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Aylesbury was founded as a settlement in Saxon times and originally a small market town.
It wasn’t until the reign of Henry VIII, that it was given the status of county town, mainly due to the needs of circuit judges.
The town was important during the English Civil War when, local resident, MP John Hampden, voted in parliament against the ship tax brought in by Charles I. John Hampden came from a family of wealthy landowners and lived at Great Hampden. He fought with the Parliamentarians in the Civil War, who were led by his cousin, Oliver Cromwell. At the Battle of Holman’s Bridge in 1642 he led the defence of Aylesbury.
Radical MP for Aylesbury, John Wilkes, was elected in 1757. After a marriage of convenience to a local heiress, and tiring of his life of pleasure as a member of the Hell Fire Club, he became interested in politics. In 1762 Wilkes published a newspaper called The North Briton that publicly criticised the king, George III, and the prime minister. Following arrest for seditious libel Wilkes was taken to King’s Bench Prison. On 10 May 1768 15,000 people amassed outside the prison chanting ‘Wilkes and Liberty’, ‘No Liberty, No King’ and ‘Damn the King, Damn the Government’ and ‘Damn the Justices’. Troops opened fire on the crowd, killing seven people. Anger at the massacre led to disturbances all over London. As Wilkes aged his radical views softened and he eventually lost his parliamentary seat (then in Middlesex).
The introduction of the railway encouraged the development of industry and brought prosperity to the town and small businesses began to flourish. It is believed that before the abolition of the slave trade, slaves were brought to Aylesbury by rail from Liverpool, and then shipped to London by canal.
Stoke Mandeville Hospital played an important role in World War II, acting as an emergency medical centre. The hospital went on to develop its world renowned spinal injuries unit.
The population has doubled in size since the 1960s, with the development of new housing estates. The closure of the Cattle Market during the 1980“s and the development of large office blocks reflects Aylesbury“s dramatic change into a large, commercially and vibrant town
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