About Chesham Museum - The Stables

(Registered Charity no.1107115)

Chesham is one of the largest towns in Buckinghamshire and has a unique history of industry and social reform. The idea of a museum to tell Chesham's story was first put forward by the late local historian and councillor Arnold Baines in 1981. Ten years later the Chesham Town Museum Project came into existence under the auspices of The Francis Trust, a body set up to restore and maintain the Town Picture. As well as actively promoting the idea of a museum for Chesham, the Project members mounted a total of thirty-eight displays in Chesham Library between February 1992 and December 2002. The subjects covered ranged widely from Baroque Musical Instruments to the United Nations Association. Many of Chesham's past industries were included in the displays - the boot and shoemakers of Chesham, woodworking, brushmaking and lacemaking as well as displays about Chesham's many non-conformist churches and chapels, the town's charities and important family names like Liberty and Lowndes.

The Chesham Town Museum Project came to an end in 2003, but the town's ambition for its own museum was able to continue when local landlord Shay Comasky offered part of a stable block behind the Gamekeepers Arms in Bellingdon Road (formerly The Griffin) to use as a small museum. A committee for Chesham Museum (The Stables) was formed by Shay Comasky and Mora Walker, a former mayor of Chesham, and planning permission secured to convert the premises. Thanks to the generosity of the staff and customers of The Gamekeepers Lodge and of local businesses 'The Stables' has been refurbished and now has a wheelchair ramp. Although it began as an unfunded project, supported mainly by the generosity of local people and businesses, the committee hopes to achieve charitable status for Chesham Museum (The Stables) in the near future. This will enable the Museum to apply for a grant to mount a rolling programme of displays similar to those produced by the Chesham Town Museum Project and to hold a regular programme of family events aimed at involving local people in the history of their Town.