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As a rule of thumb, if you can reach somewhere in London using the tube then, while it will probably be full of urban character and infused with city cool, it is unlikely to require wellington boots or an OS map. As we emerged from Amersham station, therefore, less than an hour out of London, by underground or train, I was unprepared for the perfect English countryside town with which I was met.
Surrounded by lush green fields, postcard views and home to an exquisite church, it is not hard to understand why the place was chosen as one of the settings for 1990’s box-office smash Four Weddings and a Funeral. Helped by the fact that our arrival coincided with a rare sunny day in April, Amersham is picture book perfect. The quintessentially English High Street ñ all Elizabethan houses and red brick – appears to have been scrubbed to within an inch of its life with Kim and Aggieàs pan scourer; while the shops – high-end clothing for ladies of a certain age and boutiques selling candles and bedspreads – make it the perfect spot to bring your mother-in-law. Amersham knows not pollution – graffiti is a foreign word. Amersham is a real-life manifestation of Richard Curtis’ England.
The Crown Inn, on Amersham’s High Street, has recently undergone transformation by famed interior designer and founder of my personal design bible – Elle Deco – Ilse Crawford. A coaching inn, complete with restaurant and old-fashioned bar, its interiors provided the backdrop to scenes in Curtis’ breakthrough film, when the protagonists first get together. In the film, as one might expect in Amersham, it was all Laura Ashley chintz and comfy velvet chairs. Crawford’s makeover, however, brings it bang up to date, whilst somehow managing to retain its countryside charm.
My partner and I stayed in one of the inn’s stable conversions, entered via a heavy door off a pretty pebble courtyard. Bathed in glorious sunlight, the look inside is pared back, accentuating the generous dimensions of the room. A grey floor and white-washed walls are modestly furnished with a rocking chair, an armchair, a desk-cum-dressing table and a freestanding cupboard with the usual hotel essentials ñ a hair dryer, a coffee maker, some tea bags.
An enormous bed takes pride of place in the centre of the room, while in the corner a roll-top bath stands free, recalling the tin tubs which ëcountry-folkà of old might have pulled into a barn and filled using a bucket. Except that this one has designer taps. And fancy bubble bath. An adjacent bathroom has a walk in shower and a triple width trough-style sink ñ a modern take, perhaps, on a Dublin sink ñ all delightfully clean and unfussy.
Lifting the design away from the cold, Crawford has used an array of restrained but beautiful textiles – woollen blankets, oversized woven wool cushions and sheepskin rugs. All that is missing is an open fire – which can be found in the inn’s restaurant. A couple of quirky elements – a little red wireless radio and contemporary bedside lights – create the perfect finishing touches to a room which is incredibly relaxing and comfortable without being overly luxurious or stuffy.
My partner and I didn’t even make it out into the rolling countryside which the Crown’s website boasts. Instead, I laid back in the comfort of the roll-top bath and watched Jools Holland on TV while my partner chatted to me from the enormous white bed. In the morning we breakfasted in the sun-filled dining room where modern yellow chairs are paired with country kitchen tables. We then took a stroll along the High Street to peruse the small covered market where stalls were selling cakes, second-hand books and, no doubt, raffle tickets for the local tennis club before jumping on the train back to the city. The perfect end to a perfect weekend in the perfect town.
by Emilie LemonsÂ
For more details about The Crown Inn, Amersham please go here