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Spotlight on Amersham - our estate agent's view

Friday, August 19, 2016

With its timbered coaching inns, Georgian tea rooms, antique shops and Market House, Old Amersham is one of the most photogenic towns in The Chilterns. An excellent choice of restaurants and pubs includes The Artichoke (listed in the Top 50 UK Restaurants Good Food Guide 2016), and the stylish but intimate Gilbeys. Both old and new town Amersham-on-the-Hill have plenty of lively cafes, pubs and restaurants as well as a variety of boutiques and high street stores.

Street events are a vital part of the social calendar for old and new town alike. The annual Charter Fair Monday 19th –Tuesday 20th September in the old town dates back to a charter granted by King John in 1200. The fair has changed dramatically over the past 814 years. In 1200 there would have been jugglers, acrobats, and pedlars. Now it’s a fun fair with helter-skelter, dodgems and other rides.

In 2015 Amersham was awarded GOLD at the Britain in Bloom Awards - the first time that the town had achieved gold in two consecutive years. Amersham also won two Thames and Chiltern in Bloom Regional Awards – one for conservation and wildlife and the other for the display in the Amersham Memorial Gardens. The town was especially proud of this award as it demonstrates how working together as a community can achieve great results. Volunteers do an amazing job in keeping Amersham beautiful.

The town has a rich history and heritage and, as the Martyr’s Memorial recalls, in 1521 seven religious dissenters were burned at the stake for holding unorthodox religious beliefs. For centuries afterwards it was said that nothing would grow on the site of the fire. A memorial was built in 1931, to commemorate their martyrdom.

Award winning Amersham Museum located in a 15th century building provides further historical insight with a collection spanning 2,000 years and a programme of activities and events. The museum building itself is the oldest domestic building in Amersham, part of a Tudor house with a wonderful garden full of herbs and plants. The museum celebrates its silver jubilee in 2016, having welcomed visitors for 25 years and a special exhibition with Silver Jubilee Trail runs throughout August.

The Midsomer Murders Trail winds through some of Buckinghamshire’s most scenic towns and villages including Amersham, Little Missenden, Chesham and Chenies. The well-known TV series brings fans from far afield to find its film locations, see where “murders were committed” or have a pint in DCI Barnaby’s favourite pub.

Although more associated with Great Missenden, writer Roald Dahl lived in Amersham for some years and drew on his surroundings as inspiration for his children’s stories. The Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre at Great Missenden, inspires young visitors with fun-packed interactive galleries, hands-on craft activities, storytelling sessions and Café Twit! Family events are held throughout the year.

Nearby Coleshill can trace its roots to Roman times when natural springs made it an ideal place for a hilltop encampment. In addition to its Roman heritage it houses two historic landmarks that can be seen for miles around. Coleshill Windmill was built in 1856, while the water tower dates back to the First World War. Local history suggests that German POWs were used to help construct the water tower which was decommissioned in the 1990s and sold as a private dwelling. The conversion of the tower and a contemporary single-storey living area was featured on TV’s 'Grand Designs'.

From windmills to water towers, the Amersham area boasts a wide variety of property, superb schools and excellent commuter links with both mainline and underground stations. It was named in the top 100 Best Places to live in Britain according to a study compiled for The Sunday Times using statistics such as crime rate, house prices and school reports. The places were selected for offering the best quality of life to the widest number of people and features such as community spirit, local shops and attractive outdoor spaces so it’s easy to see why properties in Amersham are in great demand. For more information about the area or to see our properties for sale or to let contact our Amersham office.