Bricket Wood

Bricket Wood
240px Bricket Wood Common south of the town/village
240px Mount Pleasant Lane JMI School
Bricket Wood  Bricket Wood shown within Hertfordshire
Population	4,095
OS grid reference	TL135025
Civil parish	St Stephen
District	St Albans
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ST ALBANS
Postcode district	AL2
Dialling code	01923
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	St Albans
List of places UK England Hertfordshire

Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) south of St Albans and 4.2 miles (6.8 km) north-northeast of Watford.
It is part of the archaically named civil parish of St Stephen, as there is no church connection to its affairs as the third tier of local government. It is in the St Albans district who share provision of local government services with Hertfordshire County Council.

Its railway station is served by a London Midland service that runs between St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction stations, the service is stopping and both towns are three frequents stops away.

The local primary school is Mount Pleasant Lane, situated in grounds on Mount Pleasant Lane that include a small pond.

Close to the village stands Hanstead House, built by Sir David Yule in 1925, who is buried in the grounds. It was subsequently bought by Herbert W. Armstrong to serve as his second Ambassador College campus. Hanstead House was for many years a training centre for HSBC but closed officially on 23 December 2011, on the premise that future training needs for the group will be accommodated in other venues.

History

The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farmers until Bricket Wood train station was built in 1861. In 1889 brothers Henry Gray and William Gray bought up land in the area and built Woodside Retreat Fairground. The fairground attracted hordes of visitors to the area from London and nearby towns and a small village developed around the station. In 1923, a rival fairground named Joyland was built nearby by R.B Christmas. Both resorts were closed in 1929, Christmas used his leftover land for building bungalows.

During the 1930s the area became popular with naturists after Charles Macaskie set up the naturist camp Spielplatz on the outskirts of the village. Naturists bought up plots of land on the edge of the village and built their own communities, which at first didn't have electricity or running water. The village also began to attract Wiccans after Gerald Gardner set up Bricket Wood coven.

During the 1950s estates were built to house workers for nearby aviation company Handley Page, estates have also been built since to accommodate demands for commutable housing near London. Turning a scattered rural development into a compact village. [1]

Morris Dancing

The village is home to the border Morris Dancing team Wicket Brood, one of the best known teams in the area.

Common

Bricket Wood Common is a 70 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Notable residents

• Frank Turner (1922-2010), three-times Olympic gymnast, died at his home in the village.
• Ralph Coates, footballer who played for England and Tottenham Hotspurs, lived in the village until his death in December 2010

References

• Population figures (PDF)

External links

• Bricket Wood Residents' Association