Amersham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Amersham |
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| Market town and civil parish | |
 King's Arms Hotel, Amersham Old Town |
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 Amersham
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| Population | 15,189 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU965985 |
| Unitary authority |
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| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | AMERSHAM |
| Postcode district | HP6, HP7 |
| Dialling code | 01494 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament |
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Amersham (pronounced AM-er-shəm) is a lovely market town in Buckinghamshire, England. It's located in the Chiltern Hills, about 27 miles (43 km) northwest of central London. Amersham is a popular place for people who work in London to live, as it's part of the London commuter belt.
The town has two main parts:
- Old Amersham: This historic part is in the valley of the River Misbourne. It has a church from the 1200s called St. Mary's and many old pubs and coaching inns.
- Amersham-on-the-Hill: This area grew in the early 1900s around Amersham station. This station was used by the Metropolitan Railway (now part of the Metropolitan line) and the Great Central Railway.
Contents
Geography
Old Amersham sits in the valley of the River Misbourne. This is a special type of river called a chalk stream, which sometimes dries up. The valley is much bigger than the current river could have made, suggesting it formed a long time ago.
Amersham-on-the-Hill is built on a small flat area (a plateau) on the north side of the Misbourne valley. This plateau acts as a watershed, separating the water flowing into the Misbourne from water flowing into the nearby River Chess.
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Hyde Heath | Chesham Bois | Ley Hill | |
| Little Missenden |  |
Little Chalfont | ||
 Amersham  |
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| Coleshill | Seer Green | Chalfont St Giles |
History
The name "Amersham" comes from an old English name meaning 'Ealhmund's village'.
The town's history goes back to Anglo-Saxon times. In 1086, when the Domesday Book was written, it was called Elmodesham. This book was a huge survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror.
The Domesday Book says that Geoffrey de Mandeville owned Amersham. Before 1066, Queen Edith, who was the wife of Edward the Confessor, owned the land. After she died, it went to William the Conqueror, who then gave it to Geoffrey de Mandeville.
In 1200, a later Geoffrey de Mandeville received a special document called a charter. This charter allowed Amersham to hold a market every Friday and a fair in September. Later, in 1613, another charter changed the market day to Tuesday.
In 1521, a group of people called Lollards were punished in Amersham for their religious beliefs. They believed people should be able to read and understand the Bible for themselves. A memorial was built in 1931 to remember them. It says they died for religious freedom and the right to worship God as they believed.
By 1841, the population of Amersham was 3,098 people.
Architecture
In 1931, a famous architect named Amyas Connell designed a unique house in Amersham called "High & Over." It's known for its art deco style and has even been used as a place for filming movies or TV shows.
Governance
For a long time, Amersham had two Members of Parliament (MPs) who represented it in the House of Commons. This was before the Reform Act 1832, which changed how towns were represented. Amersham was considered a "rotten borough" because it had very few voters but still sent two MPs.
After 1832, Amersham became part of larger voting areas. Today, it is part of the Chesham and Amersham constituency. This area has been represented by MPs from the Conservative party for many years. However, in a special election in 2021, Sarah Green from the Liberal Democrats won the seat for the first time.
Transport
Roads
Amersham is a meeting point for several important roads. These include the A355, the A404, the A416, and the A413. These roads connect Amersham to other towns like Slough, High Wycombe, and Chesham.
Railway
The area now called Amersham-on-the-Hill used to be known as Amersham Common. It started to grow quickly after the railway arrived in 1892.
Amersham station is the end of the line for the Metropolitan line, which is part of the London Underground. This railway line also shares tracks with Chiltern Railways, which runs trains from Marylebone in London to Aylesbury. The station building itself has a special design, typical of the Metropolitan line.
The town was featured in a 1973 TV show called Metro-land, which looked at how London's suburbs grew in the 20th century. Building the railway line to Amersham was difficult because some landowners didn't want it. But once it was built, the station became the center of Amersham-on-the-Hill.
HS2
HS2 is a planned high-speed railway line from London to Birmingham. This new line will pass near Amersham. It will go through a long tunnel under the Chiltern Hills. Many local groups, like the Amersham Action Group, are working together to protest against the HS2 route.
Economy
In the past, Amersham's market was important for selling local grain, much of which went to London. In the 1600s and 1700s, brewing beer was a major industry in the town. A company called William Weller expanded the brewing business by buying many local public houses. However, in 1929, the brewery was sold, and brewing in Amersham stopped.
Other important industries in Amersham's history included tanning (making leather), making lace, and brickmaking.
During the Second World War, a scientific research center called the Radiochemical Centre came to Amersham. This center later became a big company called Amersham plc, which is now part of GE Healthcare. They package radioactive medicines. Another important company based in Old Amersham is Halma, which makes products for safety and protecting lives.
Places of worship
Amersham has several places of worship. In Amersham-on-the-Hill, there is a combined United Reformed and Baptist church, a Methodist church called St. John's, and the Church of England church of St Michael & All Angels.
In Old Amersham, you can find St Mary's Church. This is a very old Grade I listed Church of England building from the 1200s. It has been changed over the years, but it still has a font from the 1300s and old glass from the 1600s.
There is also the Amersham Meeting House, which is a Quaker meeting house. Quakers are a Christian group known for their peaceful beliefs. There are also two other Methodist churches and King's Church Amersham, which is a free church.
Education
Amersham has two main secondary schools: Dr Challoner's Grammar School for boys and Amersham School, which is a co-educational (for both boys and girls) academy. Girls can also go to Dr Challoner's High School in nearby Little Chalfont, and both boys and girls can attend Chesham Grammar School in Chesham.
The Dr Challoner's schools started as one grammar school in Old Amersham in 1624. It moved to Amersham-on-the-Hill in 1905. Later, in 1962, a separate girls' school, Dr Challoner's High School, was opened. Dr Challoner's Grammar School started accepting girls into its Sixth Form again in 2015.
Amersham School opened in 1964 as the Brudenell County Secondary School for girls. It became a co-educational school and changed its name to Amersham School in 1988.
Amersham also has several primary schools, including Our Lady's Roman Catholic Primary, Chestnut Lane School, Elangeni School, and St. Mary's Church of England Primary School. For younger children, there is The Henry Allen Nursery School.
For students who want to continue their studies after secondary school, Amersham & Wycombe College offers further education courses.
Sport and recreation
Amersham has a King George's Field, which is a park named after King George V. Nearby is the Chiltern Lifestyle Centre, a modern facility with two swimming pools, a gym, climbing wall, badminton courts, squash courts, a library, and a cafe.
Amersham Town F.C. is the local football team, playing at Spratley's Meadow. Other football teams use facilities at Hervines Park and Barn Meadow. The 61 Judo Club is also located at Barn Meadow.
Amersham Cricket Club plays at Shardeloes. Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club plays rugby union at Weedon Lane. The Chiltern Harriers Athletics Club is the local athletics club, and Amersham and Chalfont Hockey Club has its own playing facility.
Media and communications
Local newspapers
The local newspaper that used to cover Amersham was the Buckinghamshire Examiner, which closed in 2019. Another newspaper for the area is the Bucks Free Press.
Local radio
Chiltern Voice is the local community radio station for the Chilterns area, broadcasting on 107.4 FM.
TV and mobile phone signals
Because Amersham is in a valley, TV and radio signals can sometimes be weak. The town has its own TV mast to help with reception. In the 1970s, Amersham was one of the last towns in the south-east to get BBC2. Mobile phone reception can also be difficult in some parts of the town.
Notable people
Many interesting people have connections to Amersham:
- Val Biro, an illustrator and author, lived in Amersham.
- Katy Brand, an actress and comedian, grew up in Amersham.
- Simon Church, a footballer who played for Wales, was born in Amersham.
- Paul Foot, a comedian, was born and raised here.
- Eddie Howe, a football manager, was born in Amersham.
- Elizabeth Laverick, an engineer and the first woman to get a PhD in science at Durham University, was born and raised in Amersham.
- Arthur Machen, a Welsh author, lived in Amersham and is buried in St Mary's Cemetery.
- Bill Pertwee, an actor famous for Dad's Army, was born in Amersham.
- Tim Rice, a famous lyricist (who wrote songs for many musicals), was born in Amersham.
- Jennifer Worth, a nurse and author of The Midwife Trilogy, grew up in Amersham.
Twinning
Amersham is twinned with two towns in other countries:
- Bensheim in Germany (since 1977)
- Krynica-Zdrój in Poland
See Also
In Spanish: Amersham para niños
