Chorleywood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chorleywood |
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 Chorleywood
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| Population | 11,286 (2011 Census, Parish) |
| OS grid reference | TQ025965 |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Rickmansworth |
| Postcode district | WD3 |
| Dialling code | 01923 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament |
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Chorleywood is a village and civil parish in the Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Charing Cross. The village is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the London commuter belt included in the government-defined Greater London Urban Area. Chorleywood was historically part of the parish of Rickmansworth, becoming a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1845 and a separate civil parish in 1898. The population of the parish was 11,286 at the 2011 census.
In 2004 a study by The Social Disadvantage Research Centre at the University of Oxford named Chorleywood as the “happiest place” to live in the UK. Of the 32,482 communities surveyed, Chorleywood came out top. More recently, Chorleywood has been ranked as the “least deprived” area in the country by the Department of Communities and Local Government.
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History
Settlement at Chorleywood dates to the Paleolithic era when the plentiful flint supply led to swift development of tools by man. The Romans built a village on the ancient site complete with a mill and brewery.
A large influx of Saxon settlers called it 'Cerola Leah', meaning a meadow in a clearing. Through Chorleywood runs the line that once divided the Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and now divides the counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Edward the Confessor gave Chorleywood to the Monastery of St Albans.
By 1278, it was known as 'Bosco de Cherle' or 'Churl's Wood', Norman for 'Peasant's Wood'. Upon the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it passed to the Bishopric of London, being renamed 'Charleywoode'. It became Crown property during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Turnpike Act (1663) gave Chorleywood a chance to exploit its strategic position, allowing locals the opportunity to charge civilians to use the road from Hatfield to Reading.
Chorleywood is most famous for its Quakers. Non-conformists flocked to Chorleywood, promised sanctuary by the locals. William Penn founded the Pennsylvania Colony with settlers from Chorleywood, Rickmansworth and nearby towns in southern Buckinghamshire, having lived and married in Chorleywood.
Chorleywood House, a Regency mansion, was built in 1822 by John Barnes, replacing an earlier house. John Saunders Gilliat, the Governor of the Bank of England in 1883-1885, lived in it. In 1892, the house was bought by Lady Ela Sackville Russell, eldest daughter of the 9th Duke of Bedford. She modified and enlarged the house, turning the grounds into a model estate with market gardens.
The population was 1,500 in 1897; two years later the railway was extended to Chorleywood on 8 July 1889.
When the Local Government Act 1894 created districts as subdivisions of the newly created county councils, Chorleywood became part of the Watford Rural District, which encircled Watford. In 1913, the town was separated from Watford Rural District to become Chorleywood Urban District.
In the early 1960s, researchers at the British Baking Industries Research Association in Chorleywood improved upon an earlier American bread making process. This resulted in the Chorleywood Bread Process which is now used in over 80% of commercial bread production throughout the UK.
In the 1973 BBC Television documentary, Metro-land, Sir John Betjeman described Chorleywood as "essential Metro-land".
In 1974, the Urban District, along with Rickmansworth Urban District and most of Watford Rural District were merged to form the Three Rivers non-metropolitan district.
Chorleywood Common
Chorleywood Common is 0.8 square kilometres (200 acres) of wooded common land. The Common is a County Heritage Site, a Conservation Area and a Local Nature Reserve with significant biodiversity and rich in fauna and flora, fungi, birds and wildlife. Since cattle grazing ended soon after the First World War, the land has been used for recreational purposes. Chorleywood Golf Club maintains a nine-hole golf course on the Common; the golf club was founded in 1890 and is the oldest in Hertfordshire.
"Christchurch, the parish church and a local landmark, stands facing the Common on the A404. The original church was built in 1845. When this building became dilapidated it was demolished, with the exception of the tower and was rebuilt and consecrated in 1870. It has a cedar wood tower of unusual design on the flint built west tower."
In the 19th century, the MCC established a cricket pitch on the Common, which is used by Chorleywood Cricket Club's senior and junior teams to this day.
Governance
Chorleywood has three tiers of local government at parish, district, and county level: Chorleywood Parish Council, Three Rivers District Council, and Hertfordshire County Council.
| Chorleywood | |
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| Urban District | |
 Council Offices: Chorleywood House, Rickmansworth Road, Chorleywood |
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| Population | |
| • 1911 | 1,947 |
| • 1971 | 8,270 |
| History | |
| • Created | 1 April 1913 |
| • Abolished | 31 March 1974 |
| • Succeeded by | Three Rivers |
| • HQ | Chorleywood |
| Contained within | |
| • County Council | Hertfordshire |
Chorleywood was historically part of the parish of Rickmansworth. A separate ecclesiastical parish of Chorleywood was created in 1845, following the construction of Christ Church, but Chorleywood remained part of the civil parish of Rickmansworth until 1898. When the Local Government Act 1894 created parish and district councils in December 1894, a parish council was established for Rickmansworth, which was in turn part of the Watford Rural District. Shortly afterwards inquiries were held into creating an urban district of Rickmansworth. It was eventually decided that it would not be appropriate to apply urban powers to the whole civil parish of Rickmansworth, and therefore that it would be split into three new parishes: Rickmansworth Urban, Rickmansworth Rural, and Chorleywood. These changes took effect on 15 April 1898, with the Chorleywood and Rickmansworth Rural parishes remaining in the Watford Rural District. The first meeting of Chorleywood Parish Council was held on 16 April 1898 at the village school, with Charles Barnes being appointed the first chairman.
Chorleywood became an urban district itself on 1 April 1913, making it independent of Watford Rural District. The first meeting of Chorleywood Urban District Council was held on 15 April 1913 at the clubhouse of Chorleywood Golf Club on Common Road. Arthur Capell was elected as first chairman of the council. The council generally met at the Golf Club until the Second World War. A council chamber and surveyor's office was incorporated into the Chorleywood Memorial Hall on Common Road, built in 1922, and the council did meet there during 1923 and 1924, but then decided that the meeting room at the Golf Club was preferable and reverted to holding meetings there in 1925.
In 1939 Chorleywood Urban District Council bought Chorleywood House for £5,000. The house became the council's offices and meeting place until the council's abolition in 1974.
Chorleywood Urban District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, merging with Rickmansworth Urban District and most of Watford Rural District to form the Three Rivers non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974. A new Chorleywood Parish Council was created as a successor parish to the former urban district.
Transport
Chorleywood has grown in the past century following the extension of the Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met). Chorleywood station is in Zone 7 of the London Underground Metropolitan line, and is situated between Rickmansworth and Chalfont and Latimer. The majority of trains stopping at Chorleywood are operated by London Underground. The station is also on the Chiltern Railways line running between Marylebone and Aylesbury.
Junctions 17 and 18 of the M25 are at Chorleywood, as well as the A404.
The 336 bus route runs via Chorleywood between High Wycombe and Watford.
Schools
St Clement Danes School is a mixed-academy school.
Christ Church School, Chorleywood Primary and Russell School are mixed-primary schools.
Demography
At the 2011 census, the parish of Chorleywood had a resident population of 11,286, of whom:
| Chorleywood (parish) |
Three Rivers | England & Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | |||
| Median age | 44 | 41 | 39 |
| Under 18 | 23.8% | 22.7% | 21.3% |
| Over 65 | 20.5% | 16.8% | 16.4% |
| Ethnic group | |||
| White British | 79.6% | 79.7% | 80.5% |
| White Other | 6.0% | 6.6% | 5.5% |
| Indian or British Indian | 7.9% | 6.0% | 2.5% |
| Other Asian or British Asian | 3.1% | 3.2% | 5.0% |
| Black or Black British | 0.7% | 1.8% | 3.3% |
| Other ethnic group | 0.4% | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Religion | |||
| Christian | 59.3% | 59.9% | 59.3% |
| Hindu | 5.8% | 4.5% | 1.5% |
| Jewish | 2.8% | 1.8% | 0.5% |
| Muslim | 2.1% | 2.2% | 4.8% |
| Another religion | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| No religion | 20.9% | 22.8% | 25.1% |
| Did not answer | 7.5% | 7.0% | 7.2% |
Twinning
Dardilly, France
Notable residents
- Scott Baker (judge)
- Josephine Bradley
- Emily Corrie
- Harley Dalrymple-Hay
- Berthe des Clayes
- Julie Felix
- David Gauke
- John Saunders Gilliat
- Martin Gilliat
- Madge Kendal
- Gustav Lachmann
- Barbara Mills
- Feargus O'Connor
- David Pytches
- William Prowting Roberts
- Johnny Speight
- C. F. A. Voysey
- Roger Walters
Freedom of the Parish
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Parish of Chorleywood.
Individuals
- Robert "Bob" Arthy: 25 April 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Chorleywood para niños
