| Country: | England |
| Official Name: | California |
| Coordinates: | 51.8131°N -0.8164°W |
| Civil Parish: | Aylesbury |
| Static Image Name: | Aylesbury, Penn Road, California - geograph.org.uk - 898429.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | Penn Road, California, Aylesbury |
| Unitary England: | Buckinghamshire |
| Lieutenancy England: | Buckinghamshire |
| Region: | South East England |
| Post Town: | AYLESBURY |
| Postcode District: | HP21 |
| Postcode Area: | HP |
| Dial Code: | 01296 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SP8113 |
California is an area to the south side of Aylesbury town centre in Buckinghamshire in England.[1]
The area is probably named after the U.S. state of California, though its history goes back long before the state was known to British people.
The history of the area goes back many centuries. Before it became California the area was known as Cooks Close and was part of the grounds of the 14th century Grey Friars monastery. Around the year 1849 some of the land was sold off and split into gardens. This area was named California. It wasn't long before plots were built on and with the coming of the Wycombe Railway in 1863 many railway workers houses appeared on the southeastern side of California. This block of houses included a beerhouse called the Golden Sovereign and later the Silver Bugle.
In 1867, printing and publishing firm, Hazell, Watson and Viney, opened an inkworks in a disused silk mill in California. In 1878, this was moved to purpose built premises on the Tring Road (opposite the current site of Tesco), which closed in 1952.[2]
By the early 1920s Aylesbury had grown such that it was necessary to start building houses on the site of Southcourt (the other side of California from Aylesbury), and so California and the associated farmlands that surrounded it became part of Aylesbury town. Eventually the farmlands themselves were built on, though some of the railway cottages still stand today.In 1924, the Bishop of Oxford transferred lands owned in California into the hands of the Municipal Borough of Aylesbury, which in 1929 was partially used in the construction of a new church and parsonage house, which is currently located on Penn Road.[3]
The site was home to the "California Industrial Estate" until 2005 when it was demolished to make way for a new housing estate, renamed the "Grand Central" due to its proximity to the centre of Aylesbury. As of November 2006 the building work has nearly finished and it is likely that the hamlet will be forgotten as it has been completely swamped by Aylesbury's development.