Aldenham
Encyclopedia
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works
.
Aldenham is a village and civil parish
in Hertfordshire
, approx. three miles north-east of Watford
and two miles from Radlett
. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book
and is one of Hertsmere
's 14 conservation areas. This secluded little village remains unspoilt and the parish itself is largely unchanged since Saxon times
when the majority of the land was owned by the Abbots of Westminster Abbey
.
In the Index of Multiple Deprivation
, the ward of Aldenham East was ranked the least deprived ward out of 8414 in England, while Aldenham West also featured among the least deprived three per cent in the country.
in Aldenham is seven hundred years old and there is good reason to believe that an earlier Saxon church stood on the site.
After the Reformation
the lands were sold off to the highest bidders and Aldenham is probably smaller today than it was 500 years ago.
In 1940 enemy action damaged stained glass and removed the Hertfordshire Spike – the spire on the top of the tower. Restoration work was completed in 1951.
Both the church and the village have been used in many movies, adverts and television programmes, being within easy travelling distance of Elstree Studios
. These have included the film Confessions of a Window Cleaner
, BBC
television series Pathfinders
, and the Coldplay
music video for "Life in Technicolor II
", to name but a few.
Although it gave its name to the Aldenham Bus Works owned by London Transport, Aldenham Works
was actually located at nearby Elstree.
East of Aldenham village is Round Bush, a hamlet where three roads meet at a public house. On Hilfield Lane, Patchetts Green is a hamlet of several historic houses, including the Three Compasses public house, Little Patchetts Green Farm and Patchetts Farm.
The parish of Aldenham also has two British public school
s: Aldenham School
and the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School (and associated girls school
).
' A Tale of Two Cities
. The landscaped grounds reached their prime under John Pierpont Morgan Jnr
, an American banker who bought the hall in 1910, where he regularly entertained the Royal Family, including the young Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
.
During World War Two, Wall Hall became the residence of the U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy
, and was subsequently used as a hospital for recovering soldiers. Later on was used for educational purposes, eventually becoming an annex to the University of Hertfordshire
, formerly Hatfield Polytechnic. In 2003, the college site closed down, as it moved to a more centralised campus in Hatfield
.
Between 2003 and 2006 Wall Hall was turned into a housing development, built by Octagon.
The former student hostels, Binghams, along with the college library and other ancillary buildings, have now been demolished and a multi-million pound housing complex has been built in their place. Conversion of other buildings has also taken place.
The development was awarded the Best New Development of 2006 by the Daily Mail and Bentley UK Property Awards and shortlisted as one of the best new developments at the World Property Awards.
Aldenham Works
The Aldenham Works, or Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works, was the main London Transport Bus overhaul works. It was located on the edge of the Hertfordshire village of Elstree and not Aldenham despite being officially called Aldenham Works. In its heyday, 50 buses a week were overhauled there, and it was...
.
Aldenham is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, approx. three miles north-east of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
and two miles from Radlett
Radlett
Radlett is a small town in the county of Hertfordshire between St Albans and Borehamwood on Watling Street with a population of approximately 8,000. It is located in the council district of Hertsmere and is covered by two wards, Aldenham East and Aldenham West...
. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
and is one of Hertsmere
Hertsmere
Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other towns in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar.-History:...
's 14 conservation areas. This secluded little village remains unspoilt and the parish itself is largely unchanged since Saxon times
History of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
when the majority of the land was owned by the Abbots of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
In the Index of Multiple Deprivation
IMD2000
The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 showed relative levels of social and economic deprivation across all the counties of England at a ward level, the first national study of its kind....
, the ward of Aldenham East was ranked the least deprived ward out of 8414 in England, while Aldenham West also featured among the least deprived three per cent in the country.
History
The Church of St John the BaptistJohn the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
in Aldenham is seven hundred years old and there is good reason to believe that an earlier Saxon church stood on the site.
After the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
the lands were sold off to the highest bidders and Aldenham is probably smaller today than it was 500 years ago.
In 1940 enemy action damaged stained glass and removed the Hertfordshire Spike – the spire on the top of the tower. Restoration work was completed in 1951.
Both the church and the village have been used in many movies, adverts and television programmes, being within easy travelling distance of Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
. These have included the film Confessions of a Window Cleaner
Confessions of a Window Cleaner
Confessions of a Window Cleaner is a 1974 British sex comedy film, directed by Val Guest.Like the other films in the Confessions series; Confessions of a Pop Performer, Confessions of a Driving Instructor and Confessions from a Holiday Camp, it concerns the erotic adventures of Timothy Lea, based...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series Pathfinders
Pathfinders (TV series)
Pathfinders is a 1970s ITV drama set in World War 2 and follows the story of the fictitious Royal Air Force 192 Pathfinder squadron. The Pathfinders were specialised RAF squadrons that marked targets for the RAF's heavy bombers....
, and the Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
music video for "Life in Technicolor II
Life in Technicolor II
"Life in Technicolor II" , is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay and the first single from the band's 2008 EP, Prospekt's March. The song is the full, vocal version of the instrumental song "Life in Technicolor" from Coldplay's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His...
", to name but a few.
Although it gave its name to the Aldenham Bus Works owned by London Transport, Aldenham Works
Aldenham Works
The Aldenham Works, or Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works, was the main London Transport Bus overhaul works. It was located on the edge of the Hertfordshire village of Elstree and not Aldenham despite being officially called Aldenham Works. In its heyday, 50 buses a week were overhauled there, and it was...
was actually located at nearby Elstree.
Other landmarks
Close to the church stand a number of buildings of historical interest. The earliest of these is Aldenham Social Club – a late medieval hall house dating from around 1500. To the west of the churchyard stands Church Farm House (16th – 18th century) and to the east the old vicarage (now two dwellings), a fine example of early 18th century red brick architecture.East of Aldenham village is Round Bush, a hamlet where three roads meet at a public house. On Hilfield Lane, Patchetts Green is a hamlet of several historic houses, including the Three Compasses public house, Little Patchetts Green Farm and Patchetts Farm.
The parish of Aldenham also has two British public school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
s: Aldenham School
Aldenham School
Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged thirteen to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England...
and the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School (and associated girls school
Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls is an academically high-achieving British independent school in Elstree, near Borehamwood, in the county of Hertfordshire. It is often known as "Habs" or "Habs girls", to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School...
).
Wall Hall
Also situated in Aldenham is Wall Hall, a magnificent gothic revival mansion with a castellated façade created in the early nineteenth century for George Woodford Thelluson, a prosperous City banker mentioned in Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....
. The landscaped grounds reached their prime under John Pierpont Morgan Jnr
J. P. Morgan, Jr.
John Pierpont "Jack" Morgan, Jr. was an American banker and philanthropist.-Biography:He was born on September 7, 1867 in Irvington, New York to John Pierpont Morgan, Sr. and Frances Louisa Tracy. He graduated from Harvard in 1886, where he was a member of the Delphic Club, formerly known as the...
, an American banker who bought the hall in 1910, where he regularly entertained the Royal Family, including the young Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
.
During World War Two, Wall Hall became the residence of the U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. was a prominent American businessman, investor, and government official....
, and was subsequently used as a hospital for recovering soldiers. Later on was used for educational purposes, eventually becoming an annex to the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
, formerly Hatfield Polytechnic. In 2003, the college site closed down, as it moved to a more centralised campus in Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
.
Between 2003 and 2006 Wall Hall was turned into a housing development, built by Octagon.
The former student hostels, Binghams, along with the college library and other ancillary buildings, have now been demolished and a multi-million pound housing complex has been built in their place. Conversion of other buildings has also taken place.
The development was awarded the Best New Development of 2006 by the Daily Mail and Bentley UK Property Awards and shortlisted as one of the best new developments at the World Property Awards.