WOOBURN, a parish (formerly a market-town) in
the hundred of DESBOROUGH, county of BUCKINGHAM,
3 miles (W. S. W.) from Beaconsfield, containing 1831
inhabitants.. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the
archdeaconry of Buckingham, and diocese of Lincoln,
rated' in the king's books at £ 12, and in the patronage
of James Dupre", Esq. The church, dedicated to.St.
Paul, is a stately edifice, in the later style of English
architecture, with a very handsome tower and a curiously
carved font; it contains some monuments of
the Bertie and Wharton families, of whom Philip, Lord
Wharton, in 1694, gave a rent-charge of £22. 10., to
be paid to the vicar for preaching an evening lecture
every Sunday. There are places of worship for Independents
and Wesleyan Methodists. A rivulet, rising
at West Wycombe, flows through this parish, turning in
its course several paper, mill-board, and flour, mills.
Several of the female inhabitants are employed in the
manufacture of bone-lace. The market, which was held
on Friday, and a fair on the festival of the translation
of St. Edward, were granted by Henry VI., but they
have been long disused, and fairs are now held, for
horses, cattle, and sheep, on May 4th and November
12th. A school on the Lancasterian system, and one
for infants, are supported by subscription. Wooburn
House occupies the site of a noble palace, formerly the
residence of the Bishops of Lincoln.