About Watford In Hertfordshire
Watford is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England, situated 19 miles (30 km) northwest of London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough lies just to the north of Greater London.
The parish of Watford Rural covers an area to the south of the borough of Watford (which is largely urbanised), in the Three Rivers District. The nearby areas of Bushey, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Kings Langley, Abbots Langley and South Oxhey, located in Three Rivers and Hertsmere districts, also form part of the Watford postcode area.
The most recent official estimates put the population of Watford at 79,600 at mid-2006. The borough had 79,726 inhabitants at the time of the 2001 Census.[4] The Watford urban area, which includes much of neighbouring Three Rivers, had a total population of 120,960 in the 2001 census, making it the 47th largest urban area in England.
Watford was created as an urban district under the Local Government Act 1894, and became a municipal borough by grant of a charter in 1922.
History
Origins
Watford stands on a low hill near the point at which the River Colne was forded by travellers between London and the Midlands. This route, originally a pre-Roman trackway, departed from the ancient Roman Watling Street at Stanmore, heading for the Gade valley and thence up the Bulbourne valley to a low and easily traversed section of the Chiltern Hills near Tring. The modern High Street follows the route of this road.
The ford was close to the later site of the old gas works, now the car park of the Tesco Extra store. The town probably originated in Saxon times as a string of houses on the northern side of this ford. It was located on the first dry ground above the marshy edges of the River Colne.
It is generally agreed that the town is named after the ford, but the origin of the first part of the name is uncertain. Theories include the Old English words wæt (wet), wadan (wade), watul (wattle, a fence) or wath (hunter), Watling Street, and a hypothetical Saxon landowner called “Wata”
Early history
Watford is first mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 1007. It does not get a mention by name in the Domesday Book, but was included in the entry for the then more important settlement of Cashio which stood half a mile away at the crossroads of the St Albans road and Hempstead road near the modern Town Hall.
The settlement’s location helped it to grow, since as well as trade along this north-south through route it possessed good communications into the vale of St Albans to the east and into the Chiltern Hills along the valley of the River Chess to the west. In 1100 Henry I granted a charter to Watford to hold a weekly market.
St Mary’s Church
The parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built in 1230 on the same site as an earlier Saxon church. It was extensively restored in 1871.
The great houses of Cassiobury and The Grove were built in the seventeenth centuries and expanded and developed throughout the following centuries. Cassiobury became the family seat of the Earls of Essex, and The Grove the seat of the Earls of Clarendon.
The Sparrows Herne turnpike was established in 1762 to improve the route across the Chilterns, with the road maintained from charges levied at toll houses along the way. The location of a toll house can be seen at the bottom of Chalk Hill on the Watford side of Bushey Arches close to the Wickes hardware store; set in an old flint stone wall is a Sparrows Herne Trust plaque.
Industrial Revolution
Watford remained an agricultural community with some cottage industry for many centuries. The Industrial Revolution brought the Grand Junction Canal (now Grand Union Canal) in 1798 and the London and Birmingham Railway in 1837, both located here for the same reasons the road had followed centuries before, seeking an easy gradient over the Chiltern Hills. The land-owning interests permitted the canal to follow closely by the river Gade, but the prospect of smoke-emitting steam trains drove them to ensure the railway gave a wide berth to the Cassiobury and Grove estates. Consequently, although the road and canal follow the easier valley route, the railway company was forced to build an expensive tunnel under Leavesden to the north of the town. The main Watford railway station was and remains outside of the town centre to the east at Watford Junction.
These developments gave the town excellent communications and stimulated its industrial growth during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Economy
Watford is a major regional centre for the northern home counties. It is the most westerly of these commercial centres and the only one in Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire County Council designates Watford and Stevenage to be its major sub-regional centres, heading its list of preferred sites for retail development. The primary shopping area is the Harlequin Shopping Centre, a large purpose-built indoor mall with over 140 shops, restaurants and cafes built during the 1990s, opened officially in June 1992.
The High Street, running through the town centre, is the main focus of activity at night having a high concentration of the town’s bars, clubs and restaurants.
The head offices of a number of national companies such as Camelot Group, operator of the National Lottery; Iveco, manufacturers of commercial vehicles; Haden Young, the building services division of Balfour Beatty; Bathstore, the largest bathroom retailer in the UK; construction firm Taylor Woodrow; and Mothercare, are located in the town. The borough is also the UK base of many multi-nationals including Total Oil, Sanyo, TK Maxx, Costco, Vinci, and Beko.
The town was home to the Scammell Lorries Factory from 1922 until its closure in 1988. The site is now a residential area.
Plans are underway to develop a new Health Campus complete with heliport adjacent to the site of the current Watford General Hospital.
Sport
Watford is home to professional football team Watford F.C., who reached the FA Cup Final in 1984 (as well as four other semi-finals), also finishing as league runners-up in 1983. They were relegated from the old Division One in 1988. In 1996, Watford were relegated from the new Division One (now Football League Championship).
Watford won the then Nationwide Division Two championship in 1998, then the following season (1998–99) reached the Premiership by winning the First Division Play-Off Final, beating Bolton Wanderers F.C. at Wembley Stadium by two goals to nil. The club were relegated the season after.
After five years of uncertainty, Watford won the Football League Championship Play-Off Final against all the odds to achieve promotion to the Premiership once again in 2006, this time beating Leeds United A.F.C. by three goals to nil. Again, as before they were relegated to the Football League Championship after a single season (2006–2007) in the Premiership.
Singer-songwriter Sir Elton John is a keen, long-term supporter of Watford F.C. and a former club chairman. He still maintains his links with Watford as Honorary Life President. The current Chairman is Graham Simpson and the Chief Executive is Mark Ashton.
Since 1997 the club has shared its ground, Vicarage Road, with Saracens Rugby Football Club.
Places of interest
Cassiobury Park
Cassiobury Park was formed from the grounds of Cassiobury House and consists of 190 acres (0.77 km2) of open space. The house itself was demolished in 1927 and the original imposing gatehouse entrance ,the Cassiobury Gates in the 1970s due to road widening. In July 2007, the park won a Green Flag Award, which recognises the best green spaces in the country. It has a children’s play area which includes a paddling pool, play equipment, mini train track for children’s rides, bouncy castle, ice cream van and a kiosk where you can buy food and drinks. The Grand Union Canal passes through the park.
The name derives from a Celtic tribe the Cassii said to have inhabited the area in pre-Roman times.
Watford Colosseum
The Watford Colosseum was used to record the Lord of the Rings, the Sound of Music, The Star Wars Trilogies, Sleepy Hollow soundtracks and is world renowned for its acoustic qualities, which are often said to be the best available in the UK. It has housed performances from world renowned performers as The Who, Robbie Williams, Oasis and was well-known for its Seventies Disco’s featuring Jensen D Groover & Carlos Fandango up until 2003. It is now in administration after funding difficulties, but is still open to bookings whilst the local council decides its fate.
It is regularly used to host concerts by the BBC Concert Orchestra, in particular the long-running Friday Night is Music Night.
Watford Palace Theatre
The Watford Palace Theatre is the only producing theatre in Hertfordshire. It presents a selection of comedy, drama, world premieres, family-friendly shows and an annual traditional pantomime. Situated just off the High Street, the Edwardian theatre building is approaching its centenary and has recently been refurbished.
The Pumphouse Theatre and Arts Centre
The Pump House Theatre and Arts Centre is based in an old pumping station situated in Watford’s lower high street. The building was converted for use as a theatre, with rehearsal rooms, and meeting place for local arts based groups. Current facilities include a 124 seat theatre, rehearsal rooms, and live music venue. Community groups currently meeting at the Pump House include Dance House (children’s ballet), Pump House Clog Morris (women’s Morris dancing), Pump House Jazz (jazz club), Open House (live open mic music), Woodside Morris Men (men’s Morris dancing) and youth and adult theatre groups.
Suburbs
Including areas outside Watford Borough:
* Abbots Langley
* Aldenham
* Bedmond
* Bricket Wood
* Bushey
* Carpenders Park
* Cassiobury
* Chipperfield
* Croxley Green
* Garston
* Hunton Bridge
* Kings Langley
* Langleybury
* Leavesden
* Letchmore Heath
* Maple Cross
* Oxhey
* Rickmansworth
* Sarratt
* South Oxhey
Notable people
Watford was the birthplace of:
* Barbara Amiel, Lady Black of Crossharbour, journalist
* Stephen Andrew, Canadian television reporter, anchor and talk show host
* Michael Bentine (1922–1996), politician and ex-Goon
* Michaela Breeze, female weightlifter
* George Michael, singer, attended Bushey Meads School
* Ray Cooper, percussionist (performed in both Elton John’s and Eric Clapton’s bands)
* Anthony Berkeley Cox (1893–1971), crime fiction author
* Chris Date, database guru, author of the definitive textbook on the subject [34]
* Paul Field 1994 Gladiators champion, police officer and two-time Winter Olympian from South Oxhey
* Cyril Fletcher (1913–2005), comedian
* Declan Ganley, Anglo/Irish businessman and political activist
* Robert Glenister, actor
* Geri Halliwell, singer and Spice Girl
* Kenny Jackett, current Millwall manager
* Vinnie Jones, a British football player turned actor
* Matt King, comedy actor, Peep Show
* Nick Knight, cricketer
* Nick Leeson, rogue securities trader responsible for the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995
* Tim Lovejoy, Sky Sports Soccer AM presenter
* Gerald Moore (1899–1987), pianist
* Mo Mowlam (1949–2005), Labour politician
* Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat politician
* Richard Pacey, radio presenter
* Stuart Parkin, physicist
* Arthur Peacocke (1924–2006), biochemist and Anglican theologian
* Paul Robinson, West Bromwich Albion football player
* Terry Scott (1927–1994), TV and Carry On actor and comedian, blue plaque at 32 Tucker St
* Grant Shapps, Conservative MP for nearby Welwyn Hatfield
* Kelly Smith, England and Arsenal footballer
* Simon Treves, actor and writer
* Bradley Walsh, Coronation Street actor and comedian
* Melanie Walsh, actress and model
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