The History Of Old Amersham
Old Amersham is correctly known as Amersham; it was known by the Saxons as Agmodesham The earliest mention of a settlement was in AD 796 and was known then as Elmodsham. Amersham is mentioned in the Doomsday survey of 1086 and in the year AD 1200 whereupon King John granted a charter for a weekly market, an annual fair and two members of Parliament as a "Pocket Borough" were elected to represent the town. Two Amersham MP's sat in the Houses of Parliament right up to the Parliament reform act of 1832.
Amersham is located on the banks of the river Misbourne. The wooded surrounds and good agriculture land have helped the town grow and become a central area for the community and the local markets have encouraged traders to base themselves in Amersham helping the local economy prosper.
Amersham was an active centre of Dissent from the 14th century. On a hill just above the town is The Martyrs' Memorial in memory of those burnt at the stake in the reign of Queen Mary. During the English civil war Oliver Cromwell's family lived in the nearby area at Woodrow High House.
From the 17th century prominent Quakers settled in the area and endured persecution. A Quakers meeting house can be found in Whielden Street in the town. Amersham also had two Baptist Churches and town's Methodist Church opening 1899.
The main trades in Amersham were traditionally Chair making, Lace work and Straw Plait work. Amersham benefited from being on the main trade routes from London to Birmingham and Hatfield to Reading which gave rise to the Coaching Inns and facilities to support these trades.
Amersham would of been the first coach stop for travelers from London and became very important for providing overnight accommodation and "comfort stops" for the Horse drawn coach travelers (and their Horses).
At this important time in the town's history many Coaching houses and Inns were founded all of which needed related businesses to support them. Breweries and Maltings helped grow the new trade and the Weller brewery became the largest employer in the town in the 19th Century and they also formed a chain of Public houses around the surrounding area. The Weller Brewery stayed a family run business right up to 1929 when with no heirs to take over it was sold at auction thus ending the association of the town of Amersham and Breweries.
Close to Amersham is the once ancestral home of the Tyrwhitt-Drake family called Shareloes. The Tyrwhitt-Drake family became the Lord of the Manor and had great influence over the town of Amersham. Their fortunes grew from the 16th to 19th century and by marrying well their power enabled them to have a large say in the appointment of Amersham's rector who was the town's MP whom often would be very sympathetic of their acquisition of many of the town's properties
The Tyrwhitt-Drake fortunes declined in the 19th and 20th Century due to high death duties. Many of Amersham's properties were auctioned off in 1928 to help finance the death duties owed.
The Tyrwhitt Drake family are still Lord of the Manor of Amersham, but no longer live in here. An interesting story about the Tyrwhitt Drake family concerns a curse put on the family where by the family inheritance would never be inherited by a direct heir. The curse was placed on the family by the family of a boy murdered at sea when in the employment of one of the Tyrwhitt-Drakes. Their coat of arms is surmounted by an axe dripping with blood and the wheels of their carriages had to be painted red! (Later red rims on cars). To break the curse, a member of the family had to spend a certain length of time in an underground tunnel (under Shardeloes Lake).
Once a member of the family (many, many years ago) tried to break the curse and spent a period of time in the tunnel, but gave up and came out mad! How much of the above story is based on fact is uncertain, but it's a good story! Is this story related to a story that tragedies would occur to the Tyrwhitt-Drakes unless a member of the family lived in "the dungeons". There were underground cellars and possibly passages under Shardeloes, but when the deeds of number 119 High Street were looked at, it was found that the house used to be called "The Dungeons" - was this where one of the Tyrwitt-Drakes should have lived? It is also said that if Shardeloes Lake ever dries up, England will fall.
Shardeloes is no longer a single resistance and has now been converted into luxury flats. During World War II it served as a maternity hospital for people from London to come out to the countryside to have their children, over 5000 children were born there during this time.
