24th August 2009 - by Naz Daud
Hemel Hempstead - a Brief History
Hemel Hempstead is still known as a ‘New Town’ although it
isn’t so new anymore. In 1949, to accommodate the rapid growth
of the London population after the Second World War, it was
decided by the government of the day to build a series of ‘new
towns’ in the vicinity of London. Hemel Hempstead became a New
Town , along with the likes of Milton Keynes and Stevenage.
Now, 60 years later, Hemel Hempstead is a thriving town of over
80,000 people with a wide variety of industries and a modern
and growing shopping centre.
Although Hemel Hempstead as we know it is a recent development
its history goes right back to the 8th century. In the book,
The History of Hemel Hempstead, by the Hemel Hempstead Local
History and Records Society it says, Hemel Hempstead itself
first enters the written records in the eighth century when
lands in the district of Hamele were granted by Offa, King of
Essex, to the Bishop of London in A.D.705. The word Hempstead
itself probably simply means ‘homestead’.
Hemel remained a small hamlet right through to the times of the
Tudors when Henry VIII granted a royal charter to make it a
market town and he is said to have stayed here overnight with
his wife of the time, Anne Boleyn. This gave the town some
credibility and it began to grow a bit after that.
Today, its most famous landmark has nothing to do with royalty
and is in fact a… roundabout known far and wide as, the magic
roundabout, no doubt as a homage to the children’s TV programme
of the same name. The ‘Magic Roundabout’ is not in fact one
roundabout, it’s a series of mini roundabouts around one big
central one.
Its official name, which it is never called, is the Plough
roundabout! Handy to know for the SAT NAV users!
On first encountering the magic roundabout it can look a bit
confusing and some older drivers have been known to drive a
long way to avoid having to use it! However, once you get used
to it, it is actually a very clever piece of road building and
planning and there are hardly ever any accidents at this
roundabout, which I suppose adds weight to those who say that
we should remove more signs and instructions from our roads and
allow the motorists to use their heads more.
Hemel has benefitted from its location and it has excellent
rail links into London and north to Birmingham and beyond
through Milton Keynes. It also sits right beside the M1 and is
10 minutes from the M25 which means that both Luton and
Heathrow airports are within half an hour’s drive (on a good
day!)
There are rumours that Hemel is set for another big growth
spurt as the government comes under pressure to build more
affordable homes around London but so far nothing has been
confirmed. Let’s hope that if the rumours do have substance
that Hemel’s many parks and wooded areas will remain untouched
and that any development will concentrate on brown field
sites.
Source: http://articlesabroad.com
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