Description
An Old Town Plan of Reading is features within the map.
Speed added geographical notes to the verso of the maps within his atlas “The Theatre & Empire of Great Britain”
This is a summary of his notes on Buckinghamshire.
Buckingham—named for the plentiful beech trees once found here—was in Saxon times called Bucken. The town gave its name to the whole county.
Shape and Borders:
Buckinghamshire is shaped a bit like a lion standing upright. Its “head” touches Northampton and Bedford counties. The “back” faces Bedford and Hertfordshire; the “loins” rest on Berkshire, and the “chest” borders Oxfordshire. From Wisbury (south) to Bradfield (north), it’s 39 miles long. It’s 18 miles wide from Astonidge (east) to Bernwood Forest (west). The total perimeter is 138 miles.
Air and Soil:
The air is healthy and mild, good for the body and mind. The soil is rich, yielding plenty of grain, grass, and clay. The county is divided by the Chiltern Hills, which used to be full of beech trees, making them impassable and sheltering robbers. Lolsan, Abbot of St. Albans, cleared them, making roads safe. The land is a mix of hills and flat areas with fertile clay soil. It’s great for pastures, farming, and especially raising sheep with fine wool prized even in Turkey and Asia.
Ancient Peoples:
Originally, the Cattieuchlani tribe lived here (noted by Ptolemy), later conquered by the Romans and brought under their rule. The Saxons took over and made it part of the Mercian Kingdom. Cerdic the West-Saxon first conquered it and won a key battle here. Cuthwulf, another West-Saxon, won a major battle at Aylesbury in 592. Later, the Danes invaded and ravaged the land. In 914, they destroyed Bernwood, including a Roman city and royal palace of King Edward the Confessor.
County Town – Buckingham:
The town of Buckingham lies on the River Ouse. King Edward the Elder fortified it with castles and ramparts. Though those are long gone, traces remain. The river surrounds the town except on the north side, where there’s a bridge. A spring feeds into the river from Saint Rumbald’s Well, linked to a child saint believed to have performed miracles. The town is run by a bailiff and twelve principal citizens.
Other Notable Towns:
Stony Stratford is older than Buckingham, built by the Romans on Watling Street. King Edward I raised a memorial cross there after Queen Eleanor’s body passed through during her funeral procession.
Religious Places and Relics:
There were many religious sites, including Landen, Luffield, Bradwell, and Aylesbury, which housed a relic said to be Christ’s blood. It was later revealed to be colored honey, a common medieval trick. Saint Edith, a royal woman who became a nun, was honored here too, but the Reformation swept away much of her veneration.
Castles and Markets:
The county had four castles and thirteen market towns, divided into eight hundreds (administrative areas), with 185 parish churches.
Towns and villages covered by the map include Addington,Adstock,Akeley ,Amersham,Ashendon,Aston Abbotts,Aston Clinton ,Aston Sandford ,Astwood,Aylesbury,B,Barton Hartshorn,Beachampton,Beaconsfield,Biddlesden,Bierton,Bledlow,Bletchley,Boarstall,Bow Brickhill,Bradenham,Bradwell,Brill,Broughton,Buckingham,Buckland,Burnham,C,Cadmore End,Calverton,Castlethorpe,Chalfont St Giles,Chalfont St Peter,Chearsley,Cheddington,Chenies,Chesham,Chesham Bois,Chetwode,Chicheley,Chilton,Cholesbury,Clifton Reynes,Cold Brayfield,Colnbrook,Creslow,Cublington,Cuddington,D,Dagnell,Datchet,Denham,Dinton,Dorney,Dorton,Drayton Beauchamp,Drayton Parslow,Dunton,E,East Claydon,Edgcott,Edlesborough,Ellesborough,Emberton,Eton,F,Farnham Royal,Fawley,Fenny Stratford,Fingest,Fleet Marston,Foscott,Fulmer,G,Gayhurst,Granborough,Great Brickhill,Great Hampden,Great Horwood,Great Kimble,Great Linford,Great Marlow,Great Missenden,Great Woolstone,Grendon Grendon Underwood,Grove,H,Haddenham,Halton,Hambleden,Hanslope,Hardmead,Hardwick,Hartwell,Haversham,Hawridge,Hedgerley,Hedsor,High Wycombe,Hillesden,Hitcham,Hoggeston,Hogshaw,Horsenden,Horton,Hughenden,Hulcott,I,Ibstone,Ickford,Ilmer,Iver Heath,Ivinghoe,K,Kingsey,L,Lacey Green,Lane End,Langley Marish,Lathbury,Latimer,Lavendon,Leckhampstead,Lee,Lillingstone Dayrell,Linslade,Little Brickhill,Little Hampden,Little Horwood,Little Kimble,Little Linford,Little Marlow,Little Missenden,Little Woolstone,Long Crendon,Loughton,Lower Winchendon,Ludgershall,Luffield Abbey,M,Maids Moreton,Marsh Gibbon,Marsworth,Medmenham,Mentmore,Middle Claydon,Milton Keynes,Monks Risborough,Moulsoe,Mursley,N,Nettleden,New Bradwell,Newport Pagnell,Newton Blossomville,Newton Longville,North Crawley,North Marston,O,Oakley,Old Bradwell,Olney,Oving,P,Padbury,Penn,Penn Street,Petsoe,Pitchcott,Pitstone,Preston Bissett,Princes Risborough,Q,Quainton,Quarrendon,R,Radclive,Radnage,Ravenstone,S,St Leonard ,Saunderton,Shabbington,Shalstone,Shenley,Sherington,Simpson,Slapton,Slough (see also Upton-cum-Chalvey),Soulbury,Stantonbury,Steeple Claydon,Stewkley,Stoke Goldington,Stoke Hammond,Stoke Mandeville,Stoke Poges,Stone,Stony Stratford,Stowe,Swanbourne,T,Taplow,Tattenhoe,Thornborough,Thornton,Tingewick,Towersey,Turville,Turweston,Twyford,Tyringham,U,Upper Winchendon,Upton-cum-Chalvey (see also Slough),W,Waddesdon,Walton (in Aylesbury),Walton (near Milton Keynes),Water Stratford,Wavendon,Wendover,West Wycombe ,Westbury ,Weston Turville ,Weston Underwood ,Wexham ,Whaddon ,Whitchurch ,Willen,Wing ,Wingrave ,Winslow ,Wolverton ,Wooburn ,Worminghall ,Wotton Underwood ,Woughton on the Green and Wraysbury.
