Borehamwood, England Information
Borehamwood (sometimes referred to as Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, situated 12.5 miles (20.1 km) north of central London. It has a population of 28,546.[1] It is part of the borough of Hertsmere within the London commuter belt, and of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamhwood which, at the 2001 census, had a population of 33,311.[2] There is one weekly newspaper, the Borehamwood and Elstree Times, commonly known as the Borehamwood Times.
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History
Up until 1909, the town was part of the ancient parish of Elstree; the two still share a local council, Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council.
From the 1920s onwards, the town became known as one of the main centres of the UK film, and later television, industries due to the presence of production studios.
Following World War II, the town's population greatly increased, with large areas of council housing set up for displaced Londoners, many of which are now in private ownership. Fast train connections to central London have resulted in the town becoming a primarily residential suburb.
Borehamwood is currently undergoing a substantial housing transformation which has seen hundreds of new homes built over the last five years. There are currently two further developments being built and more are expected.
In addition to the studios, the town is also home to many retail shops, offices and light industry.
Transport
On the west side of Borehamwood is a railway station, Elstree & Borehamwood railway station, served by trains operated by First Capital Connect on the Thameslink route. The same railway line is used by East Midlands Trains between London St Pancras and Sheffield, although these trains do not stop.
The A1 road passes just to the east of the town, and the M25 motorway passes about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of it.
Geography
Climate
Borehamwood experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the rest of the United Kingdom.
| Climate data for Borehamwood | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8 (46) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 14 (57) | 18 (64) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 20 (68) | 16 (61) | 11 (52) | 8 (46) | 15 (59) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5 (41) | 5 (41) | 6 (43) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 13 (55) | 15 (59) | 16 (61) | 13 (55) | 11 (52) | 8 (46) | 5 (41) | 10 (50) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 50.7 (1.996) | 39.9 (1.571) | 31.7 (1.248) | 46.2 (1.819) | 38.9 (1.531) | 46.4 (1.827) | 33.1 (1.303) | 43.6 (1.717) | 49.7 (1.957) | 70.7 (2.783) | 58.1 (2.287) | 56.9 (2.24) | 565.9 (22.28) |
| Source: [3] | |||||||||||||
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". Whilst most of these studios have now closed, two still remain.
Many well-known movies including The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Dr Zhivago, The Confessions of.... series of films,2001: A Space Odyssey, Moby Dick, The Dam Busters, 633 Squadron, The Shining starring Jack Nicholson, the first three Indiana Jones films and the first three Star Wars movies were partially filmed at the former Associated British Studios in Shenley Road. These were partly demolished in the 1980s to make way for a Tesco Extra supermarket on one side and an office block complex on the other.
The area between the supermarket and the office blocks is all that remains of the original studio, which has been much reduced in size and usefulness to production companies as a result. Elstree Studios were more recently used for the popular TV series Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Big Brother, as well as several major feature films. The Inspector Morse TV series' production offices were based in the studios and, although the series was supposedly set in Oxford, several exterior locations (banks, shops etc.) were filmed in the streets of Borehamwood.
The former British National Studios off Clarendon Road referred to locally as "The Douglas Fairbanks studios" (which were later owned by Lew Grade's ATV) are now the BBC Elstree Studios. The studios have, over the years, been home to Alfred Hitchcock's movie Blackmail, Gerry Anderson's TV series UFO not to mention The Muppet Show was also made there by Jim Henson, and now BBC TV's most popular soap, EastEnders and their popular medical drama Holby City. An episode of Judge John Deed included scenes of the Tesco Extra, but with Borehamwood crossed out and Lewes written in its place. The studio has also been used for Question Time.
Several other studios including The Gate Studio and the Danziger Studios at nearby Elstree 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, as well as many ITV television series including The Prisoner.
Borehamwood itself has seen filming of many series, including the ever popular Most Haunted Live on Halloween, named Nightmare on Elstree and EastEnders is filmed there. although all the buildings investigated were in Borehamwood except the Hollybush Inn, situated in nearby Elstree the McDonald's drive-thru is what was the Red Lion pub. This pub stood opposite the Associated British Studios on Shenley Road and actors such as Robert Mitchum were often seen drinking in there.
The newer Millennium Studios is situated on Elstree Way, Borehamwood.
Notable companies
Adecco UK Limited had its Head Office based in Borehamwood until 2009 until it relocated to London, Birmingham and Budapest. Adecco House is still owned by Adecco but remains empty.
The UK headquarters of Pizza Hut are based within the town and, until 2003, so were the headquarters of the United Kingdom subsidiary of T-Mobile, with both being based in the office blocks standing on part of what used to be the old Elstree Studios. Regent Inns has its head office on Elstree Way. NatWest, George Wimpey, Barclays, Bradford & Bingley, DVLA and Alstom also have large offices within the town.
Notable people
- Jaye Davidson, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the movie The Crying Game, grew up here and went to Hillside Comprehensive School (now Yavneh College).
- Marilyn, early 80s New Romantic singer went to St Teresa's Catholic School
- Shona McGarty, plays Whitney Dean in EastEnders.
- Simon Cowell, brought up in Elstree by his parents, Eric and Julie Cowell. Left School at 16.
James Hay-Stevens FRAeS. Inspirational Aviation Journalist, Illustrator and Pilot lived in Borehamwood. James Hay-Stevens is most famous for developing the 1:72nd scale model used by Airfix and many other toy manufacturers. Despite being disabled, James Hay-Stevens was an active pilot who wrote and illustrated over 500 publications including many books and articles on many aspects of aviation.
Sport and recreation
The first third of the Watling Chase Timberland Trail stretches from Elstree & Borehamwood railway station up to Shenley.
Borehamwood is home to Boreham Wood F.C., Arsenal Ladies and Watford F.C. Reserves who play their home games at Meadow Park. There are several parks in the area. Aberford Park is featured with the source of the brook which has been artificially been made to look like a lake. Meadow Park includes a large playing field, tennis courts and basketball courts.
Borehamwood has a large shopping area called Borehamwood Shopping Park, featuring large stores such as Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Next, Outfit - which includes Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Miss Selfridge, WH Smith, Boots, and more recently JD Sports, which takes place of JJB Sports
The village of Well End has a notable pub, the Mops and Brooms, reputedly the site of a battle between travellers and village folk, although another explanation, that it commemorates mop weddings and broomstick weddings which once took place there, has also been advanced.[4]
Schools
Borehamwood has a number of primary and secondary schools including Hertswood School, the Jewish secondary school, Yavneh College and Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' and Girls' schools. Typical of the exemplary post-war work of the Herts County Architect's Department is Cowley Hill Primary School and Parkside School.[5]
Hillside School is also situated in the area and is notable for being the base of the school in the TV series Grange Hill from 1985 to 1990.[6]
Nearby
Twin towns
- Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
- Offenburg, Germany
Local newspapers
The local newspapers are as of 2011-
| Newspaper | Link |
|---|---|
| Barnet Today (occasionally) | [7] |
| The Borehamwood Times | [8] |
References by media and the arts
- Borehamwood is the city upon which one of three maps is based in the game Urban Dead. This map was released as part of the promotional campaign for the release of British writer Charlie Brooker's Dead Set (TV series)[9]
References
- ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Key Statistics : Usual Resident Population Broehamwood Brookmeadow; Borehamwood Cowley Hill; Borehamwood Hillside; and Borehamwood Kenilworth wards. Retrieved 2 February 2010
- ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Hertsmere Retrieved 2 February 2010
- ^ "Averages for Borehamwood". http://weather.msn.com/monthly_averages.aspx?wealocations=wc:UKXX0810&q=Borehamwood%2c+GBR+forecast:averagesm.
- ^ F.Hackwood, Inns, Ales & Drinking Customs of Old England
- ^ Source: Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, 2nd ed. 1972, Penguin, pp. 37–38.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "NEWS | SNTs to lose sergeants". Barnet Today. http://www.barnet-today.co.uk/. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
- ^ "Council Tax in Ponders End, Enfield, Outer London". Borehamwood Times. http://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/li/council_tax.in.Ponders%20End,%20Enfield,%20Outer%20London/. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
- ^ The Urban Dead Wiki - Borehamwoord
External links
- Hertfordshire County Council page about Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council
- Borehamwood and Elstree Times
www.triedandtrusteduk.com Local community magazine on the net
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