Pann Mill

Pann Mill is on the site of one of the six mills mentioned in the Domesday Book as being in High Wycombe . It is now the last working mill, of which there were once over 30 on the River Wye. The last commercial flour mill on the site was partially demolished in 1971 to make way for a road that fortunately was never built.

However, a small group of enthusiasts restored the mill to working condition and it ground wheat to make flour again in 2000 powered solely by the Victorian waterwheel. The group, who are now part of the High Wycombe Society, continue to maintain the mill in full working condition. It opens to the public a few times a year to demonstrate old style milling and keep the heritage of the site alive for a little longer.

Wycombe Railway Station

The original Wycombe railway station was the terminus for the line from High Wycombe to Maidenhead. There were intermediate stations at Cookham, Marlow Road (later renamed Bourne End), Wooburn Green and Loudwater. The line was constructed by the Wycombe Railway and opened on August 1st, 1854. It was leased to the Great Western Railway from opening, before being taken over by them in 1867.

As opened in 1854 the station consisted of a train-shed covering a single platform and two broad gauge tracks. The train-shed was flanked on one side by an engine shed and on the other by the booking office. Other structures at the station included a goods shed and water tank with coal stage and possibly coal wharf.

In 1862 the line was extended to Thame, this necessitated a new passenger station to be opened on the site of the present station. This was a copy of the original station building, although without a train-shed, and constructed in plain brick. The west elevation was slightly longer to accommodate an increased ladies waiting room. When the new station opened the old terminus station was converted to a goods shed.

In 1870 the railway tracks were converted to the standard gauge.

High Wycombe station continued to be developed over the years. Most dramatically this was at the turn of the 20th century with the opening of the Great Western & Great Central Joint main line to Marylebone and Paddington via Beaconsfield & Gerrards Cross. At this time the station itself was totally rebuilt, although the original terminus station/trainshed and engine shed was extended to become a very large goods shed. This building still stands today and as Brunel was engineer to the original Wycombe Railway (Maidenhead to Wycombe), this is known as the Brunel Building. It is Grade II listed.

IMAGES

WycombeStation_trainplatform Wycombe railway station as it would have looked shortly after it was opened in 1854. A train bound for Maidenhead is about to leave the single platform, courtesy David Lane.

WycombeStation_booking office The booking office as it would have looked shortly after Wycombe railway station was opened in 1854, looking from the yard at the front courtesy David Lane.

The Golden Ball

St Lawrence, the parish church of West Wycombe, is of medieval origin but in 1763 was rebuilt by Sir Francis Dashwood in the then popular classical manner. Ever the eccentric, Dashwood decided to not only increase the height of the church tower to make it more visible from afar, but also to crown it with a golden ball made of wood. The ball is hollow and modelled on a similar ball on the Custom House in Venice.

The ball could seat six to 10 people and was reputed to be a meeting place for the notorious Hell Fire Club. It hosted visitors to the club such as Benjamin Franklin and was stated by the author John Wilkes to be “the best globe tavern I was ever in”!

An incident which is famous locally occurred in 1930 when the ball was being renovated and re-gilded. This work was being carried out by three local tradesmen and during a lunch break one of the men accepted a bet from his colleagues. Twenty-six-year-old Alfie Coker agreed to stand upside down on his head on a block mounted on top of the golden ball.

Murrays Department Store

When the Bucks Free Press asked readers which shops they missed the most, Murrays Department Store ranked high amongst the all-time favourites. The concept of a department store was new to the town in the 1940s when James ‘Jim’ Rivett converted one of his haberdashery shops in White Hart St into what he initially-called a ‘walk round store’.

The shop was an instant success and the Rivett family progressively enlarged the store. Firstly they redeveloped the Methodist Church next door, then acquired the National Boys School next door to that, demolished the building and built another extension to the store.

The redevelopment of the town centre, including the dual-carriageway inner relief road, in the late 1960s had a negative impact on sales. The work meant that the store was surrounded on three sides, causing a great amount of noise and dust which deterred customers. Furthermore the Rivetts were persuaded to lease a large store in what was then The Octagon, now Eden, which overstretched the business. As a result trading was difficult in the 1970s and substantial losses were made in the early 1980s. The store sadly closed down on March 30, 1985.

During its 40-year life Murrays has been fondly remembered for many reasons. The ‘wave canopy’ above the front entrance was a distinctive feature externally, whilst inside the store the clock showing ‘Murrays’ time’ moved up-and-down with the lifts. – did you enjoy standing on the stairs watching the clock?

Murrays was also famous locally for what at that time were its innovative trading techniques. There was the pick-and-mix display of sweets in a horizontal carousel-type machine which constantly displayed a varied selection of sweets – a great marketing technique. For a year or two the same principle was applied to the display of fireworks prior to November 5, until the practice was halted as being too great a fire-risk.

The Rivett family would take every opportunity to invite radio and TV stars of-the-time to appear in Murrays, such as DJ Tony Blackburn, comedian Ted Ray, TV Cook Philip Harben, and ventriloquist Peter Brough with Archie Andrews.

For the ladies there were regular fashion shows at the Town Hall or Red Lion Hotel, when Murrays’ own staff volunteered to act as models for the new clothing lines.

All told, the closure of Murrays meant a very sad loss to the town of an innovative, independent department store. It was a true Icon.

Acknowledgement

The account of the original Wycombe railway station was kindly provided by David Lane, who is giving a talk on the history of the station for the High Wycombe Society at The Riverside at 7.30 on November 11.