Buckingham means literally 'the land of Bucca's people in the bend of the river'. There is no documentary reference to Buckingham before 914 when what was probably a small Saxon village was fortified in the wars against the Danes. Buckingham provided a convenient crossing point on the Ouse and its spur of land almost surrounded by water was ideal for the building of a castle. The County of Buckingham was assembled from towns and villages to the south of the fortress in order that sufficient manpower and taxation would be available to sustain its vital military role.

The success of the campaign against the Danes soon made the castle redundant and Domesday Book already shows Buckingham lagging behind more natural trading centres like Aylesbury. In the 16th century Buckingham gained a new charter confirming its right to elect a corporation and hold courts to govern the market, but its status as county town was undermined as the Assizes moved to Aylesbury. As a parliamentary borough, Buckingham sent two Members of Parliament; but its electorate of 12 was easily manipulated by local landowners, particularly the Temple family of Stowe. During the Civil War the local gentry took opposing sides, but the town played host to the King and his army for a week in 1644.

In 1699 the church spire fell and was not rebuilt. In 1724 a disastrous fire destroyed up to a third of Buckingham. Reconstruction was slow but in the 18th century a new gaol and Town Hall were built in an unsuccessful bid to win back both the Assizes and the status of county town.

The 19th century saw the construction of a canal and a branch railway to Buckingham, but from the middle of the century its population began to decline. The author explores the reasons for Buckingham's failure to keep pace with rival towns, a trend which has of late been reversed by the Buckingham Development Company and the arrival of the University of Buckingham.

Buckingham remained small, but attractive to photographers and artists whose surviving images have enabled the author to provide a splended visual impression of the town and its people.

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