Princes Risborough

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Map sources for Princes Risborough at grid reference SP8003

Princes Risborough is a town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 9 miles north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills on the direct trade route between Winchester and Cambridge. Adjacent to the north is the village of Monks Risborough.

At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 there was no distinction between the two Risboroughs, as the parish wasn't divided until the 14th century. The name in 1086 was recorded as Riseberge though in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle it was Hrisanbyrge: both early and late Anglo Saxon names meaning Hill where brushwood grows.

The Risborough estate has always been royal hunting land, right from the time that it was mentioned as such in the Saxon Chronicle in 903 through to the time of King Henry VIII. In the late 14th century the non-monastic estates of Risborough came into the hands of Edward, the Black Prince, from which time the distinction was made between the Prince's estate (Princes Risborough) and the monastery's estate (Monks Risborough). The Black Prince had a grand palace in the town, situated adjacent to the magnificent St Mary's Church.

The palace of Princes Risborough was part of the extensive estates owned by Catherine, wife of King Henry V and was passed, with the Crown, to the monarch. This was until the estate was sold in 1637 by King Charles I to a London citizen. After passing hands privately several times the palace has long since disappeared.

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.

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

The estate lands of Princes Risborough are still fairly extensive today, and include various hamlets scattered over the nearby Chiltern Hills. These include Lacey Green, Loosley Row, Longwick and Speen, among others.

Today Princes Risborough is a beautiful 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 for London as it has adequate rail links into the capital, and is the home of Jay Kay from Jamiroquai as well as other rich and famous people. The town is home to Princes Risborough School, which is a co-educational secondary school.

[edit] Sport and recreation

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

[edit] Railway links

At one time Princes Risborough was a notable railway junction, having the main line from High Wycombe entering the station and no less than three lines exiting it - the branch lines to Aylesbury (still open), Watlington (closed, but used by a preservation society as far as Chinnor) and Oxford (now closed). The main line carried both Great Western and Great Central trains (at least from 1906). The Great Central is now closed and at one stage this formerly important junction was reduced to one platform - until Chiltern Railways took it upon themselves to re-build a second one.