Amersham

Old Amersham occupies 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, which makes it a misfit stream. The valley floor is at around 100 m (330 ft) OD, and the valley top is at around 165 m (541 ft) 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.

High Street, Old Amersham (1955)

The name "Amersham" is derived from the Old English for 'Ealhmund's village (hām)'.[2]

Records date back to Anglo-Saxon times when it was known as Agmodesham, and by the time that the Domesday Book was written, around 1086, it had become known as Elmodesham. Further spelling variations are seen in 1460 as Agmondysham and Amytysham [3]

The Domesday entry is:

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 (died c. 1100).

In 1200, his descendant Geoffrey de Mandeville (who became the Earl of Essex in 1213) obtained a charter for Amersham allowing him to hold a Friday market and a fair on 7 and 8 September. In 1613, another charter was granted to Edward, Earl of Bedford, changing the market day to Tuesday, and establishing a statute fair on 19 September.[4]

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 for September 1749 (p. 139) 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.[5]

The population in 1841 was 3,098.[6]

In 1931, the architect Amyas Connell completed the Grade II-listed art deco house, "High & Over" in Amersham.[7] It has been used as a film location.[8]

Packaging radioactive pharmaceuticals at GE Healthcare's facility.

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. Giles Watkins (died 1636) built a brewery near St Mary's church in 1634. His brother Henry Watkins was a royal servant, a page of the robes to Anne of Denmark.[18] William Weller of High Wycombe purchased a 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.[4]

In addition to brewing, tanning, lace manufacture and brickmaking all had a prominent place in the manufacturing past of the town. During the Second World War, 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.[19] Halma, specialists in hazard and life protection products and headquartered in Old Amersham, is now a member of the FTSE 100 index.

St Mary's Church, Old Amersham

Amersham-on-the-Hill has a free church which is United Reformed and Baptist, the Methodist church St. John's and the Church of England St Michael & All Angels.

In Old Amersham stands the Grade I listed Church of England St Mary's Church, a 13th-century building that has been altered over the years. The present exterior is largely Victorian but the building contains a 14th-century font, 17th century glass from Lamer Manor in Hertfordshire, and monuments in the chancel and in the Drake Chapel to 17th and 18th century notables.[20][21]

Also in the town there is the Grade II* listed Amersham Meeting House (a Quaker meeting house),[22] two Methodist churches, St John's in Woodside Road and another in the High Street,[23] and King's Church Amersham, a free church.[24]

There are two secondary schools located in Amersham: Dr Challoner's Grammar School for boys, and Amersham School, a non selective co-educational academy. Additionally, Amersham is included in the catchment areas of both Dr Challoner's High School, a girls' grammar school in Little Chalfont, and Chesham Grammar School, a co-educational grammar school in Chesham.

Original building for Dr Challoners Grammar School

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. In 2015 Dr Challoner's Grammar School once again welcomed girls into its Sixth Form.

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 1988,[25] 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).

The Henry Allen Nursery School is Amersham's only state maintained nursery school.

Amersham is also served by Amersham & Wycombe College for further education.

Amersham Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1897. The club continued until the onset of the First World War.[26]

Amersham has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. Near the playing field is the Chiltern Lifestyle Centre, which contains an indoor climbing wall, two swimming pools, a gym, 4 badminton courts, 2 squash courts, a library, a cafe, a children's nursery, two spas and a community centre.

Amersham Town F.C. play football at Spratley's Meadow in Old Amersham, while various football teams use council facilities at Hervines Park in Amersham-on-the-Hill and Barn Meadow in Old Amersham. Also at the Barn Meadow site is the 61 Judo Club.

Hervines Park and Barn Meadow host some cricket in the summer, but the main cricket club in the town is Amersham Cricket Club, which plays in the grounds of Shardeloes. 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 with its own playing facility on the Amersham Campus of the Buckinghamshire College Group (formerly Amersham & Wycombe College).

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

• The Duke Wore Jeans (1958)
• Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)
• Circus of Horrors (1960)
• Murder at the Gallop (1963)
• The Jigsaw Man (1983)
• The Shooting Party (1985)
• Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) – Featured one of the suites in the Crown Hotel[31]
• Metroland (1997)

• Val Biro, illustrator and author, lived in Amersham at 95 High Street[32]
• Katy Brand, actress/comedian/writer, born and brought up in Amersham[33]
• Anne Chamney, mechanical engineer, known for invention of a novel oxygen tent, born in Amersham.[34]
• Simon Church, Wales international footballer, born in Amersham and attended Amersham School[35]
• Giles Cooper, entertainment producer, born in Amersham. Best known as Chairman of the Royal Variety Performance[36]
• Ruth Ellis, last woman hanged in England, buried in St Mary's Cemetery[37]
• Paul Foot, comedian, born and raised in Amersham[38]
• Cindy Gallop, advertising chief turned adult industry entrepreneur, born in Amersham[39]
• Walter Goehr conductor, and his wife, photographer Laelia Goehr, lived at 17, Batchelors Way at the start of World War II.[40]
• Allan Gray (real name Josef Zmigrod), émigré composer best known for his film scores in the 1940s, lived in Bois Lane[41]
• Eddie Howe, Newcastle United manager, born in Amersham[42]
• Elizabeth Laverick, engineer, first woman to receive a PhD in a scientific subject at Durham University, born and raised in Amersham.[43]
• Damien Lovelock, Australian musician, lead singer of The Celibate Rifles, born in Amersham[44]
• Arthur Machen, resident in Amersham, buried in St Mary's Cemetery[45]
• Bill Pertwee, actor, best known as Warden Hodges in the sitcom Dad's Army, born in Amersham[46]
• Eileen Ramsay, photographer, brought up in Amersham[47]
• Tim Rice, born in Amersham[48][49]
• Jennifer Worth, nurse and author of The Midwife Trilogy, raised in Amersham[50]

Amersham is twinned with:

• Bensheim in Germany (since 1977)
• Krynica-Zdrój in Poland

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Amersham.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amersham.

• Amersham Town Council Archived 1 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine
• Amersham in the Domesday Book
• Amersham Museum website