In this entertaining book the author identifies each of the old coaching inns which provide ample evidence of Amersham's importance as a stopping place on the great coach road from London to the Midlands. He traces the history of all the town's tanneries and proves that Weller's brewery is much older than previously believed and that its many maltings were selling vast quantities of malt to London brewers in the 17th century. Hedoes not neglect the townspeople themselves, not least the Drakes of Shardeloes who dominated the political, religious and social life of Amersham for 350 years. Here he is able to draw on the unique knowledge of Barney Tyrwhitt Drake, a direct descendant. Julian Hunt's well researched narrative is both comprehensive and easy to read. Splendidly illustrated, it is a significant contribution to the published history of Buckinghamshire and will be warmly welcomed in and around old Amersham itself! AUTHOR: Julian Hunt was brought up in Romsley, Worcestershire, where his father founded a local history society. Educated in Birmingham, he began his career at Birmingham Reference Library in 1968. His first book on local history was published as long ago as 1973. He became Local Studies Librarian in Oldham in 1976, where he wrote The Cotton Mills of Oldham and became a very popular lecturer. In 1988 he moved to Buckinghamshire, where he is now Heritage Manager for the County Council. He has written several books on Buckinghamshire market towns in the Phillimore 'Pictorial History' series and has completed a millennium history of his village of Romsley.