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Harpenden
Population29,881 
OS grid referenceTL135145
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHARPENDEN
Postcode districtAL5
Dialling code01582
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire

Harpenden is a town in situated in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The town's population is just under 30,000.[1]

File:Harpenden.JPG
Harpenden

Geography and administration

There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural.

Harpenden railway station is on a frequent and fast rail link to central London now served by First Capital Connect, having been served previously by Thameslink. Some trains stop at 'all stations' on the route, others stop at St Albans before continuing non-stop to London St Pancras International (Harpenden to St Pancras International – 25 minutes). Trains run north to Luton and on to Bedford. From London, the trains continue south to Brighton via Gatwick, Sevenoaks or Wimbledon and Sutton. The rail link therefore gives direct access to London Luton Airport (one stop north) and London Gatwick Airport (approx 1hr 10 m on a limited stops train).

In common with much of the region, Harpenden is an area of extremely high property costs. Land Registry data suggests that the average house price in Harpenden in the 1st quarter of 2006 was £500,902 (against £287,277 for St Albans District generally, and £183,598 nationally). The data also indicates that an unusually high proportion of houses in Harpenden are owner occupied (81.4%, as opposed to 69.6% in the District generally, and 66.2% nationally).[2] The average price of a detached house is over £900,000 as of January 2012.[3]

The River Lea flows through the Batford neighbourhood. The Nicky Line railway used to link Harpenden, Redbourn and Hemel Hempstead. It has since been converted to a path forming part of the National Cycle Network. The A6 used to run through Harpenden, although the road numbering was changed to avoid congestion. The M1 runs nearby.

Harpenden has a large number of its streets named after English literary figures on the East side of the town (an area known, unsurprisingly, as the Poets' Corner), including Byron Road, Cowper Road, Kipling Way, Milton Road, Shakespeare Road, Spenser Road, Shelley Court, Tennyson Road, Townsend Road, Masefield Road and Wordsworth Road.

File:Rothamsted.png
Rothamsted Manor
File:Harpenden Arms.jpg
Harpenden Arms
File:Harpenden at Christmas.jpg
Harpenden at Christmas
File:Caffe' Nero.jpg
Cafe in town
File:RAIL Harpenden.jpg
A First Capital Connect train service to Brighton

History

There is evidence of pre-roman Belgic farmers in the area. In 1867 several items were found including a bronze escutcheon, rams-head shaped mounts, and a bronze bowl.[4]

There are Roman remains in land around Harpenden, for instance the site of a mausoleum in the park at Rothamsted.[5] A tumulus near the river Lea was opened in the 1820s and it contained a stone sarcophagus of Romano-Celtic origin. Five objects dating from around 150 AD, were inside including a glass jug with a Mediterranean stamp and samian ware dishes used for libations.[6]

Up to the 13th century the area of the parish consisted of woodland with small hamlets and single farmsteads around cleared areas called "End" or "Green" and there are 19 Ends and 18 Greens in area of Harpenden and Wheathampstead parishes. Many of these still survive today.[7]

Harpenden village grew out of Westminster Abbey's gradual clearing of woodland for farming and settlement within its Wheathampstead manor, granted by Edward the Confessor in 1060. A first reference to a parish church is in 1221 (where it is referred to as Harpendene) so it is inferred that the village grew up around then. The church of St Nicholas is the oldest church in the town, originally built as a Chapel of ease in 1217.

Just beyond the southern edge of the town lies Nomansland Common (sometimes simply called "No Man's Land") upon which part of the Second Battle of St Albans was fought during the Wars of the Roses. Nomansland Common also saw the first annually contested steeplechase in England, in 1830 when it was organised by Thomas Coleman, and the last fight of nineteenth century bare-knuckle fighter, Simon Byrne. It was also the haunt of the highwaywoman known as Lady Katherine Ferrers, better known as the "Wicked Lady".

A widespread but now little-known industry of Harpenden was straw-weaving, a trade mainly carried out by women in the nineteenth century. A good straw weaver could make as much as a field labourer. The straw plaits were taken to the specialist markets in St Albans or Luton and bought by dealers to be converted into straw items such as boaters and other hats or bonnets.

The arrival of the railway system from 1860 and the sale of farms for residential development after 1880 radically changed Harpenden's surroundings. First the Dunstable Branch of the Great Northern Railway passed through the Batford area with a station later named Harpenden East railway station (this line is now closed and forms a cycle track). Then the main line of Midland Railway was built in 1868 with a station near the main village which still exists today.[8] The Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead Railway, know locally as the Nicky Line was opened in 1877.

Between 1848 and 1914 the common was a regular venue for horse racing. In his History of Hertfordshire in 1879, John Edwin Cussans commented "Notwithstanding that these meetings are under the most unexceptional patronage as regards the Stewards, yet for two days in the year all the London pickpockets, sharpers and blackguards who happen to be out of gaol are permitted to make Harpenden their own and to make travelling in a first-class carriage on the Midland Railway a danger to men and an impossibility to ladies." Golf has been played on the Common since 1894 and it was at that time Harpenden Golf Club was set up by a group of Harpenden people with the help and a financial contribution of 5 pounds from Sir John Bennet Lawes of Rothamsted Manor. The club moved to a new course at Hammonds End in 1931, at which time Harpenden Common Golf Club was formed by those who wanted to remain at the Common. In 1932 Bamville Cricket club was formed and shares part of the Common with the Golfers.

Harpenden's most prestigious contribution to history is Rothamsted Manor and Rothamsted Research (formerly Rothamsted Experimental Station and later the Institute of Arable Crops Research), a leading centre for agricultural research. In front of its main building, which faces the common, is a stone, erected in 1893, commemorating 50 years of experiments by Sir John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert.

Lawes inherited the family estate at Rothamsted in 1834. Acknowledged as "the father of agricultural science", his early field experiments on Hertfordshire farms led him to patent a phosphate fertiliser, the sales of which enriched him immensely. With the proceeds, he established the experimental station, building laboratories in the 1850s. The station continued the development of the artificial fertilisers on which most modern farmers now depend. Some of the long-term 'classical field experiments' begun by Lawes and Gilbert remain in place to this day (such as Broadbalk) representing a unique resource for agricultural and environmental research.

During the Second World War, Harpenden was used to evacuate children from heavily-bombed London. However, Harpenden was not totally confident in its safety, as evidenced by the now decaying Bowers Parade air raid shelters [9], soon to be secured for the future. It has been suggested both that it be used for educational and emergency training purposes.[10]

The Harpenden and District Local History Society[11] has a collection of local material and archives which can be consulted, and holds regular meetings on topics of historical interest.

Shopping

File:Waitrose in Harpenden.jpg
Waitrose in Harpenden

Harpenden has many shops commonly found in other English towns, with three central supermarkets, multiple female clothes shops, charity shops, banks, estate agents and chemists. A good proportion of these are run by independent retailers. The local council has resisted the opening of fast food chain outlets. Cafes are also common in Harpenden, but with only two commercial chains; the rest are owned independently. There are multiple restaurants, mainly of Italian origin, and many pubs; both in central Harpenden and in its suburbs.

Parks and commons

File:4448423-Rothamsted Park Harpenden.jpg
Rothamsted Park
Harpenden Common

One notable feature of Harpenden is its abundant parks and commons. The central area of Harpenden, known locally as "the village" is characterised by Church Green, Leyton Green and the High Street Greens, which give the town its provincial feel.

Just to the south of the town centre is Harpenden Common, stretching from the shops in the town centre for more than a mile to the south, encompassing a total of 238 acres (96 ha). Today Harpenden Common hosts two cricket clubs, a football club, bridle ways for horse riding, ramblers' paths and Harpenden Common Golf Club, all contained in an area of natural beauty which was awarded a national Green Flag Award in 2007. Harpenden Town Council is keen to help retain and maintain the environment and oversees habitat issues including bird and bat watching, the maintenance/regeneration of gorse, fungi and all the original wildlife(fauna and flora) for the benefit of the people of Harpenden. Since 1894 Harpenden Common Golf Club has traditionally maintained a large part of the common and today works closely with Harpenden Town Council and Countryside management. This partnership has enabled the people of Harpenden to take full advantage of the common for all kinds of leisure activities, and the relationship of the golfers and others users has been excellent for many years.

In addition the town has large green public spaces available in Rothamsted Park, Batford Park, Kinsbourne Green, Lydekker Park and the Nicky Line which bisects the town.

Just to the south of Harpenden is the large expanse of Nomansland Common.

Education

Harpenden boasts several secondary schools:

Twinning

Harpenden is twinned with:

Miscellany

  • Rothamsted Research, the largest agricultural research centre in the United Kingdom, and perhaps the oldest in the world, is in Harpenden.
  • Youth With A Mission an international Christian missionary organization, has their England Head Office in Harpenden.[12] This is on the site of the old National Children's Home.
  • In a 2008 episode of Peep Show, Sophie was mentioned as owning a mug marked "Harpenden, Harpenden, Harpenden".
  • An annual classic car show, "Classics on the Common",[13] is held on the last Wednesday in July attracting over 10,000 visitors and 1300 cars. One of the biggest events of its type in Europe, it is a free event with any monies collected going to charity.
  • In the Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "Deja vu", Michael Palin hijacks a plane and wants it to fly to Luton, then he changes his mind and wants them to take him to Harpenden.

Notable residents

Sport

Harpenden is home to various sports clubs. Just a selection are listed below:

Scouting Groups

  • 1st Harpenden Scouts
  • 2nd Harpenden Scouts
  • 3rd Harpenden Scouts
  • 4th Harpenden Scouts
  • 9th Harpenden Scouts
  • 10th Harpenden Scouts
  • 12th Harpenden Scouts

Harpenden Explorer Scout Unit (HESU) Kingsbourne Explorer Scouts (KES) Shackleton Explorer Scout Unit (SESU)

Harpenden and Wheathampstead is the District

  • Harpenden High Street, looking north
    Harpenden High Street, looking north
  • Harpenden High Street, looking north
    Harpenden High Street, looking north
  • Harpenden High Street, looking south
    Harpenden High Street, looking south
  • Harpenden War Memorial
    Harpenden War Memorial
  • St Nicholas Church
    St Nicholas Church
  • Lydekker Park
    Lydekker Park
  • Rose garden in Rothamsted Park
    Rose garden in Rothamsted Park
  • Harpenden Arms
    Harpenden Arms

References

  1. ^ Hertsdirect.org, however, other sources suggest that the population is either higher,[1] or lower.[2]
  2. ^ Source. Part of the discrepancy is explained by the "top-heavy" nature of the Harpenden property market, which has a disproportionately high level of detached houses (40.8% in Harpenden, against a national average of 22.8%) and a disproportionately low level of flats (16.5% in Harpenden, against 19.2% nationally) and, slightly perplexingly, significantly fewer terraced houses (15.4% in Harpenden, against a national average of 26.0%).
  3. ^ http://www.home.co.uk/guides/sold_house_prices.htm?location=al5&month=01&year=2012
  4. ^ Les Casey (18 February 2011). "Iron Age Burial in Harpenden, Pre-Roman settlements in the Lea Valley at Batford". Harpenden Local History Society. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  5. ^ Rosemary Ross (8 February 2011). "Traces of Roman occupation, Fragments found by builders or in field surveys". Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ^ Pat Wilson (September 1977). "Burial Mound in the Lea Valley, Romano-British sarcophagus found in the 1820s". Harpenden Local History Society. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  7. ^ Rosemary Ross (30 November 2010). "Ends and Greens (adapted from The Settlement of Wheathampstead & Harpenden, Vol 1, WEA)". Harpenden Local History Society. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  8. ^ Eric Brandreth (October 1975). "Notes on the Growth of Harpenden". Harpenden Local History Society. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  9. ^ [3] Survey of four World War II air raid shelters, Harpenden
  10. ^ [4] Harpenden Town Council meeting re: Air Raid Shelter
  11. ^ http://www.hertsdirect.org/comdirectory/comvol/herit2y/hthist3y/587461 hertsdirect.org
  12. ^ http://www.ywam.org/searches/BProfile.asp?BID=56 ywam.org
  13. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/2754321/Classic-cars-on-the-Common.html telegraph.co.uk
  14. ^ http://alumni.indiana.edu/profiles/alumni/jbliss.shtml alumni.indiana.edu
  15. ^ http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/lifestyle/family-life/2003/05/13/me-and-my-health-84229-12953255/
  16. ^ http://www.economics.soton.ac.uk/staff/aldrich/fisherguide/rafreader.htm economics.soton.ac.uk
  17. ^ http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/?id=3416
  18. ^ Kessler, David (13 January 1994). "Obituary: R. A. Salaman". The Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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