Chesham

I visited this station two weeks before Christmas as I was determined to at least finish photographing the Metropolitan Line before the end of 2023. It was a long journey to the station, as at 25 miles out of Central London, this is the most distant of the Underground stations.

Being a terminus it just has the one platform, with the trains leaving the station on the same line they entered. 

It used to have another platform which is now a garden. I imagine this looks stunning in the summer, not so on a mid winter's day.

A useful undercover bike shed.

The small waiting room was full of awards for the best well kept station .

As I was leaving the station, there on the wall was the first in the series of Mark Wallinger labyrinths: 1/270.  These artworks are created in vitreous enamel, a material used for many underground signs including the roundel. Wallinger created 270 individual artworks based on a labyrinth, one for each station on the network, to celebrate 150 years of the underground in 2013. Two were added ten years later  to the new stations on the Northern Line - Battersea Power station and Nine Elms. The new designs are numerically linked to the previous stations and are numbered 110a/270 and 110b/270. Each of the numbers is written in Wallinger's own hand.

 The numbering system is connected to a particular tube journey. They refer to the order of stations visited in the Guinness World Record ' Tube Challenge' 2009, the record for the fastest time taken to pass through every single station on the London Underground network'. The record stands at 16 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds set on 16th Aug 2013. Participants only have to pass through the stations on the system and can change from one line to another by foot or using other forms of public transport. Seeing as I am doing my own Underground challenge, maybe I can have the record for taking the longest time to visit every station on the underground.

As I looked back at the small station building I could see the train I had arrived on, just about ready to leave. It was a short walk down Station Road to the High Street. This road was cut through into the High Street in 1889 to give access to the newly arrived Metropolitan railway station.

The first shop I passed was a musical instrument shop. Prozone Music has one of the widest selections of woodwind and brass instruments and accessories in the country. 

At the junction of Broadway and the High Street is the Chesham War Memorial. It was erected in 1921 to honour those who died in WW1. The sculptor, Arthur George Walker modelled it on a soldier who had returned home from the war.

The date on this building is 1890. Here we are, almost 125 years later and food poverty is present in every town and country. Foodbanks have become an essential part of life for people struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. In order to get food from a foodbank you need to be referred with a  voucher. I believe these are available from doctors, health visitors and social services. Food is donated to the foodbanks by supermarkets and other food producers.

Throughout history Chesham has been known to have three main industries- brush making, boot making and beer. Boot making started in the area around 1792 while brush making began in 1829. Beer making increased greatly in the 19th century and by 1900 there were 80 pubs for a population of 8000. The breweries began to decline by the start of the 20th century but I noticed there are still a lot of pubs on the  High Street. The Generals Arms was once a showroom for a boot manufacturer before becoming a pub. 

I wonder if this was an old coaching inn.

Grade II listed building from early to mid 19th century.

This pub dates from the 15th century. In the 1790s this was a stop for the stagecoach to London which took 5 hours.

The Market Square was first laid out in 1257 after Henry III granted a Royal Charter to the 4th Earl of Oxford to hold a weekly market here. It was also the site of a weekly cattle market. The market stalls gradually became more permanent and the first shops were opened in the front rooms of people's houses. 

Looking in the opposite direction I can see the Clock Tower. This marks the site of the old market hall. Originally built in 1679, it was replaced by a Georgian one in 1856. Over the years the hall was used for various purposes such as a corn exchange, a magistrate's court, a fire station and a cinema but it eventually fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1965. The clock tower was rebuilt in 1992 with the old clock and the bell was reinstalled in 2014 to commemorate the start of WW1.

I left the High Street to go and find the older part of the village. I walked through Lowndes Park.The park is named after the Lowndes family who owned land in this area from the 16th century onwards. William Lowndes was a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1695 until his death in 1724. During this time he was Secretary to the Treasury under Mary II, William III and Queen Anne. He also had the Bury and manor house here rebuilt in 1712 and his descendants stayed in the town for over 200 years. He was married four times and had a total of 25 children.

Started by Samuel Gurney, MP and the barrister Edward Wakefield, the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association changed its name to include cattle troughs in 1867.

This is a cycle waymarker. To celebrate the Millennium 1000 of these markers were erected on cycle pathways around the country. They are all different having information about the local area.

I walked through the park to an iron gate which led me to the oldest surviving building in the village, St Mary's church. Parts of this 12th century Norman church still survive despite all the rebuilding over the centuries to accommodate increases in population.

Opposite the church is a path and steps down to The Bury, the historic home of the Lowndes family which is now private offices.

The Bury was built within the shadow of the church showing a strong connection between the two. 

I left the area of the church via a long drive 

I think this was the rectory on one side of the road with church community rooms on the other.

I think these church rooms were once the lodges of the Bury.

I am now in the older part of the town. The one photo I wanted to post was of a row of small cottages with flint facades. These historic cottages are known as the 'sixpenny cottages' the weekly rental cost. Unfortunately the photo didn't come out but these photos of other cottages  give you an idea of the small terraced housing. The quaint streets of the old town is a popular filming location. It has been used in Midsomer Murders on numerous occasions, Doctor Foster, Inspector Morse and many others. 

These look like almshouses. Properties given to the town by a wealthy merchant for the benefit of the poor.

I was getting hungry and decided to make my way back to the High Street where there seemed to be many cafes.

This is the River Chess, a chalk river which flows around the town.

I followed the river round through Wright's meadow where a saw mill once stood.  

I was soon back on the High Street and enjoyed a wonderful bowl of warming soup in this cafe.

The yarn bombers have been busy.

After Lunch I walked back down the High Street to the station. As I passed the Chapter 2 community bookshop. Profits from the shop go to the local hospice. I couldn't resist going in as Christmas was just around the corner and I was looking for a couple of surprise presents. Near the till was a display with the title 'Don't just a book by its cover.'. The books below the notice were all neatly wrapped in Christmas paper with the first sentence of the book written on the wrapping paper. there was no clue to the author or what the book was about. I thought they would make a surprise present to a couple of friends.