Borehamwood
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| Borehamwood | |
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| Population | 31,616 (2001 census) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Elstree and Borehamwood |
| District | Hertsmere |
| Shire county | Hertfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BOREHAMWOOD |
| Postcode district | WD6 |
| Dial code | 020 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Hertsmere |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire | |
Borehamwood (also referred to as Boreham Wood by a growing section of the population) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, just north of London. It is part of the borough of Hertsmere within the London commuter belt. As of April 2004, the town had approximately 30,000 residents. There is one weekly newspaper, the Borehamwood and Elstree Times, commonly known as the Borehamwood Times.
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[edit] History
The town was part of the ancient parish of Elstree; the two still share a local council, Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council.
[edit] Transportation
On the west side of Borehamwood is a railway station, Elstree & Borehamwood railway station, served by trains operated by First Capital Connect, (formerly Thameslink). The same railway line is used by Midland Mainline between St Pancras station and Nottingham, although these trains do not stop at what locals abbreviate as Elstree Station.
The A1 road passes just to the east of the town, and the M25 motorway passes about two miles north of it.
[edit] 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". Most of the studios have now closed, although two remain.
Many well-known movies including Moby Dick, The Dam Busters, the first three Indiana Jones films and the first three Star Wars movies were filmed at the former Associated British Studios in Shenley Road. These were partly demolished in the 1980s to make way for a Tesco supermarket on one side and an office block complex on the other. The area between the two has been redeveloped to form Elstree Studios where, more recently, the TV series Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Big Brother were filmed, as well as several major feature films. Bizarrely, the Inspector Morse TV series' production offices were based in the studios and, although the series was set in Oxford, several exterior locations (banks, shops etc) were filmed in the streets of Borehamwood.
The former British National Studios off Clarendon Road (which were later owned by Lew Grade's ATV) is now the BBC Elstree Centre. The studios have, over the years, been home to Alfred Hitchcock's movie Blackmail, Gerry Anderson's TV series UFO and now BBC TV's most popular soap, EastEnders and their popular medical drama Holby City.
Several other studios in the town have been demolished. The MGM-British Studios complex (demolished in the early 1970s) saw the production of many well-known films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Where Eagles Dare and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
The building opposite Elstree & Borehamwood station that housed the former Gate Studios was demolished in April 2006.
The newer Millennium Studios is situated on Elstree Way, Borehamwood.
[edit] Notable companies
Until 2003, the town was the headquarters of the United Kingdom subsidiary of T-Mobile. The town remains the UK headquarters of Pizza Hut. Both companies were based in the office blocks standing on part of what used to be the old Elstree Studios. The local Alstom office has produced railway signaling systems for much of the country.
[edit] Sports and recreation
Borehamwood has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V.
Borehamwood is home to Boreham Wood F.C.
The first third of the Watling Chase Timberland Trail stretches from Elstree & Borehamwood railway station up to Shenley.
