Adeyfield
| Adeyfield | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Post war New Town housing in Adeyfield | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL069074 |
| Location: | 51°45’21"N, 0°27’6"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Hemel Hempstead |
| Postcode: | HP2 |
| Dialling code: | 01442 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dacorum |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hemel Hempstead |
Adeyfield was the first planned neighbourhood to be built in the postwar new town expansion of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. The keys to the first houses to be occupied, in Homefield Road, were handed over to their tenants in February 1950. The Queens Square shopping parade was visited by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 July 1952.[1]
The area
Adeyfield is dominated by brick built two and three bedroom housing designed for the New Town. It spans from the Hemel Hempstead Industrial Estate in the east, to Queensway in the north, to the A414 (St Albans Road) in the south, to the Town Centre in the west. It borders the neighbourhoods of Highfield, Bennetts End, Leverstock Green and the town centre (known locally as Paradise).
The location was originally farmland occupied by Coxpond Farm and Adeyfield Farm. It was planned by the chief architect for the new town, Mr H Kellet Ablett who received the 'Urban Medal' for his work from the Eastern Housing Region. As well as housing the area has new town built shops, schools, churches, a community centre and playing fields. By 1956 the development corporation described the area as complete.[1]
In order to provide some quick, easy and cheap accommodations after the Second World War, Adeyfield was the chosen site for a set of temporary tin houses known as pre-fabs. The houses soon became known as Tin Town and still remain to this day. However the exterior tin has now been covered up by sheets of white wood and cladding on most of the houses.
Churches
- Church of England: St Barnabas
- Independent evangelical:
- Jubilee Christian Fellowship
- The Adeyfield Free Church
Public houses
Adeyfield has three pubs: The Crabtree, The New Venture and The Midland (on the location of the old Hemel Hempstead Railway Station on the Midland line.
The Queen's Square
In common with the rest of the planned neighbourhoods in Hemel Hempstead, Adeyfield has a village centre, known as the Queen's Square. There are many different convenience stores in the square, most notably the Co-operative Supermarket, and two branches of Lloyd's Pharmacy. The square was named after the visit paid by The Queen in 1952 when she laid the foundation stone for the Church of St Barnabas.
Evelyn Sharp House
During the 1970s the Commission for New Towns and the Council developing sheltered housing provision for the elderly in the town - a ground-breaking development at the time. The first of these was Evelyn Sharp House, located in Field Road, Adeyfield.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hastie, Scott; Fletcher (1997). Hemel Hempstead - The Story of New Town Development. Fletcher, Lynne. Dacorum Borough Council. ISBN 0-9511539-2-7.