John Hampden Plaque
The trail starts near Thame Town Hall, High Street. Standing at the entrance of the Town Hall, with your back to the doors, turn to the right and you will see ‘Stop 1’ in front of you – it is the plaque located to the right of the entrance of Greyhound Walk.
Welcome to the first ‘stop’ on ‘The Cavalier & Roundhead Route’ – a sculpture trail in Lea Park.
This trail was funded through Public Art Funding, and installed in 2024. Find out more about the project through this link.
John Hampden (1594–1643), was an English politician and prominent figure in the 17th century who was closely connected to Thame, something celebrated through the naming of both John Hampden Primary School and Hampden Avenue.
John Hampden is best known for his opposition to King Charles I and his defence of parliamentary rights. Hampden’s most famous act of defiance came in 1637 when he refused to pay the unpopular Ship Money tax, a levy imposed by the king without parliamentary approval. His refusal led to a landmark legal case, Hampden v. The King, where the issue of the king’s prerogative powers was debated. Although Hampden lost the case, his actions earned him widespread admiration and made him a symbol of resistance to royal absolutism, and helped spark the early stages of the English Civil War.
Hampden was a leader of the Parliamentary faction during the Civil War. He played a key role in organising opposition to the monarchy, but was mortally wounded in 1643 at the Battle of Chalgrove Field. Despite being shot in the shoulder, he rode back from the battle field to Thame where he died in the house of Ezekiel Browne. The building later became the Greyhound Inn, and you can see one of the internal walls of this building under the arch. The building itself was opened up to make a passageway through to Greyhound walk.
To find out more about John Hampden we recommend you visit the website of The John Hampden Society If you happen to be here in June you may see a wreath underneath the plaque which will have been laid by members of this society in memory of his death.
Challenge Questions:
- When was John Hampden a scholar of Lord Williams’s Grammar School?
- Starting from the words ‘With great courage’ and counting from left to right, write down words 19, 40, 57, 71, and 102. What do the first letters of these words spell out?
Continue the trail:
To find your way to the next stop on the trail:
- turn right while facing the plaque and walk along the Buttermarket to the Zebra crossing.
- cross the road and turn left to walk down North Street.
- cross over Wellington Street to continue down North Street to the first entrance to the Cattle Market Car Park.
- cross over this and you will find ‘The Fish Bench’ set back in the grass verge.