Amersham

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Amersham
Amersham (Buckinghamshire)
Amersham

Amersham shown within Buckinghamshire
Population 17,719[1]
OS grid reference SU965985
District Chiltern
Shire county Buckinghamshire
Region South East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town AMERSHAM
Postcode district HP7
Dialling code 01494
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
European Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Chesham & Amersham
List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire

Coordinates: 51°40′37″N 0°36′12″W / 51.6769, -0.6034

Amersham is a market town and civil parish 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: Amersham on the Hill (locally known as Top Amersham), which is close to the railway station, and Old Amersham, which contains the 13th century parish church of St. Mary's and several old pubs and coaching inns.

Contents

[edit] History

Records of Amersham date back to pre-Anglo-Saxon times, when it was known as Egmondesham, and by the time that the Domesday book was written at around 1086 it became known as Elmodesham. The Domesday entry is as follows:

Geoffrey de Mandeville holds Amersham. It answers for 7 1/2 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 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.[2]

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 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.

[edit] Governance

Amersham sent two MPs 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. In 1950 it formed part of South Buckinghamshire 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.

[edit] 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. 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.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Railway

Amersham is linked to London 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 Metroland 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.[3] Chiltern Railways share the railway track with London Underground and run services from Marylebone to Aylesbury that pass through Amersham.

[edit] Roads

The town is located at the junction of the A355 road from Slough 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.

[edit] Economy

Early trade at Amersham Market was in local grain, much of which was sold to London merchants. 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 Benskin's of Watford for £360,000, a move that led to the end of brewing in Amersham.[2] 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, and remained after the war. This became Amersham International, later Amersham plc, and is now, after a number of changes of ownership and name, part of GE Healthcare.

[edit] Education

Primary schools in the town include Our Lady's Roman Catholic Primary, Chestnut Lane Primary, Elangeni School, Chesham Bois Church of England School, St. Mary's Church of England School, St. George's Church of England School and Woodside Junior School.

Private preparatory schools in the town include The Beacon School (boys) and Heatherton House (girls).

Secondary schools serving the town include the secondary modern school Amersham School, boys' grammar school Dr Challoner's Grammar School and girls' grammar school Dr Challoner's High School. The Dr Challoner's Schools share a foundation dating back to 1624 and the High School for girls was opened in neighbouring Little Chalfont in 1962. The Grammar School has occupied a site on Chesham Road since 1905. Prior to that the school was located in Old Amersham.

Amersham & Wycombe College is the only Further Education establishment in Amersham.

[edit] Town partnerships

[edit] Sport and recreation

Amersham has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. Near the playing field is the "Chiltern Pools", one of the three venues used by the Amersham Swimming Club.[4] The Chiltern Pools complex also contains The Climb, an indoor climbing wall, unique to the region. Chiltern Pools consists of three swimming pools, including a 25 metre main pool with three water slides and fun pool, the 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 excellent playing conditions all year round. There are a wide range of holiday and term-time lessons and day camps.

Amersham Town 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).

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.

[edit] Places of Worship

Amersham on the Hill has a Free church, 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 1 listed building since December 1958), a Quaker meeting house, a Methodist church and The King's Church.

[edit] Film and Television

The town has been used in a number of films, including:

Television programmes filmed in the town include:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Population figures (PDF)
  2. ^ a b Hunt, J (2001). A History of Amersham. Phillimore. 
  3. ^ Coppock, JT (1962). The Chilterns. The Geographical Association. 
  4. ^ Amersham Swimming Club
  5. ^ Midsomer Murders Locations [1] Retrieved on March 6, 2007
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