Radlett 1175232 225590304 2008-07-14T13:21:04Z 85.133.52.189 /* Notable Residents */ {{Refimprove|date=November 2007}} {{infobox UK place| |country = England |official_name= Radlett |latitude= 51.682 |longitude= -0.314 |MapY= 203 |population= 8,034 (2001 census) |shire_district= [[Hertsmere]] |shire_county = [[Hertfordshire]] |region= East of England |constituency_westminster= [[Hertsmere (UK Parliament constituency)|Hertsmere]] |post_town= RADLETT |postcode_district = WD7 |postcode_area= WD |dial_code= 01923 |os_grid_reference= TQ165995 }} '''Radlett''' is a large village located north of [[London]] in the county of [[Hertfordshire]] between [[St Albans]] and [[Elstree]] on [[Watling Street]] with a population of approximately 8,000. It is located in the council district of [[Hertsmere]] and is covered by two [[ward (politics)|wards]], Aldenham East and Aldenham West. ==Locality== Radlett lies in the valley of [[Tykes Water]], a stream that runs north from [[Aldenham Reservoir]] to the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|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. The village contains many substantial detached houses with large gardens. In the older centre there are also a few streets with [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] [[Semi-detached|semi detached]] and [[terrace (architecture)|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 seven roads with an average price of over £1,000,000.<ref>[http://www.mouseprice.com/property-stats/watford/radlett-property-wd7-4.aspx Watford House Prices and Local Property Market Statistics<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Watling Street]], which is the main road through Radlett, has a wide variety of good local shops and restaurants, as well as some national chain stores, a [[Post Office Ltd|Post Office]], and the [http://www.radlettcentre.co.uk/ Radlett Centre] with a 300 seat auditorium for various performances. Attached to the Radlett Centre is the local Public [[Library]].<br> ==History== There has been a settlement known as Radlett since at least as far back as 1453.<ref>[http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/radlett.htm Hertfordshire Genealogy: Places: Radlett<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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 [[Radlett murder|an infamous murder]]. [[Image:Radlett Main Building (2).jpg|thumb|250px|right|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 [[Railway station|station]] was built at Radlett connecting it with London. On [[8 December]] [[1865]] the [[Parish|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]]. <br> On the 24th of May 1943, a missile from Germany hit Radlett killing seventeen people.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} The introduction of the [[Green Belt (UK)|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. Unfortunately, the campaign failed, and the station closed in October 2006.<ref>http://www.saveradlettfirestation.co.uk</ref> There is now a campaign 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]]. In 2004 Radlett also held The Gay Man of the Year which 5 men who live in the area and surronding places such as St Albans had won it. ==Transport== Radlett lies close to the [[M25 motorway|M25]] and [[M1 motorway|M1]] motorways and the [[A1(M) motorway|A1]] [[trunk road]]. There is a frequent [[commuter]] rail service that connects [[Radlett railway station]] to south and central London including [[St Pancras International railway station|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 [[Gatwick|London Gatwick]] and [[Luton airport|London Luton]] airports, whilst [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] is a forty minute drive away. ==Religion== ====2001 Census Data==== As a town, Radlett has the third-lowest proportion of [[Christianity|Christians]] in [[England]] and [[Wales]], (51.9 per cent), and has an offical [[Jewish]] population of 24.1 per cent, the highest proportion in England and Wales. 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]]."<ref name="economistkosher">[http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SDDRGVT ''Kosher in the country'' ''[[The Economist]]'' 01 Jun 2006] accessed 14 August 2007</ref> {| class="wikitable" !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Area !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|All people !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Christian (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Buddhist (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Hindu (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Jewish (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Muslim (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Sikh (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Other (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|No religion (%) !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Not stated (%) |-style="background: #FFEEEE;" |England and Wales |52,041,916 |71.75 |0.28 |1.06 |0.50 |2.97 |0.63 |0.29 |14.81 |7.71 |-style="background: #FFEEEE;" |'''Radlett''' |8,034 |51.93 |0.25 |2.55 |24.06 |0.81 |0.06 |0.78 |10.01 |9.55 |} ====Churches and Synagogues==== There are four churches in Radlett; Christ Church, an [[Church of England|Anglican]] church on Watling Street founded in 1864; St. Anthony of Padua [[Roman Catholic Church|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 Church]]es in Radlett. There are two [[Synagogue]]s in Radlett, the Radlett United Synagogue which serves the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] Jewish community, and Radlett & Bushey [[Movement for Reform Judaism|Reform]] Synagogue. ==Education== There are nine schools in Radlett * [http://www.firstplacenursery.com/ First Place Nursery] An independent school for 80 children aged from 2 to 5 years old. * [[Bhaktivedanta Manor]] School. An independent primary school that promotes [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic]] and [[World Vaisnava Association|Vaisnava]] culture for 21 children aged from 4 to 10. (Located in the nearby hamlet of [[Letchmore Heath]].) * [http://www.edgegrove.co.uk/ Edge Grove School.]An independent day and boarding school for 333 children aged from 3 to 13½. * [http://www.fairfield.herts.sch.uk/ Fair Field Junior School.] A state foundation school for 235 children aged from 7 to 11. * [http://www.hjps.org.uk/ Hertsmere Jewish Primary School.] A well-regarded,<ref name="economistkosher"/> state voluntary aided school for 316 children aged from 3 to 11. * [http://www.newberries.herts.sch.uk/ Newberries Primary School] A state funded school for 208 children aged from 4 to 11. * [http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=132&a=2299/ Radlett Lodge School.] An independent special school for 49 children with special educational needs aged from 3 to 11. Run by the National [[Autism|Autistic]] Society. Accommodation for 14 weekly boarders. * Radlett Nursery and Infant School. An independent school for 122 children aged from 2 to 7 (closed and replaced by a day nursery in 2005). * [[Radlett Preparatory School]] An independent school for 474 children aged from 4 to 11. * [http://www.stjohnsradlett.herts.sch.uk/ St John's Church of England Infant and Nursery School.] A state controlled school for 224 children aged from 3 to 7. Which is linked to Fair Field Junior School<ref>What do our pupils do after leaving this school?http://schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk/9193003/school-profile/</ref>. There are no secondary schools in Radlett, however, [[Aldenham School]], and [[Haberdashers' Aske's School]] for boys and girls are two independent schools nearby. ===Accommodation=== There is one hotel in Radlett, the [http://www.redlionradlett.co.uk/ Red Lion], operated by [[Youngs|Youngs brewery]], with 24 beds, a restaurant and a conference room. ===Twinning=== Radlett is [[town twinning|twinned]] with: * {{flagicon|France}} [[Louveciennes]], [[France]]. [http://www.CJLOUVECIENNES.INFO/ ''Louveciennes web site''] * {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Lautertal]], [[Germany]]. [http://www.lautertal.de/england.htm#/ ''Lautertal web site''] ===Miscellany and Trivia=== * Radlett has three [[The Scout Association|Scout Groups]]; 1st Radlett (traditionally Christian), 4th Radlett (traditionally Jewish) and 3rd Aldenham (Edge Grove) attached to Edge Grove School. * Radlett contained, until [[1970]] the main factory of the [[Handley Page]] aircraft company with an adjacent airfield available for flight tests and that it featured as a set in many of the films made at the nearby [[Elstree Studios|Elstree Film Studios]]. There are proposals emerging in 2006 to re-use much of the abandoned airfield as a rail-served freight depot. * Parts of the [[Stanley Kubrick]] film ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' were filmed in The Warren in Radlett, and the film's script even contains references to 'Radlett Police Station'. * The TV show, [[Robot Wars]] was filmed just north of Radlett.<ref>[http://www.djhistory.com/bb/displayStory.php?id=50&group=g_general DJ History: Bill: Writing<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> * Radlett is home to [[Fame TV]], a new satellite TV channel which launched on [[November 6]], [[2006]], which is available on [[BSkyB|Sky]], channel 187, and which revolves around viewers sending in their own videos, for them to be screened.<ref>[http://www.fametv.com/default.aspx Fame TV | Your channel, your content, your choice<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Notable Residents== * [[Richard Baker (broadcaster)|Richard Baker]], the former BBC newsreader, lived in Radlett for many years but has moved back to Hadley Wood * [[George Michael]] spent much of his teen years living with his parents on Oakridge Avenue, Radlett, whilst he attended Bushey Meads school. * At least two members of [[The Shadows]], [[Brian Bennett]] and [[Hank Marvin]], have lived in the Loom Lane / Aldenham Avenue area for a number of years. * The actress [[Pam St. Clement]] lives in Radlett * Former Chelsea footballer, [[Dennis Wise]] has lived in Radlett * Former boss of [[Johnson Matthey]], [[Ron Hewitt]], lives in the Loom Lane area. * Former Arsenal footballer [[Lauren Etame Mayer|Lauren]] lived in Radlett * Former "Blue" singer [[Duncan James]] lives in Radlett and has been frequently spotted in the Watling Street shop, [[Budgens]]. * Former England cricket captain [[Douglas Jardine]] lived at the top of Gills Hill for a number of years in the late 1940s and early 1950s. * It was also reported that [[Thierry Henry]] had a house in Radlett, however this has remained unconfirmed. * It has been confirmed that [[Kolo Toure]] has a house in Radlett * Actress [[Lacey Turner]], best known for playing [[Stacey Branning]] on Eastenders. * Former footballer and film star Vinny Jones has lived on Watford Road in Radlett * BradWeb UK founder and chairman of the southern branch of BWUK, Anthony Bradley, has now moved back into Radlett after a brief period away from the Hertfordshire town. ==External links== * [http://www.radlettcc.com/ Radlett Cricket Club] * [http://www.radlettsociety.org.uk/ The Radlett Society & Green Belt Association] * [http://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/ Hertsmere Borough Council] * [http://www.livedepartureboards.co.uk/ldb/station.aspx?T=RDT Live Departures Board, Radlett Station] * [http://www.tabardrfc.co.uk/ Tabard Rugby Club] * [http://www.radlettcentre.co.uk/ The Radlett Centre] * [http://www.radlettus.org/ Radlett United Synagogue] ==Notes== <references/> [[Category:Villages in Hertfordshire]] [[Category:Hertsmere]] [[nl:Radlett]]