Amersham

I have just two more stations to visit to complete my exploration of the Metropolitan line. As both of them are terminus stations I decided that wherever the next Metropolitan line tube was going that's the station I would be visiting today. So here I am at Amersham. It is the highest station above sea level on the Underground network at 147 metres. The station is not just for tube trains but also Chiltern Railway trains travelling from central London to and from Aylesbury. This station is in Buckinghamshire and one of only two stations in Zone 9. It was opened in 1892 as part of the Metropolitan Railway. In 1933 the line became part of the metropolitan Line of the London Underground.

It is a lovely station with its ornate roof supports and the cast iron lattice work on the bridge.

A smart looking waiting room where I was expecting to find another one of Mark Wallinger's labyrinths.

But as I left the platform to go through the barriers, there it was. I had assumed that this would be No 1 as the previous station I had visited was number 2 but no this was 3/270, so that means that the first in the series will be at the final station on the Metropolitan Line in Chesham.

The single storey station building was a short walk to the High Street and shops. I discovered that Amersham is in two parts - Amersham on the hill, which is where the station is sited and old Amersham.

Walking towards the centre of the town I passed this impressive mural. It is made up of  12 panels and  was installed on the wall of the Royal Mail sorting office in September. In 2021 Amersham residents aged from 70 to 96 were interviewed by volunteers about their life and memories of Amersham. Their stories were turned into a book for the 30th anniversary of Amersham's Museum.

Inspired by the stories, students from Buckinghamshire College designed and painted the mural

At the top of the road I was really surprised to see  this model of a train, entitled Metroland Train. there was an information board telling me that this is a scale model of the Metropolitan No. 1 train which was the last steam train used on the London Underground in 1961. The actual train is in the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. This half size replica model was made by the local scouts group which astonished me even more.

 

Another information board near the train had this map which pointed me in the direction of a couple of interesting buildings.

There are a number of arts and crafts buildings in Amersham. Many of them were designed by a London architect, John Harold Kennard who started working in the area in 1905.

 

1930s bank building.

It was a really cold day so it wasn't long before I found an inviting cafe. I had a warming bowl of soup which was delicious before bracing myself to go out again to the old part of the town. It was just over a mile to the old village of Amersham. It was bigger than I thought it would be but what a wealth of old buildings.

The old town dates back  to a charter of 1200 when King John sold the right to hold a market to the Lord of the manor. The wide High Street allowed for a profitable market. It was along here that townspeople sold their produce. There would also be travelling merchants with packhorses selling wool, cloth, hats, gloves, candles, salt etc. A hall was first built here in 1490-1500 and consisted of a first floor thatched hall with an undercroft, The present building was built in 1682 by Sir William Drake. It was intended for the upper floor to be used for meetings such as those for traders' guilds and the ground floor as a market.

 

A clear warning above the 'lock up' which was used to hold drunks and such like overnight.

On the outside of the market hall is the village pump where the townspeople would come to collect water. The date reads 1785.

Most houses in Old Amersham are 17th century or earlier and have timber frames. The brick fronts were mainly added between 1790 and 1810 by the landlords, the Tyrwhitt-Drakes in a modernisation plan. 

The original building of Dr Challoner's school built in 1601. 

 

There were lots of interesting shops on the High Street.

As this was a main route from London to the Midlands there were a number of coaching inns along this road.. The inns would have high arches for the coaches and horses to go through to the cobbled yard behind. The horses would be changed whilst the passengers rested and had some refreshments in the inn. In 1637, 33 stage coach services passed through the town each week.

The village still has a number of inns still in use today. The Kings Arms was built in the 16th century of brick and timber but has been much altered since. The Kings Arms was also used in the filming of 'Four weddings and a funeral'.

Also on the High Street is the Garden of Remembrance constructed after WW2

I walked through the garden to St Mary's Church.

The church was built in the 13th century. It was closed so I was unable to have a look inside which is a pity as I read the inside is very much as it was in Tudor Times.

 

Next to the church grounds is the old brewery which closed in 1929. It  has been partly rebuilt and refurbished to become offices and residential apartments.

The River Misbourne was the town's main source of power until electricity. As well as providing power for the mills it was also used by the brewers and the tanners.

Across the road from the church is another former brewery and stables, this now belongs to the church and is used as a community space.

At the end of Church Street is this white timber frame building with its three gables which used to be  the tithe barn. Everyone was required to pay one tenth of their produce to the church and it would have been collected here.

Surrounding the village are fields and the Chiltern hills. I saw at least four red kites flying over the fields. I walked back up Church Street to the High Street to continue my walk.

There were numerous interesting buildings. These three houses are all Grade II listed. Frith house was built in the 16th or early 17th century with the upper bay window being added later. William Tothill left the house early in the 17th century to be used by the poor women of the village to make linen products. By 1789 the factory had closed and the house occupied by lace dealer. In 1901 it was described as a 'Trimming factory' later becoming an antique shop and is now a private house. 

 

Apsley house built in the late 17th century was refashioned in the 18th century with Queen Anne windows

This is a late 17th century timber framed house. In the 1861,1871 and 1881 censuses it states that the house was used as a blacksmith as well as a 'beer house'. Above the door is a red lion which I think was a sign referring to the name of the beer house.

 

A maltings is a place where the grain used to make beer is stored, soaked in water and dried.

.Through this gate are the Drake Almshouses which were a gift to the town by Sir William Drake built in 1657 'for the relief of 6 poor widows of good repute in the parish'

This tiny house is one of the smallest houses on the High Street and is over 400 years old.

This is 'The Eagle' pub. An old building with a newer frontage built in the 18th century. This was a 'Beer House' so was licensed to sell only 'Beer, Cyder and Perry'.

There are a number of small cottages in the village. The front doors were less than 5ft high. I would hope that the ceilings inside were much higher.

At the top of the High Street is Mill Lane. On the corner was one of the three mills in Amersham. The present building dates from around the 17th century when a new wheel and  mill stone were added. The mill was a working flour mill until the 1930s powered by the river that runs behind the mill.

The Worthies is a Tudor building altered in the 17th century when chimneys were added. The building was the White Horse coaching Inn until it became a private building in the 1700s. It is now three private houses.

The Amersham Museum, whose website gave me much of the information about the local buildings. You can just about see an underground roundel on display in the window.

After wandering round the village for quite some time, the light was beginning to fade. I decided to jump on a bus back to the station which worked really well as a train pulled in just as I arrived. It was one of the fast Chiltern Railway trains to Marylebone rather than the Metropolitan tube train which makes numerous stops. I had had a thoroughly enjoyable day in a beautiful historical village leaving me with just one station to visit on the Metropolitan Line.