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Aylesbury in Buckingham County England History and GeographyAYLESBURY, a borough, market town and parish, in the hundred of AYLESBURY, county of BUCKS, 18½ miles (S.E. by S.) from Buckingham, and 40 (N.N.W.) from London, containing 16,671 inhabitants. This town, which was one of the strongest fortresses of the ancient Britons, received the name of ?glesbury from Cuthwulf, brother of Ceawlin, king of the West-Saxons, by whom it was captured in 571. About the year 600, a monastery, dedicated to St. Osyth, was erected here. At the Conquest it was conferred on one of the royal favourites, under the extraordinary tenure that he should provide straw for the monarch's bed, sweet herbs for his chamber, two green geese and three eels for his table, whenever he should visit Aylesbury. A convent for grey friars, the only one in the county, was also founded here in 1387, by James, Earl of Ormond; its site was subsequently occupied by a mansion belonging to the Packington family. Two ancient hospitals, dedicated to St. John and St. Leonard, for the benefit of lepers, had gone to decay previously to the year 1360. In the war between Charles I. and the parliament, Aylesbury was garrisoned for the latter. The town is delightfully situated in a fertile vale, which extends from Thame in Oxfordshire, to Leighton in Bedfordshire, and affords pasturage to an extraordinary number of sheep; the houses are principally built of brick; the streets are well paved, lighted with oil, and the inhabitants are abundantly supplied with water. Much of its prosperity is due to the munificent patronage of Sir John Baldwin, who erected several buildings, and procured the removal hither of the assizes from Buckingham; the summer assizes, however, have been again transferred to that town. Lace-making constitutes the chief employment of the poor; and numerous ducklings are reared for the London market at Christmas. The market, which is principally for corn, is on Saturday: fairs are held the first Friday after Jan. 18th, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, May 8th, June 14th, Sept. 25th and Oct. 11th. The government of the borough was by Mary, in 1550, vested in a corporation, who, from non-exercise of their privileges, forfeited their charter in the reign of Elizabeth. The town is now within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a petty session weekly: a constable and other officers are appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. A quarter session for the county is held in the shirehall, a handsome edifice erected in 1723. The county gaol and house of correction admits of the classification of prisoners, and comprises 140 cells, two dayrooms, a chapel, and a tread-mill employed in raising water and grinding corn. The elective franchise was conferred in 1554, since which time the borough has continued to return two members to parliament: the right of election is vested in the inhabitants paying scot and lot, and in the freeholders of the hundred, the number of both being about 1300: the constable is the returning officer. Concerning a disputed return for this borough in 1703, the contest between the two houses of parliament was so great, that the queen deemed it expedient to prorogue the parliament. The Duke of Buckingham and Lord George Cavendish are proprietors of the borough. The living, a rectory, is a peculiar belonging to the Prebendary of Aylesbury in the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £24. 18. 1. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a venerable and interesting structure. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents and Methodists. The free grammar school was founded by Sir Henry Lee; the endowment, at the beginning of the last century, produced only £8 per annum, but it was augmented by John Phillips, Esq. a native of the town, with a legacy of £5000, which has been invested in land producing £237. 16. 7. per annum: there are one hundred and twenty boys on the foundation, fifteen of whom are instructed in the classics. The school house, and residences for three masters were built in 1718. A Lancasterian school was founded by Mr. John Hull, of Uxbridge: there are also Sunday schools in connexion with the established church and the dissenting congregations. In 1694, Mr. John Bedford gave land for the repair of the highways, and for the relief of the poor, the rental of which exceeds £300 per annum. Aylesbury gives the title of Marquis to the family of Brudenell Bruce. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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