St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham

The previous church located in Prebend End dated from before 1445 but no records have been found before this date apart from a reference to it in the Domesday Book of 1086. It had a history of the tower and spire collapsing several times and in 1776 it collapsed for the final time. Browne Willis had a great desire to restore the church to its former glory following the last repairs in 1698, but the new spire was too ambitious. A new site became available on Castle Hill and the decision was taken to move the church. The foundation stone for the new church was laid by Robert Bartlett, bailiff of Buckingham, on 25 November 1777 at a grand ceremony, including the singing of a hymn specially…

The Church design originally had just two elements: the tower with octagonal plan spire, and the nave with a sanctuary formed within this main volume and was quite a simple Georgian building. The current Victorian Gothic Revival church seen today is the result of many 19th-century alterations by George Gilbert Scott including the significant structural repairs and new buttresses and internal alterations started in 1860, a chancel added in 1865 and a porch in 1867. The new chancel was funded by a £358 donation from the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. The additions were consecrated by Bishop Wilberforce in 1867, leaving little of the original 18th-century church left untouched.

The Buckingham Parish Church organ, built by Norman & Beard was originally installed at St John's Church, Aylesbury, with the opening recital given on 30 January 1913, by Dr. Ley. It was moved to Buckingham in 1969 and overhauled with some tonal alteration. In 2015–16, following well over 100 years of service, the organ was restored, raised and rebuilt by Peter Collins Ltd, including new stops in keeping with ‘Hill, Norman & Beard schemes. When the organ was moved from Aylesbury to Buckingham, it was considered fashionable to remove the large Open Diapason on the Great Organ and replace with a lighter sounding diapason and to add a mixture stop. The large Open Diapason has been reinstated…