Some of the people behind the place names to be found in Chesham
Every street, road and lane in Chesham has a name and many of these names are taken from the names of people who existed here in the town in the past. Here are just a few of them.
Ashfield Road (Hilltop estate)
The Ashfield family were the major landowners in Chesham between the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st and the Civil War (1640-1680). Sir Thomas Ashfield was the bailiff of the immensely wealthy Earl of Oxford, but the 17th Earl – Edward de Vere – was a spendthrift who went through his fortune at such a rate that by 1579, he had to ask his bailiff for a loan. Ashfield gave him a loan of £1,500 and as a reward, Oxford gave him all his property in Chesham – the Manors of Chesham Bury and Chesham Higham.
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford 1550-1604
However, another Sir Thomas Ashfield lost the lot. He was a Catholic descendant of the first Sir Thomas who supported King Charles Ist in the Civil War. This didn’t go down well in Chesham which was a Parliamentarian town mostly inhabited by non-conformists and as a result, Ashfield was fined heavily for supporting the King and then jailed when he didn’t pay the fines.
Whilst in jail, he became friendly with the Prison Warden, Jeremy Whichcote, who offered him a way out of his dilemma. In 1650 Whichcote persuaded Ashfield to sign over all his Chesham properties to him but once he had them, reneged on his promise to return them to Ashfield when the Civil War ended and King Charles II was restored to the throne. You can read more on Sir Thomas Ashfield in our Double dealing – skulduggery and fraud at the time of the Civil War blog.
Whichcote Gardens (Waterside)
Jeremy Whichcote was actually an under-cover Royalist who fooled the Parliamentarians into thinking he supported them. In this position, he was able to ensure that the Royalist prisoners housed in the Fleet Prison, where he was the Prison Warden, were well treated. When King Charles II came to the throne, he rewarded Whichcote by making him a baronet.
Sir Jeremy Whichcote’s son Paul and his son Francis both lived in Chesham, rebuilding a house which stood in Lowndes Park (where the Guide Hut is today) and turning it into a grand mansion. Sir Francis also laid out the park very much as we see it today.
Rumour has it however that he bankrupted himself by being so heartbroken at the death of his wife that he gave her a really magnificent funeral and was then forced to sell the land and property he owned in Chesham to the Skottowe family.
Russell Court (off Nashleigh Hill)
Russell is the family name of the Dukes of Bedford who, to put it bluntly, once owned most of those parts of Chesham which the Earl of Oxford did not!
The railway line to Chesham opened in 1889 and it most certainly would not have done so if not for the then Duke of Bedford selling land to the Metropolitan Railway Company to construct Chalfont Road railway station (now Chalfont & Latimer) and more land between Little Chalfont and Chesham to enable the railway line to be built.
Garrett Close (off Pheasant Rise)
This commemorates John William Garrett-Pegge, who bought a plot of land just outside Chesham on the main road to Amersham and constructed a magnificent mansion for himself and his family called Chesham House which they occupied in 1881.
In 1903, Garrett-Pegge bought the manorial rights to Chesham Bois and renamed his house Chesham Bois Manor. Garrett-Pegge was involved in parochial duties, politics and numerous philanthropic organisations in Chesham including the Board of Guardians (forerunner of the Urban District Council), the School Board, the Mechanics Institute, the Football Club, the Cricket Club and various agricultural and horticultural organisations.
He became a magistrate and frequently attended the Quarter Sessions in Aylesbury and he was an active member of the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society, rewriting the Parish Registers of Chesham in modern English from the earliest record in 1538 so that everyone could read about their ancestors. He was also actively involved in the organisation and running of Chesham Cottage Hospital and was on the Hospital Committee for 41 years.
Harding Road (off Eskdale Avenue)
Harding Road is named after Chesham’s Lollard martyr Thomas Harding who was burnt at the stake in White Hill in 1532. Harding had been under suspicion for some time. He was connected with the burnings of six martyrs in Amersham but had been given a penance for the lesser offence of perjury in failing to detect heresy rather than heresy itself. He appeared before various tribunals in Amersham on several occasions before moving to Chesham in 1522 but made no statement that incriminated himself or others.
In 1532, however, various books were found at his house in Waterside which incriminated him and he soon realised that his fate was sealed. He confessed that he only went to confession out of custom, believing as he did that he should confess his sins to God alone. This and other similar statements condemned him and he was burnt at the stake on 30th May 1532. However he did not suffer death by burning. As the pyre was lit, someone in the crowd threw a billet of wood at him which dashed his brains out.
Read more in our Chesham’s Martyr blog.
Rachel’s Way (Waterside)
Rachel’s Way commemorates Mrs Rachel Johnson who died on the 14th November 1875. In her will, she left £1,000 in trust for the benefit of local schools. This money is administered by Rachel Johnson’s Educational Trust and was originally intended to pay fees for higher education for poor children who were only funded by the State for education up to the age of 12. Beyond that age, education could only continue on a fee paying basis.
By 1944, this system had been abolished so the Trust was in abeyance until 1964 and since then, has provided grants for further education including university fees and apprenticeships. It also assists students with buying books and study materials.
