Town Hall, High Street, Thame - 01844 212 833 info@thametowncouncil.gov.uk

Thame was founded in the Anglo-Saxon era and was in the kingdom of Wessex. In the 7th century, it was Tamu, named after the river upon which it stands. The name is related to Thames, Tame and Tamar and probably means "dark river".

Thame Abbey was founded in 1138 for the Cistercian Order: the abbey church was consecrated in 1145. In the Dissolution of the Monasteries the abbey was suppressed and the church demolished. Thame Park (the house) was built on the site, incorporating parts of the abbey including the early 16th century abbot's house. Its interior is one of the earliest examples of the Italian Renaissance in England. A Georgian west wing was added in the 18th century. In about 1840 parts of the foundations of the abbey church were excavated: it was 230 feet (70 m) long and 70 feet (21 m) wide, with a Lady Chapel extending a further 45 feet (14 m) at the east end.

The Church of England parish church of Mary the Virgin was built in about 1220 in the Early English style but was later altered in the Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic styles. The tower has a ring of eight bells, all of which were cast in 1876.

The Prebendal House is known to have existed by 1234, and its Early English style chapel was built in about 1250. The solar was also built in the 13th century, and both buildings survive today. The rest of the Prebendal House dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.

In 1550 the courtier John Williams, 1st Baron Williams de Thame built the almshouses in Church Lane. He died in 1559, and his will established the Grammar School. Its original building, completed in 1569, is next to the almshouses. In 1880 the school moved to its current premises in Oxford Road. In 1971 it became a comprehensive school under the name Lord Williams's School.

The English Civil War in the 1640s saw Thame occupied in turn by both Royalists and Parliamentarians. After the Battle of Chalgrove Field John Hampden, who had been educated at the Grammar School, died of his wounds at the Greyhound Inn. Some of Hampden's descendants still live in the town.

The champion bare-knuckle boxer James Figg was born in Thame in 1684 and had his early prize fights at the Greyhound Inn.

In the 18th century many buildings in the boat-shaped High Street were re-faced with modern facades built of locally produced salt glazed bricks. Late in the 18th century John Wesley preached in Thame. The congregation on that occasion was so large that the floor of the building gave way, and the crowd fell to the lower floor.

Thame Poor Law Union was established in 1835 and the architect George Wilkinson built its workhouse on Oxford Road in 1836. In the 20th century the building became the premises of Rycotewood College of further education. In 2003 with two other colleges of f.e. to form Oxford and Cherwell College, now Oxford and Cherwell Valley College.

Thame railway station was opened in 1862 as the temporary terminus of an extension of the Wycombe Railway from High Wycombe. The extension was completed in 1864 when it reached Oxford. In 1963 British Railways withdrew passenger services between Princes Risborough and Oxford and closed Thame station. BR dismantled the track between Thame and Cowley, but kept the line between Thame and Princes Risborough open for freight traffic to and from an oil depot in Thame.

In 1940 Willocks McKenzie, a local truck driver, found a small hoard of late Mediaeval coins and rings beside the River Thame. The coins were ten groats and the rings were five ornate examples ranging from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The county Coroner declared them to be treasure trove and therefore Crown property. The crown placed the hoard on permanent loan to the Ashmolean Museum. The most ornate ring was an ecclesiastical one incorporating a small reliquary. Its lid is decorated with a distinctive cross with two horizontal sections, similar to the Cross of Lorraine. Thame Town Council incorporated this cross into its town emblem.

In 1974 the M40 motorway was extended from High Wycombe to Chilworth. Junction 7 at Milton Common is about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Thame, giving the town a fast road link to London. In 1990 the M40 extension was completed, giving Thame a fast road link to Birmingham.

In 1987 British Rail opened Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway station at Haddenham, 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Thame, on the Chiltern Main Line. Chiltern Railways now provides passenger services linking the station to High Wycombe, London Marylebone, Banbury and Birmingham Snow Hill.

In 1991 Thame oil depot closed, and BR dismantled the railway between Thame and Princes Risborough. Sustrans was allowed to re-use the former trackbed to create the Phoenix Trail which is part of National Cycle Network route 57.