Radlett

Radlett is situated on the ancient Watling Street, one of the oldest trackways in Britain. Various archaeological finds of Mesolithic and Neolithic flints provide evidence that the Radlett area was inhabited in the Stone Age; the land was densely wooded and remained so until the Middle Ages. The Catuvellauni tribe settled in parts of Hertfordshire, near St Albans and Wheathamstead in about 80BC, although no trace of settlement has been found in or near Radlett itself. The name Radlett appears to come from the Old-English rad-gelaete meaning a junction of the roads and it is likely that the settlement grew at the point where the ancient route from Aldenham to Shenley crosses Watling Street.[6]

During the Roman occupation of Verulamium, the area from Radlett to Brockley Hill was home to a number of major potteries, which supplied not only the Roman capital but other parts of the province.[7][8] One of these potteries is known to have existed on Loom Lane.[9] Roman-era clay pits are still in evidence at the southern end of the village, in the area around Cobden hill and Tabard RFC. In addition, there is evidence of a Roman villa with a bath building, barn and tile kiln dating from 2nd to 4th century AD, in the area of Netherwylde Farm.[10]

Wratten notes that the area was settled by the Saxons by the sixth century, with suggestions that a Saxon church was established on the site of Aldenham Church in King Offa's time. For most of recorded history, the land to the East of Watling Street was administered separately to that on the West.[11]

The Domesday survey of 1086 confirms that most of the land was in the possession of the Abbey of Westminster, though parts of Titeberst (land to the east of Watling Street) were claimed by St Albans. The two major tenants were listed as Geoffrey de Mandeville and Geoffrey de Bec and they leased part of their holdings to tenant farmers. The land was densely forested but was gradually cleared throughout the medieval period for agricultural use and the population lived in dispersed farm settlements adjacent to field strips or scattered around the periphery of common land which made up a substantial part of the southern and western area of the Parish.[12]

It is known that in the thirteenth century, gallows were erected jointly by the Abbots of Westminster and St Albans 'in a certain spot called Keneprowe' (now Kemp Row), for trials conducted at Aldenham.[13]

Radlett seems to have consisted of two farms: Darnells (first mentioned in 1358) and Gills Hill on the west side of Watling Street; and the estates of Aldenham Lodge, Newberries and Organ Hall on the east, plus Newlands (first recorded in 1291) and a few cottages. There are records of at least two other medieval moated homesteads within the Parish – Penne's Place and Kendals, but tantalisingly little physical evidence.[14]

The first recorded reference of Radelet comes from 1453 and it was usually spelt with one T until the mid-nineteenth century. With the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, the disputes over land ownership in the Parish between St Albans Abbey and Westminster Abbey ceased to be viable and the land was sold to create revenue for the Crown.[15]

In 1823 the town was the site of the Radlett murder, a notorious crime which became the subject of numerous books and stage plays. The victim, William Weare, was killed on Gills Hill Lane (subsequently popularly known as Murder Lane), with the site gaining such notoriety that it became a tourist attraction for some time.[16]

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 station was built at Radlett connecting it with London. On 8 December 1865 the 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.

Handley Page Ltd opened a grass airfield just north of the town in 1929 for the production of aircraft. By 1939 Radlett Aerodrome was upgraded to have three hard runways for use in the production of Handley Page Hampden and Handley Page Halifax bombers during the Second World War. Post-war the airfield was used for production of Handley Page Hastings transport aircraft and Handley Page Hermes airliners. The SBAC held air shows here in 1946 and 1947 which subsequently moved to Farnborough. The Handley Page Victor bomber prototype was built here, with the main runway being extended in 1952 to allow flight testing, and there is now a road on this site named in its honour next to a DPD depot. Handley Page went bankrupt in 1969 and the airfield closed in 1970.[17]

The 1948 Olympic Marathon went through Radlett. It was an out-and-back course from the Empire Stadium, Wembley.[18]

In 1977 Eddie Kidd the stunt rider jumped over 14 London Double Decker buses at the former Radlett Aerodrome.[19]

The introduction of the 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 8,000.

Radlett fire station

In 2005, and 2006, there was a large campaign[20] in the village, and surrounding areas to save the Fire Station, which was opened 100 years ago. The campaign failed, and the station closed in October 2006. The campaign continued for a while after the closure, however the fire station has now been demolished.[21][22]

Radlett had an official Jewish population of 28.3 per cent,[26][27] a high proportion compared to the rest of England and Wales.

Radlett Reform Synagogue

There are four churches in Radlett: Christ Church, an Anglican church on Watling Street founded in 1864; St. Anthony of Padua 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 Churches in Radlett.

There are two synagogues: the Radlett United Synagogue which serves the Orthodox Jewish community, and the Radlett Reform Synagogue (formerly Radlett & Bushey Reform Synagogue) which serves the Reform Jewish community.