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Thame

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This article is about the town in England. For the village near Mount Everest, see Thame, Nepal.
Thame
Population11,072 (parish, with Moreton) (2001 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP710060
• London46.5mi
Civil parish
  • Thame
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townThame
Postcode districtOX9
Dialling code01844
PoliceThames Valley
FireOxfordshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
WebsiteThame Town Council
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire

Thame (pronounced "Tame", with a silent "h") is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town.

History up to 1800

Thame was founded in the Anglo-Saxon era and and lay within the territory of the kingdom of Wessex.

Thame Abbey was founded in 1138 for the Cistercian Order: the abbey church was consecrated in 1145. In the 16th-century Dissolution of the Monasteries the abbey was suppressed and the church demolished. Thame Park (the house) was built on the site, incorporating parts of the abbey including the early 16th century abbot's house. Its interior is one of the earliest examples of the Italian Renaissance in England. A Georgian west-wing was added in the 18th century. In about 1840 parts of the foundations of the abbey church were excavated: it was 230 feet (70 m) long and 70 feet (21 m) wide, with a Lady Chapel extending a further 45 feet (14 m) at the east end.[2]

The Church of England parish church of Mary the Virgin was built in about 1220[citation needed] in the Early English style but was later altered in the Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic styles.[3] The tower has a ring of eight bells, all cast in 1876.[4]

The Prebendal House is known to have existed by 1234, and its Early English style chapel was built in about 1250. The solar also dates from the 13th century, and both buildings survive today. The rest of the Prebendal House dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.[5]

In 1550 the courtier John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame built the almshouses in Church Lane. He died in 1559, and his will established the local Grammar School. Its original building, completed in 1569, stands next to the almshouses. In 1880 the school moved to its current premises in Oxford Road. In 1971 it became a comprehensive school under the name Lord Williams's School.

The English Civil War in the 1640s saw Thame occupied in turn by Royalists and by Parliamentarians. After the Battle of Chalgrove Field (1643), Colonel John Hampden, who had been educated at the Grammar School, died of his wounds at the house of Ezekiel Browne,[6] later to become the Greyhound Inn. As of 2010 some of Hampden's descendants still live in the town.

The champion bare-knuckle boxer James Figg was born in Thame in 1684 and had his early prize-fights at the Greyhound Inn.[7]

In the 18th century many of the buildings in the boat-shaped High Street were re-faced with modern facades built of locally produced salt glazed bricks. Late in the 18th century John Wesley preached in Thame. The congregation on that occasion was so large that the floor of the building gave way, and the crowd fell to the lower floor.[8]

Henry Boddington, noted for his association with Strangeways Brewery in Manchester that brewed the ale that bears his name, was born in Thame on 18 December 1813.[9]

Thame since the Industrial Revolution

Thame Poor Law Union was established in 1835 and the architect George Wilkinson built its workhouse on Oxford Road in 1836.[10] In the 20th century the building became the premises of Rycotewood College of further education. In 2003 with two other colleges of f.e. to form Oxford and Cherwell College, now Oxford and Cherwell Valley College.

Thame railway station was opened in 1862 as the temporary terminus of an extension of the Wycombe Railway from High Wycombe. The extension was completed in 1864 when it reached Oxford. In 1963 British Railways withdrew passenger services between Princes Risborough and Oxford and closed Thame station.[11] BR dismantled the track between Thame and Cowley, but kept the line between Thame and Princes Risborough open for freight traffic to and from an oil depot in Thame.

In 1940 Willocks McKenzie, a local truck driver, found a small hoard of late Mediaeval coins and rings beside the River Thame. The coins were ten groats and the rings were five ornate examples ranging from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The county Coroner declared them to be treasure trove and therefore Crown property. The crown placed the hoard on permanent loan to the Ashmolean Museum. The most ornate ring was an ecclesiastical one incorporating a small reliquary. Its lid is decorated with a distinctive cross with two horizontal sections, similar to the Cross of Lorraine. Thame Town Council incorporated this cross into its town emblem.[12]

In 1974 the M40 motorway was extended from High Wycombe to Chilworth. Junction 7 at Milton Common is about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Thame, giving the town a fast road link to London. In 1990 the M40 extension was completed, giving Thame a fast road link to Birmingham.

In 1987 British Rail opened Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway station at Haddenham, 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Thame, on the Chiltern Main Line. Chiltern Railways now provides passenger services linking the station to High Wycombe, London Marylebone, Banbury and Birmingham Snow Hill.

In 1991 Thame oil depot closed, and BR dismantled the railway between Thame and Princes Risborough. Sustrans was allowed to re-use the former trackbed to create the Phoenix Trail which is part of National Cycle Network route 57.

Amenities

Thame has its own dedicated news website,[13] and a comprehensive information website,[14] The town's two largest employers are CPM Group and Travelodge, which both have their Head Offices located on the periphery of the town. W. Lucy & Co. has been based in the town since 2005.

In July, Thame stages the Oxfordshire County and Thame Show, the largest one-day agricultural show in Britain.[15] Every third Thursday in September, Thame Fair opens in the town centre. In October a smaller fair is held in the parking area in Upper High Street. In June, the Thame Festival is held, which includes a carnival through the main streets, a flower festival and a fete on the Southern Road recreation area.

Thame has three primary schools: Barley Hill Primary School,[16] John Hampden Primary School[17] and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School.[18] It has one county secondary school, Lord Williams's School.[19]

Chinnor Rugby Club is based at Thame. Its first XV currently plays in National Division Three South.[20] Thame United Football Club first team plays in Hellenic Football League Division One East[21] Thame Town Cricket Club first eleven plays in Home Counties Premier Cricket League Division 2 West.[22] Thame has a bowls club[23] and a tennis club.[24]

The Oxfordshire Golf Club is 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Thame. The course was designed by Rees Jones and has hosted many prestigious tournaments including the Benson & Hedges International Open from 1996 until 1999.[25]

Thame has a Women's Institute[26] and a Rotary Club.[27]

Thame also has a twin town in France, Montesson.

Notable residents

The Spread Eagle Hotel

Thame is home to Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, and his wife Dwina Murphy-Gibb, at one time and Jack Bevan of the band Foals has lived in Thame.

In the 1920s John Fothergill (1876-1957) was the innkeeper of the Spread Eagle and published his autobiography: An Innkeeper's Diary (London: Chatto & Windus, 1931.)[28] During his idiosyncratic occupancy many famous people came to stay, such as H. G. Wells.

References

  1. ^ "Area: Thame CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  2. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pp. 809, 810
  3. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pp. 806-808
  4. ^ Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, South Oxon branch. "St. Mary the Virgin, Thame".
  5. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pp. 812-814
  6. ^ Nugent & Nugent. Some memorials of John Hampden: his party and his times, (London: Chapman Hall, 1854, pg 361.
  7. ^ International Boxing Hall of Fame. "James Figg".
  8. ^ Thame.Net. "A History of Thame".
  9. ^ Boddington, Tim (7th January 2010). "Person Record: Name: Henry Boddington". Boddington family, Looking for our past!. Tim Boddington. Retrieved 25 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Thame Poor Law Union and Workhouse
  11. ^ "The Wycombe Railway". Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  12. ^ Thame Local History, The Thame Hoard
  13. ^ "Thamenews.net".
  14. ^ "Thame.net".
  15. ^ "Thame Show".
  16. ^ "Barley Hill Primary School".
  17. ^ "John Hampden Primary School".
  18. ^ "St Joseph's Catholic Primary School".
  19. ^ "Lord Williams's School".
  20. ^ "Chinnor RFC".
  21. ^ "Thame United FC".
  22. ^ "Thame Town CC".
  23. ^ "Thame Bowls Club".
  24. ^ "Thame Tennis Club".
  25. ^ "The Oxfordshire Golf Club".
  26. ^ "Oxfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes".
  27. ^ "Thame Rotary Club".
  28. ^ My Three Inns, 1949, includes those he kept in Ascot and Market Harborough. There are also more recent editions of the diary.

Sources and further reading

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