BUCKINGHAM, municipal borough and market town of Buckinghamshire, England, situated in the north-west corner of the county in the open valley of the upper Ouse, which encircles the main portion of the town on three sides. Pop. (1931), 3,082. Buckingham (Bochingeham; Bukyngham) was an im portant stronghold in pre-Conquest times, and was the only borough to receive separate mention in the Domesday survey. In 918 Edward the Elder encamped there with his army for four weeks and threw up two forts, one on either side of the water. There are early mentions of markets and fairs, grants by various sovereigns being numerous. Edward III. fixed here one of the staples for wool, but after the removal of all these to Calais the trade decayed so much that in an act of Henry VIII. Buckingham is mentioned among 36 impoverished towns. The town received no charter until 1554, when Queen Mary created it a free borough, and this grant remained in force until the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. The comparative decline of Buckingham since the middle ages may be attributed to the development of the routes from London in place of the old S.W.-N.E. routes, and the conse quent growth of such towns as Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Wendover, and later of Wolverton and Bletchley. From 1545 on wards until 1885 Buckingham returned two members to parlia ment.
The church of St. Peter and St. Paul dates from the 18th cen tury, and stands on the site of the old castle. The grammar school was founded by Edward VI., in part occupying buildings of earlier date (part of a charity) which retain a Norman door. The town is served by branches of the L. M. S. Railway and of the Grand Junction Canal. It is a market town with agricul tural trade and manufactures of condensed milk and leather.
The old industry of lace-making survives to a modified extent. The borough is under a mayor, four aldermen and 12 councillors. Area 5,0o6 acres. It is in the Buckingham parliamentary division.