Concept

Architecture of Aylesbury

Résumé

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 (now Aylesbury Crown Court). 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. Aylesbury's one-time castle is today only remembered by the name of Castle Street. Little is known of it: it is thought it was situated within Anglo-Saxon fortifications later known as Castle Fee.

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