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Pictorial Tour of Amersham
Market Square

Market Square. The Crown hotel is on the right. It used to have a porch with pillars extending across the pavement, but this was demolished in the 1960s, having been hit several times by lorries and traffic.  The entrance where the porch was was converted into a window, meaning the main entrance was through the arch. In the left picture the old Green Line bus is seen on Heritage Day 2000, when it was used by Chiltern District Council for tours of the area. The type of bus used to be seen a lot in the area from the 1950s to the 1970s when the bus network was more extensive than it is today. The street is very wide here as there used to be a row of houses - Church Alley - which were demolished in 1939 as part of a slum clearance project. The houses had no gardens and made for a very narrow passage between them and the buildings on the north of Market Square. The picture on the right was taken on Heritage Day 2001. The old coach is again taking visitors on a film and TV location tour. Click here for more details

The Crown Hotel - Rebuilt in the 19th century but retains 16th century work and has wall painting of Queen Elizabeth I royal arms, commemorating her visit to the town. The Crown has another royal connection. One day the landlord was sitting in a chair outside the Crown, enjoying the sunshine. As he basked, horses, carts and carriages made their way past on all kind of business. In those far off days of the 18th Century, Amersham was a sleepy market town where excitement of any kind was rare. A yellow post chaise pulled by two well groomed horses drew up outside the Crown. A kindly looking benevolent old gentleman with a very red face attired in hunting costume called out to the Landlord and asked in an abrupt manner if he could provide him with a carriage to Windsor. While the Crown's resident driver, Tom King harnessed the Crown's horses to their carriage, the gentleman took a drink in the tap room seated comfortably in a comer. Money changed hands, and the red faced old gentleman shook the Landlord's hand in thanks. It was only later that Tom King and the Landlord realized the gruff old gentleman had been no other than King George III. The regulars at the Crown never heard the last of this tale! For years they kept the anniversary, sometimes rather too well, remembering how the King himself had made an unexpected visit to an otherwise obscure part of his kingdom. The interior of the Crown was used in the film "Four Weddings & a Funeral" including the four poster bed scene, which has meant the hotel has enjoyed much popularity for many years. In 1932 a cockatoo saved many lives and possibly the Crown itself by squawking loudly when fire broke out, raising the alarm. Sadly the heroic bird did not survive, dying of smoke inhalation, but it was preserved and was on display for many years (in a phone box at one point). The famous bird has now been handed to the Amersham Museum. The front of the Crown looks rather more modern than the actual age of the hotel. It was refronted after a fire, to get an idea of the age of the building, look into the court yard. The Crown used to have a porch, but this was demolished owing to damage caused by traffic.

Two views of The Crown's court yard (left hand picture courtesy of Norma West). The Crown was a coaching inn, the old stable blocks and outbuildings now provide accommodation at the hotel. The room with the famous "Four Weddings " film bed is on the right. In 1932 a cockatoo saved many lives and possibly the Crown itself by squawking loudly when fire broke out, raising the alarm. Sadly the heroic bird did not survive, dying of smoke inhalation, but it was preserved and was on display for many years (in a phone box at one point). The famous bird has now been handed to the Amersham Museum.

The north side of Market Square. The right side of the above buildings was the original home of the Old Grammar School (Dr. Challoners) - Dated 1624 with very massive oaken interior timbers and open timbered upper part. The building is older than 1624: known as Church House it has a long history and was an early meeting place for the people and traders of Amersham. The building was probably built by the Fraternity of St. Katherine, set up by some of the tradesmen by the 15th century. The Fraternity aimed to support those who had fallen on bad times and had a priest to pray for them. The Fraternity was dissolved in 1552 as a result of the Reformation, but the building remained service the community. Buckinghamshire had a good tradition in providing charities for the relief of the poor and those in need. In Amersham a number of old charities still exist in some form today, their histories are available in the Amersham Museum. The building was originally open on the ground floor, but over the centuries the sides have been bricked up to provide accommodation, school masters' houses and a workplace for the poor (Linen Workhouse). The building has also acted as the Parish Room, Town Hall and meeting place. Prior to the bricking up of the ground floor, the market was also held under the arches on wet days. All these activities pre dated the setting up of the Grammar School and the building of the Market Hall. As well as providing accommodation for the Grammar School, which became Dr. Challoners Grammar school now located in Amersham on the Hill, the building also provided accommodation for the Cheyne Writing School in the 18th and 18th centuries. As Amersham grew, extensions were added to the original Church House Building, forming the North Side of the Market Square. In June 2008 the buildings were badly damaged by fire

Close up of The original home of the Old Grammar School (Dr. Challoners)

The corner of Market Square and Whielden Street. Formerly a bank, the building has been used in the TV series "The Peter Principal"

The corner of Market Square & Church Street - Butlers Corner. Lloyds Pharmacy occupies a recently renovated 16th century building.

The north side of Market Square, St. Mary's on the right, the Market Hall on the left.

Please note, that the following pages contain large numbers of photographs. The photographs have been compressed, but it may still take a few minutes to download each page.

Please choose a link for the part of the tour you wish to view

For pictures of Chesham Bois, Little Chalfont and Amersham's schools, churches and pubs, see the links from the main Amersham homes page, link at the bottom of this page.

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