Hertsmere
Encyclopedia
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
.
, by a merger of the former area of Bushey Urban District and Potters Bar Urban District
with Elstree Rural District
and part of Watford Rural District
(the parish of Aldenham
).
The name "Hertsmere" was invented for the new district by combining the name of the county with "mere", an archaic word for boundary. The name is doubly appropriate as the area is now the southern boundary of Hertfordshire
with Greater London
, while up to 1965 parts of the district were on either side of the county boundary with Middlesex
. The name is reflected in the council's coat of arms
, which shows a hart upon the battlements of a boundary wall.
The district was awarded borough
status by Royal Charter
in 1977.
The borough was originally in the Metropolitan Police District
, despite being outside the modern Greater London
boundaries. It was not transferred to Hertfordshire Constabulary
until 2000.
, Dancing on Ice
, and is the location for the Big Brother
house.
Hertsmere is also the location for BBC Elstree, the site of EastEnders
, and formerly the home to Top of the Pops
, before its move to BBC TV Centre.
The area was also home to other TV and film studios, including MGM
, until this was demolished for residential development, and is now an area called Studio Way.
, with Jews composing one in nine residents.
s, with a third being elected at each election
. As of the 2011 election
there are 35 Conservative and 4 Labour councillors.
Until 1983 the borough was included in the parliamentary constituency of Hertfordshire South
. In 1983 the constituency was renamed Hertsmere
.
Hertsmere has been represented in Parliament by Conservative, James Clappison
since 1992. He succeeded Cecil Parkinson
who had been Member of Parliament
for the area since 1974
.
Four parishes have parish councils Ridge, which has fewer than 200 electors, is governed by a parish meeting
following the dissolution of its parish council.
The areas of the former Bushey
and Potters Bar
urban districts
are unparished.
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
and borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
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...
. Its council is based in Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
. Other towns in the borough include Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
, 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...
and Potters Bar
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England, located north of Central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618....
.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, by a merger of the former area of Bushey Urban District and Potters Bar Urban District
Potters Bar Urban District
South Mimms Rural District and Potters Bar Urban District were local government districts occupying the area around the town of Potters Bar, England....
with Elstree Rural District
Elstree Rural District
Elstree was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 as Barnet Rural District, as successor to the Barnet rural sanitary district...
and part of Watford Rural District
Watford Rural District
Not to be confused with the Watford Rural civil parish.Watford was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It originally consisted of contiguous land to the west, north and east of Watford, which was a separate urban district...
(the parish of Aldenham
Aldenham
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...
).
The name "Hertsmere" was invented for the new district by combining the name of the county with "mere", an archaic word for boundary. The name is doubly appropriate as the area is now the southern boundary of 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...
with Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
, while up to 1965 parts of the district were on either side of the county boundary with Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. The name is reflected in the council's coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, which shows a hart upon the battlements of a boundary wall.
The district was awarded borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
status by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1977.
The borough was originally in the Metropolitan Police District
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
, despite being outside the modern Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
boundaries. It was not transferred to Hertfordshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is situated in Welwyn Garden City...
until 2000.
Attractions
Hertsmere is the location of Elstree Studios, which produces such shows as Who Wants To Be A MillionaireWho Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British television quiz show which offers a maximum cash prize of one million pounds for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty...
, Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
, and is the location for the Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
house.
Hertsmere is also the location for BBC Elstree, the site of EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, and formerly the home to Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, before its move to BBC TV Centre.
The area was also home to other TV and film studios, including MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, until this was demolished for residential development, and is now an area called Studio Way.
Demographics
In the 2001 census, Hertsmere polled as the second most Jewish local authority in EnglandEngland
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...
, with Jews composing one in nine residents.
Politics
The borough council currently consists of 39 elected councillorCouncillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s, with a third being elected at each election
Hertsmere local elections
One third of Hertsmere District Council in Hertfordshire, England is elected each year, followed by one year without election. Since the last boundary changes in 1999, 39 councillors have been elected from 15 wards.-Political control:...
. As of the 2011 election
Hertsmere Council election, 2011
The 2011 Hertsmere Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Hertsmere District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council....
there are 35 Conservative and 4 Labour councillors.
Until 1983 the borough was included in the parliamentary constituency of Hertfordshire South
Hertfordshire South (UK Parliament constituency)
South Hertfordshire was a constituency in Hertfordshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the February 1974 general election and abolished for the 1983 general election when it was partly replaced by the new...
. In 1983 the constituency was renamed Hertsmere
Hertsmere (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
.
Hertsmere has been represented in Parliament by Conservative, James Clappison
James Clappison
William James Clappison, commonly known as James Clappison, British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Hertsmere, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.-Personal life:The son of a Yorkshire farmer, James Clappison was...
since 1992. He succeeded Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, PC , is a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet Minister.-Early life:...
who had been Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the area since 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
.
Parishes
The borough contains five parishes:- Elstree and Borehamwood (Town)
- AldenhamAldenhamThis 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...
- RidgeRidge, HertfordshireRidge is a village and civil parish in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, situated between Potters Bar and Shenley. It has a small church, St Margaret's and a small playground. There is a public house called the Old Guinea which serves food on most days. The village also holds a fete day on...
- ShenleyShenley, HertfordshireShenley is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, between Barnet and St Albans. The village is located 18.7 miles from Central London.-History:...
- South Mimms
Four parishes have parish councils Ridge, which has fewer than 200 electors, is governed by a parish meeting
Parish meeting
A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of the parish council itself, with statutory powers, and electing a...
following the dissolution of its parish council.
The areas of the former Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
and Potters Bar
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England, located north of Central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618....
urban districts
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
are unparished.