Leavesden, Hertfordshire

Leavesdenis a residential and commercial area in the northern part ofWatford,England. It lies within theM25Motorway. On its eastern side it is bounded by theM1 Motorway.Leavesden is split into two councils which are Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council.Leavesden Greenis an adjoining residential community which lies partly inThree Riversand partly in theBorough of Watford.

Leavesden
Leavesden Location withinHertfordshire
Population	5,612 (ward 2011)
OS grid reference	TL102001
District	Three Rivers& Watford
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WATFORD
Postcode district	WD25
Dialling code	01923
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	South West Hertfordshire

Leavesden Park Office Buildings

Leavesden is the location ofLeavesden Studios,built on the site ofRAFLeavesden a formerWorld War IIairfield and wartime aircraft factory, and where one of theJames Bond,and all of theHarry Potter,film franchises were produced.

History

In the period before theNorman Conquestthe hamlet of Leavesden was in thehundredofDacorum,and was historically anexclaveof the ecclesiastical parish of Watford, which was in the hundred of Casio. In the 12th century Leavesden became part of the parish ofBushey.In 1853 it became an ecclesiastical parish, and the church of All Saints and St Hilda was built in theVictoriangothic styleby the architectSir George Gilbert Scott.In 1870 theMetropolitan Asylum for Imbecileswas founded by theMetropolitan Asylums Board.Later known as Leavesden Hospital, it closed in 1997 and is now the site of Leavesden Country Park.

Before theFirst World WarLeavesden was an agricultural community. During the 1930s several housing estates were built. In the 1950s major road network developments commenced with the building of theNorth Orbital Roadand North Western Avenue.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in 1940, Leavesden Aerodrome was established. In addition to a runway suitable for heavy bombers, and associatedaircraft hangars,thede Havillandcompany, which had plants atHatfield,built two factories forHalifax bombersandMosquitoes.After the war de Havillands gradually converted the factories into a gas turbine design and manufacturing facility which was subsequently transferred to the de Havilland Engine Company who operated the factories until about 1963. Together with the large scale contraction and reorganisation of the British Aircraft Industry at that time, the site was taken into ownership byArmstrong Siddeley,Hawker Siddeley,and finallyBristol Siddeley,and in the same hectic year consolidated the gas turbine businesses ofBlackburn EnginesandNapiers.Bristol Siddeley Engines then operated the site together with a factory at Stag Lane Edgware and a test facility at the old Hatfield site until 1968 when Bristol Siddeley Engines (by then a very profitable company) was forced to merge withRolls-Royceby government pressure. The site continued under the Rolls-Royce name until closed by that company in 1991. Flying ceased at the end of March 1994.

Notable achievements by the engineering team were the world's first full authority electronically controlled helicopter engine and initial development of the first pedestal cooled turbine blade, now common throughout the industry. The site manufactured well over 3000 helicopter engines and designed and developed theRTM322 engineused for theUK Apache,Merlinand FrenchNH90 aircraft.Rolls-Royce has now sold the rights to this engine to a French company, and with that transfer all helicopter engine development in the UK has effectively ceased.

Eon Productionstook over the site in 1995 for the production of the James Bond filmGoldenEye.Leavesden Studios were developed and acquired byWarner Bros.and parts of the former airfield were sold forhousing development.

Present day

Property development companyMEPC plcis redeveloping the former aerodrome site, including the studio complex and adjoining land known as Leavesden Park. The plans comprise a film studio, a media and telecommunicationsbusiness park,andretail outlets,and anature reserve.In additionBellway Homeshave built 425 homes.

Education

Within the Leavesden ward are the following schools.

• Primary Schools:Kingsway Infant School, Alban Wood Primary School, St Catherine of Siena RC Junior Mixed Infant (JMI) School, Coates Way JMI and Nursery School, Leavesden Green JMI School and Nursery
• Secondary Schools:Parmiter's School,St. Michael's Catholic High School,Future Academies Watford
• Special School:Garston Manor School

Sport and recreation

To the north, Leavesden Country Park comprising 110 acres of mature woods, parkland, football pitches, BMX track, outdoor gym, walks and playgrounds was created out of the grounds of Leavesden Hospital which closed in 1997. Some buildings have been converted for use as aHealth Club.Leavesden Country Park (north) is also the home ofLeavesden junior parkrun,a free, weekly, timed 2 km run for 4-14 year olds every Sunday at 9am which is entirely dependent on volunteers. Also, what was based on the old airfield site, now accessed along High Road, Leavesden sits 2F (Watford) Squadron of the Air Training Corps.

Watford Town Cricket Club has its ground at Woodside in Leavesden Green. There is ayouth clubin Leavesden Green. Local public houses include The Hammer in Hand, The Swan. Leavesden Green Community Centre is located to the south of the Orbital Road.

Transport

Rail

The nearest mainline railway stations areKing's LangleyandWatford Junction.

Road

Leavesden is close to the M1 and M25 motorways, theA405(London Orbital Road) and theA41(North Western Avenue).

Air

Since the closure of the aerodrome at Leavesden, the nearest airport isHeathrow,24 kilometres (15 mi) away.

Waterways

TheGrand Union Canalpasses to the west of Leavesden.

Notable people

• Sid Kimpton(born 12 August 1887 – 15 February 1968), also known as Gabriel Sibley "Sid" Kimpton or George Kimpton, was an English football player who spent his entire playing career with Southampton and subsequently became a manager in Europe including theFrance National Football Team.
• Malcolm Lesiter(born 31 January 1937) was Archdeacon of Bedford from 1993 to 2003, and the incumbent at Leavesden All Saints and St Hilda's Church from 1973 to 1988.
• James Newcome(born 24 July 1953) is the current bishop of Carlisle in the Diocese of Carlisle and began his curacy at All Saints and St Hilda's Church Leavesden from 1979 to 1982.
• Bradley Walsh(born 4 June 1960), an English entertainer, actor, television presenter and former professionalfootballer,was born and grew up in Leavesden.