Potten End
| Potten End | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Holy Trinity Church and Green, Potten End | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL017089 |
| Location: | 51°46’12"N, -0°31’48"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,340 |
| Post town: | Berkhamsted |
| Postcode: | HP4 |
| Dialling code: | 01442 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dacorum |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hemel Hempstead |
Potten End is a village in western Hertfordshire, sitting in the Chiltern Hills, two miles east-north-east of Berkhamsted, and three miles north west of Hemel Hempstead. The National Trust estate of Ashridge is two miles northwest.
Nearby villages in these gentle hills include Nettleden, Great Gaddesden and the hamlet of Frithsden.
The village name comes from the earlier form "Pottern" which refers to a place where pots and pottery were made. "End", as elsewhere, indicates its position as an outlying hamlet.
At the centre of the village there is a green and pond. The village largely comprises residential properties, together with the parish church, Holy Trinity Church.
The village has a primary/junior school Potten End First School, a village shop and two public houses; Martin's Pond and The Plough.
A few small businesses are also based in the village. Recreational facilities include cricket and football fields, bowls club and a children's grassed play area. A Village Hall provides community use for a wide variety of regular and special events.
There has been only minimal building development in the village in recent years and no immediate prospect of the surrounding farming land being given over to residential expansion. The Parish Council are keen to retain this status quo but are concerned that eventually the green belt will be lost by the growth of Hemel Hempstead where the gap is now down to little more than a mile from the boundary at Hempstead Lane.
The geography of Potten End is such that most of the village is situated on a small plateau of land extending from Ashridge to the north and rising from the valleys of the River Gade to the east and from the River Bulbourne to the west. The Green lies at a height of 168 feet above mean sea level. Consequently, all roads from Potten End lead downhill, some of which can be difficult to negotiate after snowfall.
Open Day
Every two years on the last Sunday in June, the village hosts an Open Day,[1] with special outdoor events and a number of private gardens open to the public. The last such event was held on 26 June 2011.
Church
The Anglican church of Holy Trinity was consecrated in 1868 and for its first thirty years operated as a Chapel of Ease to Berkhamsted St. Peter, before becoming the church of the newly created ecclesiastical parish of Potten End. In recent years the church has reformed links with St. Peter as part of the Berkhamsted Team Ministry. The parish lies within the Diocese of St Albans. The church has a graveyard within its boundaries and in 2006 an additional Parish Burial Ground was consecrated on an area of land down Hempstead Lane. The monthly church newsletter is delivered to every household in the village and includes local news and articles, council reports and historical items from the 'Potten End Archivist'.
A small Baptist chapel (with small graveyard) also existed. This was on a site set back from the general frontage of properties on The Front. The chapel was closed and the building sold in 1997 and is now a private residence.