[3] The bulk of funding was from Richard Temple, fourth baronet of Stowe (1675–1749), who had been previously MP for Buckingham.

The rounded front of the building was added in 1839, designed by George Gilbert Scott, a local architect.

Buckingham Heritage Trust was formed in 1985 to save the building[4] and it opened as a museum in 1993, together with a tourist information centre.

[5] The Old Gaol Museum obtained finance from the Heritage Lottery Fund to add a glass roof over the original prisoners' exercise yard in 2000.

The museum is open to the public and tells the story of Buckingham and rural life, including the Flora Thompson Collection (author of Lark Rise to Candleford) and Buckinghamshire Military Trust exhibits.