Bricket Wood is an idyllic and well-connected Hertfordshire village, known for its naturist resorts and link to witchcraft.
Situated between St Albans and Watford, Bricket Wood forms part of the parish of St Stephen within St Albans City and District Council. We found out more about the area...
History
The area now known as Bricket Wood used to be a scattered rural farming community until the train station was built in the late 1850s.
In 1889, brothers Henry and William Gray bought up land in the area and built Woodside Retreat Fairground.
The fairground attracted droves of visitors from London and nearby towns, and led to a small settlement developing around the station.
In 1923, R. B. Christmas built a rival fairground nearby, called Joyland. Although both fairgrounds were closed in 1929, Christmas used his leftover land to build up bungalows with their own water supplies.
During the 1950s, housing estates were built in the area for the employees of aviation company Handley Page, which had a plant nearby at the Radlett Aerodrome.
According to St Albans Museums, housing was provided in Hunters Road, Juniper Avenue, Black Boy Wood and Claremont in Bricket Wood.
One of the village's claims to fame is its ties to Gerald Gardner, who is often regarded as the 'father of modern witchcraft'.
In 1945, Gardner purchased a plot of land near Bricket Wood, now known as Five Acres.
He dismantled a 16th century Wiccan witch cottage in Ledbury, Herefordshire, and reconstructed it at Five Acres as a convening point for his brand of pagan witchcraft.
Bricket Wood was also home to a secret Cold War rail centre, which is now a listed building.
The disused Air-Raid Precaution Railway Control Centre was built in Station Road in 1954, as a defence against Soviet aggression.
In the event of war, key rail workers from London Euston were to be transferred to the single-storey, reinforced concrete building to keep the trains running.
The centre is the only surviving example in England of an air-raid precaution railway control centre constructed from the Cold War period.
One of the village's best-known buildings in Hanstead House, which has a rich and varied history.
The house was once owned by the Scottish entrepreneur Sir David Yule, who conducted business with India during the time of the British Empire.
Hanstead House was later used as an Arabian horse stud farm, the UK college campus for American evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong's Radio Church of God movement, and as a corporate training facility.
More recently, the house has been transformed into 11 luxury apartments as part of the wider Hanstead Park development of new build homes.
Another notable building in the village is the Grade II-listed Bricket Picture House on School Lane, which architect Frederick Wallen built for himself in around 1890.
The upper floor of the front part of the house has a remarkable set of plaster reliefs featuring pictures of popular sporting pursuits from the time, including wrestling, rowing and hunting.
Homes currently on the market in the village include a four-bedroom detached bungalow at Lye Lane for £1,000,000 and a three-bedroom detached house at Turnberry Drive for £700,000.
Amenities in Bricket Wood are concentrated primarily in Oakwood Road and the Bricket Wood Parade in Old Watford Road.
There are also two pubs in the village - The Black Boy in Old Watford Road and The Gate in Station Road.
The Black Boy was first opened in 1754, and prides itself on its range of real ales and Cask Marque accreditation.
In the 1770s, The Black Boy became a stopping off point when the route from St Albans to Watford was incorporated within a toll road, and a turnpike opened nearby.
The Gate is a country pub on the outskirts of Bricket Wood, with a huge garden to the rear and a cosy indoor space for customers to enjoy food and drinks.
The pub was winner of the 'Best Marketed Pub' and 'Rising Star' by its parent company, Wells & Co, in their Pub Partner Awards in 2022.
Bricket Wood Common is located between School Lane, Mount Pleasant Lane and Bucknalls Drive.
The area covers around 78.5 hectares with diverse habitats, including semi-natural woodland, hornbeam coppice woodland, wet lowland heath and acid grassland, as well as ponds and seasonal streams.
Naturism
Bizarrely, the area around Bricket Wood is something of a hotspot for naturists.
Naturist resort Spielplatz – German for ‘playground’ – is located off Lye Lane.
Nearby there is also British Naturism's Sunfolk facility - a five-acre woodland naturist site in How Wood which also provides ample opportunities to strip off among like-minded nudists.
Schools
Mount Pleasant Lane Primary - formerly known as Mount Pleasant Lane Junior Mixed and Infant School and Nursery - takes children aged three to 11 and was rated 'good' by Ofsted at its most recent inspection.
There are a number of excellent secondary schools serving the village, including Parmiter's in Garston and St Michael's Catholic High School, both rated 'outstanding'.
Transport
Bricket Wood is flanked by the M1 and M25, and is just a 15-minute drive from the centre of St Albans to the north and Watford to the south.
The village also has a station with rail links to St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction.
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