Radlett

Radlett
Radlett
 Radlett shown within Hertfordshire
Population 8,163 (2011 census)
OS grid referenceTQ165995
Civil parishAldenham
DistrictHertsmere
Shire countyHertfordshire
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town RADLETT
Postcode district WD7
Dialling code 01923
Police Hertfordshire
Fire Hertfordshire
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentHertsmere
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire

Coordinates: 51°40′55″N 0°18′50″W / 51.682°N 0.314°W / 51.682; -0.314

Radlett is a large affluent village 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. It is located inside the M25 motorway.

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 is one of the most prosperous places in Britain.[1] The town contains many substantial detached houses with large gardens. In the older centre there are also 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 majority of roads with an average price of over £1,000,000.[2]

Watling Street, which is the main road through Radlett, has a wide variety of local shops and restaurants, as well as some national chain stores, a Post Office inside the local Budgens supermarket, and the Radlett Centre[3] with a 300-seat auditorium for various performances. Attached to the Radlett Centre is the local Public Library.

There are three public houses in Radlett, the "Cat and Fiddle", "O'Sullivan's Bar" and the "Red Lion Hotel".

History

There has been a settlement known as Radlett since at least as far back as 1453.[4] 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.

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.

Handley Page Ltd opened a grass airfield just north of the town in 1929 for the production of aircraft. By 1939 Radlett Aerodrome was upgraded to have three hard runways for use in the production of Handley Page Hampden and Handley Page Halifax bombers during the Second World War. Post-war the airfield was used for production of Handley Page Hastings transport aircraft and Handley Page Hermes airliners. The SBAC held air shows here in 1946 and 1947 which subsequently moved to Farnborough. The Handley Page Victor bomber prototype was built here, with the main runway being extended in 1952 to allow flight testing, and there is now a road on this site named in its honour next to a DPD depot. Handley Page went bankrupt in 1969 and the airfield closed in 1970.[5]

The 1948 Olympic Marathon went through Radlett. It was an out-and-back course from the Empire Stadium, Wembley.[6]

In 1977 Eddie Kidd the stunt rider jumped over 14 London Double Decker buses at the former Radlett airfield .

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. The campaign failed, and the station closed in October 2006. The campaign continued for a while after the closure, however the fire station has now been demolished.[7][8] There is now a campaign[9][10] to prevent the building of a huge distribution centre at what was previously the Radlett Aerodrome Site, the former production site of the British aircraft builder Handley Page.

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 railway station to south and central London including St. Pancras International, terminus of the Midland Main Line and the Eurostar, (the train service connecting London with Paris and Brussels). From Radlett there are also train services to London Gatwick and London Luton airports, whilst London Heathrow is a forty-minute drive away. There are two main buses that run through Radlett, both operated by UNO. The bus route 602 runs roughly East-West connecting Watford, Radlett, St Albans and Hatfield and the route 655 running roughly North-South connecting Hatfield, St Albans, Radlett and Borehamwood.

Religion

2011 Census Data

As a town, Radlett has an official Jewish population of 28.3 per cent, the highest proportion in England and Wales by some margin, the next highest percentage being 19.4% in neighbouring area of Shenley and the nearby areas of Bushey, Barnet, Borehamwood and Elstree being the only other areas with a percentage greater than 15%. As the method used by the British census for identifying race and religion has shown itself to be problematic, it is likely that the actual number of persons of Jewish background in Radlett is somewhat higher, approaching 35%. Radlett has been called "the new Edgware."[11]

Area All people Christian (%) Buddhist (%) Hindu (%) Jewish (%) Muslim (%) Sikh (%) Other (%) No religion (%) Not stated (%)
England and Wales 5,337,277 58.87 0.45 1.52 0.49 5.05 0.79 0.43 25.24 7.17
Radlett 8,163 41.46 0.31 3.11 28.31 1.37 0.21 0.60 14.46 10.18

Places of worship

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: the Radlett United Synagogue which serves the Orthodox Jewish community, and the Radlett Reform Synagogue (formerly Radlett & Bushey Reform Synagogue) which serves the Reform Jewish community.

Education

There are twelve schools in Radlett, catering for children aged from 2 to 11 years old:

As there are no mainstream secondary schools in Radlett, from the age of 11 Radlett's children attend schools in towns in the surrounding area, mostly travelling by dedicated bus services.

Sport

Radlett has a football club (Belstone F.C.), that currently competes in the Herts Senior County League Premier Division. Cricket is played at Brunton Memorial Ground, which is the home ground of Radlett Cricket Club, and is also the venue for most Middlesex Second XI matches. It is now the training facility of Middlesex County Cricket Club and the ground hosted their 40 over cup match against Yorkshire in 2013. More information on the club at www.radlettcc.com and on the history of the club at www.history.radlettcc.com.

Radlett is the home of Tabard RFC, who play in London North West 2. Tabard has a long history of good rugby and good facilities. The club has senior men's and women's teams as well as a growing junior and mini rugby section. There are two full size pitches, one of which is floodlit, as well as subsidiary pitches for junior rugby.

Local groups and societies

Radlett has a number of very active local groups and societies. These include:

Twinning

Radlett is twinned with Louveciennes, France[13] and Lautertal, Germany.[14][15]

Notable residents

Current:

Past:

References

  1. ↑ "Times on Line". Property.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Local Property Market Statistics". Mouseprice.com. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Radlett Centre". Radlett Centre. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Radlett (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)". Hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Control Towers". Control Towers. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Course history Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "7,000 sign petition, Borehamwood Times". Borehamwoodtimes.co.uk. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Number of house fires rise in Radlett following closure of fire station, Watford Observer". Watfordobserver.co.uk. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  9. ↑ No 2 Rail Freight
  10. ↑ STRIFE – Stop the Rail Freight Exchange Archived 2 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. 1 2 Kosher in the country The Economist 1 June 2006 accessed 14 August 2007
  12. ↑ "School profile". Schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  13. ↑ cjlouveciennes.info
  14. ↑ "''Lautertal web site''". Lautertal.de. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  15. ↑ raifa.org.uk
  16. ↑ Binnie, Adam (4 January 2010). "EastEnder Lacey Turner has moved back in with her mum and dad in Radlett". Watford Observer. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  17. ↑ "World Views Open Studio Exhibition". New Museum.org. New Museum.
  18. ↑ "I grew up without a father, Arsene has been my dad". News of the World. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
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