The Twyford Timeline
|
Description |
Date |
| Twyford was in Mercia, but on the border of Wessex.
Buckingham (meaning ‘meadow of Bucca’ the leader of the first German settlers) and area were on the frontline of the battles between Anglo Saxons and Danes, control changing between them between C7th and C11th. Buckingham became a Royal Borough (Burg) of Wessex controlled by a Reeve appointed by the king. It had a royal mint producing silver pennies, King Edward the Elder’s fort (now where the church is) a castle which held the local assizes and markets which were moved from Langford (now Stowe) to Buckingham, making it a major potentially influential centre. It’s proximity to Twyford would have had an impact on the Twyford area and its inhabitants and indeed details in the Domesday entry for Twyford show it to be a relatively wealthy village. |
Pre 11th C |
| The Norman Invasion |
1066 |
| Bernwood Forest: William the Conqueror amended the Forest Law for Royal Hunting, allowing villagers access to hunt to win them over. Forest Law has left Twyford, Poundon and Charndon largely rural and resulting in numerous ancient woodlands and SSSI’s. |
1066 to 1087 |
| Domesday Book – Twyford Vill holder in 1066, Countess Gode, sister of King Edward the Confessor and daughter of King Ethelred
In 1086, holder is Ralph de Fougeres |
1086 |
| Magna Carta |
1215 |
| Twyford Church built |
C12th |
| The Giffards own Twyford, (John “le boeuf” Giffard MP)(1235-1300) |
1235 |
| Famine:
Nationally there had been a rapid growth in population, but food production could not keep pace. In 1310 the climate began to change; summers becoming colder and wetter with crop failures making the situation much worse. In 1316 the Buckingham area was hit particularly hard with people dying of starvation in the streets. By 1500 the impact of the famine and the numerous waves of Black death (starting 1349), the population in the area fell to figures comparable to Roman times when Buckingham was little more than a village. The result of these demises impacted socially and economically. Labour became scarce, rents fell, old fashioned serfdom disappeared and land owning families were forced to sell up and move. With their loss of wealth their status diminished or they became extinct. |
14th C |
| Church tower built |
c1320 |
| The Black Death |
1349 |
| The plague once again devasted the country and killed more people than in the wars of the last 15 years |
1478 |
| Parish Registers:
Parish churches started recording their Births, Marriages and Deaths |
1500’s |
| Henry VIII becomes King of England and dies in 1547 |
1509 |
| Sir Thomas Giffard, Lord of the Manor, dies and is buried in the Church |
1550 |
| Elizabeth 1st becomes Queen of England and dies in 1603 |
1558 |
| Parish register began |
1558 |
| Thomas Wenman MP, son of Sir Richard Wenman MP and Jane West, died |
1576 |
| Sir Francis Drake sailed from England on his voyage to circumnavigate the Globe |
1577 |
| Poor Laws:
Pre 1600 responsibility for care of the poor was with either the feudal lord or the manorial lord. 1600-1834 responsibility for the care of the poor was with the Parish and dependant on money given by richer parishioners. |
1600 to 1834 |
| Gunpowder Plot – Richard (1st Viscount) Wenman son of Sir Thomas Wenman MP and wife Agnes held for questioning, due to their friendship with Robert Catesby, then released. Their tomb is in Church. |
1605 |
| Sir Ferdinando Wenman leaves Twyford and sails to Jamestown with his Uncle, Lord De La Warr |
March 1610 |
| Sir Ferdinando Wenman dies in Jamestown |
Summer 1610 |
| English Civil War |
1642 to 1651 |
| Battle of Edgehill was fought and Sir Edmund Verney of the Claydons was killed |
1642 |
| Siege of Hillesden Church during the civil war |
1644 |
| King Charles 1st executed |
1649 |
| Oliver Cromwell ruled the British Isles as Lord Protector until his death in 1658 |
1653 to 1658 |
| The Great Plague of London breaks out |
1655 |
| The Great Fire of London starts in Pudding Lane and destroys much of the city but was also effective in stopping the spread of the Plague. |
1666 |
| The Enclosures were first submitted in 1774 (Twyford consisted an area of 1900 acres) but not awarded until 1787. This is an unusual length of time.
Land was awarded largely to Wenman, but a small area was awarded to Seymour Broughton. |
1744 |
| Two sons of William Cleaver, Rector of Twyford, become bishops: William (Bishop of Bangor) and Euseby (Archbishop of Dublin). William Cleaver started the first school in Twyford. |
Late 1700’s |
| Buckingham Rural Sanitary District:
Began with the formation of poor law unions under the Poor Law Amendment Act (1835) administered by a board of guardians elected by parish ratepayers. This included the Twystory group of Parishes. The Public Health Act 1848 lead to Public boards of health which were formed by petition of inhabitants or where there was excess mortality. Various subsequent Acts were nationally rationalised by the Public Health Act 1875 into rural sanitary districts. |
1835 to 1894 |
| Twyford Congregational Chapel built. Now the Sunday School.
This is part of the Marsh Gibbon group of Congregational Churches |
1849 |
| Twyford Lodge demolished after the family moved to their estate in Thame Park |
1857 |
| Twyford Windmill destroyed by high winds. The field is now called Windmill Hill |
1860 |
| The Education Act finally makes education compulsory for all 5 to 10 year olds. It supported the Factory Act which tried to put a stop to child labour. This would have affected available labour during harvest and potentially the household income of the poor |
1880 |
| Buckingham Hospital was designed by John Oldrid Scott who was the son the famous Architect, George Gilbert Scott, who lived in Gawcott.
It was built by Egerton Hubbard, son of Lord Addington of Addington, following a fall from his horse. After his fall, his father offered to pay for the new hospital. |
1886 |
| Buckingham Rural District Council:
Local Government Act 1894 reconstituted sanitary districts into rural councils. The Twystory group of Parishes were part of Buckingham Rural District Council. Powers and responsibilities moved to Aylesbury Vale District Council in 1974. 2020 Buckinghamshire County Council is to take control of all the district councils within Buckinghamshire. |
1894 to 1974 |
| Twyford Manor built |
1895 |
| Twyford Congregational Extension built. Now the Chapel |
1897 |
| Great Central Railway opened including a station at Calvert |
1899 |
| Calvert Station opened |
15th March 1899 |
| Queen Victoria dies on 22nd January at Osborne on the Isle of Wight |
1900 |
| Modern Domesday
First comprehensive record of properties, property owners, values and residents/land users since Domesday Day |
1910 |
| First World War |
1914-18 |
| Twyford Village Hall opened |
1930 |
| Second World War |
1939-45 |
| John Sergeant, BBC Political Journalist and Strictly Come Dancing contestant, born in the Vicarage on April 14th 1944 |
1944 |
| VE Day |
8th May 1945 |
| VJ Day |
15th August 1945 |
| Prince Charles born |
14th Nov 1948 |
| The Queen’s accession to the throne after the death of her father, King George VI |
6th Feb 1952 |
| Queen’s Coronation |
2nd June 1953 |
| Calvert Station closed to the public |
4th March 1963 |
| Great Central railway closed after the Minister of Transport, Lord Beeching’s axe on local railway lines |
1966 |
| New Twyford village school opened |
1970 |
| Decimal currency introduced |
1971 |
| Queen’s Silver Jubilee |
6th June 1972 |
| Twyford Amateur Dramatic Society (TADS) formed |
1978 |
| First (of many) village pantomimes, Snow White, was held in January with two performances |
Feb 1979 |
| The landlord of the Red Lion pub in Church Street sued the Parish Council over the re-installation of the church bells. A full Court was held in Village Hall but the landlord lost the case and the bells continued to ring the Westminster chimes. |
1980 |
| Twyford Morris was formed and made their first performance at Midsummer Madness in Twyford. |
1981 |
| Prince William born |
21st June 1982 |
| Queen’s Golden Wedding |
20th Nov 1997 |
| Calvert brickworks closes and turned into a housing estate and a Nature Reserve |
1991 |
| Millennium celebrations |
31st Dec 1999 |
| The Queens Golden Jubilee on 3rd June was celebrated with street parties in Twyford |
3rd June 2002 |
| Twyford’s member of Parliament, the Rt Hon John Bercow, becomes Speaker of the House of Commons |
2009 |
| Announcement of the route of HS2, passing very close to Twyford, in March |
15th March 2010 |
| Prince William marries Catherine Middleton |
29th April 2011 |
| The Queens Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in Twyford |
3rd and 4th June 2012 |
| Prince George born |
22nd July 2013 |
| The body of Sir Ferdinando Wenman from Twyford was found and identified in the church in Jamestown directly under the spot where Pocahontas was married in April 1614 |
2014 |
| Twyford History Society – Twystory, is formed |
2019 |
| Our Member of Parliament, John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, retires from Parliament and is replaced by Greg Smith MP |
2019 |
| 2020 – Covid-19 was an infectious disease first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, which spread globally, reaching Britain in early 2020. The virus affected the respiratory system and in severe cases caused pneumonia and death. People with pre-existing medical conditions and the over-70s were considered most at risk. In mid-March all non-essential shops closed as well as churches, cinemas, restaurants, theatres, public houses. Businesses were also closed unless deemed essential and people were told to work from home wherever possible. A virtual lock-down was put in place with people only allowed to leave their home for exercise once a day, food, medicines and essential work. Children were home tutored. Social distancing was enforced for anyone venturing outside their homes.
Twyford formed the “Twyford Coronavirus Action Group” to help the vulnerable and elderly and a Community Larder was set up in the Cricket/Football Pavilion for people experiencing difficulty during the difficult times. |
2020 |
| 75th Anniversary of VE day celebrated in Twyford with the delivery of scones to each resident and tea parties in the front garden of the residents |
8th May 2020 |