High Wycombe

High Wycombe, commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 29 mi westnorthwest of Charing Cross in London; this information is also 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 the Borough of 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 the 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 the Middle Ages. 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.

Early 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 (built 150–170 AD) which was excavated three times, most recently in 1954. Mosaics and a bathhouse were unearthed 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 had been a feature of the town since early in the 12th century.

Trade and industrial development
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 was soon overtaken by 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. 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.

The town's population grew from 13,000 residents in 1881, to 29,000 in 1928. Wycombe was completely dominated socially and economically by the furniture industry and, consequently, there was considerable unemployment and social problems when the industry declined in the 1960s.

20th century
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 rehoused 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 as 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.

From 1940 to 1968 High Wycombe was the seat of the RAF Bomber Command. Moreover, during World War II, from May 1942 to July 1945, the U.S. Army Air Force's 8th Air Force Bomber Command, codenamed "Pinetree", was based at a former girls' school at High Wycombe. This formally became Headquarters, 8th Air Force, on 22 February 1944. Since 1968 all commands of the Royal Air Force are housed at RAF 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 looks like any other built in the 1960s. On the open area known as Frogmoor the original cast-iron fountain and some Georgian buildings have been torn down. 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, Green Street, Holmers Farm, Micklefield, Sands, Terriers, Totteridge and Wycombe Marsh, as well as some nearby villages: Downley, Hazlemere and Tylers Green.

Although situated in the county of Buckinghamshire which is one of the most affluent parts of the country Wycombe contains some considerably deprived areas. 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. The survey found litter on 28.5% of streets and highways. Data for the survey were 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, 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, with larger blocks of flats, 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.

Demographics
High Wycombe's population figure differs with the varying definitions of the town's area. For the town proper (that is with none of the suburbs) it 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.

Based on the 2001 census and the 2007 Indices of Multiple Deprivation data, High Wycombe has the lowest proportion of people from the white ethnic group in Buckinghamshire, representing 76% of the population. The next biggest ethnic group in High Wycombe is the Asian and Asian British group, representing 16% of the population. The Black/Black British ethnic group was represented by 5% and Mixed ethnic group by 2%. English is the first language spoken by 66% of school pupils living in High Wycombe. Of the 34% of pupils living in the town whose first language is not English, 19% speak Punjabi and just over 6% Urdu as a first language.

Politics
Wycombe's political history spans back to 1295. The Wycombe constituency is currently Conservative-voting.

Notable MPs
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)
 * Benjamin Disraeli, who lived at nearby Hughenden Manor, 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 Iceland/Pound world).

Local government
The constituency contains strong Conservative areas outside High Wycombe town, and the town itself where the Liberal Democrats have gained some support, as well as the Conservatives. Over the years it has been a mix of Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

Weighing the Mayor
A ceremony, carried out in the town since 1678, involves the weighing of the mayor. At the beginning and end of the mayor's serving year, he is weighed in full view of the public to see whether or not they have gained weight at the taxpayers' expense. The custom, which has survived to the present day, employs the same weighing apparatus used since the 19th century. When the result is known, the Town Crier announces "And no more!" if the Mayor has not gained weight or "And some more!" if he has. The actual weight of the Mayor is not declared.

Education
Buckinghamshire is one of the few counties that still has a selective educational system based on the former tripartite 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
Catchment area Primary Schools in High Wycombe
 * Ash Hill Combined School
 * Beechview Junior School
 * Booker Hill Combined School
 * Castlefield Combined School
 * Chepping View Combined School
 * Hamilton Combined School
 * Hannah Ball Combined School
 * High Wycombe Church of England Combined School
 * Kings Wood Combined School
 * Marsh Infants School
 * Millbrook Combined School
 * Oakridge Combined School
 * St Michael's Catholic School (Combined primary and secondary school)
 * The Disraeli Combined School and Children's Centre



Secondary schools

 * Cressex Community School
 * Highcrest Academy
 * John Hampden Grammar School
 * St Michael's Catholic School (Combined primary and secondary school)
 * Royal Grammar School
 * Wycombe High School
 * Sir William Ramsay School

Independent schools

 * Crown House School
 * Godstowe Preparatory School
 * Pipers Corner School
 * Wycombe Abbey

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. 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.

Featuring in the media
High Wycombe has figured 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 other 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 dance floor 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 at 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 (4.8 km) No-flight zone over the town was ordered. 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 were allegedly 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.

On 21 December 2009, heavy snowfalls hit the town, paralysing the town's road network (which is mainly on steep hills), and causing major disruption to refuse services for several weeks. Staff and customers of the John Lewis department store were stranded overnight, leading to national news reports and interviews from GMTV and others on the morning of the 22 December.

Notable residents (past and present)

 * Colin Baker – actor who played the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, and columnist for the Bucks Free Press.
 * Elliot Benyon – footballer with Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
 * Dominic Blizzard – footballer with Yeovil Town F.C..
 * Heston Blumenthal – celebrity chef and owner of the Michelin 3-star Fat Duck restaurant. He was born in the town and educated at John Hampden Grammar School.
 * Judy Boucher – country and RnB singer originally from St Vincent.
 * Fern Britton – TV presenter.
 * Jimmy Carr – TV and stand-up comedian. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.
 * Simon Church – Welsh international footballer.
 * James Corden – actor and writer.
 * Matt Dawson – scrum-half for England rugby union team which won the Rugby World Cup in 2003. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.
 * Geoffrey De Havilland – aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer. Born at Terriers House.
 * Benjamin Disraeli – politician, Prime Minister and literary figure.
 * Luke Donald – golfer, educated at the Royal Grammar School.
 * Ian Dury – rock & roll singer and songwriter. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.
 * Eric Gill – sculptor and print maker.
 * Isa Guha – England Women's cricketer and Women's World Cup winner.
 * Adam Paul Harvey – actor.
 * Tom Ingram - motor-racing driver.
 * Aaron Taylor-Johnson – actor.
 * Howard Jones – singer and songwriter. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School.
 * Jim Jones – former member of Thee Hypnotics, Black Moses and currently frontman of The Jim Jones Revue.
 * Mike Keen – former footballer and manager, winner of the League Cup in 1967.
 * Robbie Kerr – motor-racing driver current member of the British A1GP team.
 * Alex Kew – actor and musician.
 * Eric Knowles – Antiques Roadshow presenter, currently lives in the town.
 * Phil Newport – former Worcestershire and England cricketer.
 * Sally Philips – comic actress.
 * Leigh-Anne Pinnock – member of girl band Little Mix, winners of The X Factor 2011.
 * Karl Popper – philosopher.
 * Tom Rees – England and London Wasps Rugby Flanker.
 * Charlotte Roche – British-born German television presenter, actress, singer and author of the world's best-selling novel in March 2008.
 * Nicola Sanders – Olympic athlete.
 * Wilf Slack – Middlesex and England cricketer.
 * Jean Shrimpton – supermodel.
 * Dusty Springfield – singer.
 * Ian Stanley - keyboard player with rock band Tears for Fears
 * Heather Stewart-Whyte – Supermodel.
 * Colin Teague -Film and Television Director.
 * Sy Thomas – TV presenter, standup comedian and actor.
 * Bill Turnbull – journalist and presenter.
 * Frankie Vaughan – pop singer.
 * Young Guns (band) – High Wycombe-based band.
 * 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 had suffered from heavy congestion but was then improved by the Highways Agency in 2006. 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
The town has a new central bus station attached to the Eden Shopping Centre with most services operated by Carousel Buses and Arriva. Major destinations include Reading, Slough, Aylesbury, Heathrow Airport, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Chesham, Uxbridge and Berkhamsted. Most recently, First Berkshire commenced a new hourly express service to Slough. Other operators serving the town include Woottens and Redline.

High Wycombe is served by one of Buckinghamshire's Rainbow Routes network of services. Originally piloted in Aylesbury, its success led to a network being set up in the town. Rainbow Routes is a partnership between the County Council and local operators Arriva and Carousel Buses. They provide regular services within the town and its suburbs, and this network includes:


 * 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;
 * Purple Route 35/36 – Carousel Buses, every 30 minutes to Flackwell Heath;
 * Orange Route 39 – Arriva, every 30 minutes to Hicks Farm.

The town also has a Park and Ride facility located in Cressex, near junction 4 of the M40. Services run to the town centre, passing the railway station.

Coach
The town is currently poorly served by coach services, with only the 737 service from Oxford to Stansted passing through the town. Plans for a High Wycombe Coachway close to junction 4 of the M40 and linked to the town by local buses and by park and ride buses are currently at planning committee stage.

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


There are two shopping centres: the Eden Centre which spreads from the High Street under the Abbey Way flyover to the south of the A40, and the Chilterns Centre, which is located between Queen's Square and Frogmoor to the north. The High Street (pedestrianised in the early 1990s) has a number of 18th- and 19th-century buildings, and ends at the colonnaded Guildhall that was built in 1757 by Henry Keene and renovated in 1859. The small octagonal shaped Cornmarket opposite known locally as the Pepper Pot was rebuilt to designs by Robert Adam in 1761. The large parish church of All Saints was founded in 1086 but enlarged in the 18th century and extensively restored in 1889. There is a large, well equipped theatre, the Wycombe Swan, which hosts many acts and shows before or after their appearance in the West End.

In March 2008, a new development in the town centre was completed. This included the demolition and relocation of the bus station. The main feature of the development was the brand new Eden Shopping Centre, with 107 shops, new restaurants, a large bowling alley and cinema and new housing. The old Octagon shopping centre was connected to the new development. The complex is seen an a major milestone in the regeneration of the town, and is one of the largest in the country.

There are out-of-town retail outlets in the suburbs of Cressex (including John Lewis, Asda, and TGI Fridays), and Wycombe Marsh, where there is small retail park of shops and restaurants. Shops include Comet, PC World, Pets At Home, Homebase and M&S Simply Food. Desborough Road provides a secondary shopping area, with more independent traders, and a number of takeaways.

To the east of the town centre is the extensive Rye park (and the river) and dyke. The park had an outdoor swimming pool, which closed in 2009. The pool has now reopned together with a new gym. The River Wye winds through the green space, which is particularly attractive during the summer. Wycombe's yearly "Asian Mela" takes place on the Rye. There is a museum on Priory Avenue in the town centre situated in its own grounds which include a Norman castle mound. The theme of the museum is the history of Wycombe, but the main focus is the chair industry.

Wycombe town centre is home to many public houses and bars especially in the Frogmoor area. The White Horse pub appeared on 'Britain's toughest pubs'.

The town features the old Wycombe Summit, formerly the largest dry ski slope in England, before it was destroyed in a fire. It was announced that this would be rebuilt to become England's third and largest indoor real snow ski centre.

Hughenden Manor borders the northern urban fringe of High Wycombe, approximately 2 miles (3 km) from the centre of town. Built in the Regency period, the architecturally appealing house was also home to Benjamin Disraeli for three decades in the mid-19th century. The three-floor mansion is situated in its own extensive grounds with beautifully landscaped gardens which back into the attractive Chiltern countryside. It is open to the public all year round as an historical attraction.

The local council maintains a landmark statue of a red lion above the former Woolworths store on the High Street. Its significance dates back to when the building was the Red Lion Hotel. Since its installation, the lion has been replaced several times and has had to undergo extensive repair due to damage from both the elements and from human interference. Another notable landmark is the ruins of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, which is located on Easton Street, just east of the town centre opposite the Rye parkland and which dates back to the 12th century. The stone structure is one of the very oldest in Wycombe, and is said in part to contain stone used from the Roman villa on the Rye.

The site of the ancient Desborough Castle is situated between the Desborough and Castlefield suburbs of the town, and provides their names.

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 largest remaining furniture maker is Stewart Linford, creating bespoke furniture and limited editions. The Living Chair Museum is sited at Stewart Linford's premises displaying many antique Windsor chairs and the tools used to make them. 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 are still surrounded by woods). The town was also home to the worldwide postage stamp and banknote printer Harrison and Sons. 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 southwest 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

 * [[File:NTE icon.png]] Bradenham
 * [[File:UKAL icon.png]] Chiltern Hills
 * [[File:HH icon.png]] Hughenden Manor
 * [[File:Museum icon (red).png]] West Wycombe Caves
 * [[File:HH icon.png]] West Wycombe Park
 * [[File:Museum icon.png]] Wycombe Museum
 * [[File:NTE icon.png]] 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-size swimming pool, which can be split into two 25-metre pools by raising and lowering a 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 that 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, play at Adams Park, named after Frank Adams who donated the old Loakes Park ground to the club. They relocated to their current stadium, in 1990. They are currently members of Football League Two and have been members of the Football League since 1993 when they were promoted as champions of the GM Vauxhall Conference. Since then they have enjoyed two notable cup runs (to the semi finals of the FA Cup in 2001 and the Football League Cup in 2007) and three recent promotions from the fourth tier of the English league to League One (via the playoffs in 1994 and automatically in 2009 and 2011). They have been managed by a number of high profile football figures including Martin O'Neill, Lawrie Sanchez and Tony Adams. Their current manager is former QPR player/manager Gareth Ainsworth.

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 track and field athlete who is current European Indoor Champion and World outdoor silver medallist on 400 metres, and also current world bronze on outdoor 4 × 400 metres relay, is a High Wycombe native. High Wycombe Amateur Boxing Club is located on Leigh Street.

Twin towns
High Wycombe is twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Kelkheim, Germany