View source for Aylesbury

{{Short description|County town of Buckinghamshire, England}}
{{About|the town in England}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Aylesbury
| country = England
| region = South East England
| static_image_name = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 250
| image_style              = border:1;
| perrow                   = 2/1/2
| image1                   = St Mary's Church - geograph.org.uk - 3709063.jpg
| caption1                 = [[St Mary the Virgin's Church, Aylesbury|St Mary’s]]
| image2                   = Buckinghamshire County Hall, Aylesbury.jpg
| caption2                     = [[County Hall, Aylesbury|County Hall]]
| image3                  = Aylesbury Market Square Bucks.jpg
| caption3                     = [[Aylesbury Crown Court]]
| image4                   = End of Aylesbury Arm, Grand Union Canal - geograph.org.uk - 5638650.jpg
| caption4                 = [[Grand Union Canal|Aylesbury Arm]]
| image5                   = Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire County Museum - geograph.org.uk - 897270.jpg
| caption5                 = [[Buckinghamshire County Museum|County Museum]]
}}
| static_image_caption = 
| population = 63,273
| population_ref = (2021)<ref name="census2011">{{NOMIS2011|id=1170212172|title=Aylesbury Parish|access-date=18 February 2018}}</ref><br />Urban area 94,238<ref name="BUA">{{NOMIS2011|id=1119884987|title=Aylesbury Built-up area|access-date=18 February 2018}}</ref>
| os_grid_reference = SP818138
| coordinates = {{coord|51.8168|-0.8124|region:GB_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = AYLESBURY
| postcode_area = HP
| postcode_district = HP18-HP21
| dial_code = 01296
| constituency_westminster = [[Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Aylesbury]]
| civil_parish = Aylesbury
| london_distance = {{convert|36|mi}}
| unitary_england = [[Buckinghamshire Council]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Buckinghamshire]]
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 11
| mapframe-point = none
}}
'''Aylesbury''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|l|z|b|ər|i}} {{respell|AYLZ|bər|ee}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|l|z|b|r|i}} {{respell|ELLZ|bree}}) is the [[county town]] of [[Buckinghamshire]], England. It is home to the [[Roald Dahl Children's Gallery]] and the [[Aylesbury Waterside Theatre|Waterside Theatre]].  There is also one of the largest independent Arts Centre in the UK, the Queens Park Arts Centre which recently received the King's Award for Voluntary Service.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Porter|first1=Darwin|last2=Prince|first2=Danforth|title=Frommer's England from $60 a Day|date=1997|publisher=Wiley|isbn=9780028616513|page=234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M8u1BWS4T5MC|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Aylesbury|url=http://www.visitsoutheastengland.com/places-to-visit/aylesbury-p628321|website=Visit South East England|access-date=18 February 2018}}</ref> It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between [[High Wycombe]] and [[Milton Keynes]].

In 2011 its urban area had a population of 94,238<ref name="BUA" /> The housing target for the town is set to grow with 16,000 homes set to be built by 2033.<ref>[https://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/section/vale-aylesbury-local-plan-valp-2013-2033 Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan]</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:Church of St Mary, Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 4572.jpg|thumb|[[St Mary the Virgin's Church, Aylesbury]]'s parish church.]]
The town name is of [[Old English]] origin. It is first recorded in the form ''Æglesburg'' in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', a text which took its present form in the later ninth century. The word ''Ægles'' is a personal name in the [[genitive case]], meaning "Ægel's" and {{lang|ang|burg}} means "fortification". Thus the name once meant "Fort of Ægel" — though who Ægel was is not recorded.<ref>''The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society'', ed. by Victor Watts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v. ''AYLESBURY''; {{ISBN|9780521168557}}.</ref> Nineteenth-century speculation that the name contained the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] word ''eglwys'' meaning "a church" (from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|ecclesia}})<ref name="oc">{{cite book |last1=Guest |first1=Edwin |title=Origines Celticae (a Fragment) and Other Contributions to the History of Britain, Volume 1 |date=1971 |publisher=Ardent Media |isbn=9780804612234 |page=170 |edition=Reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFJAShEc8ykC |access-date=30 June 2019}}</ref> has been discredited.

==History==
Excavations in the town centre in 1985 found an [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]] dating from the early 4th century BCE.

The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' portrays Aylesbury as being captured from the Britons by one Cuthwulf following the [[Battle of Bedcanford]]; the historicity of this event is doubtful, but the portrayal at least indicates that in the early Middle Ages the settlement was thought to be of some strategic importance.<ref name=sl>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50772 |title=Aylesbury|author=Samuel Lewis|author-link=Samuel Lewis (publisher)|work=A Topographical Dictionary of England |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1848 |access-date=11 December 2012 }}</ref> During the early medieval period, Aylesbury became a major [[market town]], the burial place of Saint [[Osgyth]], whose [[shrine]] attracted [[pilgrim]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} Aylesbury was a royal manor with eight attached [[Hundred (county division)|hundreds]] in 1086, and some historians have supposed that it was already a royal manor before the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sims-Williams|first=Patrick|date=1983|title=The Settlement of England in Bede and the Chronicle|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44510771|journal=Anglo-Saxon England|volume=12|pages=1–41|doi=10.1017/S0263675100003331 |jstor=44510771|url-access=subscription}}.</ref>{{rp|32}} Some lands here were granted by [[William the Conqueror]] to citizens upon the tenure that the owners should provide straw for the monarch's bed, sweet herbs for his chamber and two green geese and three eels for his table, whenever he should visit Aylesbury.<ref name=sl/>

The town includes an [[Early English Period|Early English]] parish church, [[St Mary the Virgin's Church, Aylesbury|St. Mary the Virgin's]] (which has many later additions).

In 1450, a religious institution called the Guild of St Mary was founded in Aylesbury by [[John Kemp]], [[Archbishop of York]]. Known popularly as the [[Guild of Our Lady]] it became a meeting place for local dignitaries and a hotbed of political intrigue. The guild was influential in the outcome of the [[Wars of the Roses]]. Its premises at the Chantry in Church Street, Aylesbury, are still there, though today the site is used mainly for retail.

Aylesbury was declared the new county town of [[Buckinghamshire]] in 1529 by King [[Henry VIII]]: Aylesbury Manor was among the many properties belonging to [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire|Thomas Boleyn]], the father of [[Anne Boleyn]], and it is rumoured that the change was made by the King to curry favour with the family.{{#tag:ref|Previously the county town of Buckinghamshire was [[Buckingham]]|group= n}} The [[Second plague pandemic#Recurrences|plague]] decimated the population in 1603/4.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://amershamhistory.info/research/other-articles/the-plague-in-amersham/|title=The Plague in Amersham|date=15 January 2013|access-date=26 November 2016|archive-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806185444/http://amershamhistory.info/research/other-articles/the-plague-in-amersham/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:John Hampden Statue.jpg|right|thumb|Statue of [[John Hampden]] in Aylesbury's Market Square]]
The town played a large part in the [[English Civil War]] when it became a stronghold for the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] forces, like many market towns a nursing-ground of [[Puritan]] sentiment and in 1642 the [[Battle of Aylesbury]] was fought and won by the Parliamentarians. Its proximity to [[Great Hampden]], home of [[John Hampden]] has made of Hampden a local hero: his silhouette was used on the emblem of [[Aylesbury Vale District Council]] and his statue stands prominently in the town centre. Aylesbury-born composer, [[Rutland Boughton]] (1878–1960), possibly inspired by the statue of John Hampden, created a symphony based on [[Oliver Cromwell]].

On 18 March 1664, [[Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury|Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin]] in the [[Peerage of Scotland]] was created [[Marquess of Ailesbury|1st Earl of Ailesbury]]{{#tag:ref|With subsidiary titles in the [[Peerage of England]]: Viscount Bruce, of Ampthill in the County of Bedford, and Baron Bruce, of Skelton in the County of York.|group= n}}.

The grade II* [[listed building|listed]] [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] mansion of [[Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire|Hartwell]] adjoining the southwest of the town was the residence of French king [[Louis XVIII]] during his exile (1810–1814). Bourbon Street in Aylesbury is named after the king. Louis's wife, [[Marie Joséphine of Savoy]] died at Hartwell in 1810 and is the only French queen to have died on English soil. After her death, her body was carried first to Westminster Abbey, and one year later to [[Sardinia]], where the Savoy King of Sardinia had withdrawn during Napoleonic occupation of Turin and Piedmont; she is buried in the [[Cagliari Cathedral|Cathedral of Cagliari]].

Aylesbury's [[heraldry|heraldic]] crest<ref>http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/thames_valley_chilterns.html#aylesbury%20tc Civic Heraldry of England and Wales: Aylesbury. CREST: On a Wreath Argent and Gules issuant from a Wreath of plaited Straw a Mount thereon an Aylesbury Duck all proper.</ref> displays the [[Aylesbury duck]], which has been bred here since the birth of the [[Industrial Revolution]], although only one breeder of true Aylesbury ducks, Richard Waller, remains today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aylesbury.duckfarm.co.uk/richard/waller/about_us|title=Richard Waller – The Last Remaining Breeder of Aylesbury Ducks|author=Richard Waller|access-date=19 April 2014|archive-date=12 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212020459/http://aylesbury.duckfarm.co.uk/richard/waller/about_us|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The town also received international publicity in 1963 when the culprits responsible for the [[Great Train Robbery (1963)]] were tried at [[Aylesbury Rural District]] Council Offices in Walton Street and sentenced at [[Aylesbury Crown Court]]. The robbery took place at Bridego Bridge, a railway bridge at [[Ledburn]], about {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} from the town.
[[File:The Jury by John Morgan.jpg|thumb|left|''Gentlemen of the Jury,'' an 1861 painting by [[John Morgan (artist)|John Morgan]] of a jury in Aylesbury]]

A notable institution is [[Aylesbury Grammar School]] which was founded in 1598. The original building is now part of the County Museum buildings in Church Street and has grade II* architecture;<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1117970|desc=The Museum|grade=II*|access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref> other grammar schools now include [[Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School]] and [[Aylesbury High School]]. Other notable buildings are the [[King's Head Inn, Aylesbury|King's Head Inn]], (which, with the [[The Fleece Inn|Fleece Inn]] at [[Bretforton]], is one of the few [[public house]]s in the country owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and still run as a public house) and the [[Queens Park Centre]].

[[James Henry Govier]], the British painter and [[etcher]], lived at Aylesbury and produced a number of works relating to the town including the church, canal, Walton, [[Aylesbury Gaol]], the [[King's Head Inn, Aylesbury|King's Head Inn]] and views of the town during the 1940s and 1950s, examples of which can be seen in the [[Buckinghamshire County Museum]] in Aylesbury.{{#tag:ref|Govier was born at [[Oakley, Buckinghamshire|Oakley]] and was the etching demonstrator at the [[Royal College of Art]].|group= n}}

The town is the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. During the [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 Olympics]] in London, German-British neurologist [[Sir Ludwig Guttmann]], set up a small sporting event for [[World War II]] veterans known as the [[World Wheelchair and Amputee Games]] (WWAG) at [[Stoke Mandeville Hospital]] Rehabilitation Facility in Aylesbury. This eventually led to the growth of the phenomenon of the modern [[Paralympic Games]] that has been held immediately after every Summer [[Olympic Games]] since 1988, and the WWAG was held most years at Stoke Mandeville until 1997, when it has been held in other countries and cities ever since. During the [[2012 Paralympics]], the official mascot was called 'Mandeville' after Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

The [[Rothschild Family]] acquired many large country estates and stately homes around and near the town, including [[Waddesdon Manor]] in nearby [[Waddesdon]] Village, [[Halton House]] near [[Wendover]] and [[Tring Park]] in [[Tring]] across the border in [[Hertfordshire]], although today most of these properties belong to the [[National Trust]]. They have brought in increased tourism to the town and the surrounding areas.

== The Aylesbury duck ==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
In the 18th century, selective breeding of white common ducks led to a white domestic duck, generally known as the English White. Since at least the 1690s ducks had been farmed in Aylesbury, and made Aylesbury known throughout England and beyond. They were bred and brought up by poor people, and sent to London by the weekly carriers. They went on to be known as the [[Aylesbury duck]]. 
[[File:Mary Simmons of Hartwell's prize-winning Aylesbury ducks.jpg|thumb|Prize-winning Aylesbury ducks. The illustrated Book of Poultry, 1873.]]
The duck business in Aylesbury went into decline in the 19th century. By the time [[Beatrix Potter]]'s 1908 ''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck]]''—about an Aylesbury duck although set in [[Cumbria]]—caused renewed interest in the breed, the Aylesbury duck was in steep decline. The duckers of Buckinghamshire had generally failed to introduce technological improvements such as the [[Incubator (egg)|incubator]], and inbreeding had dangerously weakened the breed. Meanwhile, the cost of duck food had risen fourfold over the 19th century, and from 1873 onwards competition from Pekin and Pekin cross ducks was undercutting Aylesbury ducks at the marketplace. The First World War devastated the remaining duckers of Buckinghamshire. By the end of the war small-scale duck rearing in the Aylesbury Vale had vanished, with duck raising dominated by a few large duck farms. Shortages of duck food in the Second World War caused further disruption to the industry, and almost all duck farming in the Aylesbury Vale ended. A 1950 "Aylesbury Duckling Day" campaign to boost the reputation of the Aylesbury duck had little effect; by the end of the 1950s the last significant farms had closed, other than a single flock in [[Chesham]] owned by Mr L. T. Waller, and by 1966 there were no duck breeders remaining in Aylesbury. As of 2021 the Waller family's farm in Chesham remains in business, the last surviving flock of pure Aylesbury meat ducks in the country. Although, there are still many hobbyists who keep the breed. 
[[File:PEO100 1734 0,1 Aylesburyenten.jpg|thumb|The Aylesbury duck is currently a Rare Breed.]]
The Aylesbury duck remains a symbol of the town of Aylesbury. [[Aylesbury United F.C.]] are nicknamed "The Ducks" and include an Aylesbury duck on their club badge, and the town's [[coat of arms]] includes an Aylesbury duck and plaited straw, representing the two historic industries of the town. The Aylesbury Brewery Company, now defunct, featured the Aylesbury duck as its logo, an example of which can still be seen at the Britannia [[Public house|pub]]. Duck Farm Court is a shopping area of modern Aylesbury located near the historic hamlet of [[California, Buckinghamshire|California]], close to one of the main breeding grounds for ducks in the town, and there have been two [[Public house|pubs]] in the town with the name "The Duck" in recent years; one in [[Bedgrove]] that has since been demolished and one in Jackson Road that has recently been renamed.[[File:Jemima5.jpg|thumb|An illustration of Jemima Puddle-Duck from ''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck]]'' by [[Beatrix Potter]].|left]]

== Demography ==
{{update section|date=October 2024}}
The town's population has grown from 28,000 in the 1960s to almost 72,000 in 2011<ref name="census2011"/><ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10213356&c_id=10001043&add=N A Vision of Britain Aylesbury population change]. Retrieved 2 February 2013</ref> due in the main to new housing developments, including many [[London overspill]] housing estates, built to ease pressure on the capital. Indeed, Aylesbury, to a greater extent than many English market towns, saw substantial areas of its own heart demolished in the 1950s/1960s as 16th–18th century houses (many in good repair) were demolished to make way for new, particularly retail, development.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Aylesbury's population in the ten-year period since 2001 has grown by two thousand primarily related to the development of new housing estates which will eventually cater for eight thousand people on the north side, between the [[A41 road|A41]] ([[Akeman Street]]) and the [[A413 road|A413]] and the expansion of [[Fairford Leys]] estate.

According to the 2011 Census, the religious groupings in Aylesbury were: [[Christianity]] (55.7%), no religion (26.9%), [[Islam]] (8.3%), [[Hinduism]] (1.4%), other (0.4%). 6.7% of respondents did not state their religion.<ref name="BUA" />

==Geography==
[[File:Aylesbury parish and surrounding areas.svg|thumb|{{legend|#e31a1c|Aylesbury parish}}{{legend|#fb9a99|Aylesbury built-up-area}}{{legend|#eadfaa|Aylesbury Vale}}{{legend|#b2df8a|Buckinghamshire}}]]

===Neighbourhoods===
Housing estates in or neighbourhoods of the modern Aylesbury include:
*[[Bedgrove]]
*[[Berryfields]]
*[[Broughton, Aylesbury|Broughton]]
*[[Buckingham Park, Buckinghamshire|Buckingham Park]]
*Coppice
*Crown Leys
*[[Elm Farm, Aylesbury|Elm Farm]]
*[[Elmhurst, Aylesbury|Elmhurst]]
*[[Fairford Leys]]
*[[Haydon Hill]]
*Hawkslade Farm
*[[Kingsbrook, Buckinghamshire|Kingsbrook]]
*Mandeville Estate
*Mandeville Park
*[[Meadowcroft, Aylesbury|d'accord]]
*[[Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury|Prebendal Farm]]
*[[Quarrendon (estate)|Quarrendon]]
*[[Queens Park, Aylesbury|Queens Park]]
*Shakespeare Estate
*[[Southcourt]]
*Stoke Farm
*Stoke Grange
*[[Walton Court, Aylesbury|Walton Court]]
*[[Watermead, Buckinghamshire|Watermead]]
*[[The Willows, Aylesbury|The Willows]]

Distinct whole areas that have a notably high property price in the town are [[Bedgrove]], the [[conservation area]] around St. Mary's Church and [[Queens Park, Aylesbury|Queens Park]], particularly facing onto the canal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mouseprice.com/property-for-sale/map/hp20|title=Map search for property for sale – Mouseprice}}</ref>

===Farms and hamlets===
Aylesbury has also been extended to completely surround the [[hamlet (place)|hamlets]] and former farms at:
*[[Bedgrove]]
*[[California, Buckinghamshire|California]]
*[[Fairford Leys]]
*[[New Zealand, Buckinghamshire|New Zealand]]
*[[Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury|Prebendal Farm]]
*[[Quarrendon, Buckinghamshire|Quarrendon]]
*[[Turnfurlong]]
*[[Walton, Aylesbury|Walton]]

===Future developments===
Anticipated developments are expected to raise the urban population of Aylesbury from its current approximation of 75,000 to over 100,000 between 2018 and 2023.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

===Elevations, soil and geology===
Aylesbury is immediately southeast of the upper [[River Thame]] that flows past [[Thame]] to [[Dorchester on Thames]] and is partly sited on the two northernmost outcrops of [[Portland stone]] in England{{#tag:ref|"This stone has above: freely draining lime-rich loamy soils" which forms 3.7% of English soil according to the Soilscape source|group= n}}<ref name=eh/> bisected by a small stream, Bear Brook which gives a relatively prominent position in relation to the terrain of all near, lower, fields and suburbs, which have largely slowly permeable [[Oxford Clay]] and [[Kimmeridge Clay]] soils{{#tag:ref|Specifically described in the source national map as "Slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils" (therefore of medium fertility) which forms 20% of English soil|group= n}}. Elevations range from 72.5m [[Above Ordnance Datum|above mean sea level]] to 95m AOD in contiguous parts of the town, however nearest villages range from 85m-90m to the north or from 85m to 115m on a narrow ridge to the southwest at [[Stone, Buckinghamshire|Stone]] and towards the [[Chilterns]] to the southeast (Weston Turville, Stoke Mandeville and North Lee).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/|title=Soilscapes soil types viewer – National Soil Resources Institute. Cranfield University}}</ref>

The town centre's higher terrain is accurately described by [[Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Samuel Lewis]] in 1848 as a "gentle eminence".<ref name=sl/>

{{main|Buckinghamshire#Geology}}
The county's oldest rocks of [[Jurassic era|Jurassic age]] cover the whole of the northern half of Buckinghamshire, succeeded continuously by younger rocks to the south of the Chilterns.<ref name=eh>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID3.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107131735/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID3.aspx|url-status = dead|title=Natural England — Geodiversity|archive-date=7 January 2014}}</ref>

==Culture and community==
[[File:Aylesbury library (24924657035).jpg|thumb|Aylesbury Library]]
The town centre is home to many pubs and bars. The [[Queens Park Centre]], which is the UK's largest independent arts centre is also based in the town centre.<ref>{{cite news|title=All hail Aylesbury's Queen's Park Arts Centre!|url=https://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/all-hail-aylesbury-s-queen-s-park-arts-centre-1-7879041|work=The Bucks Herald|date=22 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>

The local newspaper is the ''[[Bucks Herald]]'', which started publishing in January 1832.

Local radio stations was named [[Mix 96 (Aylesbury)|Mix 96]], which first broadcast in April 1994, and eventually ceased operations in September 2020, being replaced by [[Greatest Hits Radio]].
One of the more prominent buildings in Aylesbury is the "Blue Leanie" office block, home to [[Lloyds Bank]]. When first built it was thought to be a potential hazard to passing motorists, due to the sun reflecting off its large mirrored surface. As a result, a line of mature trees was planted alongside the main road to prevent dazzling.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/272799|title=Geograph:: The "Blue Leanie" (C) sijon}}</ref>
 
[[BBC]] local radio station that broadcast to the town is [[BBC Three Counties Radio]] on 94.7 FM.

Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC South]] and [[ITV Meridian]]. Television signals are received from the [[Oxford transmitting station]].

[[Aylesbury Waterside Theatre]], a new £42&nbsp;million theatre,<ref>[https://archive.today/20120913074756/http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/29923/aylesburys-42m-waterside- Aylesbury's £42 Million New Theatre Opens]</ref> with 1,200-seat auditorium, opened in October 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.ambassadortickets.com/content.aspx?CategoryID=275&ArticleID=179&fp=1&RegionID=15|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101013192906/http://www.ambassadortickets.com/content.aspx?CategoryID=275&ArticleID=179&fp=1&RegionID=15|url-status = dead|title=None|archive-date=13 October 2010}}</ref><ref>Waterside Theatre Opens (BBC) http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/threecounties/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9083000/9083183.stm</ref> In addition to this, the surrounding area has been redeveloped a £100 million project known as the 'Waterside project'.<ref>Aylesbury's Economic Growth {{cite web|url=http://www.redstonebc.com/kfx/localeconomy.html |title=Aylesbury's Economic Growth |access-date=13 October 2010 |url-status = dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110715165702/http://www.redstonebc.com/kfx/localeconomy.html |archive-date=15 July 2011  }}</ref> When this is completed, there will be {{convert|260000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of new retail floor space and 1,100 new jobs created, although when this will be completed now is unclear. Also, a new campus of the [Bucks New University] opened on the Waterside site next to the Waterside Theatre.

The Bourg Walk Bridge (also called the Southcourt Bridge or the Roberts Bridge after a local councillor) opened in March 2009 connecting Southcourt to Aylesbury town centre. The focus of the footbridge is a central concrete pillar with four suspension cables supporting the structure. This bridge forms a central part of the Aylesbury Hub project. Bourg Walk was nominated and won the Engineering Excellence Award 2009 awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineers – South East England branch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ice.org.uk/news_events/newsdetail_ice.asp?NewsID=2727&NewsType=Region&FacultyID=|title=Aylesbury Footbridge achieves top honour at Thames Valley Engineering Excellence Awards}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Governance==
[[File:Aylesbury Market Square Bucks.jpg|thumb|Market Square, Aylesbury. [[Aylesbury Town Hall|Town Hall Arches]] (left) and [[Aylesbury Crown Court|Old County Hall]] (right)]]
{{see also|Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)}}
There are two tiers of local government covering the town, at parish and unitary authority level: Aylesbury Town Council, based at [[Aylesbury Town Hall]] at 5 Church Street, and [[Buckinghamshire Council]], which is also based in Aylesbury, having its headquarters at The Gateway on Gatehouse Road.

Aylesbury Town Council is the parish council for the town. As at May 2021 it comprises 25 [[councillors]], 20 of whom are [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] and 5 [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]. The council represents only the [[Electoral district|constituents]] of Aylesbury town itself. Surrounding [[villages]] and some recent developments on the outskirts of Aylesbury like [[Fairford Leys]] & [[Watermead, Buckinghamshire|Watermead]] have their own [[Parish councils in England|parish council]]. In 2010 the district council decided that the new developments of [[Berryfields]] and [[Weedon Hill]], both to the north of Aylesbury, should also join to form a new parish as of May 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://committees.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/committees/FunctionsPage.aspx?dsid=19521&action=GetFileFromDB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807124912/http://committees.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/committees/FunctionsPage.aspx?dsid=19521&action=GetFileFromDB|url-status = dead|title=Aylesbury Vale District Council recommendations for Weedon parish|archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref>

The town council also elects the town mayor from the serving town councillors every year. The process culminates in a formal "Mayor Making" ceremony where the new mayor takes over from the preceding mayor. The role of mayor is mainly a ceremonial role representing the town at various events and acting as an ambassador for the town.

{{Emblem table
|collapsed=y
|name=Aylesbury Town Council
|image=[[File:Aylesbury Town Council coat of arms.jpg|150px]]
|escutcheon =Gyronny of six Gules and Sable a Mute Swan rousant proper on a Chief Or a Saxon Crown Gules.
|crest=On a Wreath Argent and Gules issuant from a Wreath of plaited Straw a Mount thereon an Aylesbury Duck all proper. 
|supporters=On the dexter side a Buck proper gorged with a Chain Or pendent therefrom a Hexagon Argent charged with a Garb Gules banded Or and on the sinister side a Stag also proper gorged with a Chain pendent therefrom a like Hexagon charged with a Crescent Sable.
|motto=Semper Prorsum
|badge=An Oval gyronny of six Gules and Sable charged with a Saxon Crown Or issuant therefrom a Mount thereon an Aylesbury Duck proper the whole environed by a Garland of Beech Leaves Vert.
|notes=Granted to borough council on 5 April 1964. Transferred to [[successor parish]] council on 3 April 2002.<ref name=heraldry>{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=Robert |title=Aylesbury Town Council |url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/south_central.html |website=Civic Heraldry |access-date=21 May 2022}}</ref>}}

===Administrative history===
{{see also|Municipal Borough of Aylesbury}}
Aylesbury was made a [[ancient borough|borough]] by a charter from [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] in 1554, which gave the town the right to elect two [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|members of parliament]] and to establish a council to govern itself. The right to establish a council was opposed by the prominent local landowner [[Thomas Pakington]], and it seems likely that this element of the charter was not put into effect at that time. In 1650, following the [[English Civil War]], the town did establish a degree of self-government under the auspices of the 1554 charter. However, in 1664, in the aftermath of the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]], the town's short-lived council was abolished and the rights it had held reverted to the Pakington family which had exercised them prior to the civil war. Thereafter the town was governed by its [[vestry]] in the same way as most rural areas, although it remained a [[Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|parliamentary constituency]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Page |first1=William |title=A History of the County of Buckingham, Volume 3 |date=1925 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=1–11 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol3/pp1-11 |access-date=21 May 2022}}</ref>

In 1849 a [[local board of health]] was established to govern the town. This board was replaced by Aylesbury Urban District Council in 1894, which was subsequently given [[municipal borough]] status on 1 January 1917, becoming Aylesbury Borough Council. The borough council was awarded a [[coat of arms]] in 1964.<ref name=heraldry/>

In 1974 Aylesbury Borough Council merged with several neighbouring districts to become [[Aylesbury Vale]]. No [[successor parish]] was initially created for Aylesbury, and it became an [[unparished area]], directly administered by [[Aylesbury Vale District Council]]. The civil parish of Aylesbury was re-established in 2001, with its parish council taking the name Aylesbury Town Council.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Aylesbury Vale (Parishes) Order 2000 (Statutory Instrument 2000 No. 3095) |date=2000 |url=https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/12165/aylesbury-vale-parishes-order-2000.pdf |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319223946/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/12165/aylesbury-vale-parishes-order-2000.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> From 2001 to 2020 there were therefore three tiers of local government covering the town, at parish, district, and county level.

Aylesbury Vale District Council was abolished in 2020, merging with [[Buckinghamshire County Council]] and other district councils to become a unitary authority called [[Buckinghamshire Council]]. Since 1 April 2020, when Buckinghamshire Council came into being, it has been responsible for almost all statutory local government functions across the county.

==Education==
Aylesbury is home to one college of general further education ([[Aylesbury College]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aylesbury.ac.uk/|title=Aylesbury College – Buckinghamshire Integrated Learning Campus}}</ref> on Oxford Road), three [[Grammar school#United Kingdom|grammar schools]], two [[Community school (England and Wales)|community upper schools]], an [[Academy (English school)|academy]], a [[university technical college]] and a host of [[Primary education#England|primary schools]].
The [[Secondary education#England, Wales and Northern Ireland|secondary schools]] are:
*[[Aylesbury Grammar School]] (boys only)
*[[Aylesbury High School]] (girls only)
*[[Aylesbury Vale Academy|The Aylesbury Vale Academy]]
*[[Buckinghamshire University Technical College]]
*[[The Grange School, Aylesbury|The Grange School]]
*[[Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School]]
*[[Mandeville School, Aylesbury|Mandeville School]]

There are also the following [[special school]]s:
*[[The PACE Centre]]
*[[Pebble Brook School]]
*[[Stocklake Park Community School]], formerly Park School

The Aylesbury Vale Secondary Support Centre<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avssc.org/|title=AVSSC – International Educational Resources for Parents Abroad}}</ref> is a [[Pupil referral unit]] (PRU), which caters for [[Expulsion (academia)|permanently excluded]] pupils.

Aylesbury Music Centre is a large educational establishment, which has its own premises adjoining [[Aylesbury High School]] and rivals the [[Royal College of Music]], having produced members of national orchestras.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

==Health==
[[Stoke Mandeville Hospital]] is a large [[National Health Service]] hospital to the south of the town centre. Its National Spinal Injuries Centre is one of the largest specialist spinal units in the world, and the pioneering rehabilitation work carried out there by [[Sir Ludwig Guttmann]] led to the development of the [[Paralympic Games]]. [[Stoke Mandeville Stadium]] was developed alongside the hospital and is the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stokemandevillestadium.co.uk/|title=Stoke Mandeville Stadium}}</ref>

[[Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital]] is a private hospital specialising in [[spinal cord injury]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalbucks.co.uk|title=The Buckinghamshire Hospital – Official Website}}</ref>

Aylesbury has provisions for mental health therapy and treatments at the [[Tindal Centre]] on Bierton Road. The Tindal Centre closed in early 2014 and Mental Health therapy and treatments along with Adult and Older Adult Mental Health Team's moved across the road to the new purpose-built hospital the Whiteleaf Centre. The former site of Tindal Centre has been transformed into a new housing development Bierton Place which has maintained the architecture of the original building and enhanced its beauty

==Trade and industry==
[[File:Grand Union Canal Aylesbury.jpg|thumb|Bucks [[County Hall, Aylesbury|County Hall]] taken from the Grand Union Canal]]
Traditionally the town was a commercial centre with a [[market (place)|market]] dating back to the Saxon period. This is because it was established on the main Akeman Street which became an established [[trade route]] linking London to the [[South West England|southwest]]. In 1180 a [[jail]] was established in the town{{#tag:ref|has a Prison though it has moved locations two or three times|group= n}} .

===15th century===
By 1477 flour was being ground in the town for surrounding parishes. By the modern period this had grown into a huge established industry: the last [[grist mill]] in Aylesbury was closed in the 1990s (Hills & Partridge on the canal behind Tesco). By 1560 the manufacture of [[sewing needle]]s had become a large industry in [[Long Crendon]] a village close by which was an important production centre.

===17th century – lace making===
In 1672 poor children in Buckinghamshire were taught to make [[needle lace|lace]] as a way to make a living. ''Bucks lace'' as it became known quickly became very sought after and production boomed as the lace was mainly made by poor women and children. The lace-making industry had died out by [[Victorian era|Victorian times]], however, as new machine-made lace became cheaper.

In 1764 Euclid Neale opened his clockmaking workshop in Aylesbury. In the 18th century, he was one of the best clock makers in the country.

===19th century – canals===
In 1814, the Aylesbury arm of the [[Grand Union Canal]] from [[Marsworth]] was opened bringing major industry to the town for the first time. At the same time the Wendover arm was built leading to nearby [[Wendover]].

===20th century – motor manufacture===
[[File:Cubitt Car Factory c.1922 at Great Southern Works, Aylesbury.jpg|thumb|Twenty Cubitt 16/20s in c.1922 publicity image at the [[Cubitt (car)|Cubitt Car Factory]], Great Southern Works, Bicester Road, Aylesbury.]]

From 1919 until 1925 the [[Cubitt (car)|Cubit Engineering Works]] on Bicester Road was a volume manufacturer of motor vehicles. Approximately 3,000 cars were built, but a somewhat slow and heavy design could not survive the onslaught from cheap American competition. Their robust design and high ground clearance made them popular in less developed parts of the British Empire which lacked paved roads like Australia and South Africa.<ref>Permanent display on the Cubit motor manufacturer at Aylesbury town museum. 2021</ref> The works have been demolished for a domestic housing development. The marque is commemorated by Cubitt Street (and Edge Street) which traverses the old works.

By the late 20th century, the printers and bookbinders, [[Hazell, Watson and Viney]] and the [[Nestlé]] dairy were the two main employers in the town, employing more than half the total population. These factories have long since been demolished and replaced by a [[Tesco]] supermarket which opened in 1994, and a housing development, respectively.

===21st century===
Today, the town is still a major commercial centre and the market still meets on the cobbles of the old Market Square four days a week. Nestle and Hazell, Watson and Viney and US automotive parts producer TRW have gone – the last left the town in 2006. However three major industrial and commercial centres make sure the town has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

A £150&nbsp;million [[Arla Foods]] 'megadairy' opened just off the [[A41 road]] in nearby [[Aston Clinton]] in November 2013, roughly {{convert|3+1/2|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} from the town centre and is a major employer in the area.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dairy Delivers |url=http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/arla-boss-pours-on-the-praise-as-dairy-delivers-1-5709675 |work=[[Bucks Herald]] |date=26 November 2013 |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=11 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711065741/http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/arla-boss-pours-on-the-praise-as-dairy-delivers-1-5709675 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Traffic improvement measures were paid for by Arla in order to reduce the impact of congestion and pollution.<ref>{{cite news |title=Council responds to traffic fears |url=http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/updated-council-responds-to-traffic-expert-s-fears-over-new-aylesbury-lights-1-5355185 |work=[[Bucks Herald]] |date=6 August 2013 |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=11 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711065228/http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/updated-council-responds-to-traffic-expert-s-fears-over-new-aylesbury-lights-1-5355185 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Sport and leisure==
Aylesbury has two local semi-professional football teams, [[Aylesbury Vale Dynamos F.C.]] which plays at Haywood Way and [[Aylesbury United F.C.]] which currently shares a ground with Chesham United. There is a strong cricket club in the town, that was formed in 1837 with success in the 1950s and 1980s and is again emerging as one of the strong clubs in mid- to north Buckinghamshire. Since 2013, Aylesbury has been host to a free 5&nbsp;km run called the Aylesbury Parkrun.
Aylesbury is represented in Rugby Union by Aylesbury Rugby Football Club, situated at Ostler's Field in the nearby village of Weston Turville; 'The Ducks' play in the 6th tier of English Rugby.

Aylesbury's recent sporting success comes in Gymnastics with [[Jessica Gadirova|Jessica]] and [[Jennifer Gadirova]], of [[Lynx Gymnastics Aylesbury]], both winning bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for Great Britain. 
<ref>[http://www.parkrun.org.uk/aylesbury/] Aylesbury Parkrun</ref>

==Transport==
===Rail===
The town is served by [[Aylesbury railway station]] and [[Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station]]; the latter is [[Terminal station|terminus]] of passenger services of the [[London to Aylesbury Line]] from [[Marylebone railway station|London Marylebone]]. [[Stoke Mandeville railway station]] also lies in the town's urban area.

Railways came to Aylesbury early, in 1839 when the [[Cheddington to Aylesbury Line|Aylesbury Railway]] opened from [[Cheddington railway station|Cheddington]] on [[Robert Stephenson]]'s [[London and Birmingham Railway]]. The [[Wycombe Railway]] (later [[Great Western Railway]]) arrived via [[Princes Risborough railway station|Princes Risborough]] on 1 October 1863, and on 23 September 1868 the [[Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway]] (later Metropolitan Railway) was opened from {{Stnlnk|Verney Junction}} to almost connect a loop with the Wycombe Railway. The [[Metropolitan Railway]] (MetR) from [[Baker Street tube station|Baker Street]] arrived via [[Amersham railway station|Amersham]] in 1892.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=ConInformationRecord.346| title=Metropolitan Railway| publisher=20th Century London| access-date=5 April 2008| archive-date=29 October 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029184023/http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=ConInformationRecord.346| url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Great Central Railway]] (GCR) connected from [[Nottingham Victoria railway station|Nottingham Victoria]] to [[Marylebone railway station|London Marylebone]] via the MetR in 1899. Between 1899 and 1953, Aylesbury had railway links to four London termini: Marylebone, Baker Street, [[Paddington railway station|Paddington]] and [[Euston railway station|Euston]]. The Aylesbury Railway closed in 1953, the MetR, which later became the [[Metropolitan line]] of the [[London Underground]] withdrew north of Aylesbury in 1936<ref>{{cite news | url=http://underground-history.co.uk/amersham.php| title=Quainton Road to Verney Junction| publisher=Underground History| access-date=5 April 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080403023246/http://underground-history.co.uk/amersham.php| archive-date= 3 April 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref> and withdrew from the town in 1961.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/metropolitan.html| title=Metropolitan Line | publisher=Davros| access-date=5 April 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080416212720/http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/metropolitan.html| archive-date= 16 April 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref> The GCR was dismantled north of Aylesbury in 1966. As a result, there were no regular passenger services north of Aylesbury until the opening of [[Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station]] in December 2008. Now only the GCR south of Aylesbury Vale Parkway to Marylebone is used for regular London services.

A rail scheme to extend passenger services northwestwards to a new station, [[Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station|Aylesbury Vale Parkway]], was completed in December 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport_plan/LTP2/thirty_yr_vision.htm |title=Bucks County Council Thirty Year Transport Vision |publisher=Bucks County Council |access-date=5 April 2008 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930045624/http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport_plan/LTP2/thirty_yr_vision.htm |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> This is sited on the formerly goods-only line towards Quainton at the point where the line crosses the A41 near Berryfields Farm on the north-west outskirts of the town, some {{convert|2.25|mi|km}} north of the main Aylesbury station. This area is to be known as '''Berryfields''', a major development area and will include park and ride facilities for Aylesbury.

A further expansion of rail services to a new [[Winslow railway station]], {{rws|Milton Keynes Central}}, [[Bedford railway station|Bedford]] and [[Oxford railway station|Oxford]] via the [[Claydon LNE Junction]] (see [[East West Rail]]) is due to be opened by 2030.<ref name=RTM141217>{{cite web|url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/chancellor-accepts-east-west-rail-targets-and-strengthens-plans-with-extra-cash|title=Chancellor accepts East West Rail targets and strengthens plans with extra cash|website=www.railtechnologymagazine.com}}</ref><ref name=Grayling>[http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/2017/12/14/transport-secretary-officially-launches-east-west-railway-company-bletchley-park/ Transport Secretary officially launches East West Railway Company at Bletchley Park] East West Rail, 22 November 2017</ref> 
Until then connections are available to Oxford and Birmingham by changing at Princes Risborough.

===Roads===
Aylesbury is served by the [[A41 road]] from London to [[Birkenhead]], which becomes the [[M40 motorway]] at [[Bicester]] {{convert|13|mi}} west (by north) of Aylesbury. The [[A413 road|A413]] and [[A418 road|A418]] roads also run through the town. The [[M40 motorway]] at junction 9 is {{convert|14.7|mi|km}} away and the [[M25 motorway]] is just over {{convert|21|mi|km}}'s drive.

===Buses===
Aylesbury is served by [[Aylesbury bus station]]. In 2006, work commenced on the public transport hub, a scheme comprising a one-way loop of bus lanes around the town's inner ring road, which includes improvements to the connectivity between bus and rail services. The first two phases of this scheme were completed in 2007, providing new bus lanes on Exchange Street, New Street, Friarage Road and White Hill, and also opened up High Street to buses. The final two phases, including the Bourg Walk Bridge and Station Boulevard were officially opened in April 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/content/index.jsp?contentid=-1291204912|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925035929/http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/content/index.jsp?contentid=-1291204912|url-status = dead|title=This page does not exist &#124; Buckinghamshire County Council|archive-date=25 September 2006|website=www.buckscc.gov.uk}}</ref>

The town is served by Buckinghamshire's first 'Rainbow Routes' network of bus services. The colour-coded routes were set up by [[Buckinghamshire County Council]], and bus operators.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aylesbury Transport Strategy |url=https://buckinghamshire-gov-uk.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/aylesbury-transport-strategy-final-jan-17.pdf |publisher=Buckinghamshire County Council |page=38 |date=2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Aylesbury and Buckingham transport strategies |url=https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/aylesbury-and-buckingham-transport-strategies/ |website=Buckinghamshire Council |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NTA Bid 2011: Improvements to Bus Services |url=https://www.wycombe.gov.uk/uploads/public/documents/Planning/Major-projects/NTA-bid-bus-improvements-2011.pdf |publisher=Buckinghamshire County Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017193422/https://www.wycombe.gov.uk/uploads/public/documents/Planning/Major-projects/NTA-bid-bus-improvements-2011.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2021}}</ref>

===Cycling demonstration town===
{{update section|date=October 2024}}
In 2005, the town won £1million funding to be one of six [[Cycling Demonstration town]]s in England, which was match-funded by [[Buckinghamshire County Council]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cyclingengland.co.uk/dt_aylesbury.php |title=Aylesbury |publisher=Cycling England |access-date=5 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213122747/http://www.cyclingengland.co.uk/dt_aylesbury.php |archive-date=13 February 2008 |url-status = live }}</ref> This allows Buckinghamshire County Council to promote the use of cycling amongst the general public, as well as provide facilities for cyclists, such as bike lockers, bike stands, and [[Tiger crossing|Tiger]] and [[Toucan crossing|Toucan]] road crossings.

Cycle Aylesbury, the team created to undertake the Cycling Demonstration town work, recently opened the first of their Gemstone Cycleways, which are a network of routes running from Aylesbury town centre to various locations around the town, including [[Stone, Buckinghamshire|Stone]], [[Bierton]], [[Wendover]] and [[Watermead, Buckinghamshire|Watermead]]. A second brochure/magazine was published to accompany the routes, along with a redesigned website, CycleAylesbury.co.uk.

==Notable people==
:''See [[:Category:People from Aylesbury]]''
<gallery mode="packed" widths="110" heights="110" caption="Notable people from Aylesbury">
File:John Hampden portrait.jpg|[[John Hampden]] MP
File:Lynda Bellingham (cropped-J1).gif|[[Lynda Bellingham]]
File:Nick Blood (cropped).jpg|[[Nick Blood]]
File:Brendan Cole in 2018.jpg|[[Brendan Cole]] 
File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP crop 2.jpg|[[Andrea Leadsom]] MP 
File:Nicholas Parsons 2007 (cropped-J1).png|[[Nicholas Parsons]]
File:Mark Webber 2017 United States GP (cropped).jpg|[[Mark Webber (racing driver)|Mark Webber]]
File:Ellen White England Ladies v Montenegro 5 4 2014 952 (cropped-J1).jpg|[[Ellen White (footballer)|Ellen White]]
File:Ludwig Guttmann2.jpg|[[Ludwig Guttmann]]
</gallery>
Aylesbury is or has been home to a range of notable people. In the latter part of the 20th century, the main maternity unit in the district was located in Aylesbury at the [[Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital]]; hence a large number of people were born in Aylesbury who may not have had any other association with the town. For a full list see [[:Category:People from Aylesbury|People from Aylesbury]]. In alphabetic order of surname, those who live, or have lived in Aylesbury include:
* [[Michael Apted]] (1941–2021), film director and producer <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Michael-Apted.html|title=Michael Apted Personal Biog |publisher=Film Reference|access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>
* [[Benjamin Bates II|Benjamin Bates]] (1716–1790), physician, art connoisseur and socialite<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/pict/explore/mortimer.html|title=John Hamilton Mortimer and the discovery of Captain Cook|publisher=[[National Library of Australia]]|access-date=4 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727000750/http://www.nla.gov.au/pict/explore/mortimer.html|archive-date=27 July 2008|url-status = live}}</ref>
* [[Lynda Bellingham]] (1948–2014), actress, broadcaster and author<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lyndabellingham.com/|title=Lynda Bellingham Official Biography|publisher=[[Lynda Bellingham]]|access-date=4 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620152833/http://www.lyndabellingham.com/|archive-date=20 June 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref>
* [[Nick Blood]] (born 1982), actor, ''[[Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'' (2014–2017), ''[[The Day of the Jackal (TV series)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (2024)
* [[Rutland Boughton]] (1878–1960), English composer and communist, born in the town<ref>[http://www.credoreference.com/entry/orionbritainireland/aylesbury Aylesbury]. ''Brewer's Britain and Ireland''. Retrieved 13 September 2012 {{Subscription required|via=[[Credo Reference]]}}</ref>
* [[Ernest Bullock]] (1890–1979), organist, composer and teacher; died in Aylesbury<ref>{{cite book |title=International Music Guide 1978 |last1=Elley |first1=Derek |author2=Peter Cowie |year=1978 |publisher=Barnes |location=Michigan |isbn=0-498-02424-5}}</ref>
* [[Brendan Cole]] (born 1976), New Zealand born pro-dancer on ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]'' from 2004 to 2017<ref name="cole">{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42871612|work=BBC News|title=Brendan Cole 'in shock' at being dropped from Strictly Come Dancing|date=30 January 2018}}</ref>
* [[Mathilde Carré]] (1908–2007), a French Resistance agent and double agent detainee at [[Aylesbury (HM Prison)|Aylesbury Prison]]<ref>{{cite news |first1=Chris |last1=Gray |title=How a triple agent called 'the Cat' got the cream of Britain's spy network |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/how-a-triple-agent-called-the-cat-got-the-cream-of-britains-spy-network-609400.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=28 November 2002|access-date=4 August 2008|location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
* [[Barns Courtney]] (born 1990), singer and songwriter, born in Aylesbury
* Sir [[Alexander Croke]] (1758–1842), British judge and Colonial Administrator in Nova Scotia <ref name="archibald">{{cite journal |author1=Adams George Archibald |author-link1=Adams George Archibald |title=Sir Alexander Croke |journal=Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society for the Years 1879–80 |date=1881 |volume=2 |pages=110–128 |url=https://archive.org/stream/collectionsofnov02nova#page/n113/mode/2up |access-date=8 January 2020 |publisher=[[Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society]]}}</ref>
* [[The Anchoress (musician)|Catherine Anne Davies]] (born ca.1990), stage name ''The Anchoress'', musician and songwriter
*[[Greg Day (playwright)|Greg Day]] (born 1957), playwright, born in Aylesbury <ref>Time Out, 18 February 1983</ref>
* [[Liam Gillick]] (born 1964) artist, born in Aylesbury
* [[Martin Grech]] (born 1982), singer, songwriter and musician <ref>{{cite news|first1=Caroline|last1=Sullivan|title=Martin Grech|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/may/18/popandrock|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=18 May 2005|access-date=4 August 2008|location=London}}</ref>
* [[John Hampden]] (ca.1595–1643), politician and [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] during the [[English Civil War]], lived in [[Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire|Hartwell House]]
* [[John Junkin]] (1930–2006), TV performer and scriptwriter, died in Aylesbury <ref>{{IMDb name|0432729|John Junkin}}</ref>
* [[Andrea Leadsom]] (born 1963), Conservative MP for [[South Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Northamptonshire]]; Minister of State for Energy at the [[Department of Energy and Climate Change]]; candidate for the leadership of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] in 2016
* [[Samantha Lewthwaite]] (born 1983), terrorist, grew up in Aylesbury <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24204517|work=BBC News|title=Profile: Samantha Lewthwaite|date=26 September 2013}}</ref>
* [[Constance Markievicz]] (1868–1927), [[Ireland|Irish]] politician, [[Revolutionary nationalism|revolutionary nationalist]], [[suffragette]] and [[socialism|socialist]]; inmate Aylesbury prison in [[1916]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://irishvolunteers.org/constance-markievicz/|title=Constance Markievicz|publisher=Irish Volunteers|access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref>
* [[John Otway]] (born 1952), singer and songwriter<ref>{{cite news|title=From Shaw Taylor to John Otway|url=http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/nostalgia/From-Shaw-Taylor-to-John.3058339.jp|work=Aylesbury Today|publisher=The [[Bucks Herald]]|date=25 July 2007|access-date=4 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724233709/http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/nostalgia/From-Shaw-Taylor-to-John.3058339.jp|archive-date=24 July 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Nicholas Parsons]] (1923-2020), TV presenter and actor, lived in Aylesbury and died at Stoke Mandeville Hospital<ref name=BBC28012020>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51278023|title=BBC radio host Nicholas Parsons dies|date=28 January 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=28 January 2020}}</ref>
* [[Charles Pearson (priest)|Charles Pearson]] (1847–1917), a pioneer Anglican missionary in Uganda<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacb.org/stories/uganda/pearson_charlesw.html|title=Pearson, Charles William|publisher=Dictionary of African Christian Biography|access-date=4 August 2008}}</ref>
* Sir [[James Clark Ross]] (1800–1862), Arctic naval explorer, died in Aylesbury <ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510080/Sir-James-Clark-Ross|title=Sir James Clark Ross|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 August 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080807135245/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510080/Sir-James-Clark-Ross| archive-date= 7 August 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref>
* [[Vernon Scannell]] (1922–2007), a poet and author and former boxer<ref>{{cite news |first1=Alan |last1=Brownjohn |title=Obituary: Vernon Scannell |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/nov/19/guardianobituaries.poetry |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 November 2007 |access-date=4 August 2008 | location=London}}</ref>
* [[William of Sherwood]] (ca.1200 – ca.1272), medieval English scholastic philosopher, logician, teacher and rector of Aylesbury<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00kret|url-access=limited|last1=Kretzmann|first1=Norman | author-link = Norman Kretzmann |author2=Anthony Kenny |author2-link=Anthony Kenny |author3=Jan Pinborg |author3-link=Jan Pinborg |author4=Eleonore Stump|year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=978-0-521-36933-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00kret/page/n905 892]}}</ref>
* [[Mike Smith (Dave Clark Five)|Mike Smith]] (1943–2008), musician, of [[the Dave Clark Five]] lived in Aylesbury <ref>{{cite news|title=Dave Clark Five singer Smith dies|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7270242.stm|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=29 February 2008|access-date=4 August 2008}}</ref>
* [[Pete Trewavas]] (born 1959), musician, member of [[Marillion]]
* [[John Wilkes]] (1725–1797), a radical journalist and politician; MP for Aylesbury 1757 and 1761, lived at Prebendal House in the town<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/infopage.asp?infoid=606 |title=John Wilkes 'A Friend to Liberty' 1727–1797 |publisher=Aylesbury Town Council |access-date=8 March 2009 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717162229/http://www.aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/infopage.asp?infoid=606 |archive-date=17 July 2011  }}</ref>

=== Sport ===
* [[Emmerson Boyce]] (born 1979), footballer, born in Aylesbury
* [[Jennifer Gadirova]] and [[Jessica Gadirova]], (twins, born 2004), Team GB gymnasts, won Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics<ref name="bucksherald.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bucksherald.co.uk/sport/other-sport/aylesburys-amazing-gadirova-twins-through-to-olympic-gymnastics-finals-3322802|title=Aylesbury's amazing Gadirova twins through to Olympic gymnastics finals|date=25 July 2021 }}</ref>
* [[Ludwig Guttmann]] (1899–1980), neurologist, founded the Stoke Mandeville Games, which became the [[Paralympic Games]].
* [[Matt Phillips]] (born 1991), footballer, born in Aylesbury <ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/sport/aylesbury_football_star_phillips_snubs_three_lions_for_tartan_army_1_3554711|title=Aylesbury football star Phillips snubs Three Lions for Tartan Army|date=25 February 2012|publisher=The [[Bucks Herald]]|access-date=27 February 2012|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120730084645/http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/sport/aylesbury_football_star_phillips_snubs_three_lions_for_tartan_army_1_3554711|archive-date=30 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Mark Webber (racing driver)|Mark Webber]] (born 1976), former [[Formula 1]] driver who raced for [[Red Bull Racing]], [[Jaguar Racing]] and [[Williams F1]], with nine career wins; resides in [[Aston Clinton]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.markwebber.com/my-story/|title=Mark Webber &#124; My Story}}</ref>
* [[Ellen White (footballer)|Ellen White]] (born 1989), [[England women's national football team]], former [[Chelsea L.F.C.|Chelsea Ladies]], [[Arsenal L.F.C.|Arsenal Ladies]], [[Notts County L.F.C.|Notts County Ladies]], [[Birmingham City W.F.C.|Birmingham City]] and [[Manchester City W.F.C.|Manchester City]] football player from Aylesbury.

==Popular culture==

[[File:Statue of David Bowie (geograph 5942789).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Statue of David Bowie]] in different guises in Aylesbury, the town where he debuted Ziggy Stardust.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8262345/david-bowie-statue-unveiled-england-ziggy-stardust|title=David Bowie Statue Unveiled in English Town Where Ziggy Stardust Debuted|magazine=Billboard|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>]]
A live music nightclub in Aylesbury was prominent in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and renamed the [[Friars Aylesbury|Friars' Club]] in 1969. The venue hosted many of the top artists of the time, including [[Jimi Hendrix]], the [[Rolling Stones]], [[Cream (band)|Cream]], [[Otis Redding]], [[the Clash]], [[Hawkwind]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[U2]], [[David Bowie]], [[Talking Heads]], [[Marillion]] and [[the Ramones]]. Friars' Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009 by holding three special concerts that reflected the various phases of the club's musical history. The first concert in June featured the [[Edgar Broughton Band]], [[the Groundhogs]] and the [[Pretty Things]].

The rock band [[Marillion]] have a close association with Aylesbury. They originally formed there, with the band's first single, 1982's "[[Market Square Heroes]]", taking its title inspiration from Aylesbury's Market Square. The band continue to be based in the area, with their Racket Records studio still close to Aylesbury, and in 2007 the band performed together with their original lead singer, [[Fish (singer)|Fish]], for the first time in 19 years at Aylesbury.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6966603.stm|title= Singer Fish and Marillion reunite| date=28 August 2007|work=BBC News }}</ref>

[[File:Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire County Museum - geograph.org.uk - 897270.jpg|thumb|The [[Buckinghamshire County Museum]] contains the [[Roald Dahl Children's Gallery]]]]
Aylesbury Methodist Church holds an annual organ recital, which attracts prominent national organists. The [[Roald Dahl Children's Gallery]] in Church Street, Aylesbury, is a children's museum in honour of novelist [[Roald Dahl]] that opened on 23 November 1996.<ref name=DAH>Sharron L. McElmeel (1999)[https://books.google.com/books?id=5VkjAQAAIAAJ&q=Buckinghamshire+County+Museum+ 100 most popular children's authors: biographical sketches and bibliographies] Libraries Unlimited, 1999</ref> Aylesbury hosts the Roald Dahl Festival, a procession of giant puppets based on his characters, on 2 July.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Comedian and actor [[Ronnie Barker]] (1929–2005) began his acting career in the town in the late 1940s and in September 2010, almost five years after his death, a bronze statue of him was unveiled by actor [[David Jason]] and Barker's one time co-star [[Ronnie Corbett]] (the other half of [[the Two Ronnies]]) on a new public place in Exchange Street.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/threecounties/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9026000/9026186.stm | work=BBC News | title=Ronnie Barker statue unveiled | date=30 September 2010}}</ref>

===Shown in productions===
Scenes from the film ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' were filmed in [[Friars Square]] in Aylesbury but did not make it to the final cut. This is the 'Librarian Scene' where outtakes from the shoot and rehearsal can be seen in Alison Castle's ''The Stanley Kubrick Archives'' published by Taschen. The opening scene, in which the droogs beat up an elderly Irishman, is mistakenly cited as being filmed in the underpass linking Friars Square Shopping Centre with the railway station. However, Christiane Kubrick's book ''Stanley Kubrick&nbsp;– A Life in Pictures'' states that the underpass in the film has a different shape to the one in Aylesbury and these sequences were actually [[A Clockwork Orange (film)#Locations|filmed in Wandsworth]].<ref>[[Malcolm McDowell]]: Camera 2 in the summer of 2002</ref>

The County Court building and Aylesbury Market Square regularly feature in the BBC Television series ''[[Judge John Deed]]''.

==Twin town==
Aylesbury is twinned with the French town of [[Bourg-en-Bresse]], {{convert|267|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of Paris.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/about-aylesbury/aylesbury-twinning-association/|title=Aylesbury Twinning Association|website=Aylesbury Twinning Association|publisher=Aylesbury Town Council|access-date=3 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914220541/http://www.aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/about-aylesbury/aylesbury-twinning-association/|archive-date=14 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Closest cities, towns and villages==
{{Geographic location
|title = '''Destinations from Aylesbury'''
|Northwest = [[Fleet Marston]], [[Waddesdon]], '''[[Bicester]]'''
|North     = [[Hardwick, Buckinghamshire|Hardwick]], [[Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire|Whitchurch]], [[Winslow, Buckinghamshire|Winslow]], '''[[Buckingham]]'''
|Northeast = [[Bierton]], [[Wing, Buckinghamshire|Wing]], [[Leighton Buzzard]], '''[[Milton Keynes]]'''
|West      = [[Stone, Buckinghamshire|Stone]], [[Haddenham, Buckinghamshire|Haddenham]], [[Thame]], '''[[Oxford]]'''
|Centre    = Aylesbury
|East      = [[Aston Clinton]], [[Tring]], '''[[Hemel Hempstead]]''',
|Southwest = [[Bishopstone, Buckinghamshire|Bishopstone]], [[Chinnor]], [[Watlington, Oxfordshire|Watlington]], '''[[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]]'''
|South     = [[Stoke Mandeville]], [[Princes Risborough]], '''[[High Wycombe]]'''
|Southeast = [[Weston Turville]], [[Wendover]], [[Great Missenden]], [[Amersham]], '''London'''
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Church of St Mary, Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 4572.jpg|Church of St Mary, Aylesbury – Grade I listed church<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1160522|desc=Church of St Mary|grade=I|access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref>
File:Aylesbury Church Street.jpg|The Old Grammar School, now museum and other buildings, Church Street, Aylesbury
File:Church Street, Aylesbury (2).jpg|Church Street – detail
File:Ayles00205A.jpg|Bucks 'New' County offices
File:BlueLeany2008.jpg|Blue Leanie, office block of [[Lloyds Bank]].
File:Aylesbury KingsHeadInn02.JPG|15th century King's Head Inn
File:Aylesbury KingsHeadInn01.JPG|Beer garden of King's Head Inn
File:Aylesbury's Hobgoblin - geograph.org.uk - 752699.jpg|Hobgoblin Inn
File:Aylesbury railway station.JPG|[[Aylesbury railway station]]
File:Aylesbury Vale 1.jpg|Part of Aylesbury Vale taken from the top of Coombe Hill, looking towards Aylesbury – the town's shape is visible.

</gallery>

==Freedom of the Town==
The following people and military units have received the [[Freedom of the City|Freedom of the Town]] of Aylesbury.

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2022}}

===Individuals===
*  Freda Roberts: 25 April 2016.
*  [[Ellen White (footballer)|Ellen White]]: 25 April 2016.
<ref>{{cite web |title=HONORARY FREEWOMAN OF THE PARISH OF AYLESBURY |url=https://www.aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/uncategorised/honorary-freewoman-of-the-parish-of-aylesbury/ |website=Aylesbury Town Council |date=25 April 2016 |access-date=23 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|South East England}}
*[[Architecture of Aylesbury]]
*[[Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)]]

==Notes and references==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist|group=n}}

'''References'''
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Aylesbury}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[http://www.aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/ Aylesbury Town Council]
*[http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/ Aylesbury Vale District Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211011946/http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/ |date=11 February 2014 }}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Aylesbury |volume= 3 |page=72 |short=1}}
* {{OpenDomesday|SP8113|aylesbury|Aylesbury}}
* [https://aylesbury.info Aylesbury.info Regional Website]

{{Buckinghamshire}}
{{Aylesbury}}
{{London commuter belt}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aylesbury| ]]
[[Category:County towns in England]]
[[Category:Hill forts in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Local government in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Towns in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Market towns in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire]]