Visit Hemel Hempstead Places

Welcome to Visit Hemel Hempstead Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Hemel Hempstead

  

Hemel Hempstead Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Hemel Hempstead

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Hemel Hempstead history

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Origin of the name

The settlement was called by the name Henamsted or Hean-Hempsted in Anglo-Saxon times. The name is referred to in the Domesday Book as Hamelamestede, but in later centuries it became Hamelhamsted and Hemlamstede. Hemel is reflected in the German Himmel and Dutch Hemel, both of which mean ‘heaven’ or ‘sky’

Early history

Hemel Hempstead on its present site is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a vill, Hamelhamstede, with about 100 inhabitants. The parish church of St Mary’s was built in 1140, and is recognised as one of the finest Norman parish churches in the county.

18th to mid-20th century

In the 18th and 19th centuries Hemel Hempstead was an agricultural market town. Wealthy landowners built a few large country houses in the locality, including The Bury, built in 1790, and Gadebridge House, erected by the noted surgeon and anatomist Sir Astley Cooper in 1811.

New town

After the Second World War, in 1946, the government designated Hemel Hempstead as the site of one of its proposed new towns designed to house the population displaced by the London Blitz, since slums and bombsites were being cleared in London. On 4 February 1947, the Government purchased 5,910 acres (23.9 km) of land and began work on the “New Town”. The first new residents moved in during April 1949, and the town continued its planned expansion through to the end of the 1980s. Hemel grew to its present population of 80,000, with new developments enveloping the original town on all sides. The original part of Hemel is still known as the “Old Town”. Hemel Hempstead was announced as candidate No 3 for a New Town in July 1946, in accordance with the government’s “policy for the decentralisation of persons and industry from London”. Initially there was much resistance and hostility to the plan from locals, especially when it was revealed that any development would be carried out not by the local council but by a newly appointed government body, the Hemel Hempstead Development Corporation (later amalgamated with similar bodies to form the Commission for New Towns). However, following a public inquiry the following year, the town got the go-ahead. Hemel officially became a New Town on 4 February 1947. The initial plans for the New Town were drawn up by architect Geoffrey Jellicoe. His view of Hemel Hempstead, he said, was “not a city in a garden, but a city in a park.” However, the plans were not well received by most locals. Revised, and less radical plans were drawn up, and the first developments proceeded despite local protests in July 1948. The first area to be developed was Adeyfield. At this time the plans for a revolutionary double roundabout at Moor End were first put forward, but in fact it was not until 1973 that the roundabout was opened as it was originally designed. (It was quickly christened ‘The Magic Roundabout’ by locals, echoing the name of the children’s TV show.) The first houses erected as part of the New Town plan were in Longlands, Adeyfield, and went up in the spring of 1949. The first new residents moved in early 1950. At this time, work started on building new factories and industrial areas, to avoid the town becoming a dormitory town. The first factory was erected in 1950 in Maylands Avenue. As building progressed with continuing local opposition, the town was becoming increasingly popular with those moving in from areas of north London. By the end of 1951, there was a waiting list of about 10,000 wishing to move to Hemel. The neighbourhoods of Bennett’s End, Chaulden and Warner’s End were started. The Queen paid a visit shortly after her accession in 1952, and laid a foundation stone for a new church in Adeyfield – one of her first public engagements as Queen. The shopping square she visited is named Queen’s Square, and the nearby area has street names commemorating the then-recent conquest of Everest, such as Hillary and Tenzing Roads. This conquest is also celebrated in the name of a pub in Warners End – the ‘Top of the World’. The redevelopment of the town centre was started in 1952, with a new centre based on Marlowes south of the old town. This was alongside a green area called the Water Gardens, designed by Jellicoe, formed by ponding back the River Gade. The old centre of the High Street was to remain largely undeveloped, though the market square closed and was replaced by a much larger one in the new centre. The former private estate of Gadebridge was opened up as a public park. New schools and roads were built to serve the expanding new neighbourhoods. New housing technology such as prefabrication started to be used from the mid-’50s, and house building rates increased dramatically. Highfield was the next neighbourhood to be constructed. The M1 motorway opened to the east in 1959, and a new road connecting it to the town was opened. By 1962, the redevelopment of the new town as originally envisaged was largely complete, though further expansion plans were then put forward. The nearby United States Air Force base of Bovingdon, which had served as the town’s ‘de facto’ airport, reverted to RAF use at this time, continuing as an active military airfield until 1971. A campus of West Herts College, the library, new police station and the Pavilion (theatre and music venue) were all built during the 1960s. The town seemed to attract its fair share of celebrity openings, with shops and businesses opened by Frankie Vaughan, Benny Hill, Terry-Thomas, and the new cinema was opened by Hollywood star Lauren Bacall. The last of the originally-planned neighbourhoods, Grovehill, began construction in 1967. However, further neighbourhoods of Woodhall Farm and Fields End were later built as part of the extended plans. Like other first generation new towns, Hemel is divided into residential neighbourhoods, each with their own “village centre” with shops, pubs and services. Each neighbourhood is designed around a few major feeder roads with many smaller cul-de-sacs and crescents, intended to minimise traffic and noise nuisance. In keeping with the optimism of the early post-war years, much of the town features modernist architecture with many unusual and experimental designs for housing. Not all of these have stood the test of time. A significant issue was how to choose names for all the new roads. Many areas of the new town used themes e.g. fields, birds, rivers, poets, explorers, leaders, etc. In 1974, the government abolished the Borough of Hemel Hempstead and the town was incorporated into Dacorum District, along with Tring and Berkhamsted. The first chairman of that council was chairman John Johnson (1913–1977). In the 1980s, Dacorum District Council successfully lobbied to be recognised as the successor for the Royal Charter establishing the Borough of Hemel Hempstead and thus regained the Mayor and its Aldermen and became Dacorum Borough.

Hemel Hempstead geography / climate

Hemel Hempstead grew up in a shallow chalkland valley at the confluence of the rivers Gade and Bulbourne, 27 miles (43 km) northwest of central London. The New Town expansion took place up the valley sides and onto the plateau above the original Old Town.

You can visit Hemel Hempstead places with Walkfo Hemel Hempstead to hear history at Hemel Hempstead’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Hemel Hempstead has 55 places to visit in our interactive Hemel Hempstead map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Hemel Hempstead, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Hemel Hempstead places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Hemel Hempstead & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 55 audio facts unique to Hemel Hempstead places in an interactive Hemel Hempstead map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Hemel Hempstead Places Map
55 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Hemel Hempstead historic spots	Hemel Hempstead tourist destinations	Hemel Hempstead plaques	Hemel Hempstead geographic features
Walkfo Hemel Hempstead tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Hemel Hempstead

  

Best Hemel Hempstead places to visit

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Hemel Hempstead has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Hemel Hempstead’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Hemel Hempstead’s information audio spots:

Frogmore Paper Mill Frogmore Paper Mill is a working paper mill situated in Apsley, Hertfordshire. The mill is on an island in the River Gade, which forms part of the Grand Union Canal. It is the oldest mechanical paper mill in the world.

River Bulbourne The River Bulbourne is a small river in Dacorum, Hertfordshire. It is an unnavigable tributary of the River Gade, which flows into the River Colne. The river is reduced in size due to the building of the London to Birmingham Grand Union Canal.

St John’s Church, Boxmoor The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Grade II listed church in Boxmoor, Hertfordshire. The church was consecrated in 1874 on land purchased from the Box Moor Trust.

Shendish Manor Shendish Manor is a country house at Apsley in Hertfordshire. It is located on the outskirts of Apsleys in the north west of Hertforshire. The Manor was built in the 18th century.

Roughdown Common Roughdown Common is a 3.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. It is owned by the Box Moor Trust having been officially brought by the trust in April 1886 from the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s.

Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association. They are currently members of the National League South, the sixth tier of English football.

The Bury, Hemel Hempstead The Bury was erected in about 1790 by an attorney who worked in Hemel Hempstead. It was the residence for the next two centuries of many notable people. It is now owned by the Dacorum Borough Council and is Grade II* listed.

Leverstock Green Leverstock Green is a “modern” parish, formed about 1849 from parts of the parishes of St Michael’s (St Albans), Abbots Langley and Hemel Hempstead. The village is a growing village, with a location close to an industrial estate from which many large companies operate.

St Mary’s Church, Hemel Hempstead St Mary’s Church, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, is the parish church of the town and its oldest place of worship. It is a Grade I listed building.

Leverstock Green F.C. Leverstock Green Football Club is a football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and play at Pancake Lane.

Visit Hemel Hempstead plaques