Chesham

Chesham  is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 11 miles (18 km) south-east of the county town of Aylesbury and 25.8 miles (41.5 km) north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and is part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland. The earliest records of Chesham as a settlement are from the second half of the 10th century, although there is archaeological evidence of people in this area from around 8000 BC. Henry III granted the town a royal charter for a weekly market in 1257.

Chesham is known for its four Bs — boots, beer, brushes and Baptists.[4] In the face of fierce competition from both home and abroad during the later 19th and early 20th centuries, the three traditional industries rapidly declined. The ready availability of skilled labour encouraged new industries to the town both before and after the Second World War. Today, employment in the town is provided mainly by small businesses engaged in light industry, technology and professional services.

From the early part of the 20th century, Chesham has experienced a considerable expansion, with new housing developments and civic infrastructure. Chesham has become a commuter town with improved connection to London via the London Underground and road networks. The town centre has been progressively redeveloped since the 1960s and has been pedestrianized since the 1990s. The population at the 2011 Census was 21,483.

History

There is archaeological evidence of the earliest settlement during the Late Mesolithic period around 5000 BC in East Street, Chesham where a large quantity of flint tools were found.[5] The earliest farming evidence from the Neolithic era around 2500 BC. Bronze Age tribes settled in the valley around 1800 BC and they were succeeded by Iron Age Belgic people of the Catuvellauni tribe around 500 BC. Between 150 and 400 AD, there is evidence of Romano-British farming, and nearby at Latimer, there is archaeological evidence of a Roman villa and the planting of grapevines. However, the area was then deserted until the Saxon period around the 7th century.

Contrary to popular belief, the town is not named after the river; rather, the river is named after the town. The first recorded reference to Chesham is under the Old English name Cæstæleshamm, meaning "the river-meadow at the pile of stones"[7] around 970 in the will of Lady Ælfgifu, who has been identified with the former wife of King Eadwig. She held an estate here which she bequeathed to Abingdon Abbey.

Prior to 1066 there were three adjacent estates which comprised Caestreham which are briefly recorded in the Domesday Book as being of 1+1⁄2, 4 and 8+1⁄2 hides, having four mills. The most important of these manors was held by Queen Edith, the widow of Edward the Confessor. Other land having been returned to the Crown it was in the hands of Harold Godwinson and his brother Leofwine Godwinson.Part of these later became Chesham Bois parish. After 1066 Edith kept her lands and William the Conqueror divided royal lands between his half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Hugh de Bolbec.