California | |
---|---|
Penn Road, California, Aylesbury | |
Location within Buckinghamshire | |
OS grid reference | SP8113 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | AYLESBURY |
Postcode district | HP21 |
Dialling code | 01296 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Buckinghamshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
California is a hamlet to the south side of Aylesbury town centre in Buckinghamshire in England, although today it has been completely swallowed up by the urban growth of Aylesbury. [1]
The hamlet is probably named after the U.S. state of California, though its history goes back long before the state was known to British people. The name of the original farm was therefore most likely changed to California at some point before 1839. It is widely believed that the hamlet was named after visiting American servicemen during the Second World War; however, 19th-century maps prove this to be incorrect. [2] [3]
Until the arrival of the Wycombe Railway in Aylesbury in 1863, California was the name of a farm and related buildings that stood in the area. However, with the arrival of the railway, cottages were constructed in the location of the farm to house railway workers and the area became known as the Hamlet of California.
In 1867, printing and publishing firm, Hazell, Watson and Viney, opened an inkworks in a disused silk mill in the hamlet. In 1878, this was moved to purpose built premises on the Tring Road (current site of Tesco), which closed in 1952. [4]
By the early 1920s Aylesbury had grown such that it was necessary to start building houses on the site of Southcourt (the other side of California from Aylesbury), and so California and the associated farmlands that surrounded it became part of Aylesbury town. Eventually the farmlands themselves were built on, though the railway cottages that formed the hamlet remain.
In 1924, the Bishop of Oxford transferred lands owned in California into the hands of the Municipal Borough of Aylesbury, which in 1929 was partially used in the construction of a new church and parsonage house, which is currently located on Penn Road. [5]
The site was home to the "California Industrial Estate" until 2005 when it was demolished to make way for a new housing estate, renamed the "Grand Central" due to its proximity to the centre of Aylesbury. As of November 2006 the building work has nearly finished and it is likely that the hamlet will be forgotten as it has been completely swamped by Aylesbury's development.
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.
Buckingham is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately 12 miles (19 km) west of Central Milton Keynes, 19 miles (31 km) south-east of Banbury, and 24 miles (39 km) north-east of Oxford.
Southcourt is a housing estate in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. Building commenced in the early 1920s through to the mid-1930s and only stopped because of the Second World War. It was turned into a post war housing estate during the years of 1946 and 1955. The area is named after the pig farm over which the housing estate was built.
Chesham is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about 26 miles (42 km) north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmland. The earliest records of Chesham as a settlement are from the second half of the 10th century, although there is archaeological evidence of people in this area from around 8000 BC. Henry III granted a royal charter for a weekly market in 1257.
Bedgrove is one of the housing estates of the modern town of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, though it takes its name from a farm and hamlet that stood in the area until the area was cleared for building in the late 1950s. At the time it was built it was the largest housing estate of its kind in the country. The housing estate is on the south side of the town. The farm was where Pevensey Close now stands.
Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along the foot of the Chilterns. The town is 35 miles (56 km) north west of London and 5 miles (8 km) south east of Aylesbury.
Broughton is a hamlet and civil parish to the east of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. Broughton is also the name of a nearby housing estate in Aylesbury itself.
Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 in under-developed countryside near Quainton, in the English county of Buckinghamshire, 44 miles (71 km) from London. Built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway, it was the result of pressure from the 3rd Duke of Buckingham to route the railway near his home at Wotton House and to open a railway station at the nearest point to it. Serving a relatively underpopulated area, Quainton Road was a crude railway station, described as "extremely primitive".
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Quainton is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Aylesbury. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,295. The village has two churches, a school and one public house. The location means that while many commute to London, others are employed in neighbouring towns and villages.
Askett is a picturesque hamlet in the civil parish of Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated where the steep escarpment of the Chiltern Hills meets the flat expanse of the Vale of Aylesbury. It lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Conservation Area less than four miles from Chequers, country home of the UK Prime Minister.
Walton is a hamlet in the parish of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, England. Although Aylesbury has grown to such an extent that it completely surrounds Walton by a couple of miles in each direction, the hamlet is still marked on modern maps.
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Southcote is a hamlet in the parish of Linslade, in Bedfordshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade. The hamlet name is Anglo Saxon in origin and means 'southern cottage'.
Weston Turville is a historic village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, 3 miles (4.9 km) from the market town of Wendover and 3.5 miles (5.7 km) from Aylesbury.
Walton Court is a housing estate in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England.
Sedrup is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located south west of the town of Aylesbury, close to the villages of Stone, Bishopstone and Hartwell which also provide the name of the civil parish within which Sedrup lies.
Turnfurlong is an area of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is roughly defined as the area of housing that adjoins the two roads, Turnfurlong and Turnfurlong Lane.
Haydon Hill is part of the town of Aylesbury, England. The neighbourhood is to the north of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It occupies the area to the north of the town and to the west of the A41, Bicester Road.