Chesham

Chesham is a town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, the fourth largest in the county, and is situated in the Chess Valley. It has a tube station, which is the last station on the spur off the Metropolitan Line.

Related Topics:
Chiltern Hills - Buckinghamshire - Chess Valley - Tube station - Metropolitan Line

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The first recorded reference to Chesham, or Cestreham, was in the will of Lady Elgiva, although there is evidence of Roman settlement in the area including the planting of grapevines near the Balks and a villa downstream at Latimer.

Related Topics:
Elgiva - Latimer

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Chesham is mentioned in 1012AD as Cæstæleshamm, which is Anglo-Saxon for "the river-meadow at the pile of stones".

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Chesham has a long history of religious diversity, such as the persecuted Lollards of the 15th century and the famous bible translator Thomas Harding, martyred on White Hill, near Dungrove Farm, in 1532. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the rapid growth of Baptists, Methodists and Spiritualists and the later 20th century saw the establishment of a sizable Muslim community. The first proper mosque in the town was complete in 2005.

Related Topics:
Lollards - Thomas Harding - 1532 - Baptist - Methodists - Spiritualists - Muslim - Mosque

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In the 19th century Chesham was known for its "four B's"; boots, brushes, beer and baptists. All these industries declined and the main product of the town has become commuters.

Related Topics:
Beer - Baptist

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Although most people in Buckinghamshire pronounce the town as "Chesh-um", some residents insist on pronouncing it "Chess-am".

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The Bovingdon stack lies above the town.

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One "district" of the town is Pond Park, from which the photo on the right was taken. This an area built on the hills to the north of the town in the early 20th century, which tends to be more peaceful than the urban parts of the town which are in the valley. Another is Waterside, which is built around the banks of the River Chess to the south. Pond Park is notable for having a large number of housing association properties; some of these are slated for demolition and redevelopment.

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