CHESHAM

chesham, a market town in the aylesbury parliamentary division of buckinghamshire, england, 26 m. w.n.w. of london by the metropolitan railway. pop. of urban district (1901) 7245. it is pleasantly situated in the narrow valley of the river chess, closely flanked by low wooded hills. the church of st mary is cruciform and mainly perpendicular. some ancient frescoes and numerous monuments are preserved. all sorts of small dairy utensils, chairs, malt-shovels, &c., are made of beech, the growth of which forms a feature of the surrounding country. shoemaking is also carried on. in waterside hamlet, adjoining the town, are flour-mills, duck farms, and some of the extensive watercress beds for which the chess is noted, as it is also for its trout-fishing.