Brookmans Park
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| Brookmans Park | |
| Population | 3,475 (Census 2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | North Mymms |
| District | Welwyn Hatfield |
| Shire county | Hertfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HATFIELD |
| Postcode district | AL9 |
| Dial code | 01707 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Welwyn & Hatfield |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire | |
Brookmans Park is a village, located in the civil parish of North Mymms, in Hertfordshire, southeast England. It is well known for its varied and interesting local history, including an ancient historic estate that used to exist within its boundaries, its BBC transmitter station, and excellent local amenities. The village website, The Brookmans Park Newsletter has more than 20 complete history books and 40 in-depth features], as well as a half-hour video about the history of the area. The village has its own railway station on the East Coast Mainline, operated by First Capital Connect.
It has also gained a reputation in recent times as a prestigious residential area, with many properties fetching between £500,000 and £1m.
Contents |
[edit] A short history of Brookmans Park
1700-1816 The Gaussen family arrives in 1786 and create the estate that led to the development of the village of Brookmans Park. Lord John Somers, The Lord Chancellor, spends the last years of his life in the village. North Mymms commons is enclosed. Organised farming develops.
1816-1880 Robert Gaussen takes over at Brookmans Manor. There is a depression in africulture after Waterloo. The estate expands. Labouring jobs are created. The expansion of the railways threatens to run through Gaussen's land.
1880-1923 Agriculture prices fall and so do rents. Scottish farmers come south to take over farms. Brookmans Manor is burned down while the family cruise off the coast of Holland. The Great Northern Railway pushes through the estate. Parts of the estate are sold off to cut costs and make ends meet.
1923-1939 The developers move in and the village changes forever. A railway station is built and with it shops and homes. The BBC sets up its transmitter station.
1939-1950 The war years resulted in many being evacuated to Brookmans Park from London, but the surrounding area was also hit. Brookmans School is built as the village grows.
A local verbal legend that there was previously a small hamlet called "Brooky Crimlow" is not supported by any other evidence, and so it is doubtful whether Brooky Crimlow ever actually existed.
[edit] The home of Miss Muffet
Local legend has it that Miss Muffet was Patience Moffat, daughter of entomologist Dr. Thomas Moffat (possibly Moffett or Moufet), who lived in the area from 1553 to 1604 on a farm. He had invited a poet over for Christmas. During his stay he overheard Miss Moffat tell her father of how she was eating her curds and whey when a spider came down from the ceiling and frightened her. The poet made an alteration to the name Miss Moffat and wrote a nursery rhyme which is now sung by children everywhere. However, the traceable origins of the rhyme are murky, as it did not appear in a printed version until 1805. However, the local connection is celebrated by the inclusion of a spider's web in the badge of Brookmans Park School.
[edit] Folly Arch
A well-known local landmark, visible from much of Brookmans Park, is the Folly Arch which now lies on the road between Brookmans Park and Potters Bar, although originally it marked one of the entrances to the Gobions estate. The remains of a track can still be seen in the fields between Folly Arch and Gobions Wood. The track then passes through the woods, crossing the stream by means of a brick bridge which is now ruined but which was usable as recently at the 1960's. The Folly Arch is said to have been erected by Sir Jeremy Sambrooke, although another story is that it was erected to commemorate a visit of Henry VIII, possibly during the time when Sir Thomas More lived at More Hall.
A local legend maintains that, as a show of extravagance, a farthing was placed under each brick. Generations of local children have tested this legend and found it to be false, but in the process severely damaged the Arch, which was therefore protected by a fence in the 1980's.
[edit] Brookmans Park Transmitting Station
Main article: Brookmans Park Transmitter
The village's south east corner is home to the Brookmans Park Transmitting Station.
The Brookmans Park Transmitting Station, situated on the A1000 road between Potters Bar and Hatfield in Hertfordshire, played a crucial part in the history of broadcasting in Great Britain, as the first purpose-built twin transmitter station in the world capable of broadcasting two radio programmes simultaneously when it was completed in October 1929.
It also played a part in the early development of television broadcasting. On 30 March 1930, experimental television tests were made there using thirty-line pictures. These constituted the first public transmission of simultaneous sound and vision in Great Britain. The station transmitted television broadcasts, during hours when BBC radio was off the air, until 1935.
The tower has twice blown down, and according to villagers' reports, it interferes with TV and Radio transmissions, causes automatic garage doors to open of their own accord, and causes radiators, telephones, toasters and waste bins to "play music", sometimes to humorous effect.
Less humourous is the fact that it can interfere with DSL broadband modems, and an additional RF (radio-frequency) filter needs to be placed in the incoming line of houses near the transmitter to avoid high error rates.
Brookmans Park is also home to a busy VOR transmitter, used by airliners arriving and departing London, and affectionately known by pilots and air traffic controllers as 'The Park'.
[edit] Gobions Open Space
The Gobions Estate was an ancient private estate which flourished on merchant wealth near the village of Brookmans Park from the 14th to 18th Centuries. The estate's lands now serve the community as a nature reserve and open space.
It lies close to the Great North Road, adjacent to the village. Its name has varied over the centuries and through many ownerships. Originally it seems to have come from "Sir Richard Gobion who was Lord thereof in the reign of King Stephen" in the twelfth century.
By the 16th century, if not earlier, the place was called More Hall after the family of that name which included Sir Thomas More, and also Gybynnes. It had reverted to Gubbens in the 17th century and Gubbins in the 18th.
The mansion that had stood on the estate for several hundred years, and was of such a fine quality that it was visited by royalty, was eventually demolished by Robert Goson (because he owned both houses and was jealous that Gobians was better than his other, Brookmans) in the first decade of the 20th century. Now, virtually none of it remains, but a few scattered ruins.
In 1956 North Mymms Parish Council acquired the land and the lake now known as Gobions Open Space, rescuing it from potential development. Twenty-nine years later in 1985, householders in the parish subscribed to a fund which helped the Gobions Woodland Trust to buy the large remainder of the estate. The Open Space is now a public nature reserve, open to all.
[edit] Brookmans Park School and Chancellors' School
Brookmans Park enjoys its own primary and secondary schools, which are popular with parents both locally and from across the region. Both are known for consistently high standards of education at all age levels, according to OFSTED reports.
There is a Primary School called Brookmans Park School, whilst there is a secondary school called Chancellor's School.
[edit] Brookmans Park Hotel
The Brookmans Park Hotel is a privately owned hotel situated in the centre of the village, with a pub and restaurant popular with local residents. The hotel was built in the 1930s in a Mason's style with high pitched ceilings, skylights, wood panelling, carved Mason symbols and a large stone fireplace.
The hotel is often used for wedding banquets and other local functions. It has six hotel rooms available to guests, making it the only hotel in the area.
It was announced in July 2006 that the hotel was to be taken over by a national brewery chain, and turned into an Out & Out pub and restaurant. It is unclear as to whether the hotel rooms will remain.
[edit] Brookmans Park Golf Club and Lawn Tennis Club
The Brookmans Park Golf Club is located adjacent to Chancellors' School, just off Brookmans Avenue. It is a popular golf club for local players, possessing a full 18-hole course, deemed quite challenging by players locally. The East Coast Mainline runs nearby the course, however the railway does not disrupt the ambience of the course given that the nearest point from the golf course to the railway line is well over 500 yards. It would therefore be impossible for trains to be hit by golf balls and this has never taken place.
The Brookmans Park Lawn Tennis Club, on Golf Club Road, is another popular sporting facility for local players. It possesses four floodlit artificial grass courts, and two macadam courts. It regularly participates in local and regional tournaments.
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