Chesham

Chesham
The Chesham clock tower, located in the Market Square
Chesham Location within Buckinghamshire
Population	23,088 (2021)[1]
OS grid reference	SP965015
• London	25.8 miles (41.5 km) SE
Civil parish	Chesham
Unitary authority	Buckinghamshire
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHESHAM
Postcode district	HP5
Dialling code	01494
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Chesham and Amersham
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 51°42′43″N 0°36′43″W / 51.712°N 0.612°W / 51.712; -0.612

Chesham (/ˈtʃɛʃəm/, locally /ˈtʃɛsəm/, or /ˈtʃɛzəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about 26 miles (42 km) north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley,^[2] surrounded by farmland. The earliest records of Chesham as a settlement are from the second half of the 10th century, although there is archaeological evidence of people in this area from around 8000 BC. Henry III granted a royal charter for a weekly market in 1257.^[3]

Chesham is known for its four Bs —

. Today, employment in the town is provided mainly by small businesses engaged in light industry, technology and professional services.

From the early part of the 20th century, Chesham has experienced a considerable expansion, with new housing developments and civic infrastructure. Chesham has become a commuter town with improved connection to London via the London Underground and road networks. The town centre has been progressively redeveloped since the 1960s and has been pedestrianised since the 1990s. The population at the 2021 census was 23,008.^[1]

History

archaeological evidence of a Roman villa and the planting of grapevines. However, the area was then deserted until the Saxon period around the 7th century.^[6]

Contrary to popular belief, the town is not named after the river; rather, the river is named after the town. The first recorded reference to Chesham is under the

wife of King Eadwig. She held an estate here which she bequeathed to Abingdon Abbey.^[8]

Prior to

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Hugh de Bolbec.^[7]

The land owners of Chesham

The Domesday Book records that there were three manors in Cestreham and one at nearby Latimer. William the Conqueror shared out the estates between four of his dependants. The vast majority of land was granted to Hugh de Bolebec and smaller parcels to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, Toustain Mantel and Alsi.^[11]

Before the 13th century, the three Cestreham manors were known as Chesham Higham, Chesham Bury and Chesham Bois. In the 14th century they were first recorded as 'the manors of Great Chesham'. Collectively they extended beyond the current Chesham town boundary.

Mary II, William III and Queen Anne. He rebuilt the original Bury and manor house of Great Chesham in 1712. The Lowndes family settled in Chesham and over the next 200 years became equally influential both nationally through politics and the law and locally within the town as its principal benefactors.^[7]

Ecclesiastical history

No evidence remains of any church prior to the Norman Conquest. However, the siting of

parish church of St Mary's, from the 17th century a single incumbent was appointed. Jurisdiction was still shared between both advowsons and two parsonages, an 'upper' and 'lower', continued to be maintained until the 18th century when both were superseded by a single new parsonage.^[13] The Duke of Bedford subsequently consolidated the moieties by Act of Parliament in 1767.^[11] To accommodate the increasing population during the 19th century, a new parish church was built in 1867; Christ Church at Waterside, and further churches were built at Ashley Green and Bellingdon, which were at the time both within the civil parish of Chesham.^[13]

Religious dissent and nonconformity

Chesham is noted for the religious dissent which dominated the town from the 15th century. In 1532

Christian Brethren

which date back in Chesham to 1876, opened their Gospel Hall in 1895, which closed in December 2008. Broadway Baptist church had congregations at the Vale, Hawridge, Ashley Green and Chartridge; only the one at Chartridge survives. Trinity Baptist church had congregations at Hyde Heath, Ley Hill and Whelpley Hill; only the one at Hyde Heath survives. The Congregational Church had congregations at Asheridge and Pond Park.

Emigration to the American colonies

In 1630 Aquila Chase left Chesham to join the colony, settling first at Hampton (now New Hampshire), then

Industrial development

The primary industries of the town in

), grew rapidly between 1530 and 1730 and became the major industry in the town prior to a period of rapid decline. Between 1740 and 1798, mills were converted to produce paper (pulp), responding to London's insatiable demand for paper. However, technological developments in paper-making elsewhere rendered the mills unprofitable and they reverted to flour production in the 1850s.

New industries emerged from the 16th century onwards. The woodlands had been a source of firewood for London during the mediaeval period. A small-scale woodenware industry making shovels, brooms, spoons and chairs, began around 1538 and its expansion was accompanied by the planting of beechwoods between the 17th and 19th centuries.^[7] Straw plaiting was seen as home-based work for the wives and daughters of labourers from the 18th century. Straw was also imported from Italy to produce the superior 'Tuscan plait' traded at a Saturday market for the Luton and Dunstable hat trade and remained the major cottage industry until around 1860, providing employment for women and girls, some of whom attended a 'plait-school' in Waterside.^[7] Lace making developed in the 16th century as a cottage industry and was valued for its quality. Chesham specialised in black lace. The industry declined in the 1850s due to mechanisation in Nottingham.^[7] Between 1838 and 1864 silk-spinning, powered by a steam-driven mill in Waterside, was started to make use of unemployed lace workers. This trend was relatively short-lived as changes in fashion and the growth of the railways resulted in competition from elsewhere for the valuable London markets.^[7] However one exception was the firm of George Tutill which specialised in high-quality banners and was responsible for three-quarters of those made for trade unions. The firm is still a going concern, specialising in flags and banners.

Three of the four Bs that have shaped Chesham's history relate to its industries. Brush making was introduced around 1829 to make use of the off-cuts from woodworking. Boot and shoe making which started as a

(Kilrock).

The town in times of war

Henry VIII

imposed a tax on the town to pay for his wars against Scotland and France.

In common with the majority of communities in Buckinghamshire, Chesham's

The records of the

During the

Over the duration of the

Social history

A Chesham

Publicly funded education started with the opening of a

Chesham

Transport connections have always come late to the town. The Metropolitan Railway eventually reached Chesham in July 1889. Electrification was not to come until the 1960s. Between the two world wars and in the 1950s and 60s there was much expansion in the town with new public housing developments along the Missenden Road, at Pond Park and at Botley.^[13][24]

The first public viewings of cinema films in Chesham were provided by travelling showmen around 1900 and attracted large crowds. The first purpose-built cinema, The Empire Picture Hall, opened in Station Road in 1912 and in 1914 The Chesham Palace started up in The Broadway. Both showed silent films. By 1920 the Empire had closed. In 1930 the Chesham Palace was refurbished to show the new 'talkies' and reopened as The Astoria which remained in business until 1959 when the arrival of television forced it to close. The Embassy in Germain Street opened in 1935 and survived until 1982, closing due to competition from cinemas in nearby towns. The Elgiva Theatre, completed in 1976 beside St Mary's Way, was equipped to show films and on moving to a new site just across the road in 1998 state of the art projection equipment was installed in the new theatre (see image below).^[25]

Geography

The town is in the Chess Valley 13 miles south-east of the county town

has 17,719.

Topography and geology

Chesham is in the

.

Built environment and social geography

Chesham developed as a market town which prospered through its manufacturing industries fuelled by a series of mills which sprung up along the River Chess. Until the 19th century the town was centred to the south-eastern end of the present High Street. Most of the present-day town centre's development took place during Victorian times. The 'old town', particularly Church and Germain Street, has been well preserved and now designated a

The town had a population of 2,425 by 1841.

which was the site of the first mills and factories in the 18th and 19th centuries there is a mixture of original and newly constructed industrial units and at the northern end along the Asheridge Vale there is a further development of generally small commercial business units.

Compared to other towns in south Buckinghamshire, there are fewer detached and owner-occupied houses and a higher proportion of social rental accommodation.[33] Expansion in housing has occurred in several phases mainly to the east of the old town where artisan's housing sprung up along Berkhamsted Road and subsequently along the many steep valley sides. Initially this development was as a consequence of the extension of the railway to the town in the 1880s, subsequently the promotion of Metroland during the 1920s and the electrification of the Metropolitan line in the 1960s. Pond Park estate was built in the 1930s. The population grew fast after the Second World War as workers followed employers who moved out from London. The population in 1951 was 11,500 leading to the building of the Chessmount and Hilltop estates by speculative developers in the 1950s and '60s. By 1971 the population had reached 20,000 since when it has only increased slightly. The growing popularity of the Chilterns as a place to live from the latter part of the 20th century onwards led to restrictions on housing and industrial development in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has sustained the demand for further house building in the town. Today an increasing number of those in employment find work outside the town, commuting by car or train as well as an increasing number who are home or office-based using technology to make a living.

Climate

Chesham experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom, although the lower parts of the valley have significant frost hollow characteristics – being several degrees colder than surrounding areas on clear, calm nights and so have much lower average minimum temperatures than shown in the table. The lowest recorded temperature in Chesham was −19.6 °C (−3 °F) on 20 December 2010 at a private weather station, which was also the coldest place in the UK on that date.^[35] On 12 February 2012, the coldest day in Britain since December 2010, temperatures in Chesham fell to −18.3 °C (−1 °F) again the lowest in the country on that date.^[36]

 

   

Neighbourhoods and wards

The town comprises the following communities:

• Asheridge Vale, stretches along Asheridge Road on the north-west edge of the town. The large housing development was built during the mid 20th century along with an industrial estate comprising manufacturing and light industrial units which has since undergone diversification into offices and small businesses. Also a town council
  ward
  .
• Botley, a hamlet located to the east of the town of Chesham between Lye Green and Ley Hill (the latter in Latimer parish). Part of Townsend ward.
• Chesham Vale, area on the northern edge of the town on the road to the villages of Hawridge and Cholesbury
  . Also a town council ward called Vale.
• Chessmount, area to the east of the town centre. Part of Waterside ward.
• Codmore, ancient hamlet located to the north-east of the town centre, at the junction between the roads to Lye Green and Botley. Part of Hilltop ward.
• Great Hivings, an area to the north of Chesham on the road to Bellingdon (the latter in Chartridge parish). Part of the ward called Ridgeway.
• Hilltop, residential area to the north-east of the town built on steeply sloping ground. Consists primarily of steel framed bungalows. Also the name of a town council ward.
• Lye Green, hamlet located to the north east of the main town. Part of Newtown ward.
• Lowndes, residential area which includes the Chiltern Hills Academy School, close to the centre of the town, adjacent to Lowndes Park. Also a town council ward.

• Newtown, late Victorian housing development to the north of the town, now incorporated into the enlarged townscape. Also a town council ward.
• Old Town, until the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway in the 19th century was the town's centre. Today, St Mary's Church, the historic houses and streetscape are part of a designated Conservation Area lying to the south of the present town centre with which it comprises St. Mary's ward.
• Pednormead End, an area to the west of the main town, along Missenden Road. Part of St. Mary's ward.
• Pond Park, an area comprising post Second World War housing to the north of the town. Part of the Ridgeway Ward.
• Townsend, Victorian extension to the town comprising commercial premises, later 20th century residential developments and Chesham Grammar School. Also a town council ward.
• Waterside, once a hamlet located just south of the town centre. Several mills sprung up along the River Chess which flows through the area as well as factories. It still retains a distinct character with a large open space known as the Moor. Also a town council ward.

Landmarks

Clock tower

A clock tower constructed in 1992 stands in Market Square on the site of Chesham's 18th-century town hall demolished in 1965. The turret is a reconstruction of the one built onto the original town hall in the 19th century and features the original glass-dialled clock face and clock mechanism from the mid 19th century.^[38]

War memorial

Chesham

Economy

Agriculture

There is evidence during the pre-Norman period of common fields being divided into parcels and strips of land. The

Industrial Revolution

Until the 18th century, the economic activity of Chesham had remained largely unchanged since the granting of its town charter in 1257. The commercial planting of

Second World War

.

Manufacturing and brewing

In the 18th century, home-based leather trade workers moved to the newly opened Barnes Boot factory, and to the Britannia Boot and Shoe Works towards the end of the 19th century. By this time, there were eight major manufacturers and many small workshops. In 1829 Beechwoods brushmaking factory was opened. At its height there were around 12 factories specialising in brushes made from locally grown beech, with bristles imported mainly from across Asia. The adoption of nylon for brushes was the cause of the downturn with only one manufacturer remaining today, Russell's Brushes.

Nash's Chesham Brewery opened in the High Street in 1841. Two other notable rivals were Darvell's Brewery and Sarah Howe and Sons. Competition led to amalgamations around the start of the 20th century although brewing continued at Chesham Brewery until the 1950s.^[40]

Commerce today

Today Chesham has a diverse economic base comprising many typically small-medium-sized enterprises representing all business sectors. Within the two industrial parks light engineering and fabrication industry is to be found alongside printers and graphic designers or other technology-based firms, wholesalers, distribution and courier businesses. As elsewhere, there has been an expansion of professional business services and consultancies. The pedestrianised High Street retains some of the character of the old market town with some long-established traditional family retailers and also features a

and Milton Keynes.

Governance

Parliamentary representation

The town was part of the Aylesbury constituency from 1885 to 1974. Since the boundary changes that were made ahead of the

Local government

Chesham has two tiers of local government: Chesham Town Council and Buckinghamshire Council. Chesham Town Council is based at Chesham Town Hall.

The parish of Chesham was made a

covering the area of the abolished urban district. Chiltern District was abolished in 2020, merging with the other Buckinghamshire authorities to become a unitary authority called Buckinghamshire Council.

Coat of arms

Chesham Urban District Council was granted a coat of arms in 1961, which subsequently transferred to Chesham Town Council. The colours are the same as those of Buckinghamshire County arms. The Chiltern woodlands are denoted by two beech trees. The river Chess is recognised in the black and white chequers and rooks. The swan is inherited from the Dukes of Buckingham. The lilies relate to St Mary, patron saint of the parish church. The buck's head is borrowed from the arms of The Cavendish family, which owned most of the parish lands. The motto is from the Epistle to the Galatians, Chapter V, Verse 13.[44]

Public services

Emergency services

is located in Amersham.

Health services

Buckinghamshire NHS

Utilities

for the town.

Religion

The oldest church building in Chesham is

. During the English civil war there were groups of Quakers, Baptists and Presbyterians. Broadway Baptist Church dates back to at least 1706 and had its 300th anniversary celebrations in Chesham in 2006. Its roots are in the Chesham and Berkhamsted Baptist Church which dates back to 1640.

In the present day, Chesham has four Baptist churches (Broadway Baptist, Trinity Baptist and Newtown Baptist) and four

in Higham Road and the Jehovah's Witnesses off Bellingdon Road.

During the Second World War, the first recorded Jewish congregation was founded by families evacuated from London who used to meet at the cricket pavilion. After the war, they combined with the Jewish community in Amersham which met at the synagogue in Amersham-on-the-Hill until 1968. This was succeeded by a Liberal Jewish community formed in 1990 which now meets at Chesham Grammar School.^[48]

During the second half of the 20th century, a sizeable

, the first purpose-built mosque, was completed in 2005 and is located in Bellingdon Road.

Demography

Religion[49] % Buddhist 0.4 Christian 54.4 Hindu 0.9 Jewish 0.3 Muslim 8.2 Sikh 0.3 No religion 27.3 Other religion 0.5 Not stated 7.6

Age[50] % 0–9 13.1 10–19 12.2 20–29 11.0 30–44 21.7 45–59 21.0 60–74 14.3 75–89 7.0 90+ 0.7

Ethnicity[51] % White British 80.7 White Other 5.1 Mixed origin 2.6 Indian 1.3 Pakistani 7.3 Bangladeshi 0.3 Black Caribbean 0.4 Black African 0.6 Chinese 0.4 Other 0.4

0Population0 00Total[52]0 1801 3,969 1831 5,388 1851 6,098 1871 6,488 1901 7,245 1931 8,812 1951 11,433 1961 16,297 1971 † 20,466 1981 20,447 1990 20,214 2001 20,358

• Population of Chesham parish in 2011 was 21,483 comprising 10,600 males and 10,883 females.
• Status: 51.2% married, 0.2% in
  civil partnership
  , 34.5% single (including widowed, divorced etc.)
• Housing: 67.6% owner occupied, 0.9% shared ownership, 20.6% rented (public sector) 10.1% rented (private sector)
• Car ownership: 83% of households in the town own a car.
• Work/studying: 54% employed, 13.2% self-employed, 2.4% studying
• Not working: 12.9% retired, 5.9% unemployed, 5.0% caring for family, 2.8% unable to work
• Travel to work: 66.0% car, 11.5% train, 2.4% bus, 1.8% motor/bicycle, 10.0% on foot, 6.8% at home.

† Prior to boundary changes in 1974 reducing size of Chesham Town area

Transport

Rail

's car park except for one portion occupied by coal merchants.

In 1959 electrification of the Metropolitan line to Chesham provided a more reliable connection to London. With the cessation of London Underground services to Aylesbury in 1961 and to

The nearest National Rail connections are at Amersham, although the LU line also connects directly to Chalfont & Latimer station, from where the Metropolitan line and Chiltern Railways provide a joint service with Metropolitan line trains travelling to Baker Street and Aldgate and Chiltern Railways trains travelling to Marylebone. There is also access to London via Berkhamsted railway station on the West Coast Main Line.

Roads

In contrast to other towns in south Buckinghamshire, Chesham historically was not well served by road transport links. The

in 1990 and the benefits to the High Street have been felt ever since. Whilst some of the previous bustle has been lost, the impact of pedestrianisation has generally been positive.

Bus services

Bus companies running local services include

, Red Rose, Redline and Red Eagle.

Residential areas of the town are connected with the central shopping-area. Chesham is also connected by services to nearby Amersham, and further afield to High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead, and Uxbridge.^[56] Less frequent services run to Aylesbury and to surrounding villages.

Car usage and parking

There are six pay and display car parks in the town, managed by Chiltern District Council. This demand for parking reflects the relatively high car usage, a result of both affluence and the limited public transport provision in rural areas. As a consequence Chiltern District has the 4th highest carbon footprint of all local authorities.^[57]

Cycling

There is limited provision for cycle use within the town. The town is one setting off point for exploring the Chilterns and cycling heritage trails have been developed by the district authority, two of which are centred on countryside around Chesham.^[58]

Air transport

is directly above the town.

Education

Primary education

Between the 1960s and the mid-1990s Primary education provision in Chesham was organised into

Secondary education

At secondary level, Buckinghamshire continues to operate a system of

.

In the Chiltern and South Bucks area around Chesham and over the county border in Hertfordshire there are also a number of independent fee-paying schools providing education between ages 4–13 and up to age 18. Chesham Preparatory School is an independent school which opened in 1938 in the town and shortly after relocated to the outskirts of Chesham at Orchard Leigh, providing fee-paying and scholarship-supported education.^[61]

Special, further and adult education provision

Chesham is the location of a nationally renowned

A Further education college Amersham & Wycombe College was founded in 1973 and has one of its four campuses in the town on the former Cestreham Senior Boys School at Lycrome Road. The college caters for a range of student cohorts with 2000 students on full-time courses and 5000 on a part-time bases.^[63] The Chess Valley section of the Chiltern University of the Third Age (U3A) was formed in October 2008 in response to increasing demand for activities in the area and meets at St Mary's Church.^[65]

Culture and recreation

Community facilities

The Elgiva Hall opened on its original location in 1976.^[66] In 1998, having made way for an enlarged supermarket development the Elgiva was rebuilt as a purpose-built theatre on its current site and reopened as the New Elgiva. Now rebranded The Elgiva it is a 300 seated/400 standing capacity theatre, with a Dolby Digital 35mm cinema and is owned and managed by Chesham Town Council. The Elgiva presents a wide-ranging programme of professional and amateur theatre productions, musicals, comedy, dance, one night shows and concerts, pantomimes, films, exhibitions and other public and private events by both professional and community organisations. The Little Theatre by the Park is a facility owned by the Town Council and leased to the Little Theatre Trustees. It is the home to the Chesham Bois Catholic Players and used by other local theatre companies and is used for dance and exercise groups.

The White Hill Centre, the site of an old school, is run by Chesham and District Community Association and since 1976 has provided educational, recreational social activities and facilities for societies and the local community to meet.[69] Opposite the town centre is Lowndes Park, a large park with playgrounds and formerly an open air paddling pool. There is a large pond in the park, known as Skottowe's Pond. Lowndes Park was donated to the town of Chesham in 1953. Prior to this it was part of the garden that belonged to the Lowndes family. The Moor, originally an island created by the diversion of the Chess to power mills is today an open space used for recreation and the location for travelling fairs which moved from their traditional location in the town centre in 1938. There are two public swimming pools in the town. An outdoor pool at the Moor in Waterside and a roofed pool (and leisure centre), next to Chesham Grammar School at the top of White Hill. The Town Council manages 227 allotments spread across three sites.^[70] There are 135 footpaths in the Chesham area and in May 2010 the town became the first in the Chilterns to be recognised as a "Walkers are Welcome Town".^[71][72]

Sport

Chesham Rugby union Club ('The Stags'), was founded in 1980 and play rugby for boys, girls and adult men and women at Chiltern Hills Academy. The Stags also run netball teams playing in local leagues for girls and women.

Town twinning and cultural exchanges

Chesham has

Some organisations also have international links. Emmanuel Church is linked with a church in Prague, Czech Republic. Chesham British Legion is linked with its Canadian equivalent in Buckingham, Quebec. Ley Hill Methodist Church is linked with Skopje Methodist Church in Macedonia.

Media, communications and filmography

Local news media

The local newspaper covering Chesham and the surrounding area, although it no longer has an office based in the town, is the Buckinghamshire Examiner founded in 1889.^[80] Another Buckinghamshire newspaper with a circulation area covering Chesham is the Bucks Free Press.^[81]

Local Radio

Radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio and Heart London.

The Ofcom licensed community radio station for the Chilterns is Chiltern Voice,^[82] which broadcasts on 107.4fm.

TV and mobile phone signals

Due to its position in a fold in the hill, TV and radio reception in Chesham can be poor and the town now has its own TV mast. In the 1970s, Chesham was one of the last towns in the south east to receive

coverage is patchy for much the same reason. Mobile phone reception can be poor in the steeper parts of Chesham and outlying villages.

Filmography

The following TV series and episodes included filming in Chesham's Old Town and pedestrianised High Street:[84]

• The Professionals Close Quarters (1978) – Hundridge Manor
• Hammer House of Horror: Carpathian Eagle (1980) – Lowndes Park: The Silent Scream (1980) – 68 Broad Street
• Inspector Morse The Day of the Devil (1993) – High Street
• Midsomer Murders: The Axeman Cometh (2007) – Market Sq; Written in Blood (1997) – High St and Old Town; Sins of Commission – High St; Things that Go Bump in the Night (2004) – Market Sq; The Black Book – 15 Market Sq (2009); The Sword of Guillaume (2010) High St, Broadway War Memorial^[85]
• Nuzzle and Scratch (2009) – CBeebies programme, Toy Shop episode filmed on the high street outside Harvey Johns
• Scoop (2009) – High Street and Town
• Chucklevision
  Well Suited (2000) – High Street (opening scene)
• Black Mirror: "The National Anthem" (2011) – desolate shots of the High Street and of an area near The Vale are shown near the end
• The Imitation Game – 73 Church Street appears as Alan Turing's lodging house in Bletchley, and also appears briefly in Dirk Bogarde vehicle The Password Is Courage (1962)
• Doctor Foster – The Chess Medical Centre

Notable people

• Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf
  , lived in Chesham.
• Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, Labour politician and father of the National Health Service, moved to Asheridge Farm near Chesham, where he died on 6 July 1960.
• Val Biro children's author of the Gumdrop books lived in Chesham from 1955 to 1969. He died in 2014 aged 92.
• Thomas Pownall Boultbee d.1884 was a clergyman who on his death was buried in the town where he and his son both preached.
• Alfred Alexander Burt served in the Great War and 'for most conspicuous bravery at Cuinchy, France on 27 September 1915 was a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He lived in the town until his death, in 1962, aged 67.
• Alice Connor, actress, attended Chartridge Combined School in Chesham.
• Alice in Wonderland
  on.
• Andrew Davis b.1944 is a British conductor who was born in nearby Asheridge and grew up in the town.
• Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy
  and later a member of parliament.
• Stephen Fry spent part of his childhood in Chesham, attending Chesham Prep School as detailed in his autobiography Moab is my Washpot. He lived in Stanley Avenue.
• Joan Gardner b.1911 in Chesham became an actress of stage and screen.
• burnt at the stake
  in 1532, at Chesham in the Pell, near Botley.
• Charles Townsend Harrison
  art historian and critic was born in Chesham in 1942.
• Rob Hoey, comedian, actor and musician, lives in Chesham.
• Alex Horne, standup comedian currently lives in Chesham.
• Eddie Howe, football manager of Newcastle United was born in neighbouring Amersham but grew up in Chesham.^[86]
• Arthur Lasenby Liberty, founder of the famous Liberty store in London, lived in a house next to the George & Dragon in the High Street.
• William Lowndes (1652–1724) British Politician and Secretary to the Treasury
  who built and lived at Bury House as did many of his relatives and descendants
• Harold Mattingly d.1964 was a historian and numismatist who lived and is buried in the town.
• botanical artist, particularly the flora of the Amazon rainforest
  .
• Protestant missionary
  in China and Japan. He was the author or translator of a number of books.
• Irene Rooke, theatre and film actress, married to Milton Rosmer, lived the latter period of her life until her death in 1958 in the town.
• Milton Rosmer, film actor, director and screenwriter was living in the town at the time of his death in 1971.
• Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leading Islamic intellectual and community leader. Founder and director of the Muslim Institute and of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain. Lives in Chesham.
• Guy Siner, who starred in 'Allo 'Allo!, currently^[when?] resides in Chesham.
• Francis Wilson, TV weatherman. Used to live in Chesham.

Freedom of the Town

The following people have received the Freedom of the Town of Chesham.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2019)

• Vincent Crompton: 14 May 2015^[87][88]
• Katherine Merchant: 9 May 2019.
• Rocky Clarke MBE: 9 May 2019
• Mora Walker: 9 May 2019
• Rod Culverhouse: 9 May 2019.^[89]
• Philip Folly
• Helen Salisbury: 27 September 2021

See also

Nearby towns, villages and hamlets

Other articles

• Lord Chesham

Further reading

• Baines, Arnold &, Birch, Clive (1994). Chesham Century. England: Quotes Limited.
  ISBN 0-86023-549-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
  )
• Baines, Arnold & Foxell, Shirley. "The Life & Times of Thomas Harding, Chesham's Lollard Martyr" Clive Foxell 2010
• Branigan, Keith (1967). "The distribution and development of Romano-British occupation in the Chess Valley". Records of Buckinghamshire. 18: 136–49.
• Foxell, Clive "The Lowndes Chesham Estate- the early photographs" Clive Foxell 2011
• Foxell, Clive "The Ten Cinemas of Chesham" Clive Foxell 2010
• Hay, David and Joan (1994). Hilltop Villages of the Chilterns. England: Phillimore & Co Ltd.
  ISBN 0-85033-505-1
  .
• Hepple, Leslie &, Doggett, Alison (1971). The Chilterns. England: Phillimore & Co Ltd.
  ISBN 0-85033-833-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
  )
• Hunt, Julian (1977). Chesham A Pictorial History. England: Phillimore & Co Ltd.
  ISBN 1-86077-058-4
  .
• Piggin, George (1993). Tales of Old Chesham. England: Highgate Publications (Beverley) Ltd.
  ISBN 0-948929-70-7
  .
• Rance, Eva (1991). Eva's Story, Chesham Since the Turn of the Century. England: The Book Castle.
  ISBN 1-871199-85-9
  .
• Seabright, Colin J (2004). Chesham Images of England. England: Gardners Books.
  ISBN 0-7524-3367-9
  .
• Fletcher, Keith (2008). Chesham at Work. England: Hawkes Books.
• Rees, Neil; Hart, Sheila (2011). The Church by the Woods. England: Hawkes Books.

References

External links

• Chesham Town Council
• Chesham Museum
• The Chesham Society