Thame in Victorian Times (1837-1901)

Thame developed quickly through the 1800s. Key buildings were opened, including the British School (now John Hampden Primary School) in 1837, the County Court (now Thame Museum) in 1861, Lord Williams’s School, Oxford Road in 1879, the Victoria Cottage Hospital in 1887 and the Town Hall (which was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee) in 1888.

In 1840, the letter with the very first Penny Black postage stamp was delivered to George Wakeman in Thame High Street.

In 1895, the Hon. Francis Bertie (great, great, great, great, grandson of James Bertie, first Earl of Abingdon and owner of Thame Park) bequeathed land to the town that became the Southern Road Recreation Ground.