Buckingham Castle

Buckingham Castle stood on the north bank of the River Ouse in the town of Buckingham, once the county town of Buckinghamshire. First recorded between 1154 and 1164, it may have belonged to the Giffard family. By the early 13th century the structure had been demolished, and in 1777 the site was levelled to make way for a churchyard. The original stone walls still support the churchyard green, while a matching stretch runs behind Castle Street, where garden plots lean against it. The castle’s footprint is now marked by grass and gravestones, yet the surviving walls show where the medieval fortress once rose. The churchyard occupies the heart of the former stronghold, its paths winding over ground that once held towers and halls. At the rear of Castle Street the wall forms a quiet boundary for small private gardens, a reminder of the castle’s outline in everyday life. Visitors see a peaceful churchyard where the castle’s outline survives in stone rather than timber or tile. The church stands at the centre of the old site, its gravestones arranged along lines that follow the vanished walls. Behind Castle Street the garden wall runs straight and low, offering a clear view of how the castle once framed the town before it was removed.