Berkhamsted
Encyclopedia
Climate
Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.
Castle
Berkhamsted Castle
Berkhamsted Castle is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey castle at Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England.The original fortification dates from Saxon times. Work on the Norman structure was started in 1066 by William the Conqueror who later passed the castle to his half-brother, Robert, Count of...
is a ruined Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, beside the railway station
Berkhamsted railway station
Berkhamsted railway station is in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is located just beside Berkhamsted Castle, overlooking the Grand Junction Canal. The station is north west of London Euston on the West Coast Main Line...
. Now in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, this royal castle was once the home of Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
and his wife, Joan of Kent
Joan of Kent
Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first English Princess of Wales...
. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
was constable. Work first started on the construction of the castle in 1066.
The original Saxon structure of timber and earthworks was replaced by a stone castle 1080s and became a favourite home of Norman and Plantagenet monarchs. Simon Schama
Simon Schama
Simon Michael Schama, CBE is a British historian and art historian. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He is best known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC documentary series A History of Britain...
refers to Berkhamsted as being to the Plantagenets what Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
is to today's Royal Family.
From 1155 until 1165 the Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
's favourite Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
was appointed constable. The surviving flintwork walls remain from his building plans. However, according to Percy Birtchnell, one of the reasons for Beckett's fall from grace and assassination was his overspend on Berkhamsted Castle which stretched the kings finances. Despite this records show that a chamber was always named St. Thomas's.
Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
and Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
are two monarchs who spent much time here. A tower of three storeys in the castle was built to commemorate birth of Richard's son Edmund in 1249. This potential future king died as an infant. His mother, Henry's wife Sanchia of Provence
Sanchia of Provence
Sanchia of Provence was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Sanchia was described as "of incomparable beauty".-Life:...
also died in the castle in 1260.
In 1309 King Edward II granted Berkhamsted to his lover Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...
. For the sake of honour Piers married Margaret de Clare
Margaret de Clare
Margaret de Clare, Countess of Cornwall, Countess of Gloucester , was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife, Joan of Acre, making her a granddaughter of King Edward I of England...
, the grand daughter of King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
in Berkhamsted Castle. However in 1312 he was assassinated and the castle returned to the crown.
However, it was to Berkhamsted in 1353 that Edward brought his most celebrated prisoner, John II
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...
, King of France. As a royal prisoner he could not be taken to anything other than a royal residence.
More happily the Hero of Berkhamsted, Edward Prince of Wales, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
spent his honeymoon here with Joan, the Maid of Kent
Joan of Kent
Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first English Princess of Wales...
in 1361. The entire court celebrated for five days to celebrate the marriage in Berkhamsted and on Berkhamsted Common. Aged only 16 he was the hero of the Battle of Crecy. His lieutenants included Berkhamsted men such as Everard Halsey, John Wood, Stephen of Champneys, Robert Whittingham, Edward le Bourne, Richard of Gaddesden, and Henry of Berkhamsted. At the Battle of Poitiers
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt....
Henry saved the Prince's baggage and was rewarded with 2d a day and was appointed porter of the royal castle at Berkhamsted.
It remained a Royal Castle until it was abandoned in 1495. Much of the stonework was plundered for building materials for the town and nearby manor house Berkhamsted Place
Berkhamsted Place
Berkhamsted Place was an English country house which was erected sometime around 1580 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It was built by Sir Edward Carey, the keeper of the Jewels to Queen Elizabeth I from stones removed from Berkhamsted Castle...
(demolished in 1967) but the impressive earthworks and two of the original three moats remain. Half of the third was lost when the London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
line was built.
During the Second World War much of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's statuary including the statue of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
now found at the top of Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
on Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, were relocated to the grounds of Berkhamsted Castle.
Having noteworthy earthworks raised above the surrounding valley floor (flooded by chalk stream aquifers – at the most Northern extent of the London Basin
London Basin
The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea...
), it is likely the castle's site has been of some significance since man first populated the area.
Canal
The Grand Junction CanalGrand Junction Canal
The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...
runs through Berkhamsted parallel to the High Street. The section from the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
to Berkhamsted was completed in 1798 and the extension to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 1805. The canal later became part of the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
in 1929. The town also stands on the River Bulbourne
River Bulbourne
The River Bulbourne is a river in Hertfordshire, England. It runs from Dudswell in Northchurch, through Berkhamsted , Bourne End and Boxmoor to where it joins the River Gade at Two Waters in Apsley near Hemel Hempstead. The total length of the river is 11 Km....
(non navigable).
With the advent of canal transport, Castle Wharf became a hub of inland water transport and boat building
Boat building
Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.-Parts:* Bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull...
activity. It is still known as the Port of Berkhamsted. One former boat builders' yard was located by the Castle Street bridge. In 1910 it was turned into a timber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
yard run by William Key and Son timber merchants and importers, and in 1963 the business was taken over by J Alsford Ltd, a family-run timber merchants from Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
, east London. The timber yard has since gone, but the site is marked by a Canadian
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
.
Tahsis, British Columbia
Tahsis is a village on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, about 300 km northwest of the provincial capital Victoria at . It has 300 residents and used to be dependent on forestry, although now the economy is moving towards outdoor recreation and tourism.The village is...
lumber mill on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. During a strike he was rescued from starvation by a local Kwakiutl
Kwakwaka'wakw
The Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations peoples, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland and islands.Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
community. Alsford's brother, William John Alsford, visited the island, and in gratitude for their hospitality, commissioned a totem pole from the Canadian First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
artist Henry Hunt
Henry Hunt (artist)
Henry Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw people of coastal British Columbia.He was born in 1923 in the Kwakwaka'wakw community of Fort Rupert, B.C. He is a descendant of the renowned Native ethnologist George Hunt...
. The western red cedar
Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...
pole, 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 3 foot (0.9144 m) in diameter, was carved by Hunt at Thunderbird Park
Thunderbird Park
Thunderbird Park is a park in Victoria, British Columbia next to the Royal British Columbia Museum. The park is home to many totem poles and other First Nations monuments...
, a centre for First Nation monuments. The completed pole was shipped to Britain and erected at Alsford's Wharf in 1968. Alsford's warehouses were demolished and replaced in 1994 by Fairclough Homes with a housing development, but the totem pole remains in place today as an unusual local landmark. As it stands in the private walled grounds of the flats, it can only be viewed at a distance from the public road. It is one of only a handful of totem poles in the United Kingdom, others being on display at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and Horniman Museum
Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum is a museum in Forest Hill, South London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Arts and Crafts style....
in London, Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
, Bushy Park
Bushy Park
- External links :***...
and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England is an open-air gallery showing work by UK and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth...
.
The carvings on the totem pole represent four figures from North American First Nations legend: at the top sits Raven, the trickster and creator deity; he sits on the head of Sunman
Solar deity
A solar deity is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms...
, who has outstretched arms representing the rays of the sun and who wears a copper (a type of ceremonial skirt); Sunman stands on the fearsome witch-spirit Dzunukwa
Dzunukwa
Dzunukwa, also Tsonoqua, Tsonokwa, is a figure in Kwakwaka'wakw mythology . She is an ancestor of the Namgis clan through her son, Tsilwalagame...
; at the base is the two-headed warrior sea-serpent, Sisiutl
Sisiutl
The Sisiutl is one of the most powerful crests, and mythological creatures in the mythology of the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Skwxwu7mesh and various other Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and figures prominently in their art, dances and songs...
, who has upstretched wings.
Other notable buildings
Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted
The Parish Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted is a Church of England, Grade II* listed church in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom...
, one of the largest parish churches 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...
. It was consecrated in 1222 by the Bishop of Lincoln, although parts of the church are believed to be older. At the back of the church lies a marble tomb of a knight and his lady. It is thought to be that of Henry of Berkhamsted, one of the Black Prince's lieutenants at the Battle of Crecy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
. The poet William Cowper
William Cowper
William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
was christened in St. Peter's, where his father John Cowper was rector.
The town is home to the oldest extant shop
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, dated by dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
of structural timbers to between 1277 and 1297. Evidence has been found that it may have been a jeweller or goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
. The shop, at 173 High Street, until recently Figg's the Chemists, is currently (2006) in use as an estate agent which has proved controversial as some residents of Berkhamsted think the site should be preserved.
The Town Hall was built at public subscription from Berkhamstedians, and designed by Edward Buckton Lamb
Edward Buckton Lamb
Edward Buckton Lamb was a British architect who exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1824. Lamb was labelled a 'Rogue Gothic Revivalist', and for breaking with convention, his designs were roundly criticised, especially by The Ecclesiologist....
. It comprised a market hall (now Brasserie Chez Gerard), large assembly hall and rooms for the Mechanics’ Institute. When Berkhamsted joined Hemel Hempstead
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 ....
and Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
in Dacorum
Dacorum
The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England that includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Kings Langley. The district, which was formed in 1974, had a population of 137,799 in 2001...
the new Borough Council
Dacorum Borough Council
Dacorum Borough Council is the local authority for the Dacorum non-metropolitan district of England, the United Kingdom. Dacorum is located in the north-west of Hertfordshire, in the East of England region. The Council itself is based in Hemel Hempstead, the largest settlement in the district.The...
in Hemel Hempstead drew plans to demolish the site. But following a 10 year citizens' campaign during the 1970s and 80s, which eventually ended at the High Court, the site was saved for the people of Berkhamsted.
The site now occupied by the Pennyfarthing Hotel dates from the 16th Century, having been a monastic building that offered accommodation to religious guests passing through Berkhamsted or going to the monastery at Ashridge.
Ashlyns School
Ashlyns School
Ashlyns School is a school for pupils aged 13–18 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. Unlike many other areas in the UK, schools in the Berkhamsted area operate a three-tier system of lower, middle and upper schools , in contrast to the traditional Primary School and Secondary School...
, a large building built in 1935 which contained the former The Foundling Hospital
Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1741 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply...
, which relocated from London in the 1920s. It contains stained glass windows, especially around the Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, a staircase and many monuments from the original London hospital founded by Thomas Coram in 1740. The School Chapel housed an organ donated by George Frederick Handel. The school was used a backdrop to the 2007 comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow is a 2008 comedy-drama film written and directed by Garth Jennings. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was later shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Glasgow Film...
.
Berkhamsted School, a minor 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...
was founded in 1541 by Dean Incent and attended by the celebrated author Graham Greene, whose father was headmaster there.
As well as Berkhamsted Place
Berkhamsted Place
Berkhamsted Place was an English country house which was erected sometime around 1580 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It was built by Sir Edward Carey, the keeper of the Jewels to Queen Elizabeth I from stones removed from Berkhamsted Castle...
, the town had another Elizabethan mansion, the smaller Egerton House
Egerton House, Berkhamsted
Egerton House was a small Elizabethan mansion which stood on the High Street in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire in England. Built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it was demolished in 1937 and the site is now occupied by the Art Deco Rex Cinema. As well as its architectural merit,...
, which stood at the east end of the High Street. The house was occupied briefly (1904–1907) by the Llewelyn Davies family
Llewelyn Davies boys
The Davies boys were the sons of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies . They served as the inspiration for the characters of Peter Pan and the other boys of J. M...
who were close friends of the author and playwright J.M. Barrie; the Davies's middle son, Peter Llewelyn Davies, was the inspiration for the character of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. The house was demolished in 1937, and the site is now occupied by the Grade II-listed Rex Cinema. Recognised by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a fine example of a 1930s art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
cinema, the cinema was designed by architect David Evelyn Nye
David Evelyn Nye
David Evelyn Nye was a British architect, born in 1906, who practised in Surrey, England. He was best known as a cinema architect, having designed many picture houses in the 1930s for the Shipman and King cinema circuit...
for the Shipman and King circuit and opened in 1938. Its interior features decorations of sea waves and shells. The Rex closed its doors in 1988 but reopened in 2004 after an extensive redevelopment. The cinema has been restored to become one of the most popular and sought-after entertainment attractions in the area, often selling out entire performances. It was the first 1930s cinema to be restored and opened since 1975. The site also regularly hosts guest presenters from the cast or crew to introduce the films.
Nearby Ashridge House
Ashridge Business School
Ashridge Business School is an independent, non-profit making organisation, near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. Its activities include open and tailored executive education programmes, MBA, MSc and Diploma qualifications, organisation consulting, applied research and online learning....
was the home of the Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
, affectionately known as the Father of Inland Navigation. His canals sparked a rush of canal building nationwide. His climable monument stands in a grove of native broadleaf woods on a Chiltern ridge, Ashridge
Ashridge
Ashridge is an estate and house in Hertfordshire, England; part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of...
.
To the northwest of Berkhamsted stand the ruins of Marlin's Chapel, a 13th century chapel standing next to a medieval fortified farm. The walls and moat surrounding the modern farm still remain and are reputed to be haunted.
Famous people
Famous people born in Berkhamsted include the English novelist Graham GreeneGraham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
(1904–1991), whose father was headmaster of what was then Berkhamsted School, which Greene attended. One of Greene's novels, The Human Factor
The Human Factor
The Human Factor is an espionage novel by Graham Greene, first published in 1978 and adapted into a 1979 film, directed by Otto Preminger using a screenplay by Tom Stoppard.-Plot summary:...
, takes place there and mentions several places of interest of the town, including Kings Road and Berkhamsted Common. In his autobiography, Greene says, that he has been moulded in a special way "through Berkhamsted". Greene's life and works are celebrated annually during the last weekend in September with a festival organised by the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust.
Other notable Berkhamstedians include the poet William Cowper
William Cowper
William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
(1731), World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien (1858), the actor Michael Hordern
Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
(1911) and the television presenters Esther Rantzen
Esther Rantzen
Esther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma...
, Nick Owen
Nick Owen
Nicholas "Nick" Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the breakfast television programme TV-am and the BBC's local news show Midlands Today since 1997...
, Adrian Scarborough
Adrian Scarborough
Adrian Philip Scarborough is an English character actor and won an Olivier award for best actor in a supporting role in 2011.Scarborough was born in Melton Mowbray, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, winning the Chesterton Award for Best Actor.In 1993, he was nominated for the Ian...
and Peter Drury
Peter Drury
Peter Drury, born 1968, is ITV Sport's number two football commentator, a role he has held since joining the network in 1998.A politics graduate from Hull University, Peter began his career as a journalist with Hayters sports agency before joining BBC Radio Leeds in 1990 as a football and cricket...
. John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
lives/lived in Berkhamsted, and the town was the childhood home of Clementine Churchill, wife of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and the birthplace of singer Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
. Sailor Robin Knox-Johnston
Robin Knox-Johnston
Sir William Robert Patrick "Robin" Knox-Johnston, CBE, RD and bar is an English sailor. He was the first man to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe and was the second winner of the Jules Verne Trophy . For this he was awarded with Blake the ISAF Yachtsman of the Year award...
attended Berkhamsted school.
Other notable residents included Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, in exile during World War II. The de Gaulle family settled in Berkhamsted from October 1941 to September 1942.
Fictional characters
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
character Ed Reardon
Ed Reardon's Week
Ed Reardon's Week is a sitcom on BBC Radio 4 recorded semi-naturalistically in the style of a radio drama. It concerns the story of a curmudgeonly 50-something writer described in the show's publicity material as an "author, pipesmoker, consummate fare-dodger and master of the abusive email"...
is a Berkhamsted resident, and many of the stories in the show are based there.
Twin towns
Berkhamsted is twinned with BeauneBeaune
Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Cote d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Paris and Geneva.Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France and the annual wine auction of the Hospices de Beaune is the primary wine auction in France...
, France and as part of Dacorum with Neu Isenburg, Germany. The town also has an informal relationship with the town of Barkhamsted in Connecticut, United States.
Transport
Berkhamsted is served by rail services from Berkhamsted railway stationBerkhamsted railway station
Berkhamsted railway station is in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is located just beside Berkhamsted Castle, overlooking the Grand Junction Canal. The station is north west of London Euston on the West Coast Main Line...
which is on the West Coast Mainline. Principal services, operated by London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
, run between and , with additional trains running to and . The Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
train company also run an hourly service directly to via .
A number of local bus routes pass through Berkhamsted town centre, providing links to Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Watford and Whipsnade Zoo. Services include the 30, 31, 62, 207, 500, 501, 502 and 532. The 500 bus service runs between Aylesbury and Watford via Berkhamsted. The Aylesbury-London 773 commuter express service, calling at Berkhamsted, runs directly to Baker Street
Baker Street tube station
Baker Street tube station is a station on the London Underground at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road. The station lies in Travelcard Zone 1 and is served by five different lines...
, Marble Arch
Marble Arch tube station
Marble Arch is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. The station is between Lancaster Gate and Bond Street stations on the Central line, and is in Travelcard Zone 1.-History:...
, Embankment
Embankment tube station
Embankment is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, known by various names during its history. It is served by the Circle, District, Northern and Bakerloo lines. On the Northern and Bakerloo lines, the station is between Waterloo and Charing Cross stations; on the Circle and...
and Finsbury Square
Finsbury Square
Finsbury Square is a square in central London. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the east of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the parish of St Luke's and near Moorfields. It is sited on the east side of City Road, opposite the east side of Bunhill Fields....
, although this service is due to be withdrawn in February 2011. Buses are managed by Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. It currently consists of 77 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, which has 55 councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, versus 3 Labour...
's Intalink
Intalink
Intalink is the organisation responsible for organising the management of public transport services in Hertfordshire on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council. This relates to buses and trains at the moment, but in the future tram services could be introduced. They design, create and promote...
transport service.
The London-Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
A41 road
A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
passes west of Berkhamsted. The bypass opened in 1993 to alleviate congestion caused by traffic passing through the town centre. During the construction of the bypass, archaeologists excavating along the route unearthed Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman artefacts.
Sport
The town's football club, Berkhamsted F.C.Berkhamsted F.C.
Berkhamsted Football Club are a football club from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, founded in 2009 after the demise of Berkhamsted Town.They won the Spartan South Midlands League Division Two in their first season, earning them promotion to Division One....
, play in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. They were formed in 2009 after the demise of Berkhamsted Town F.C.
Berkhamsted Town F.C.
Berkhamsted Town F.C. was a football club from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The club was founded in 1919, played in a black & white strip, and was nicknamed the Lilywhites or Berko. The team began the 2008–09 season playing in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, but was dissolved in...
.
External links
- Berkhamsted Town Council. The web site of Berkhamsted Town Council
- Berkhamsted (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)