Amersham Museum

The Museum building is part of a late 15th century hall-house, probably built for a merchant around 1480. Much of the original timber structure of the roof above the central hall, the carved arch-braced truss, and part of the solar wing can still be seen. The upper half of the original hall window also remains at the rear of the house. A detailed cut-away model on display shows the likely structure of the house in about 1500.

Archaeological investigation of the floor of the hall has revealed a central hearth.  This would have been used to heat the house before the chimney stack and fireplaces were added in about 1580. The construction of the hearth and surrounding tiles can be viewed through a glass panel in the floor of the museum.

When the chimney was built in about 1580, a first floor room with a fireplace was created within the hall and following this a gable window was added to this room. Later alterations to the house included brick infill between the structural timbers, remodelling the ground floor fireplace, the addition of a staircase and doorways cut through the structure to connect the first floor rooms.

The hall-house was sub-divided between members of the Hunt family, who were Maltsters in the early 17th century.  The original house is currently divided between the museum and the adjacent property, although part of the solar wing was demolished in the 19th century.

Visitors to the museum can follow numbered information panels to find out more about the construction of the building.