Industry

Whereas many areas of Britain became very industrialised in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, especially the coal-mining areas in the midlands and the north, but Buckinghamshire was not a very industrial county.

Do a search on Buckinghamshire’s Heritage Portal for the furniture factories and find out where they were mainly based and what period they were most active.

What would furniture be made out of in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Circle one answer:

Wood                            Metal                                 Plastic

That’s right, wood was the most popular material for furniture. Metal chairs weren’t popular and plastic hadn’t been invented yet. Do some research on the Internet and in books to find out what type of wood was most used in the High Wycombe furniture factories and circle one answer here:

Oak                               Yew                                   Beech

Well done, it’s beech. Beech trees were planted in large numbers on the Chiltern hills around High Wycombe and can still be seen today.

There were many brick or tile works or across the county. Try to find out the locations of five eighteenth to nineteenth century ones and mark them on the map of brickworks in Buckinghamshire attached to this page:

What are bricks and tile made of? Circle one answer:

Clay                               Chalk                                  Stone

Well done, it’s clay. So brick and tile-works would need to be situated near outcrops of clay. Do a search for clay pits on Buckinghamshire’s Heritage Portal and see if there are any near the brick or tile works you found. Mark them on the map of clay pits in Buckinghamshire attached to this page. By comparing the maps of brickworks and clay pits, can you see any overlap?

Go back to find out about more Changes in the landscape.