Amersham History
Welcome to Amersham Museum
Our collection is presented around five key dates, that reflect particular and important moments in the town’s history. For each of those dates we have considered what the town looked like, who lived in the town and related that to objects in our collection. Click on the images to find out more.
1580
Amersham is a busy market town. There are traders making a wide range of goods and farmers working the land
1775
Amersham’s prosperity grows in the 18th century, with inns providing refreshment and accommodation for travellers. Coaches, travelling from London to Birmingham, and Reading to Hatfield, often stop in the town
1892
In 1892 the town changes dramatically, with the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway and a station is built on the hill near the town. This results in migration to the town and new houses and shops in the ‘Newtown’, Amersham-on-the-Hill
1939
The new town of Amersham-on-the-Hill, begins to expand after WWI. In the 1920s and 1930s shops and houses are developed around the station, Now, with the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, the town grows even more. Many people migrate to Amersham to escape from danger in London and in Europe
1964
Following the end of WWII there is significant domestic and commercial development in Amersham-on-the-Hill. New industry emerges, notably the Radiochemical Centre on White Lion Road, and the cosmetics and perfume manufacturer, Goya. The Brazil’s sausage and pie factory has become a major employer
Our Scrapbook
BUILDINGS – of all sorts: houses modern and old, churches, pubs and shops
PEOPLE – some famous, some not, all with interesting stories
OTHER TOPICS – everything else: wartime, sport & entertaiment, local industries, transport
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION of George Ward’s photos of Amersham from 1880 to 1930
PODCASTS – Click on the image to hear our “Local Stories” podcasts
Helpful tip: to find a particular house, person or street, try using the SEARCH box in the left hand column of every page (or below on mobile phones).
Although we call it the Amersham History section of this website, it does not pretend to provide a full history of the town; for that we recommend Julian Hunt’s excellent book A History of Amersham. This section is more like a well-indexed, searchable and ever-expanding giant scrap-book, telling the stories of people who have lived in the town, often in their own words. Click here to find out how to carry out personal research into your house or family.
Because there is still much that we do not yet know, the editor hopes that visitors to the website will be able to provide more photos and information for the website. Please contact us if you have corrections or additions. Amersham Museum thanks all those who have contributed to this community website. Click here to see the list of pages added in the last year.
Plan Your Visit
Opening hours:
Wednesday to Sunday, and Bank Holiday Mondays, 12noon to 4:30pm
49 High Street
Old Amersham
Buckinghamshire
HP7 0DP
01494 723700
[email protected]
“Enjoyed our visit to this wonderful interactive museum where you are positively encouraged to touch things!”
“Visited Amersham museum yesterday – lovely place, provides many details on the history of the place. Plenty of cute cafes, pubs and shops around also… not difficult to find free parking nearby. ”
“A well-run, informative and interesting small museum on the main street. It’s mostly volunteer-run and they do a great job in keeping it and making you feel welcome…Check out the herb garden too.”
“Enjoyable film and television location guided walk around Amersham hosted by Amersham Museum – here are the Sun Houses on Highover Park and further up the hill is High & Over.”
Staying In Touch
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