusty Springfield - Popular Singer.^[22]

Heather Stewart-Whyte - Supermodel.

Frankie Vaughan - Traditional pop singer.

Makosi Musambasi - 'Housemate' in Big Brother 6 (2005).

Mighty Boosh stars Noel Fielding and Dave Brown both met when they attended Bucks New University in Wycombe. Julian Barratt then joined the group after Fielding scouted him performing in the Wycombe Swan theatre.

Road

The town's nearest motorway is the M40 which has two junctions serving Wycombe- junction 3 for Loudwater and High Wycombe (east) and junction 4 at Handy Cross roundabout, for central Wycombe, Marlow and the surrounding area. Junction 4 is a major interchange between the M40 and A404 trunk road. It suffered from heavy congestion but was improved by the Highways Agency in 2006.^[23] Junction 3 is restricted, only traffic going towards and coming from London can join and exit respectively. The M25 and M4 are also fairly close. Other roads include the A404 towards Marlow and Amersham, the A4010 towards Aylesbury and the A40 towards Beaconsfield and Oxford.

Bus

Green Route 31 - Arriva, every 15 minutes to Penn, Hazlemere and Downley;

Blue Route 32 - Arriva, every 15 minutes to Micklefield and Booker;

Red Route 33 - Arriva, every 12 minutes to Totteridge and Castlefield (including evening service 34);

Purple Route 35/36 - Carousel Buses, every 30 minutes to Flackwell Heath;

Orange Route 39 - Arriva, every 30 minutes to Hicks Farm.

Rainbow Routes website [1]

Rail

High Wycombe railway station is the only railway station in the town and is on the Chiltern Main Line with services to London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill as well as services to Aylesbury via Princes Risborough. The station is the busiest in South Buckinghamshire. It is possible to reach London in 30 minutes on faster trains, slower ones can take up to 45 minutes. The Wycombe Railway ran from High Wycombe to Maidenhead, through Loudwater and Bourne End. However this was the victim of the Beeching Axe with the Wycombe to Bourne End section closed in the 1970s. The southern section remains open as part of the Marlow Branch Line.

Air

Heathrow Airport is the nearest international airport, located just outside Buckinghamshire in Hillingdon. Wycombe Air Park on the southern edge of the town is popular with learning pilots and gliders. RAF High Wycombe (site of RAF Air Command), a station without a runway, is located near the village of Walters Ash near High Wycombe. Close by, RAF Daws Hill(now closed) is between Flackwell Heath and High Wycombe centre.

Facilities and places of interest

The Antelope

Butlers (was once called the Toad)

The Falcon (JD Wetherspoons)

Scorpios (formerly Finn McCoul's)

The Bootlegger (formerly "The Flint Cottage" - pub made entirely from flints pieced together)

The Glasshouse

The Hobgoblin

The Iron Duke

Legends Bar

Litten Tree

Obsession Bar (connected to Pure nightclub)

O'Neills

The Nags Head (live music venue hosting bands of all different genres)

The Rose and Crown

The Roundabout

The White Horse (doubles as a strip club and a source for alternative music)

The William Robert Loosley (JD Wetherspoon)

Industry

Wycombe was once renowned for furniture making (the town's football team is nicknamed the 'Chairboys') and furniture design remains an important element of the town's university, Buckinghamshire New University. Among the best known furniture companies were Ercol and E Gomme. The River Wye runs through the valley, where beech trees were cut down by the furniture industry, forming the town centre (circa 1700), with housing along the slopes (some areas still surrounded by woods). More recent industries in the town include the production of paper, precision instruments, clothing and plastics. Many of these are situated in an industrial area of the Cressex district, to the south west of the town centre. The two largest sites are those belonging to the companies Swan (tobacco papers, filters and matches) and Verco (office furniture) who until 2004 sponsored the local football team, Wycombe Wanderers.

Local attractions

Bradenham

Chiltern Hills

Hughenden Manor

West Wycombe Caves

West Wycombe Park

Wycombe Museum

Odds Farm Park

Recreation

There is a gliding club and two flying schools at Wycombe Air Park, the modern name for Booker Airfield, to the south of the M40 motorway on the western edge of the town. Many of the replica aircraft used in the film industry, for example in films such as Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Aces High and The Blue Max were built and flown there. There is a restaurant (The Pad) with outdoor picnic tables that is open to visitors beneath the control tower. Wycombe Air Park is one of the busiest general aviation airfields in the UK. The Air Park is also home to Buckinghamshire Squash and Racketball Club.

There is also a large leisure centre to the south of town at the top of Marlow Hill. Many sporting activities take place here and there is an Olympic-sized swimming pool, the pool having can be split into two 25 metre pools with a raising and lowering wall. The leisure centre was designed by renowned architect John Attenborough. The council are currently finalising plans for the new centre, its location still not public knowledge.

Housing

A new experimental scheme to knock down old council flats in Micklefield and replace them with housing association properties was approved by John Prescott in 2003 after overwhelming approval by council residents. There are many different housing areas within the town, some of which such as the Castlefield district have gained a bad reputation for crime and drug related problems. Castlefield is also noted for being the most deprived estate in the county, with the highest level of child poverty in the whole of the Thames Valley.

The town is a diverse mixture of large council estates built in the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s which sprawl up the valley sides, compact Victorian terraces in the bottom of the valley to the east and west of town, and desirable areas for wealthy commuters. The Amersham Hill area is noted for its large period properties, and leafy streets. Recent developments are showing a tendency towards blocks of flats, and developers are mainly making use of brownfield sites.

Sport

The town's football team, Wycombe Wanderers F.C., play at Adams Park, named after Frank Adams who donated the old Loakes Park ground to the club. Wycombe will start the 2009-10 season in Football League One, where they have been promoted to for the first time since 2004 when they were relegated. In 2001 they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup under Lawrie Sanchez, with Keith Ryan scoring in a 2–1 defeat to Liverpool at Villa Park. They have also reached the last four of the 2006-07 Football League Cup, meeting former Premiership champions Chelsea F.C. in the two leg semi-final, in which they attracted media attention from the world over after holding the Premiership champions to a 1-1 draw in the home leg before being defeated away 4-0 in the fortress which is Stamford Bridge. However, their most prolific era was in the early '90s under the management of Martin O'Neill, who took the club from non-league status to Division Two (now League One). O'Neill then went on to Leicester City, Celtic and Aston Villa football clubs. Wycombe are now managed by former Aldershot Town and QPR manager Gary Waddock. London Wasps rugby union team have also played at Adams Park for home games since the 2002-03 season, during the club's most successful spell. Nicola Sanders, a female athlete who is current European Indoor Champion and World outdoor silver medalist on 400 metres, and also current world bronze on outdoor 4x400 metres relay, is an High Wycombe native. High Wycombe Amateur Boxing Club is located on Leigh Street.

Twin towns

Kelkheim, Germany

External links

Wycombe District Council

Wycombe - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article

High Wycombe's Amateur Boxing Gym homepage

Discussion of the origins of the word 'Bodger'

Saint Augustine's Church - High Wycombe

The local football club, Wycombe Wanderers

The High Wycombe Society, who wish to conserve the town as far as possible

A site devoted to the past and present of High Wycombe

London Wasps Rugby

Mix 107 - the local radio station

- the Parish Church

- SWOP - Sharing Wycombe's Old Photographs

- the High Wycombe Islamic Society