Chesham and Waterside FC was founded by Rev Reade, curate of Christ Church, Chesham in 1879; its first game was against Amersham in October 1879, and its first competitive entry, in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup in 1879–80, ended in a 5–1 first round defeat to Wycombe.

[3] The club first entered the FA Cup in 1885–86, losing at Luton Wanderers in the first round - the 3–2 score slightly flattered Chesham, as the Wanderers did not contest a claim for a goal for which neither umpire had a clear view.

It was renamed Chesham Town in 1899 and continued to play in the Southern League until 1904, when it finished 11th and bottom of the table.

After a successful 1907–08 season, in which the club won the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup and the Lowndes Challenge Cup,[7] it re-entered the Southern League in 1908 - simultaneously taking part in the second division of the South-Eastern League, which the club won in 1908–09[8] - but left four years later to become founder members of the Athenian League.

It left the Athenian at the end of the 1913–14 season to join the Great Western Suburban League.