Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England, in the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

, northwest of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, from

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There are two distinct areas: * Old Amersham, set in the valley of the River Misbourne, containing the 13th-century parish church of St. Mary's and several old pubs and

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

s * Amersham-on-the-Hill, which grew in the early 20th century around , which was served by the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

, now the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...

, and the Great Central Railway.

Geography

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 A misfit stream is a river that is either too large or too small to have eroded the valley or cave passage in which it flows. This term is also used for a stream or river with meanders that obviously are not proportional in size to the meanders ...

. The valley floor is at around OD, and the valley top is at around 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 Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between the Misbourne and the neighbouring River Chess.

History

Amersham-on-the Hill, High Street - geograph

The name “Amersham” is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for ‘Ealhmund’s village (''hām'')’. Records date back to pre-

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

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'' The Domesday entry is: : Geoffrey de Mandeville holds Amersham. It answers for 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 ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

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 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. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

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. 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. The population in 1841 was 3,098.

Architecture

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

Governance

Parliamentary constituency

Amersham sent two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the unreformed House of Commons from 1625, and was considered a rotten borough until the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

stripped it of its representation. The town was then part of the county constituency of

. From 1885 it was in the

constituency, in 1950 it formed part of the

South Buckinghamshire South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Bea ...

seat and in 1974 the current Chesham and Amersham constituency was created. Since then

Ian Gilmour Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar, (8 July 1926 – 21 September 2007) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was styled Sir Ian Gilmour, 3rd Baronet from 1977, having succeeded to his fath ...

(1974–1992) and then Cheryl Gillan (1992–2021) have represented the constituency on behalf of the

Conservative party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. In the 2019 General Election Ms Gillan was returned with 55.4% of the vote. After her death on 4 April 2021, the seat went to the Liberal Democrats for the first time since its creation when Sarah Green won the ensuing by-election on 17 June 2021.

Local Government

There are two tiers of local government in Amersham, at parish (town) and county level: Amersham Town Council and Buckinghamshire Council. The town council is based at Flint Barn Court on Church Street in the old town. From 1894 until local government reorganisation in 1974 the area was administered by Amersham Rural District Council, which was based at the Amersham Union Workhouse on Whielden Road until 1931 and at Elmodesham House at 42 High Street from 1931 to 1974. Amersham Parish Council was also established in 1894 and initially met at

Amersham Market Hall Amersham Market Hall, formerly known as Amersham Town Hall, is a municipal building in the High Street in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure is a Grade II* listed building. History The town received a royal charter, allowing it t ...

, a prominent neoclassical style structure in the High Street. In 1974 Amersham Rural District Council merged with Chesham Urban District Council to form Chiltern District Council, whilst Amersham Parish Council became Amersham Town Council. Chiltern District Council was abolished in 2020, merging with Buckinghamshire County Council and the other Buckinghamshire district councils to form a new unitary authority called Buckinghamshire Council.

Transport

Roads

The town is located at the junction of the A355 from

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

and

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

, the A404 linking

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

, High Wycombe and Rickmansworth, the A416 from Chesham and Berkhamsted and the A413.

Railway

The area of the town now known as Amersham-on-the-Hill was referred to as Amersham Common until after the arrival of the railway in 1892. After this date the growth of the new area of the town gradually accelerated, with much work being done by the architect John Kennard. It is now known as "Amersham-on-the-Hill", "Amersham Town" or the "New Town". station is a terminus of the

. Much of this route is shared with the mainline railway from to . Before electrification, the Metropolitan line ran via Aylesbury to Verney Junction and . London Transport abandoned plans to electrify beyond Amersham and the stations and line were sold to

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways on 11 September 1961. To this day, these Chiltern Railways stations display a characteristic Metropolitan line architecture. The town features in the 1973

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

documentary '' Metro-land'' about the growth of suburban London in the 20th century. The construction of the railway line was controversial 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, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...

share the railway track with London Underground and run services from Marylebone to

Aylesbury Vale Parkway Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station is a railway station serving villages northwest of Aylesbury, England. It also serves the Berryfields and Weedon Hill housing developments north of the town. The station and all trains serving it are oper ...

HS2

In March 2010, the Government announced the route of

HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

, the proposed high-speed railway from London to Birmingham. The line will cross the Colne Valley and the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

on a viaduct, and then through a tunnel under the

to emerge near

South Heath Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London M ...

, northwest of Amersham. The route runs roughly parallel to the A413 and the London to Aylesbury Line. A campaign of opposition is co-ordinated by a protest group, Amersham Action Group, which with other protest groups is part of the HS2 Action Alliance.

Economy

GE Healthcare Amersham radiopharmaceuticals packaging

Early trade at Amersham Market was in local grain, much of which was sold to London

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s. 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. 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 Benskins was the pre-eminent brewery in Watford, and Hertfordshire's biggest brewer until its acquisition by Ind Coope in 1957. While Benskins has not existed as an independent company for over half a century, the brand continues to be well kn ...

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 A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

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 Amersham plc was a manufacturer of radiopharmaceutical products, to be used in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures. The company became GE Healthcare following a takeover in 2003, which was based at the original site in Amersh ...

, then Amersham plc, and now, after a number of changes of ownership and name, is part of GE Healthcare.

Halma Halma (from the Greek word ἅλμα meaning "jump") is a strategy board game invented in 1883 or 1884 by George Howard Monks, an American thoracic surgeon at Harvard Medical School. His inspiration was the English game ''Hoppity'' which was ...

, specialists in hazard and life protection products and headquartered in Old Amersham, is now a member of the FTSE 100 index.

Places of worship

Amersham-on-the-Hill has a

free church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...

which is United Reformed and Baptist, the

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

St. John's and the Church of England St Michael & All Angels. In Old Amersham stands the

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Church of England St Mary's Church, a 13th-century building that has been altered over the years. The present exterior is largely

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

but the building contains a 14th-century font, 17th century glass from Lamer Manor in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, and monuments in the chancel and in the Drake Chapel to 17th and 18th century notables. Also in the town there is the Grade II* listed

Amersham Meeting House The Amersham Meeting house is a Friends meeting house (a Quaker place of worship) on Whielden Road in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. It is listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England. The meeting for worship is held on Sundays at 11 ...

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

meeting house A meeting house (meetinghouse, meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a * church, which is a body of people who believe in Chr ...

), two

Methodist churches Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

, St John's in Woodside Road and another in the High Street, and King's Church Amersham, a free church.King's Church Amersham: https://www.kca.church/our-history

Education

There are two secondary schools located in Amersham:

Dr Challoner's Grammar School Dr Challoner's Grammar School (also known as DCGS, Challoner's Boys or simply Challoner's) is a selective grammar school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. It was given academy status in January ...

for boys, and

Amersham School Amersham School is a mixed secondary school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In September 2011, the school became an Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiar ...

, a non selective co-educational academy. Additionally, Amersham is included in the catchment areas of both

Dr Challoner's High School , established = 1962 , closed = , type = Academy Grammar School , religion = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Alan Roe , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , c ...

, a girls' grammar school in Little Chalfont, and

Chesham Grammar School Chesham Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school on White Hill, Chesham, Buckinghamshire. There are about 1,300 pupils aged between eleven and eighteen, including over 400 in the sixth form. In 2007, the Department for Education awarde ...

, a co-educational grammar school in Chesham. 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, 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 Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

's Church of England Primary School,

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

'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 Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

Sport and recreation

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

King George's Field A King George's Field is a public open space in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V (1865–1936). In 1936, after the king's death, Sir Percy Vincent, the then- Lord Mayor of London, formed a committee to determine ...

in memorial to King George V. Near the playing field is the "Chiltern Pools", one of the five 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 pools, including a 25-metre main pool, a fun pool with 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. play

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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-orientated, successful and competitive judo club catering for serious and social players alike. It has currently (2020) around 90 active members, and has provided several members of recent British Junior, Senior and Masters squads. Hervines Park and Barn Meadow host some

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

in the summer, but the main cricket clubs in the town are Amersham Cricket Club, which play in the grounds of

Shardeloes Shardeloes is a large 18th-century country house located one mile west of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, England (). A previous manor house on the site was demolished and the present building constructed between 1758 and 1766 for William Drake, ...

, 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 with its own playing facility on the Amersham Campus of the Buckinghamshire College Group (formerly Amersham & Wycombe College). The club has around 600 playing members, including one of the largest junior sections in the country.

Media, communications and filmography

Local news media

The local newspaper covering Amersham and the surrounding area was the ''

Buckinghamshire Examiner The ''Buckinghamshire Examiner'' more usually known as the ''Bucks Examiner'' was a weekly newspaper, published on Wednesdays and distributed in the towns of Amersham, Chesham, and the surrounding villages in the Chiltern area of Buckinghams ...

'' founded in 1889. Another Buckinghamshire newspaper with a circulation area covering Amerham is the '' Bucks Free Press''.

Local Radio

Th
Ofcomlicenced
community radio station for the Chilterns is ''Chiltern Voice'', 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 Amersham can be poor and the town now has its own TV mast (at Chesham Bois). In the 1970s, Amersham was one of the last towns in the south east to receive

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, and parts of it still cannot receive Channel 5. Houses taking their TV reception from the Chesham Bois transmitter have vertically polarised aerials, whilst those in a good enough position receive their signal from the

Crystal Palace Transmitter The Crystal Palace transmitting station, officially known as Arqiva Crystal Palace, is a broadcasting and telecommunications site in the Crystal Palace area of the London Borough of Bromley, England (). It is located on the site of the former t ...

in London with horizontally polarised aerials – they always could receive BBC2 (and indeed Channel 4 & Channel 5). Digital terrestrial television coverage is patchy for much the same reason. Mobile phone reception can be poor in the steeper parts of Chesham and outlying villages.

In popular culture

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

The Duke Wore Jeans ''The Duke Wore Jeans'' is a 1958 British comedy musical film by producer Nat Cohen starring Tommy Steele and June Laverick. The songs for the film were released in 1958 by Decca on a 10" LP, a 7" EP and two 7" singles and, in more recent times, ...

'' (1958) * ''

Carve Her Name with Pride ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' is a 1958 British war drama film based on the book of the same name by R. J. Minney. The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive agent Violette Szabo, GC, who w ...

'' (1958) * '' Circus of Horrors'' (1960) * ''

Murder at the Gallop ''Murder at the Gallop'' (1963) is the second of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on the 1953 novel '' After the Funeral'' by Agatha Christie, and starred Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Ti ...

'' (1963) * ''

The Jigsaw Man "The Jigsaw Man" is a science fiction short story by American writer Larry Niven, set in the ''Known Space'' universe. The story was first published in Harlan Ellison's anthology '' Dangerous Visions'', and is included in Niven's collections ''A ...

'' (1983) * '' The Shooting Party'' (1985) * '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) – Featured one of the suites in the Crown Hotel * '' Metroland'' (1997)

Notable people

* Katy Brand, actress/comedian/writer, born and brought up in Amersham *

Anne Chamney Anne Rosemary Chamney CEng MIMechE (16 April 1931 – 9 December 2008) was a British mechanical engineer specialising in medical equipment. She is best known for her invention of a novel oxygen tent which was much cheaper than existing tents, mu ...

, mechanical engineer, known for invention of a novel oxygen tent, born in Amersham. *

Simon Church Simon Richard Church (born 10 December 1988) is a retired footballer who last played as a striker for Football League One side Plymouth Argyle. He spent ten years at Reading after signing for their academy as a teenager. In six years as a prof ...

, Wales international footballer, born in Amersham and attended Amersham School * Giles Cooper, entertainment producer, born in Amersham. Best known as Chairman of the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

Ruth Ellis Ruth Ellis ( née Neilson; 9 October 1926 – 13 July 1955) was a British nightclub hostess and convicted murderer who became the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom following the fatal shooting of her lover, David Blakely. In her t ...

, last woman hanged in England, buried in St Mary's Cemetery * Paul Foot, comedian, born and raised in Amersham * Cindy Gallop, advertising chief turned adult industry entrepreneur, born in Amersham * Walter Goehr conductor, and his wife, photographer Laelia Goehr, lived at 17, Batchelors Way at the start of World War II. * Allan Gray (real name Josef Zmigrod), émigré composer best known for his film scores in the 1940s, lived in Bois Lane * Eddie Howe,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

manager, born in Amersham *

Elizabeth Laverick Elizabeth Laverick (25 November 1925 – 12 January 2010) was a British engineer who became technical director of Elliott Automation Radar Systems. Laverick was the first female deputy secretary of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now ...

, engineer, first woman to receive a PhD in a scientific subject at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, born and raised in Amersham. *

Damien Lovelock Damien Richard Lovelock (21 May 1954 – 3 August 2019), known familiarly as Damo, was an Australian musician, sports broadcaster and writer. He fronted the hard rock band The Celibate Rifles from 1980 as their lead singer-songwriter and later ...

, Australian musician, lead singer of The Celibate Rifles, born in Amersham * Arthur Machen, resident in Amersham, buried in St Mary's Cemetery * Bill Pertwee, actor, best known as Warden Hodges in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'', born in Amersham * Eileen Ramsay, photographer, brought up in Amersham *

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

, born in Amersham * Jennifer Worth, nurse and author of ''The Midwife Trilogy'', raised in Amersham

Twinning

Amersham is twinned with: * Flag of Germany

Bensheim in Germany (since 1977) * Flag of Poland

Krynica-Zdrój in Poland

References

External links

Amersham Town Council

Amersham Museum
* {{authority control Towns in Buckinghamshire Market towns in Buckinghamshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire