From the river to the railway
Share this
The supply and flow of water from the River Chess has attracted people to the valley since pre-history. The water has enabled people to wash, clean, keep animals, and power mills.
The town we call Chesham today emerged in Saxon times. In 1257 the town obtained its charter for a market and a fair, stimulating the development of a busy market town. 600 years later, the town’s reach was extended, with the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway
This exhibition explores the importance of the river and the railway in Chesham’s history and in our lives today.
The River Chess is a rare chalk stream rising from three springs which surface just north of Chesham. Today the streams run under street level before emerging at Waterside, flowing through the Chess Valley to Latimer, Chenies, and to Rickmansworth to join the River Colne.
Water-powered mills were a central feature of the town for centuries. In the Victorian era the mineral-rich chalk stream provided an ideal habitat for the watercress industry. Today the riverside is valued as a place to walk, relax and as a home to wildlife. Its future depends on combatting threats from overuse, pollution, invasive species, and habitat loss.
Although Chesham was a thriving town in the 19th century, it was the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway in 1889 that accelerated the town’s growth. The railway provided a direct link to London, enabling locally produced boots, brushes, bottles, watercress and woodenware to be sold in the capital.
In the 20th century the railway boosted the town’s tourism, with people using the line to make day trips to the Chilterns. Popular Metro-land campaigns were partially responsible for fuelling an ongoing migration to Chesham, from the capital, which continues today.
Next: hydropower
Stay in touch and receive all the latest news, events and exhibition information direct to your inbox.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__stripe_mid | 1 year | Stripe sets this cookie to process payments. |
__stripe_sid | 1 hour | Stripe sets this cookie to process payments. |
_wpfuuid | 1 year 1 month 4 days | This cookie is used by the WPForms WordPress plugin. The cookie is used to allows the paid version of the plugin to connect entries by the same user and is used for some additional features like the Form Abandonment addon. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
CookieLawInfoConsent | 1 year | CookieYes sets this cookie to record the default button state of the corresponding category and the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. |
PHPSESSID | session | This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie stores and identifies a user's unique session ID to manage user sessions on the website. The cookie is a session cookie and will be deleted when all the browser windows are closed. |
rc::a | never | This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. |
rc::c | session | This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
wpEmojiSettingsSupports | session | WordPress sets this cookie when a user interacts with emojis on a WordPress site. It helps determine if the user's browser can display emojis properly. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
swpm_session | session | This cookie is set by the Simple WordPress Membership Plugin. This cookie is used for membership login session and to provide access to the protected content on the website.This cookie keeps the login records so user don't want to authorise each time while moving to next page. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 1 year 1 month 4 days | Google Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors. |
_ga_* | 1 year 1 month 4 days | Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views. |
_gat_gtag_UA_* | 1 minute | Google Analytics sets this cookie to store a unique user ID. |
_gid | 1 day | Google Analytics sets this cookie to store information on how visitors use a website while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the collected data includes the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
sbjs_current | session | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
sbjs_current_add | session | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
sbjs_first | session | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
sbjs_first_add | session | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
sbjs_migrations | session | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
sbjs_session | 1 hour | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
sbjs_udata | session | Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
9t951omj | 5 days | Description is currently not available. |
m | 1 year 1 month 4 days | No description available. |
rnb4ohn6 | 5 days | Description is currently not available. |
sp7uqbjm | 5 days | Description is currently not available. |
wcpay_currency | 1 hour | Description is currently not available. |