Borehamwood
| Borehamwood | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 All Saints, Borehamwood | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ195975 |
| Location: | 51°39’28"N, 0°16’20"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 28,546 (2001) |
| Post town: | Boreham Wood |
| Postcode: | WD6 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Hertsmere |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hertsmere |
Borehamwood, (occasionally spelled Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire. It had a population of 28,546 recorded in 2001. Borehamwood is a town more than somewhat belaboured with modern housing developments and industrial estates due to the influence of the metropolis close by to the south and major traffic corridors; the M25, the M1 and rail routes.
The town is perhaps most well known for its film and TV studios, commonly known as Elstree Film Studios, named after the adjoining village of Elstree. Elstree and Borehamwood are not easy to separate as the latter has grown out of the former.
History
On of the earliest mentions of Bosci de Boreham (Wood of Boreham), is in 1188:
- "In 1188 Pope Clement granted to the kitchen of the monastery the whole land of Elstree. He also gave to the Abbey the wood of Boreham for the feeding of the swine."[1]
In 1776, the House of Lords granted:
- "An Act for dividing and closing the Common or Waste Ground, called Boreham Wood Common, in the Parish of Elstree otherwise Idletree, in the County of Hertford."[2]
Up until 1909, the town was part of the ancient parish of Elstree; the two still share a local council, Elstree and Boreham Wood Town Council.
From the 1920s onwards, the town became known as one of the main centres of the UK film, and later television, industries due to the presence of film studios.
Following Second World War, the town's population greatly increased, with large areas of council housing set up for displaced Londoners, many of which are now in private ownership. Fast train connections to central London have resulted in the town becoming a primarily residential suburb.
Borehamwood is currently undergoing a substantial housing transformation which has seen hundreds of new homes built over the last five years. There are currently two further developments being built and more are expected.
In addition to the studios, the town is also home to many retail shops, offices and light industry.
Film industry
Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood". Whilst most of these studios have now closed, two still remain.
Many well-known movies including The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Dr Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dick, The Dam Busters, 633 Squadron, The Shining starring Jack Nicholson, the first three Indiana Jones films and the first three Star Wars movies were partially filmed at the former Associated British Studios (Elstree Studios) in Shenley Road. These were partly demolished in the 1980s to make way for a supermarket on one side and an office block complex on the other.
The area between the supermarket and the office blocks is all that remains of the original studio, which has been much reduced in size and usefulness to production companies as a result. Elstree Studios were more recently used for the popular TV series Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Big Brother, as well as several major feature films. The Inspector Morse TV series' production offices were based in the studios and, although the series was supposedly set in Oxford, several exterior locations (banks, shops etc.) were filmed in the streets of Borehamwood.
The former British National Studios off Clarendon Road referred to locally as "The Douglas Fairbanks studios" (which were later owned by Lew Grade's ATV) are now the BBC Elstree Studios. The studios have, over the years, been home to Alfred Hitchcock's movie Blackmail (1929), Gerry Anderson's TV series UFO not to mention The Muppet Show was also made there by Jim Henson, and now BBC TV's most popular soap, EastEnders and their popular medical drama Holby City. An episode of Judge John Deed included scenes of the Tesco Extra, but with Borehamwood crossed out and Lewes written in its place. The studio has also been used for Question Time.
Several other studios including The Gate Studio and the Danziger Studios at nearby Elstree have been demolished. The MGM-British Studios complex (demolished in the early 1970s) saw the production of many well-known films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Where Eagles Dare and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, as well as many ITV television series including The Prisoner.
Borehamwood itself has seen filming of many series. EastEnders is filmed there.
The newer Millennium Studios is situated on Elstree Way, Borehamwood.
Outside links
- Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council
- Borehammwood at Hertfordshire County Council
- Borehamwood and Elstree Times
- Borehamwood at the BBC Domesday Project
- "Elstree with Boreham Wood" 1855 Post Office Directory, via Historical Directories
- "Elstree with Boreham Wood", 1894 Kelly's Directory of Essex, Herts & Middx
