The Georgian era (covering Georges I-IV and William IV) was one of great social, political and cultural change. The Industrial Revolution began in the mid 1700s, and the British Empire expanded through exploration and war.

Power was largely in the hands of wealthy landowners and successful businessmen, and the Land Enclosure Act of 1823 led to hardship for many tenant farmers.

Migration from rural areas into cities meant that Parliamentary representation was unequal and reform was urgently needed, but was delayed by the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the Napoleonic Wars with France (1793-1815).

In Thame, prisoners from the Napoleonic wars were housed in the cellar of the Bird Cage Inn.