Radlett

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Radlett
Coordinates: 51.682° N 0.314° W
Population	8,034 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	TQ165995
District	Hertsmere
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RADLETT
Postcode district	WD7
Dial code	01923
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Hertsmere
European Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

Radlett is a large village to the north of London with a population of approximately 8,000. It is located between St Albans and Elstree on Watling Street in the Hertsmere district of Hertfordshire, England. It is covered by two wards, Aldenham East and Aldenham West.

[edit] Locality

Radlett lies in the valley of Tykes Water, a stream that runs north from Aldenham Reservoir to the River Colne. Now entirely surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt, it is seeing significant 'infill' development and pressure to relax the Green Belt restrictions. Radlett railway station serves the village, with First Capital Connect 'all stations' services to central and south London. This is also the main line that runs from London St. Pancras to Sheffield and Leeds.

Radlett is a prosperous place with many detached houses with large gardens although in the older centre there are a few streets with Victorian semi detached and terraced houses. Over the past few years, the combination of its proximity to London and good transport links have meant that Radlett has become a property hotspot with seven roads with an average price of over £1,000,000. ^[1]

Watling Street, which is the main road through Radlett, has a wide variety of good local shops and restaurants, as well as some national chain stores, a Post Office, and the Radlett Centre with a 300 seat auditorium for various performances. Attached to the Radlett Centre is the local Public Library.

[edit] History

There has been a settlement known as Radlett since at least as far back as 1453.^[2] However modern Radlett has been created almost entirely since the end of the 19th Century, for despite its position on Watling Street it seems to have been ignored as a place for a substantial settlement. During the 19th century Radlett was a rural community dominated by the estates of Kendals, which owned most of the land to the west of Watling Street, and Newberries and Aldenham Lodge which owned the land to the east. The only buildings then were a pub and a few buildings at the crossroads at the bottom of Shenley Hill.

In 1823 Radlett was the site of an infamous murder. (See Radlett murder.)

The modern ticket office at Radlett station, dating from the 1970s, contrasts with the ornate shelter above the cycle storage area.

In 1860 the Midland Railway was extended from Bedford into London and a station was built at Radlett connecting it with London. On 8 December 1865 the Ecclesiastical Parish of Radlett was created out of the eastern part of Aldenham and this marks the start of the modern history of the village. Development could only start when the landowners sold off their land for this purpose and this started in the final decade of the 19th century when land to the west of Watling Street was sold off. In 1910 the estate of Aldenham Lodge to the north of Shenley Hill was released for development and in 1935 the Newberries estate. Newberries mansion was demolished in the 1950s and Aldenham Lodge in 1964.

The introduction of the Metropolitan Green Belt in the 1950s set a legal framework limiting further outward growth beyond the then existing limits of the village, and since then new development has been restricted to infilling within the built-up area. Despite this, many new houses continue to be built in former large gardens, and the population now stands at over 8000.

In 2005, and 2006, there was a large campaign in the village, and surrounding areas to save the Fire Station, which was opened 100 years ago. Unfortunately, the campaign failed, and the station closed in October 2006.^[3] There is now a campaign to prevent the building of a huge distribution centre at what was previously the Radlett Aerodrome Site. If this went ahead, there would be a huge impact on the area's already strained infrastructure.^[4]

[edit] Transport

Radlett lies close to the M25 and M1 motorways and the A1 trunk road. There is a frequent commuter rail service that connects Radlett to central London. This rail service also provides direct services to London Gatwick and London Luton airports, whilst London Heathrow is just a forty minute drive away.

[edit] Religion

[edit] 2001 Census Data

As a town, Radlett has the third lowest proportion of Christians in England and Wales, (51.9 per cent), and has a Jewish population of 24.1 per cent, the highest proportion in England and Wales.

[edit] Churches and Synagogues

There are four churches in Radlett; Christ Church, an Anglican church on Watling Street founded in 1864; St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Crosspath; St. John's Anglican church, a sister church of Christ Church, in Gills Hill Lane; and The United Free Church in Station Road. The United Free Church was formed by uniting the Methodist and United Reformed Churches in Radlett.

There are two Synagogues in Radlett, the Radlett United Synagogue which serves the Orthodox Jewish community, and Radlett & Bushey Reform Synagogue.

[edit] Radlett Today

[edit] Education

There are nine schools in Radlett

• First Place Nursery An independent school for 80 children aged from 2 to 5 years old.
• Bhaktivedanta Manor School. An independent primary school that promotes Vedic and Vaisnava culture for 21 children aged from 4 to 10. (Located in the nearby hamlet of Letchmore Heath.)
• Edge Grove School.An independent day and boarding school for 333 children aged from 3 to 13½.
• Fair Field Junior School. A state foundation school for 235 children aged from 7 to 11.
• Hertsmere Jewish Primary School. A state voluntary aided school for 316 children aged from 3 to 11.
• Newberries Primary School A state funded school for 208 children aged from 4 to 11.
• Radlett Lodge School. An independent special school for 49 children with special educational needs aged from 3 to 11. Run by the National Autistic Society. Accommodation for 14 weekly boarders.
• Radlett Nursery and Infant School. An independent school for 122 children aged from 2 to 7 (closed and replaced by a day nursery in 2005).
• Radlett Preparatory School An independent school for 474 children aged from 4 to 11.
• St John's Church of England Infant and Nursery School. A state controlled school for 224 children aged from 3 to 8.

There are no secondary schools in Radlett, however, Aldenham School, and Haberdashers' Aske's School for boys and girls are two public schools nearby.

[edit] Accommodation

There is one hotel in Radlett, the Red Lion, operated by Youngs brewery, with 24 beds, a restaurant and a conference room.

[edit] Twinning

Radlett is twinned with:

• Louveciennes, France. Louveciennes web site
• Lautertal, Germany. Lautertal web site
• Shlomi, Israel.

[edit] Miscellany and Trivia

• Radlett has two Scout Groups; 1st Radlett (traditionally Christian), and 4th Radlett (traditionally Jewish).
• Radlett contained, until 1970 the main factory of the Handley Page aircraft company with an adjacent airfield available for flight tests and that it featured as a set in many of the films made at the nearby Elstree Film Studios. There are proposals emerging in 2006 to re-use much of the abandoned airfield as a rail-served freight depot.
• Parts of the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange were filmed in The Warren in Radlett, and the film's script even contains references to 'Radlett Police Station'.
• The TV show, Robot Wars was filmed just north of Radlett.^[5]
• Radlett is home to Fame TV, a new satellite TV channel which launched on November 6, 2006, which is available on Sky, channel 217, and which revolves around viewers sending in their own videos, for them to be screened.^[6]
• Radlett holds a little known brothel behind the main high street, owing to the nickname "brothel corner".

[edit] Notable Residents

• Richard Baker, the former BBC newsreader, has lived in Radlett for many years
• At least two members of The Shadows, Brian Bennett and Hank Marvin, have lived in the Loom Lane / Aldenham Avenue area for a number of years.
• The actress Pam St. Clement lives in Radlett
• The singer Alison Moyet lived in Radlett
• Former Chelsea footballer, Dennis Wise has lived in Radlett
• Former boss of Johnson Matthey, Ron Hewitt, lives in the Loom Lane area.
• Former Arsenal footballer Lauren lived in Radlett
• Former "Blue" singer Duncan James lives in Radlett and has been frequently spotted in the Watling Street shop, Budgens.
• Former England cricket captain Douglas Jardine lived at the top of Gills Hill for a number of years in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
• The cast of EastEnders are also frequently spotted on the Highstreet, doing their shopping.
• It was also reported that Thierry Henry had a house in Radlett, however this has remained unconfirmed.

[edit] External links

• Radlett Cricket Club
• The Radlett Society
• Hertsmere Borough Council
• Live Departures Board, Radlett Station
• Tabard Rugby Club
• The Radlett Centre

[edit] Notes

1. ^ http://www.mouseprice.com/property-stats/watford/radlett-property-wd7-4.aspx
2. ^ http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/radlett.htm
3. ^ http://www.saveradlettfirestation.co.uk
4. ^ http://www.strife.biz/
5. ^ http://www.djhistory.com/bb/displayStory.php?id=50&group=g_general
6. ^ http://www.fametv.com/default.aspx