Penn
Penn maps (2 available)
Map of Buckinghamshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Buckinghamshire
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Penn books (6 available)
Penn memories
Read and share memories of Penn and Buckinghamshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Buckinghamshire below.
Buckinghamshire memories
Catching newts
That building to the left with the little spire was my school when I was 11 in 1966. I have spent many hours catching newts in that pond in the foreground. It was partly surrounded by a brick and concrete wall and they would tuck themselves into little caves.
A memory of Tylers Green contributed by Donald Macdonald
The Friendly Pub
We used to live in the house opposite the Horse & Groom, it was called Yonder Cottage, I wonder if it is still there, it was a very friendly public house, and we spent many happy hours in the company of friends, which I will always remember.
The highlight of the week was the dance at the village hall, when the soldiers came from surrounding camps - we did'nt mind their boots! Happy days and fond memories!
A memory of Tylers Green contributed by rita francis
The most interesting gents barbers in the world
Probably just behind the photographer was an old fashioned mens barber shop. All the old men would go there for a haircut and mums would take their sons too. What the mums never knew is that when you sat in the alcove to have your hair washed there were numerous naughty pictures that could only be seen from in there. I wonder if any boy ever told his mum what he'd seen?
A memory of Hazlemere contributed by Donald Macdonald
Heady days in 1955-1956
In January 1955 I started as a sixth former at the Royal Grammar School. It was a culture shock after an independent school, but a very good way to get focused. I lived at Frieth and commuted on the Thames Valley bus. The sixth form were a good crowd and a year later, when I left, we celebrated in the evening by downing loads of beer. Those that took part were Syd Sales, Leo Clements, George Greenwood and Jim Portlock. Where are they all now?
I used to visit the 3 cinemas, which all showed good films. Like everywhere else things have changed. The extension to the RGS is simply hideous.
A memory of High Wycombe contributed by John Nurcombe
Extracts From Penn & Buckinghamshire books
From the arches of the Georgian Guildhall the
camera looks down White Hart Street. The
buildings on the right replace medieval market
place encroachment. On the left the open area was
until 1947 occupied by fine 16th- and 17th-century
timber-framed buildings, unforgivably demolished
for an aborted road improvement scheme.
An extract from from"High Wycombe - A History & Celebration".
The ancient open space of Frogmoor had from 1877 until the Second World War a fine cast-iron fountain and
well trimmed trees. Note the four gables of the old Hen and Chickens on the left (rebuilt in 1888).
An extract from from"High Wycombe - A History & Celebration".
IN 1801, according to the first national
census, the borough had a population of
2,349 consisting of 565 families living in
448 houses, while the rest of the town, the
ancient ‘foreigns’, had a further 1,899 people,
397 families living in 370 houses.
An extract from from"High Wycombe - A History & Celebration".
Arthur Vernon,
Architect and Mayor
The career of Arthur Vernon, architect and JP, born in 1846, is a good example of Wycombe’s
new class of industrialists and professionals. In 1870, having finished his training with the architect
E B Lamb, he succeeded his father as land agent to the Earl of Beaconsfield (the ennobled Benjamin
Disraeli) at Hughenden, and was appointed JP in 1875. Elected a town councillor and alderman in 1870,
he was elected to Buckinghamshire County Council at its inception in 1889 and appointed a magistrate
for the county in 1895. Elected mayor for the first time in 1882, he was mayor again in 1883, 1891,
1905 and 1906. He was president of the Chamber of Commerce from 1899 to 1906, a captain of
Wycombe Fire Brigade from its founding in 1868 until 1881, and President of the Surveyors Institution
in 1902–03. In between all this he found time to design very many buildings in the town besides the
Grammar School and Priory Road School. These included a temperance hall in Flackwell Heath, a lodge
for Hughenden, schools, buildings in the town centre, churches, the former Conservative Club at No
28 High Street of 1897, and many houses.
An extract from from"High Wycombe - A History & Celebration".
From the arches of the Georgian Guildhall the
camera looks down White Hart Street. The
buildings on the right replace medieval market
place encroachment. On the left the open area was
until 1947 occupied by fine 16th- and 17th-century
timber-framed buildings, unforgivably demolished
for an aborted road improvement scheme.
An extract from from"High Wycombe - A History & Celebration".