[7] Nineteenth-century speculation that the name contained the Welsh word eglwys meaning "a church" (from Latin ecclesia)[8] has been discredited.

Excavations in the town centre in 1985 found an Iron Age hill fort dating from the early 4th century BCE.

[9] During the early medieval period, Aylesbury became a major market town, the burial place of Saint Osgyth, whose shrine attracted pilgrims.

[10]: 32  Some lands here were granted by William the Conqueror to citizens upon the tenure that the owners should provide straw for the monarch's bed, sweet herbs for his chamber and two green geese and three eels for his table, whenever he should visit Aylesbury.

In 1450, a religious institution called the Guild of St Mary was founded in Aylesbury by John Kemp, Archbishop of York.

Aylesbury-born composer, Rutland Boughton (1878–1960), possibly inspired by the statue of John Hampden, created a symphony based on Oliver Cromwell.

The grade II* listed Jacobean mansion of Hartwell adjoining the southwest of the town was the residence of Louis XVIII during his exile (1810–1814).

The Rothschild Family acquired many large country estates and stately homes around and near the town, including Waddesdon Manor in nearby Waddesdon Village, Halton House near Wendover and Tring Park in Tring across the border in Hertfordshire, although today most of these properties belong to the National Trust.

The duckers of Buckinghamshire had generally failed to introduce technological improvements such as the incubator, and inbreeding had dangerously weakened the breed.

As of 2021 the Waller family's farm in Chesham remains in business, the last surviving flock of pure Aylesbury meat ducks in the country.

Duck Farm Court is a shopping area of modern Aylesbury located near the historic hamlet of California, close to one of the main breeding grounds for ducks in the town, and there have been two pubs in the town with the name "The Duck" in recent years; one in Bedgrove that has since been demolished and one in Jackson Road that has recently been renamed.The town's population has grown from 28,000 in the 1960s to almost 72,000 in 2011[1][15] due in the main to new housing developments, including many London overspill housing estates, built to ease pressure on the capital.

When first built it was thought to be a potential hazard to passing motorists, due to the sun reflecting off its large mirrored surface.

Surrounding villages and some recent developments on the outskirts of Aylesbury like Fairford Leys & Watermead have their own parish council.

In 2010 the district council decided that the new developments of Berryfields and Weedon Hill, both to the north of Aylesbury, should also join to form a new parish as of May 2011.

Aylesbury was made a borough by a charter from Mary I in 1554, which gave the town the right to elect two members of parliament and to establish a council to govern itself.

The right to establish a council was opposed by the prominent local landowner Thomas Pakington, and it seems likely that this element of the charter was not put into effect at that time.

However, in 1664, in the aftermath of the Restoration, the town's short-lived council was abolished and the rights it had held reverted to the Pakington family which had exercised them prior to the civil war.

Stoke Mandeville Stadium was developed alongside the hospital and is the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom.

By the modern period this had grown into a huge established industry: the last grist mill in Aylesbury was closed in the 1990s (Hills & Partridge on the canal behind Tesco).

By 1560 the manufacture of sewing needles had become a large industry in Long Crendon a village close by which was an important production centre.

In 1814, the Aylesbury arm of the Grand Union Canal from Marsworth was opened bringing major industry to the town for the first time.

Approximately 3,000 cars were built, but a somewhat slow and heavy design could not survive the onslaught from cheap American competition.

Their robust design and high ground clearance made them popular in less developed parts of the British Empire which lacked paved roads like Australia and South Africa.

[citation needed] A £150 million Arla Foods 'megadairy' opened just off the A41 road in nearby Aston Clinton in November 2013, roughly 3+1⁄2 mi (6 km) from the town centre and is a major employer in the area.

A rail scheme to extend passenger services northwestwards to a new station, Aylesbury Vale Parkway, was completed in December 2008.

The venue hosted many of the top artists of the time, including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Otis Redding, the Clash, Hawkwind, Queen, Genesis, U2, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Marillion and the Ramones.

[76] Aylesbury Methodist Church holds an annual organ recital, which attracts prominent national organists.

[77] Aylesbury hosts the Roald Dahl Festival, a procession of giant puppets based on his characters, on 2 July.

The opening scene, in which the droogs beat up an elderly Irishman, is mistakenly cited as being filmed in the underpass linking Friars Square Shopping Centre with the railway station.

[79] The County Court building and Aylesbury Market Square regularly feature in the BBC Television series Judge John Deed.