Architecture of Aylesbury
The architecture of Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire, reflects that which can be found in many small towns in England. The architecture contained in many of the country's great cities is well recorded and documented, as is that of the numerous great country houses. Frequently, the work is by one of England's more notable architects – Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Robert Adam, William Kent or even Quinlan Terry. What is less well known is the local architecture in the market towns, often inspired by the work of the great master architects or architectural styles popular at the time. English merchants would often return from a visit to one of the nearby cities, or having seen a glimpse of one of the great country houses then require a replica of what they had seen. A local architect would then be employed to recreate it, within limited financial restraints. Sometimes the patron would merely draw an image of what he required and a builder would then interpret the requirements to the best of his often limited ability.
This recreation and interpretation of a certain style were not confined to private houses, but to civic architecture too: an illustrious architect added to civic pride; and when an architect was too expensive for the civic coffers, for a fraction of the price he would judge a competition between local architects, for the privilege of designing a town hall or church. This is exactly what happened in Aylesbury. John Vanbrugh judged two sets of plans for the County Hall.
It is this provincial architecture by nationally unknown architects which continues to give many English market towns a unique atmosphere and character. The architecture of Aylesbury demonstrates this admirably from the 11th century to the 21st century; a 1000 years of provincial architecture in one town little known outside of Britain.
Saxon to Medieval period
Aylesbury Castle
Aylesbury's one-time castle is today only remembered by the name of Castle Street. It is thought that it was a Norman structure consisting of just a motte and bailey, likely situated within Anglo-Saxon fortifications later known as Castle Fee. Built immediately after the conquest, it was probably demolished after outliving its requirement following the quelling of the civil insurrections of the early 12th century. Archaeological excavations in the 1960s uncovered part of the castle wall and it is from these excavations that we get most of what we know about the castle today.The Parish Church of St. Mary
The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, is the oldest building in Aylesbury. Cruciform in design, it follows a common layout of English churches - the tower in the centre, the nave with aisles in the west, leading to the chancel in the east, and chapels in the north and south transepts. Beneath the eastern chapel is a crypt containing Saxon brickwork dating from circa 571, when Aylesbury was a Saxon settlement known as Aeglesburge. It is thought a Norman church, of which only the font remains, then stood on the site. The present church was built during the first half of the 13th century and has later perpendicular battlements. The tower is crowned by a small spire dating from the reign of Charles II. Between 1850 and 1869 the church was restored under the direction of Sir George Gilbert Scott. Pevsner describes this restoration as "so reckless both exterior and interior look mostly Victorian". Scott certainly removed some interesting features such as the completely enclosed and intricately carved manorial pew, the "three-decker" pulpit and replaced some perpendicular windows with the more Gothic triple lancet windows beloved of the Victorians. However, in fairness to Scott the church was in a dilapidated state, the roof was perilous, and innumerable internal burials had undermined the foundations, in addition to this much of the church was left to local organizations, the local fire service kept three fire engines in one of the chapels, and the local regiment and militia stored their stock of gunpowder in part of the church. Many fine architectural details did survive the neglect and following restoration – the large west window, the perpendicular roofs to the transepts, the late 12th-century font and the four misericords besides some well-carved stone monuments and memorial tablets. In the 1970s the church was again considered perilously unstable, and at one time appeared to be facing demolition. It was eventually saved by a further, more tactful, restoration, and is today still the town's principal Church of England place of worship.The Friarage
This building, the former friarage at 14, Bourbon Street is the oldest building in Aylesbury that was used as a residential dwelling. Constructed circa 1386 as a Franciscan priory the substructure remains intact although the exterior is more modern. Part of the original foundation of the building can still be seen at the side of the Friarage Passage.It is possible that the building was re-fronted shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Re-fronting was a common practice in British building techniques and involves stripping away the external shell of the older building, sometimes just the front, and then adding a new shell.
This building in particular is discernible as a much older building than it looks because of the uneven windows at the front. One will notice that no two windows are on the same level or of the same size: this indicates a more organic growth of the building over many years rather than one that has been specifically designed to look a particular way – this is a common feature of buildings of this age.
There is a high likelihood that the building was re-fronted for a second time or had extra features added to it in the 18th century: the front door, for instance, is of a much later design than the 16th century. However, records suggest that the size of the doorway and the position of the windows are original features of the 14th-century structure.
Today the building is the main office for a firm of solicitors, who have been based in this building since the firm was founded: it had been the private residence of one of the firm's first partners.
15th century to 18th century
Aylesbury is and always has been quintessentially a market town, with the Market Square being the heart of the town. The Market Square is still at the centre of the town and is still fairly well used with four markets a week being held regularly and other events on special occasions. However, it is the siting of the medieval market stalls both semi-permanent and temporary which has given the Market Square an unusual architectural phenomenon. As the stalls, or allocated lots, of the traders in the square, became less transient so the stalls began to become permanent buildings within the confines of the square itself, thus many of the square's oldest buildings such as the King's Head Inn are hidden in what appear to be back alleys on the periphery of the square. This encroachment continued into the 16th century until the western area of the square was a complex of alleys and lanes. This curious maze-like complex existed until the 1960s redevelopment of the town, and the King's Head still appears to be partially hidden by buildings in front of it.Parsons Fee
Parsons Fee has its name steeped in history. Aylesbury remained a feudal manor until the 13th century when new smaller landholdings were formed. These new small manors created by royal grant were often known as fees: Aylesbury had several fees circa the reign of Henry II. These included the Castle Fee held by the principal lord of the manor of Aylesbury, who also held the Lord's fee; Otterers fee which was granted to Roger Foll, the King's otter hunter in 1179 and Church Fee endowed to the church, which eventually in Aylesbury was allowed a small degree of autonomy as a prebend of the Diocese of Lincoln. Hence church fee was controlled by the "parson" or priest of Aylesbury, and thus Church Fee came to be known as Parson's Fee.This row of cottages adjacent to the parish church are some of the oldest dwellings in Aylesbury. These timber framed dwellings which date from the 17th century have oversailing upper stories, a common feature of the period, which had the advantage of increasing the space of a small land site.
The brick-built cottages to the left of the picture are almshouses belonging to the Thomas Hickman charity. Thomas Hickman was a resident of Aylesbury in the 17th century who left money in his will to provide money for dwellings for the old and infirm. These dwellings were built in the 19th century to look like their neighbours.
18th century architecture
While the church cannot be called architecturally outstanding, it does form an integral part of a townscape seemingly unchanged from the 18th century. Sited upon a hill, it is surrounded by narrow streets, and squares of substantial 18th-century townhouses, which were not included in the large replanning and development of the town in the late 1960s. This area compromising Castle Street, Church Street, Temple Square, and Church Square including Parson's Fee gives a clear indication of how Aylesbury must have appeared in the 18th century and has an architectural ambiance quite different to the remainder of the town.County Hall (County Court)
Aylesbury has many public buildings which reflect its position as the county town of Buckinghamshire, a position it has held since the 16th century when King Henry VIII transferred the status from Buckingham. Legend states it was a move to impress Anne Boleyn's father, who held the manor at the time, but this is probably apocryphal. A county town is the seat of Buckinghamshire County Council, a body responsible for the minor day-to-day running of an English county. It was also the home of the local assizes today known as the Crown Court. Thus the town has always had a structure known as County Hall: today the building known by that name houses merely the offices of the County Council. In previous centuries it housed not only the administrative offices of the county but also the county court chamber, where crimes such as murder, treason and those felonies too serious for a small town magistrate's court were tried. In addition, the County Hall often had an assembly room where entertainment and balls would take place for the more worthy members of the county and their families. Thus in the 18th century County Hall was a reflection of county prestige.In the early 18th century the elders of Aylesbury decided to build a grand and magnificent new County Hall. Plans were submitted by two architects a Mr. Brandon and a Thomas Harris. The successful plan was to be selected by no lesser architect than John Vanbrugh. Thus for a fraction of the price of employing him, Aylesbury had the great man forever associated with the design of its County Hall. In truth if the provincial architect Harris intended to flatter Vanbrugh he failed miserably, the plan Vanbrugh selected was more in the style of his predecessor and rival Sir Christopher Wren. But no matter to the Elders of Aylesbury, they had a fine building associated with a national figure, that the building was by the time of its completion over 50 years out of date was probably not even recognised by its patrons.
The building was finally completed in 1740, despite its lack of an illustrious architect it is a handsome red brick building of seven bays and two stories. The windows are round topped on the lower floor and pedimented on the upper. The three central bays are unified under a pediment. The whole style of the building is Palladian with some baroque influences. One feature on the principal facade shows the building's provincial pedigree, Vanbrugh or Wren would have left the facade undecorated, or the windows interspersed by pilasters, here in rural Aylesbury the architect chose to place a humble drainpipe symmetrically between the windows, in London plumbing was discrete or hidden. The interior contained a panelled courtroom and a council chamber.
Almost from the moment of the building's completion, the 18th-century County Hall was not large enough. As local government became more complex and bureaucratic more office space was required and so Judges' lodgings were constructed in 1849–1850 on the back of County Hall. Following the Local Government Act of 1888 the newly established Buckinghamshire County Council based itself here, thus further council rooms, including a Mayor's parlour, were added too.