High Wycombe

Market town in Buckinghamshire, southern England, on the River Wye, between London and Oxford; population (2001) 92,300. Industries include light engineering and the printing of postage stamps, waste management and corporate services, and the manufacture of furniture, cigarette machines, precision instruments, pharmaceuticals, and software. RAF Strike Command has multi-storey underground headquarters (1984) beneath the Chiltern Hills nearby; they were used as Joint Headquarters in the Gulf War (1991).

Features The church of All Saints dates from about 1275, but it was considerably altered and enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tower has a peal of 12 bells. The Local History and Chair Museum illustrates the tradition of furniture-making in the town and includes a collection of domestic chairs. The Little Market House was built in 1761, and the Guildhall dates from 1757. The ruined hospital of St John dates from about 1180; it was converted into a grammar school in 1550. Wycombe Abbey, built in 1795, is now a girls' school. Hughenden Manor, home of Benjamin Disraeli from 1847 until his death in 1881, is nearby to the north. The long-established tradition of building an arch of chairs in the town centre was repeated in May 2000 in celebration of the Millennium.