Amersham
Encyclopedia
Amersham is a market town
and civil parish within Chiltern district
in Buckinghamshire
, England, 27 miles north west of London
, in the Chiltern Hills
. It is part of the London commuter belt
.
Amersham is split into two distinct areas: Old Amersham, set in the valley of the River Misbourne
, which contains the 13th century parish
church of St. Mary's and several old pubs and coaching inn
s; and Amersham-on-the-Hill, which grew rapidly around the railway station
in the early part of the 20th century.
times, when it was known as Egmondesham, and by the time that the Domesday Book
was written around 1086 it had become known as Elmodesham. The Domesday entry is as follows:
Queen Edith was the wife of Edward the Confessor
and sister of king Harold
, and after her death in 1075 the land passed to William the Conqueror who granted it to Geoffrey de Mandeville
.
In 1200 Geoffrey, Earl of Essex
obtained a charter
for Amersham allowing him to hold a Friday market and a fair on 7 and 8 September. In 1613 a new charter was granted to Edward, Earl of Bedford
, changing the market day to Tuesday and establishing a statute fair on 19 September.
In 1521 seven Lollard dissenters (William Tylsworth, John Scrivener, Thomas Barnard, James Morden, Robert Rave, Thomas Holmes and Joan Norman) were burned at the stake
in Amersham A memorial to them was built in 1931 and is inscribed as follows: "In the shallow of depression at a spot 100 yards left of this monument seven Protestants, six men and one woman were burned to death at the stake. They died for the principles of religious liberty,for the right to read and interpret the Holy Scriptures and to worship God according to their consciences as revealed through God's Holy Word". The Universal Magazine of September 1749 (p139) quotes that 'William Tylesworth' was in fact burnt in 1506, and that Thomas Bernard and James Morden, a labourer, were burnt about two years later
The area of the town now known as Amersham on the Hill was referred to as Amersham Common until after the arrival of the Metropolitan Line
in 1892. After this date growth of the new area of the town gradually accelerated, with much work being done by the architect John Kennard
. It is now known locally as "Top Amersham","the Top Town" or "the New Town".
s to the unreformed House of Commons
from 1625, and was considered a rotten borough
until the Reform Act 1832
stripped it of its representation. The town was then part of the county constituency of Buckinghamshire
. From 1885 it was in the Aylesbury
constituency, in 1950 it formed part of the South Buckinghamshire seat and in 1974 the current Chesham and Amersham constituency was created. Since then Ian Gilmour (1974–1992) and then Cheryl Gillan
have represented the constituency on behalf of the Conservative
party. In the 2005 General Election
Ms Gillan was returned with 54.4% of the vote.
Amersham is represented by its own town council
. It is a civil parish within Chiltern district
and represented as such on the Buckinghamshire County Council
.
-0.6333)1.
Old Amersham is situated on the valley floor of the River Misbourne
. This is a chalk stream
which dries up periodically. The river occupies a valley much larger than it is possible for a river the size of the present River Misbourne
to cut, making it a misfit stream
. The valley floor is at around 100m OD
, while the valley top is at around 165m OD
. It is likely that the valley was formed under conditions akin to those required to form a dry valley
. Amersham on the Hill is built on the north side of the Misbourne valley, on a small plateau
that forms the watershed
between the Misbourne and the neighbouring River Chess
.
by the Metropolitan Line
of London Underground
and is the last station
on the Metropolitan main line. Much of this line is shared with the mainline railway service, which runs from Marylebone
to Aylesbury
. The town features in the 1973 John Betjeman
(1906–1984) documentary Metro-land
about the growth of suburban London in the 20th century. The construction of the railway line was controversial at the time and objections from local landowners prevented its construction until 1892. The station was built a mile to the north of the old market town and has provided the focus of Amersham on the Hill ever since. Chiltern Railways
share the railway track with London Underground and run services from Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway that pass through Amersham every day.
. A campaign of opposition to the impact on the town and the surrounding area of the preferred route is being locally co-ordinated by a protest group, Amersham Action Group, which along with other protest groups is part of the HS2 Action Alliance
and Beaconsfield
, the A404 road
that links Maidenhead
, High Wycombe
and Harrow
, the A416 road from Chesham
and Berkhamsted
and the A413 road
, which runs from Aylesbury to Uxbridge
.
, much of which was sold to London merchant
s. During the 17th century and 18th century a key industry
in the town was brewing
. After a number of changes of hands during this time William Weller of High Wycombe
purchased the brewery
in 1775. He, and his heirs, expanded the business by buying a number of local public houses during the next 150 years. In 1929 Gerrard Weller sold the brewery and 133 tied public houses to Benskins
of Watford
for £360,000, a move that led to the end of brewing in Amersham. In addition to brewing, tanning
, lace
manufacture and brickmaking all had a prominent place in the manufacturing past of the town. During World War II
, the Radiochemical Centre, a scientific research establishment, arrived in the town. This became Amersham International, then Amersham plc
, and now, after a number of changes of ownership and name, is part of GE Healthcare
.
, the Methodist church
St. John's and the Church of England
St Michael & All Angels
. Old Amersham includes the Church of England
St Mary's Church (a Grade I listed building since December 1958), the exterior is Victorian but it includes 17th century glass from Lamer Manor in Hertfordshire
and monuments in the chancel
to 17th and 18th century notables. Also in the town there is also a Quaker meeting house
, a Methodist church
and The King's Church a Baptist church.
a grammar school
for boys and the Amersham School
a secondary modern school
(more usually referred to as a community school
). Additionally, Amersham is included in the catchment areas of both Dr Challoner's High School
, a grammar school for girls, located in Little Chalfont, and Chesham Grammar School, a co-educational grammar school in Chesham.
The Dr Challoner's schools share a common foundation dating back to 1624 when the grammar school (then for boys only) started in Old Amersham. Dr Challoner's Grammar School moved to its present site in Amersham-on-the-Hill in 1905 when it became co-educational. In 1937 the school was incorporated` into the state system. After rapid growth it was decided to establish Dr Challoner's High School for Girls in nearby Little Chalfont
in 1962 and Dr Challoner's Grammar School reverted to being for boys only.
Amersham School opened on its current site in 1964 as the Brudenell County Secondary School for girls. Following the closure of the Raans County Secondary School for boys in 1992, Brudenell became co-educational and was renamed Amersham School.
Amersham is served by several primary schools, including Our Lady's Roman Catholic Primary, Chestnut Lane School, Elangeni School, Chesham Bois Church of England School, St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, St. George's Church of England Infant School
and Woodside Junior School
.
There are two private preparatory schools
: The Beacon School (boys) and Heatherton House (girls).
Amersham is also served by Amersham & Wycombe College
for further education
.
. Near the playing field is the "Chiltern Pools", one of the three venues used by the Amersham Swimming Club. The Chiltern Pools complex also contains The Climb, an indoor climbing
wall, unique to the region. Chiltern Pools consists of three swimming pool
s, including a 25 metre main pool, a fun poolwith three water slides and a diving pool with a moveable floor to allow all ages to progress in swimming ability. Chiltern Pools also includes a large gym
facility with cardiovascular and weights equipment. Since 2007 a third generation muga with synthetic grass allows all year play.
Amersham Town F.C.
and Tokyngton Manor F.C. play football
at Spratley's Meadow in Old Amersham, while various football teams use council facilities at Hervines Park (Amersham on the Hill) and Barn Meadow (Old Amersham).
Situated also at the Barn Meadow site, (School Lane, Old Amersham) is the 61 Judo Club, a family-oriented, successful and competitive Judo Club catering for serious and social players alike. It has currently (2011) over 80 active members, and has provided several members of recent British Junior, Senior and Masters squads.
Hervines Park and Barn Meadow host some cricket
in the summer, but the main cricket clubs in the town are Amersham Cricket Club who play in the grounds of Shardeloes
and Amersham Hill Cricket Club. Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club
play rugby union
at Weedon Lane in Amersham on the Hill. The Chiltern Harriers Athletics Club is the local athletics club. Amersham and Chalfont Hockey Club is the local hockey club based at Buckinghamshire New University.
Television programmes filmed in the town include:
Books featuring the town include:
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish within Chiltern district
Chiltern (district)
Chiltern is one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England. It is named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.The main towns in the district are Amersham and Chesham...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England, 27 miles north west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in the Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
. It is part of the London commuter belt
London commuter belt
The London commuter belt is the metropolitan area surrounding London, England from which it is practical to commute to work in the capital. It is alternatively known as the Greater South East, the London metropolitan area or the Southeast metropolitan area...
.
Amersham is split into two distinct areas: Old Amersham, set in the valley of the River Misbourne
River Misbourne
The River Misbourne rises in a field on the outskirts of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and flows down the Misbourne valley to join the River Colne just north of where the latter is crossed by the A40 Western Avenue....
, which contains the 13th century parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church of St. Mary's and several old pubs and coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
s; and Amersham-on-the-Hill, which grew rapidly around the railway station
Amersham station
Amersham station is a London Underground and National Rail station in the town of Amersham, in the Chiltern district of Buckinghamshire, England.Amersham station is a terminus of the London Underground's Metropolitan Line...
in the early part of the 20th century.
History
Records date back to pre-Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
times, when it was known as Egmondesham, and by the time that the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
was written around 1086 it had become known as Elmodesham. The Domesday entry is as follows:
- Geoffrey de Mandeville holds Amersham. It answers for 7½ hides. Land for 16 ploughs; in lordship 2 hides; 3 ploughs there. 14 villagers with 4 smallholders have 9 ploughs; a further 4 possible. 7 slaves; meadow for 16 ploughs; woodland 400 pigs. The total value is and was £9; before 1066 £16. Queen Edith held this manor.
Queen Edith was the wife of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
and sister of king Harold
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
, and after her death in 1075 the land passed to William the Conqueror who granted it to Geoffrey de Mandeville
Geoffrey de Mandeville
Geoffrey de Mandeville is the name of several important medieval English barons:*Geoffrey de Mandeville , was one of the great magnates of the reign of William the Conqueror*Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville is the name of several important medieval English...
.
In 1200 Geoffrey, Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
obtained a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
for Amersham allowing him to hold a Friday market and a fair on 7 and 8 September. In 1613 a new charter was granted to Edward, Earl of Bedford
Earl of Bedford
Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1138 in favour Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded from the title three or four years after its creation. However, the existence of the title altogether has been...
, changing the market day to Tuesday and establishing a statute fair on 19 September.
In 1521 seven Lollard dissenters (William Tylsworth, John Scrivener, Thomas Barnard, James Morden, Robert Rave, Thomas Holmes and Joan Norman) were burned at the stake
Burned at the Stake
Burned at the Stake is a 1981 film directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Susan Swift and Albert Salmi.-Cast:*Susan Swift as Loreen Graham / Ann Putnam*Albert Salmi as Captaiin Billingham*Guy Stockwell as Dr. Grossinger*Tisha Sterling as Karen Graham...
in Amersham A memorial to them was built in 1931 and is inscribed as follows: "In the shallow of depression at a spot 100 yards left of this monument seven Protestants, six men and one woman were burned to death at the stake. They died for the principles of religious liberty,for the right to read and interpret the Holy Scriptures and to worship God according to their consciences as revealed through God's Holy Word". The Universal Magazine of September 1749 (p139) quotes that 'William Tylesworth' was in fact burnt in 1506, and that Thomas Bernard and James Morden, a labourer, were burnt about two years later
The area of the town now known as Amersham on the Hill was referred to as Amersham Common until after the arrival of the Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
in 1892. After this date growth of the new area of the town gradually accelerated, with much work being done by the architect John Kennard
John Kennard
John Adam Gaskell Kennard was an English cricketer.Kennard represented Hampshire in two first-class matches in 1919, which was the first County Championship after the First World War...
. It is now known locally as "Top Amersham","the Top Town" or "the New Town".
Governance
Amersham sent two MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s to the unreformed House of Commons
Unreformed House of Commons
The unreformed House of Commons is the name generally given to the British House of Commons as it existed before the Reform Act 1832.Until the Act of Union of 1707 joining the Kingdoms of Scotland and England , Scotland had its own Parliament, and the term refers to the House of Commons of England...
from 1625, and was considered a rotten borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
until the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
stripped it of its representation. The town was then part of the county constituency of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Buckinghamshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.Its most prominent member was...
. From 1885 it was in the Aylesbury
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Aylesbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party has held the seat since 1924, and held it at the 2010 general election with a 52.2% share of the vote.-Boundaries:...
constituency, in 1950 it formed part of the South Buckinghamshire seat and in 1974 the current Chesham and Amersham constituency was created. Since then Ian Gilmour (1974–1992) and then Cheryl Gillan
Cheryl Gillan
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan is a British Conservative Party politician. She is currently the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire....
have represented the constituency on behalf of the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
party. In the 2005 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
Ms Gillan was returned with 54.4% of the vote.
Amersham is represented by its own town council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
. It is a civil parish within Chiltern district
Chiltern (district)
Chiltern is one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England. It is named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.The main towns in the district are Amersham and Chesham...
and represented as such on the Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
Geography
Amersham is located at 51°40′00"N 00°38′00"W (51.6667,-0.6333)1.
Old Amersham is situated on the valley floor of the River Misbourne
River Misbourne
The River Misbourne rises in a field on the outskirts of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and flows down the Misbourne valley to join the River Colne just north of where the latter is crossed by the A40 Western Avenue....
. This is a chalk stream
Chalk stream
Chalk streams have characteristics which set them apart from watercourses associated with other rock types.Aside from those with an interest in the geological and ecological disciplines, the term chalk stream is most widely used among a small group of fly fishermen ,...
which dries up periodically. The river occupies a valley much larger than it is possible for a river the size of the present River Misbourne
River Misbourne
The River Misbourne rises in a field on the outskirts of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and flows down the Misbourne valley to join the River Colne just north of where the latter is crossed by the A40 Western Avenue....
to cut, making it a misfit stream
Misfit stream
A misfit stream is a stream that is far too small to have eroded the valley which the stream occupies. The shape of the valley may also be inconsistent with a typical valley that has been eroded by water. Generally it is reasonable to expect a valley to be in proportion with the stream that...
. The valley floor is at around 100m OD
Ordnance Datum
In the British Isles, an Ordnance Datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. A spot height may be expressed as AOD for "above ordnance datum". Usually mean sea level is used for the datum...
, while the valley top is at around 165m OD
Ordnance Datum
In the British Isles, an Ordnance Datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. A spot height may be expressed as AOD for "above ordnance datum". Usually mean sea level is used for the datum...
. It is likely that the valley was formed under conditions akin to those required to form a dry valley
Dry valley
A dry valley is a valley found in either karst or chalk terrain that no longer has a surface flow of water.There are many examples of the latter along the North and South Downs in southern England...
. Amersham on the Hill is built on the north side of the Misbourne valley, on a small plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
that forms the watershed
Water divide
A drainage divide, water divide, divide or watershed is the line separating neighbouring drainage basins...
between the Misbourne and the neighbouring River Chess
River Chess
The River Chess is a chalk stream which springs from Chesham, Buckinghamshire and runs through Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, in south-eastern England. The Chess, along with the Colne and Gade, gives rise to the name of the district of Three Rivers, in which it forms its confluence with the...
.
Railway
Amersham is linked to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by the Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
of London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and is the last station
Amersham station
Amersham station is a London Underground and National Rail station in the town of Amersham, in the Chiltern district of Buckinghamshire, England.Amersham station is a terminus of the London Underground's Metropolitan Line...
on the Metropolitan main line. Much of this line is shared with the mainline railway service, which runs from Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
to Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. The town features in the 1973 John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
(1906–1984) documentary Metro-land
Metro-land (TV)
Metro-land is a BBC documentary film written and narrated by the then Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. It was directed by Edward Mirzoeff and first broadcast in colour on February 26, 1973...
about the growth of suburban London in the 20th century. The construction of the railway line was controversial at the time and objections from local landowners prevented its construction until 1892. The station was built a mile to the north of the old market town and has provided the focus of Amersham on the Hill ever since. Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
share the railway track with London Underground and run services from Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway that pass through Amersham every day.
HS2
In March 2010, the Government announced the preferred route of the proposed High Speed Railway, HS2, non-stop from London to BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. A campaign of opposition to the impact on the town and the surrounding area of the preferred route is being locally co-ordinated by a protest group, Amersham Action Group, which along with other protest groups is part of the HS2 Action Alliance
Roads
The town is located at the junction of the A355 road from SloughSlough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
and Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
, the A404 road
A404 road
The A404 is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at Paddington in London and leads to Maidenhead in Berkshire.The road initially follows a course through London and its suburbs including Harlesden, Wembley, Harrow Pinner, and Rickmansworth...
that links Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
, High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
and Harrow
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
, the A416 road from Chesham
Chesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
and Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
and the A413 road
A413 road
The A413 is a major road in England that links Gerrards Cross to Towcester. It passes through various towns and villages including Buckingham, Aylesbury, Wendover, Winslow, Great Missenden and Amersham....
, which runs from Aylesbury to Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
.
Economy
Early trade at Amersham Market was in local grainGRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
, much of which was sold to London merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s. During the 17th century and 18th century a key industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
in the town was brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
. After a number of changes of hands during this time William Weller of High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
purchased the brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
in 1775. He, and his heirs, expanded the business by buying a number of local public houses during the next 150 years. In 1929 Gerrard Weller sold the brewery and 133 tied public houses to Benskins
Benskins
Benskins was the pre-eminent brewery in Watford, and Hertfordshire's biggest brewer until its acquisition by Ind Coope in 1957.-History:Benskins had its roots in the brewery founded in Watford by John Pope, a local miller and baker around 1693...
of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
for £360,000, a move that led to the end of brewing in Amersham. In addition to brewing, tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
manufacture and brickmaking all had a prominent place in the manufacturing past of the town. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Radiochemical Centre, a scientific research establishment, arrived in the town. This became Amersham International, then Amersham plc
Amersham plc
Amersham plc was a UK pharmaceutical company, specializing in medical diagnostics and life science products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was purchased by General Electric; it is now part of GE Healthcare.-History:The company had...
, and now, after a number of changes of ownership and name, is part of GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is itself a division of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered...
.
Places of worship
Amersham on the Hill has a Free churchFree church
The term "free church" refers to a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separated from government . A free church does not define government policy, nor have governments define church policy or theology, nor seeks or receives government endorsement or funding for its general mission...
, the Methodist church
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
St. John's and the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
St Michael & All Angels
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
. Old Amersham includes the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
St Mary's Church (a Grade I listed building since December 1958), the exterior is Victorian but it includes 17th century glass from Lamer Manor in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and monuments in the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
to 17th and 18th century notables. Also in the town there is also a Quaker meeting house
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, a Methodist church
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and The King's Church a Baptist church.
Education
There are two secondary schools located in Amersham; Dr Challoner's Grammar SchoolDr Challoner's Grammar School
Dr Challoner's Grammar School, often abbreviated to DCGS, is an Academy Grammar School of approximately 1,300 boys located in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England....
a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
for boys and the Amersham School
Amersham School
Amersham School is a mixed secondary school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In September 2011 the school became an Academy.. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has approximately 850 pupils....
a secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
(more usually referred to as a community school
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
). Additionally, Amersham is included in the catchment areas of both Dr Challoner's High School
Dr Challoner's High School
Dr Challoner's High School, abbreviated to DCHS, is a grammar school for girls between the ages of 11 and 18, located in Buckinghamshire, England. In August 2011 the school became an Academy....
, a grammar school for girls, located in Little Chalfont, and Chesham Grammar School, a co-educational grammar school in Chesham.
The Dr Challoner's schools share a common foundation dating back to 1624 when the grammar school (then for boys only) started in Old Amersham. Dr Challoner's Grammar School moved to its present site in Amersham-on-the-Hill in 1905 when it became co-educational. In 1937 the school was incorporated` into the state system. After rapid growth it was decided to establish Dr Challoner's High School for Girls in nearby Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in a small group of villages called The Chalfonts which also consists of Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter...
in 1962 and Dr Challoner's Grammar School reverted to being for boys only.
Amersham School opened on its current site in 1964 as the Brudenell County Secondary School for girls. Following the closure of the Raans County Secondary School for boys in 1992, Brudenell became co-educational and was renamed Amersham School.
Amersham is served by several primary schools, including Our Lady's Roman Catholic Primary, Chestnut Lane School, Elangeni School, Chesham Bois Church of England School, St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, St. George's Church of England Infant School
Infant school
An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
and Woodside Junior School
Junior school
A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
.
There are two private preparatory schools
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
: The Beacon School (boys) and Heatherton House (girls).
Amersham is also served by Amersham & Wycombe College
Amersham & Wycombe College
Amersham & Wycombe College is a further education college situated in Buckinghamshire, England.The college consists of three campuses; the primary site being located in Amersham, with two smaller additional campuses located in neighbouring towns of High Wycombe and Chesham.A training centre also...
for further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
.
Sport and recreation
Amersham has a King George's Field in memorial to King George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. Near the playing field is the "Chiltern Pools", one of the three venues used by the Amersham Swimming Club. The Chiltern Pools complex also contains The Climb, an indoor climbing
Indoor climbing
Indoor Climbing is an increasingly popular form of rock climbing performed on artificial structures that attempt to mimic the experience of outdoor rock.Competetive indoor climbing is also called sport climbing....
wall, unique to the region. Chiltern Pools consists of three swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s, including a 25 metre main pool, a fun poolwith three water slides and a diving pool with a moveable floor to allow all ages to progress in swimming ability. Chiltern Pools also includes a large gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
facility with cardiovascular and weights equipment. Since 2007 a third generation muga with synthetic grass allows all year play.
Amersham Town F.C.
Amersham Town F.C.
Amersham Town F.C. is an English association football club based in Amersham, England.-League history:-Records:*FA Cup best performance: first qualifying round replay – 1965–66*FA Vase best performance: third round – 1977–78...
and Tokyngton Manor F.C. play football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
at Spratley's Meadow in Old Amersham, while various football teams use council facilities at Hervines Park (Amersham on the Hill) and Barn Meadow (Old Amersham).
Situated also at the Barn Meadow site, (School Lane, Old Amersham) is the 61 Judo Club, a family-oriented, successful and competitive Judo Club catering for serious and social players alike. It has currently (2011) over 80 active members, and has provided several members of recent British Junior, Senior and Masters squads.
Hervines Park and Barn Meadow host some cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
in the summer, but the main cricket clubs in the town are Amersham Cricket Club who play in the grounds of Shardeloes
Shardeloes
Shardeloes is a large 18th century country house located one mile northwest of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. . A previous manor house on the site was demolished and the present building constructed between 1758 and 1766 for William Drake, the Member of Parliament for Amersham.-Design...
and Amersham Hill Cricket Club. Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club
Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club
Amersham and Chiltern R.F.C. is an English rugby union team located in the western outskirts of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. The club colours are burgundy and white...
play rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
at Weedon Lane in Amersham on the Hill. The Chiltern Harriers Athletics Club is the local athletics club. Amersham and Chalfont Hockey Club is the local hockey club based at Buckinghamshire New University.
Town partnerships
- Bensheim
BensheimBensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
in Germany (since 1977) - Krynica-Zdrój in Poland
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Film, books and television
The town has been used in a number of films, including:- The Duke Wore JeansThe Duke Wore JeansThe Duke Wore Jeans is a 1958 English film by producer Nat Cohen starring Tommy Steele and June Laverick. The songs from the film are mostly available on Tommy's many compilation CDs but no British CD has been pressed of the Original Soundtrack probably due to the fact of there being only 9 songs...
(1958) - Carve Her Name with PrideCarve Her Name with PrideCarve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British drama film based on the book of the same name by R.J. Minney. Set during World War II, the film is based on the true story of the heroism of Special Operations Executive agent Violette Szabo, with Virginia McKenna in the lead role.The film includes the...
(1958) - Circus of HorrorsCircus of HorrorsCircus of Horrors is a 1960 British horror film directed by Sidney Hayers. It starred Anton Diffring, Yvonne Monlaur, Erika Remberg, Kenneth Griffith, Jane Hylton, Conrad Phillips, Yvonne Romain and Donald Pleasence....
(1960) - Murder at the GallopMurder at the GallopMurder at the Gallop is the second of four films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the novel After the Funeral by Agatha Christie, and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer. The film changes the action...
(1963) - The Jigsaw ManThe Jigsaw Man"The Jigsaw Man" is a short story in the Known Space universe by Larry Niven. The story was first published in Harlan Ellison's anthology Dangerous Visions, and is included in Niven's collections All the Myriad Ways and Tales of Known Space....
(1983) - The Shooting PartyThe Shooting PartyThe Shooting Party is a 1985 film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913 and shows the way of life of English aristocrats, gathered for pheasant shooting and general self-indulgence. Their way of life is contrasted with the...
(1985) - Four Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
(1994) - Metroland (1997)
Television programmes filmed in the town include:
- Metro-land (TV)Metro-land (TV)Metro-land is a BBC documentary film written and narrated by the then Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. It was directed by Edward Mirzoeff and first broadcast in colour on February 26, 1973...
(1973) - Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
(seven episodes) - The Peter PrincipleThe Peter Principle (TV series)The Peter Principle is a BBC television show about a branch of the fictional County and Provincial Bank, which ran from 1995 to 2000. It is now a part of the PBS program lineup at some PBS stations, which call it The Boss...
(1990s) - Chucklevision (one episode) (1990's - 2000's)
Books featuring the town include:
- George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four (briefly)
- Douglas Adams & John Lloyd The Meaning of LiffThe Meaning of LiffThe Meaning of Liff is a humorous dictionary of toponymy and etymology, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, published in the United Kingdom in 1983, and the USA in 1984....
(briefly, as Definition)(1984)
Notable people
- Ruth EllisRuth EllisRuth Ellis , née Neilson, was the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. She was convicted of the murder of her lover, David Blakely, and hanged at Holloway Prison, London, by Albert Pierrepoint.-Biography:...
, last woman hanged in England, buried in St Mary's Church - Arthur MachenArthur MachenArthur Machen was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror...
, resident in Amersham - Tim RiceTim RiceSir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
, born in Amersham - Eddie HoweEddie HoweEdward "Eddie" Howe is an English former footballer and manager of Burnley. A defender before retirement who spent much of his career at Bournemouth, he was the youngest manager in the Football League when appointed Bournemouth manager in January 2009.-Playing career:Howe began his professional...
, Burnley FC manager, born in Amersham
External links
- http://61judoclub.org/
- Amersham news, views & information
- Amersham Town Council
- Chiltern District Council
- Saint Mary's Church, Old Amersham
- Amersham Free Church
- St. John's Methodist Church
- King's Church
- Amersham Field Centre
- Amersham Deanery : in the Diocese of OxfordDiocese of Oxford-History:The Diocese of Oxford was created in 1541 out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln.In 1836 the Archdeaconry of Berkshire was transferred from the Diocese of Salisbury to Oxford...
- Amersham Cricket Club
- Amersham Hill Cricket Club
- Chiltern Harriers Athletics Club
- Amersham Band
- Rotary Club of Amersham
- Chiltern District news
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Amersham and surrounding area