Bennetts End
Encyclopedia
Bennetts End is a neighbourhood within Hemel Hempstead
in Hertfordshire
, England
. It is located in the southeast of the town and consists almost entirely of public housing built as part of the new town
in the 1950s. It was the second neighbourhood to have construction commenced by the New Town corporation, after the nearby Adeyfield
.
clay. This is particularly suitable for making bricks at the low temperatures achievable in wood fired kiln
s. Local street names " Tile Kiln Lane " and "Kiln Ground" remember this activity. The area has many dells, hollows in the ground dug out by the brickmakers or by farmers seeking the deeper chalk to spread on their land and make them more fertile.
Just before the First World War, Bennetts End was chosen as the location for Hemel Hempstead's isolation hospital, construction of which commenced in 1914. The hospital, on St Albans Hill had a total of 45 beds, and was used to isolate patients with infectious diseases until its closure in 1952.
Hemel Hempstead officially became a New Town on 4 February 1947. The initial plans for the New Town were drawn up by architect G. A. Jellicoe. Bennetts End was the second district to commence construction which began in 1951 and by autumn 1952 300 houses were occupied. The architect who planned its 821 acres (3.3 km²) was Miss Judith Ledeboer. Consideration was made to keep it separate from existing areas such as Corner Hall with open public space.
A feature of the new town was a number of local neighbourhood shopping centres in addition to the main town centre. In Bennetts End this became the Bennetts Gate shopping centre, which faces competition from several major retail outlets in the town centre. The first shops opened at the Bennetts Gate shopping centre in 1954; until then, mobile vans served the district. A purpose built pub , 'The Golden Cockerel' was also opened in 1954. A smaller parade of shops at the bottom of Barnacres Road called 'The Denes' opened in 1955. Housing is mostly brick built two and three bedroom terraced houses. The notable curved terrace called Long John , designed by Geoffry Jellicoe and partners has a hint of Georgian style.
The secondary school serving the area is Longdean School
, formed in 1970 from Apsley Grammar School and Bennett's End Secondary Modern School. There are several primary schools.
There has been a dry ski slope in Bennetts End for many years and this is being replaced by The Snow Centre an indoor real snow sports venue
which is due to open in April 2009.
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located in the southeast of the town and consists almost entirely of public housing built as part of the new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
in the 1950s. It was the second neighbourhood to have construction commenced by the New Town corporation, after the nearby Adeyfield
Adeyfield
Adeyfield was the first planned neighbourhood to be built in the postwar new town expansion of Hemel Hempstead, in the English county of Hertfordshire. The keys to the first houses to be occupied, in Homefield Road, were handed over to their tenants in February 1950...
.
History
The area was mostly farmland up until the construction of the new town. The name first appears as a farmstead owned by "Roger de Beneyet" around 1269. Old maps show Bennetts End Farm and Bennets End House as the only nineteenth century buildings. A local industry, dating back to medieval times, was tile and brick making which used the local brickearthBrickearth
Brickearth is a term used in southeast England for loess, a wind-blown dust deposited under extremely cold, dry, peri- or postglacial conditions. The name arises from its use in making house bricks. The Brickearth is normally represented on 1:50,000 solid and drift edition geological maps...
clay. This is particularly suitable for making bricks at the low temperatures achievable in wood fired kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
s. Local street names " Tile Kiln Lane " and "Kiln Ground" remember this activity. The area has many dells, hollows in the ground dug out by the brickmakers or by farmers seeking the deeper chalk to spread on their land and make them more fertile.
Just before the First World War, Bennetts End was chosen as the location for Hemel Hempstead's isolation hospital, construction of which commenced in 1914. The hospital, on St Albans Hill had a total of 45 beds, and was used to isolate patients with infectious diseases until its closure in 1952.
Hemel Hempstead officially became a New Town on 4 February 1947. The initial plans for the New Town were drawn up by architect G. A. Jellicoe. Bennetts End was the second district to commence construction which began in 1951 and by autumn 1952 300 houses were occupied. The architect who planned its 821 acres (3.3 km²) was Miss Judith Ledeboer. Consideration was made to keep it separate from existing areas such as Corner Hall with open public space.
A feature of the new town was a number of local neighbourhood shopping centres in addition to the main town centre. In Bennetts End this became the Bennetts Gate shopping centre, which faces competition from several major retail outlets in the town centre. The first shops opened at the Bennetts Gate shopping centre in 1954; until then, mobile vans served the district. A purpose built pub , 'The Golden Cockerel' was also opened in 1954. A smaller parade of shops at the bottom of Barnacres Road called 'The Denes' opened in 1955. Housing is mostly brick built two and three bedroom terraced houses. The notable curved terrace called Long John , designed by Geoffry Jellicoe and partners has a hint of Georgian style.
The secondary school serving the area is Longdean School
Longdean School
Longdean School is a academy in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The academy has specialist status as a Maths and Computing College.-Grammar school:Originally called Apsley Grammar School, it began as a state grammar school in Hemel Hempstead...
, formed in 1970 from Apsley Grammar School and Bennett's End Secondary Modern School. There are several primary schools.
There has been a dry ski slope in Bennetts End for many years and this is being replaced by The Snow Centre an indoor real snow sports venue
Indoor ski slope
Indoor ski slopes are found in several countries, proving a climate controlled environment can be maintained in which snow can be manufactured using a snow cannon, enabling skiing and snowboarding to take place year-round.-Notable mentions:...
which is due to open in April 2009.
External links
- Bennetts End chronology At the Leverstock Green Chronicle. Accessed January 2009