Watford
Watford is a town and
district (styled as a borough due to the historical charter granted by Henry VIII) in
Hertfordshire located 15.5 miles (25 km) north west of
Charing Cross in
London and within the bounds of the
M25 motorway.
The borough of Watford has 79,500 inhabitants. The parish of
Watford Rural covers an area to the south of the borough of Watford (which is largely urbanised), in the
Three Rivers District. The nearby areas of Bushey, Rickmansworth, Kings Langley, Abbots Langley, South Oxhey and Leavesden which are located in the administrative areas of
Three Rivers DC and
Hertsmere Borough are often described as being in Watford.
The head offices of many national companies such as
Camelot Group Plc, operator of the UKs National Lottery; Iveco, manufacturers of commercial vehicles; and
Haden Young, the building services division of
Balfour Beatty are located in the town.
The borough is also the UK base of many multi-nationals including
Total Oil,
Sanyo electronics,
TK Maxx,
Costco, and
Beko.
Road
Watford is close to strategic roads - the
M25 motorway that rings London and the
M1 motorway that connects
London to the English
Midlands and Northern England.
Rail
The town is served by one of the principal north-south rail routes - the
West Coast Main Line - which connects
London (terminus at
Euston) to the Midlands, north-west England and
Scotland. Some long-distance trains on this route serve
Watford Junction, where there are also frequent suburban and regional trains. There is also a local service to
St Albans, via some small stations within Watford and there is a suburban loop to
Watford High Street station. There is a rail connection to
Gatwick Airport and the English south coast.
London Underground serves
Watford Metropolitan Line station at the outer edge of the system. The Metropolitan Line branch is due to be diverted to Watford Junction via the disused
Croxley Green branch.
Water
Watford is on the main
Grand Union Canal route northwards from London. There is little commercial use, since the advent of the railway, but the canal is used for recreational and amenity purposes.
Especially during warmer
summers, Watford is often vulnerable to
hosepipe bans, due to the threat of
droughts.
Air
Regular and frequent coach services connect Watford to the major international airports at
Heathrow and
Gatwick and also to
Luton and
Stansted airports.
Watford also has its own airport, listed as
Watford Regional Airport, but known locally and officially as Elstree Aerodrome [
1]. Many private charters, and well as occasional holiday charters take off from here, with the request customs service contributing to the popularity of this hub. Many celebrities are known to travel through Watford, due to its location close to the world famous
Elstree Film and Television Studios in nearby
Borehamwood.
The High Street running through the town centre is the main place for any activity at night. The part of town is sometimes referred to as the café quarter, and has a high concentration of the town's bars, clubs and restaurants.
The
Watford Observer reported on
30 October 2005 that Watford is the "
binge drinking capital" of Hertfordshire. However, many residents feel that this label only applies to a small minority of the less responsible residents of Watford.
A survey by
TakeAwayFever.coman online directory of menus, found Watford has now been named as the "curry capital of the UK". This is based on the fact there are more Indian restaurants per head than anywhere else in the UK.
The phrase "North of Watford" is widely used to describe areas of the
United Kingdom that are north of
London. This is possibly because Watford was one of the first places that horses were changed on the route to the north-west from
London. Alternatively, the phrase may refer to the
Northamptonshire village of
Watford, about 50 miles farther north, which traditionally was an important waypoint on the old east-west and north-south coaching routes. This was the point where the main north-south road, rail and canal routes came together at a gap in the hills known as
Watford Gap. Watford in Hertfordshire is much better known and so frequently mistaken, in the context of this phrase, for the same place.
An alternative theory is that many of the original signs at the southern end of the
M1 motorway bore the legends "Watford" and "The North", Watford being the first major town on that route, although the phrase pre-dates the construction of the motorway.
Watford was the birthplace of:
*
Vinnie Jones, a British football player turned actor.
*
Michael Bentine, politician and ex-Goon
*
Terry Scott,
Carry On actor and comedian
*
Bradley Walsh,
Coronation Street actor and comedian
*
Mo Mowlam, politician
*
Geri Halliwell, singer and former
Spice Girl*
Kelly Smith,
England women's national team and
Arsenal footballer
*
Ray Cooper, percussionist (performed in both
Elton John's and
Eric Clapton's bands)
*
Nick Leeson, rogue securities trader who single handedly bankrupted
Barings Brothers Bank in 1995
*Matthew Ungaro, co-founder of
Yogney Slang*
Tom Freeman, world #2 at Tennis
Watford is home to professional football club,
Watford F.C., who reached the
FA Cup final in
1984 (as well as 3 other semi-finals), also finishing as league runners-up in
1982-
1983. They were promoted back to the prestiguous
Premiership league for
Football, after winning against
Leeds United by 3-0, in a Championship play-off match in May
2006.
Saracens F.C. rugby club moved to Watford and shares the same ground, which is in
Vicarage Road.
Singer/song writer
Sir Elton John is a long-term and keen supporter of Watford FC and a former club
chairman. He still maintains his links with Watford FC, as one of its most valuable benefactors and creditors.
Watford has five
twin towns. These are:
*
Mainz in
Germany. Linked since 1956.
*
Nanterre in
France. Linked since 1960.
*
Novgorod in
Russia. Linked since 1984.
*
Wilmington, Delaware in the
United States. Linked since 1985.
*
Pesaro in
Italy. Linked since 1988.
*
Watford, Ontario, Canada*
Watford, Northamptonshire, of
Watford Gap fame.
The Watford Colosseum was used to record the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack and is well renowned for its accoustic qualities, which are often said to be the best available in the UK. It is now in administration after funding difficulties made it impossible to continue running.
*
Watford Borough Council*
Watford Observer Newspaper*
Watford Museum*
A Watford history site 1*
Watford history site 2*
Watford Brass Band
