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Princes Risborough

Princes Risborough is a town and civil parish within the Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills on the historic trade route between Winchester and Cambridge. Adjacent to the north is the village of Monks Risborough. Both places lie on the A4010 road. Princes Risborough is also a civil parish operating as a town council within Wycombe district.

The name

The name 'Risborough' meant 'brushwood-covered hills' and comes from two Old English words: hrisen, which was an adjective meaning brushwood-covered derived from hris meaning brushwood or scrub, and beorg which meant hill. The plural forms are hrisenan beorgas. The spelling in the various documents where the name is found is, as usual, very variable.^[2]

In the 13th century it is found as Magna Risberge (Great Risborough), distinguished from Parva (Little) Risberge which was Monks Risborough, and later as Earls Risborough and, finally, when the manor came to be held by Edward Prince of Wales (son of Edward III and later to be known as the Black Prince), as Princes Risborough.^[3]

Risborough as a Royal Manor

Before the Norman Conquest Risborough had been held by King Harold and afterwards it formed part of the lands of the new King, William the Conqueror. As a royal manor it could be used by the King to make financial provision for members of the royal family or others whom he might wish to reward.^[4]

In the 12th century it was held by Walter Giffard, the 2nd Earl of Buckingham, but reverted to the Crown on his death in 1164. It was then granted to the Constable of Normandy, Robert de Humeto, who obtained a charter from King Henry II, and remained in his family until about 1242. King Henry III then granted the Manor to Richard, Earl of Cornwall (2nd son of King John), succeeded by his son, Edward, who died in 1300, when it escheated to the Crown.

King Edward I in 1302/05 granted it to Queen Margaret for her life, subject to the rights of Margaret, Countess of Cornwall, in one third part for life as part of her dower. King Edward II gave the reversion (subject to these life interests) to his unpopular favourite, Piers Gaveston, and his wife, but this grant was surrendered in the same year. Queen Margaret died in 1316. In 1327, when Edward III succeeded to the throne at the age of fifteen, he granted the Manor for life to his mother, Queen Isabella for her services during his father’s reign. The King’s brother, John, Earl of Cornwall, also had an interest for a time. After the death of the Queen-mother it was held by Henry de Ferrers until his death in 1344.

The King then granted the Manor to his eldest son, Edward Prince of Wales, known later (though not during his lifetime) as the Black Prince. He was 14 years of age in 1344 and he held the Manor for 32 years until his death in 1376. Edward III did not die until 1377 and the Prince never became King. It was during this period that the Manor became known as Princes Risborough.

On the death of the Black Prince the Manor passed to his son, Richard of Bordeaux, who became King Richard II in the following year. He granted it to Lewis de Clifford who held it for his life, when it reverted to King Henry IV, who then in turn granted it to his son Henry, Prince of Wales, who became King Henry V in 1413. It then passed to Henry VI and was part of the dower of his Queen, Margaret of Anjou. Later it was held by his son, Edward, and then appears to have remained vested in the Crown until Edward VI granted it to his half-sister, the Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth for her life.

Subsequently James I held it and it formed part of the dower of his Queen, Anne of Denmark. Later again it was held by Prince Charles, later King Charles I, who in 1628 sold it to the City of London in part satisfaction of the large debts of the Crown. Thus, after more than 600 years, the Manor’s long connection with the Crown of England finally came to an end.

Subsequently the manor was bought and sold in the market and changed hands from time to time but its later manorial history is only a record of commercial transactions.^[5]

Risborough under the Black Prince

At the time when the Prince became Lord of the Manor of Risborough there was a substantial building or Hall on the West side of the church (where there is now a car park), which old books describe as his 'palace'. This is misleading. It is better described as a hunting lodge. The Prince seems never to have spent an extended period of time there. The nearest place where he lived for any length of time was Berkhamsted Castle, where he stayed after his marriage to Joan Countess of Kent from November 1361 to January 1362 and occasionally at other times.^[6]

At Risborough there was already a stud for breeding horses and a park which was used for the horses and probably also for hunting. The main purpose of his visits to Risborough is likely to have been to visit the stud and inspect and/or select horses.

Much of his adult life was spent on campaign in France, where he won the great victory of Poitiers in 1356. In July 1362 his father (Edward III) made him Prince of Aquitaine and he remained in that province until he returned to England in 1371, probably already a sick man.^[7]

In 1346, when the Prince (aged 16) was about to leave with his father for his first campaign in France, which culminated in the battle of Crecy, a Council was set up to manage on his behalf his various manors and lordships throughout the country.^[8] The transactions of this Council were recorded and have been printed and published by the Public Record Office.^[9] Many decisions affecting Risborough were made by this Council rather than by the Prince himself. They give us some insight into life at Risborough in the 14th century.

The Manor was normally managed by a Steward, assisted by a Reeve,^[10] and there was a Parker, responsible for the management of the Park, and a Keeper of the Stud.

In November 1346 John de Alveton was appointed to be Steward of the Prince's manors of Watlington and Risborough. In 1347 the Keeper of the Stud was Richard de Bekenesfield and he was ordered to render tithes due to the Abbot of Notley if there were sufficient foals of the year for the purpose. In the same year the Reeve had been ordered to pay money out of the profits of Risborough to make a new kitchen at the Prince's manor of Byfleet.^[11]

^[12]In 1354 (in which year the Prince was at Berkhamsted) a piece of land in the Park was enclosed by the Prince and the Reeve (William Onyot) paid 18 shillings for it.^[13] The Prince may well have been there in person that year for the Treasurer of hs household was ordered "by command of the Prince himself" to make payment for various things taken for the Prince's use and expended in the Prince's household at Risborough "after verifying that the same are really due". These included a total of 186 gallons of ale and "to John Dayly of Risborough 17 pence for underwood and fuel for the fire".^[14]

In 1359 Sir Peter de Lacey the Prince's clerk and receiver-general was ordered to provide hay, oats, shoes and litter until further order for two destriers (warhorses) which Sir Baldwin Bottecourt had lent to the Prince to be stallions at Risborough and Cippenham and to pay 3d a day to a groom that keeps them.^[15]

There seems to have been a great storm in 1362, when the Reeve was to allow the Parker to sell all the wood which had fallen in the Park except the great ash, if its value did not exceed £4.^[16]

In April 1364 the Reeve had to make provision for a grey courser which was sent to cover the mares at Risborough and in July to pay £10.10s for a black stallion for the same purpose.^[17] Also in 1364 the Reeve was to cause the garret over the gate of the Prince's Park to be demolished and pulled down, as it was reported very weak and ruinous, and to use the timber and other materials to build a lodge near the gate. He was also to flush out the ditches round the manor and to sell as dearly as possible all the large fish caught there, keeping the small fish as stock.^[18]

The Prince died at Westminster on 8 June 1376 aged 65.

St Mary's Church

The church in its present general form dates from the 13th century. There was an earlier small church, probably just a small chancel and a nave without aisles, which would have been in roughly the same position as the present nave.^[19] The church was enlarged and improved from the 13th to the 15th century as described below. By the 19th century it was in bad condition and was extensively restored and partly rebuilt in 1867/68. The tower and spire was rebuilt in 1907/08 and parish rooms added in the 21st century.

Nave & Chancel

The church was enlarged by the addition of the nave arcades and aisles in the early or mid 13th century^[20] The arches at the western end of each arcade were added in the late 13th or early 14th century, those on the south being later. The columns are octagonal with plain chamfered bases and moulded capitals. There were originally deep solid responds at the eastern end of each arcade (altered to make a narrower additional arch in the 19th cerntury). There are now seven arches on each side.^[21]

The chancel was rebuilt about 1290 and the two-light window in the north wall is of that date (much restored) with a modern quatrefoil above. The two windows in the south wall of the chancel are probably of about 1340. The east window is modern.^[22]

In the south aisle the window at the east end is of about 1300.^[23]

The easternmost window in the south wall is "a fine triplet of lancets"^[24], "a very remarkable window"^[25] and has attached and detached shafts of Purbeck marble making an open arcade of three bays. This is dated to the early 1200s.^[26] The other window in this aisle (on the western side of the door) is of about 1340.^[27]

Below the windows in the south aisle are four 14th century recesses with ogee heads which once probably held tombs.^[28]

At the end of the south wall of the south aisle, next to the altar, are a piscina (a shelf on which the sacred vessels were washed after mass) and a sedile (a stone seat for the priest), both in the decorated gothic style of the 14th century but badly damaged . These were always found on the right side of an altar and show that there was an altar at the end of this aisle in the middle ages. This piscina has no drain but there is a stone shelf above it.^[29]

In the north aisle are four modern windows from the 19th century rebuilding of this wall, using some old materials.^[30] The fourteenth century door on the north side was formerly blocked but now serves as the entrance to the new parish rooms which were built at the start of the 21st century on the north side of the church.

Tower and spire

The church originally had a tower with a spire above it, probably built in the 1400s, but this spire fell down in 1803, damaging the church and destroying a peal of bells. A new stone spire was built, octagonal in shape, and described in 1862 as covered with galvanised iron.^[31] In 1907/08 a new tower and spire were built from the foundations, designed by John Oldrid Scott.^[32]

In 1765 the Earl of Buckingham gave the rectory of Princes Risborough to the manor at Nutley Abbey in Long Crendon, to which it is still attached today.

St Teresa's Church

This domed church, on the corner of the Aylesbury Road and New Road, was designed by Giuseppe Rinvolucri and built in 1937/38. Pevsner & Williamson explain that in plan it is a triangle interpenetrating a hexagon with an apse in the middle of each side of the triangle.^[33]

Fairs & Markets

The market in the town was granted by King Henry III, so was the privilege of the townsmen to be excused from attending quarterly assizes.

Modern times

The ecclesiastical parish of Princes Risborough today has approximately the same extent as the former manor and includes various hamlets scattered over the nearby Chiltern Hills. These include Askett Cadsden, Lacey Green, Loosley Row, Longwick and Speen, among others. The town is overlooked by Whiteleaf Cross.

Today Princes Risborough is an interesting town that has been featured many times in films and television series (e.g. Jonathan Creek, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders and Double First) as being a typical English country town. It is very popular with commuters as it has excellent rail links to London, Birmingham and Aylesbury. Notable residents include Jay Kay from Jamiroquai and Lee McQueen, winner of The Apprentice series 4.

Since the reintroduction of the Red Kite to the Chiltern Hills, Princes Risborough has become an ideal location to view this bird of prey as they are often sighted above the town and surrounding areas.

The town is home to Princes Risborough School, which is a co-educational secondary school.

Sport and recreation

Princes Risborough has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V.

In 2008 Risborough rugby football club was founded by local residents. The Whiteleaf PH in the market square is used as a clubhouse for meetings and after training.

Railways

The history of the railways at Princes Risborough is both complicated and interesting.^[34]

At the start of the Railway Age the nearest station was Maidenhead on the main Great Western line. The service from Paddington to Maidenhead started in 1838 and reached Bristol in 1841. In 1846 the Wycombe Railway Company was incorporated and built a single track broad gauge line to connect Maidenhead to High Wycombe via Cookham and Bourne End. This opened on 1 August 1854 and the line was then continued north to Princes Risborough and Thame en route for Oxford.

From 1862 it became possible to travel from Princes Risborough to London in a train which started at Thame (later Oxford, when the line was completed) and went on to Paddington through Princes Risborough, High Wycombe, Bourne End and Maidenhead. Although the line was built by the Wycombe Railway Company, the service was operated by the Great Western. At that date the journey to London from Risborough took about 2 hours 40 minutes.

Another branch line from Princes Risborough to Aylesbury, which the Wycombe Railway Company had started to build in 1861, opened for traffic on 1 October 1863. Thereafter passengers from either Oxford or Aylesbury could reach Paddington via Princes Risborough, Wycombe and Maidenhead, but the majority of the through trains ran between Paddington and Oxford.

In 1867 the Great Western Railway took over the Wycombe Railway Company. All lines were converted to standard gauge between 1868 and 1870.

In 1872 a new line, built by the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway Company, opened between Princes Risborough and Watlington. There were three trains in each direction daily. This line was taken over by the Great Western in 1883.

The Metropolitan Railway opened a main line from Baker Street to Aylesbury in 1892, providing an alternative route between London and Princes Risborough via Aylesbury.

In 1899 the Great Central Railway arranged to join with the Great Western to construct a new route to London and built Marylebone Station as its terminus. A new line, built by the Great Western Railway, ran from Paddington via Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield to High Wycombe and thence to Princes Risborough. The single track line between High Wycombe and Princes Risborough was upgraded to a double track. Because of the gradient the new Up line followed a different route (with a short tunnel at Saunderton) from the existing single track, which became the Down line (with a few changes because of the gradient or for other reasons). The Great Central built a new line from Marylebone to join this railway at South Ruislip (then called Northolt Junction).

These direct routes between Princes Risborough and London were working from 2 April 1906, though at first the trains still ran on to Oxford beyond Risborough. The line to Bicester followed later in 1910. The journey time to London was reduced to between an hour and an hour and a half.

For the next 40 years and more Princes Risborough was a busy junction with two large signal boxes and trains coming in from London Marylebone, London Paddington via Beaconsfield, London Paddington via Maidenhead (a few trains still used this route until 1967(?)), Bicester and the North, Aylesbury, Oxford and Watlington. 29 men were employed at the station in the 1930s.

The railways were nationalised in 1948 and in the 1950s these lines started to close. The Watlington line closed to passengers in June 1957; the line to Thame and Oxford ran its last passenger train in 1963; the line through Bourne End to Maidenhead closed in 1967(?).

Diesel trains replaced steam locomotives on the main line in 1961.

The Down platform at Princes Risborough and the passenger bridge were demolished and there was only a single track through the station from 1968 until 1998.

At the same time Marylebone Station was being threatened with closure and for several years almost all trains ran to and from Paddington.

On de-nationalisation in 1996 the line through Risborough was taken over by Chiltern Railways, who have much improved the service. In 1998 they re-built the Down platform and constructed a new footbridge at their own expense, restoring full working with a much more frequent service. It is now one of the few railway lines in the country whose passengers have good words to say about it. The time taken by trains between London and Risborough is usually between 40 and 45 minutes.

Bus

Bus destinations from Princes Risborough can be found here.^[35]