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Support the Museum as you Surf

• Use every time you search the web and they give 50% of the fees paid by their advertising sponsors to Chesham Museum. Just type 'Chesham Museum' into the box provided on the easysearch web page and start searching.

Donate On-line

• Chesham Museum is an entirely volunteer-run and independent museum. We rely on your donations to continue to record and share our town's fascinating and diverse history. Go to the Chesham Museum page of the MyCharity website and donate today.

Fund raising

• Help us by becoming a Friend of the Museum

Chesham Town Council Events

• A calendar of events in Chesham

Chesham objects in other collections

• Have you spotted an object associated with Chesham in another museum? If so, we would love to know about it. Chiltern Toys had a factory making wooden and other toys in Waterside, Chesham until the outbreak of WWII. This Chiltern Toys bear is in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

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About Chesham Museum

(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 Comaskey 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 Mora Walker, a former mayor of Chesham, and others 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' opened in August 2004 and became a registered charity the same year.

The museum's collection grew and in May 2008 a campaign was started to raise money to move the museum to larger premises in the centre of Chesham. Although it began as an unfunded project the support and generosity of local people and businesses encouraged the Trustees to draw up a business plan and, in 2009, a 10 year lease was taken on 15 Market Square, the former Chapter One book shop. Chesham Museum opened in its new location on 17th October 2009. Antiques Roadshow furniture expert John Bly and the Mayor of Chesham, Cllr. Justine Fulford, performed the opening ceremony. Chesham's Town Crier attracted quite a crowd of well wishers and museum supporters outside the museum in Market Square. They were joined by George Bayliss, Chesham's only Chelsea Pensioner and long time supporter of Chesham Museum.

Chesham Museum is entirely run by volunteers and is funded from donations and fundraising. Unlike local authority museums Chesham Museum does not receive a regular grant from local government and has not received Lottery money or any other large grant - so the admission charge and donations are of paramount importance.

Chesham Museum needs to raise in excess of £15,000 a year to pay running costs and has a regular programme of fund raising events.