Redbourn

infobox UK place

country = England
latitude= 51.8002

longitude= -0.3965

official_name= Redbourn
population= 6,000
shire_district= St Albans
shire_county = Hertfordshire
region= East of England

constituency_westminster=Hitchin and Harpenden
post_town= ST ALBANS
postcode_district = AL3
postcode_area= AL
dial_code= 01582
os_grid_reference= TL105125

Redbourn (or occasionally Redbourne) is a village in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, lying on Watling Street, roughly 5 miles from St Albans, Hemel Hempstead and Markyate, and 3 miles from Harpenden. It has a population of around 6,000.

History

The village has been settled at least since Saxon times and it is recorded in the Domesday Book. Around fifty years after its Norman Church (St Mary's) was built, a small Priory was founded half a mile away on Redbourn Common, after the abbot of St Albans Abbey decided to hallow the ground: some bones had been found on the spot, reputed to be of St Amphibalus, the priest who converted St Alban to Christianity.

Local enterprise

Redbourn was, for a long time, the centre of a farming community and for a time had a successful watercress business on the River Ver's water meadows. Just south of the village, Redbournbury Mill, a recently restored watermill, produces flour.

Silk throwing was carried out at the steam driven Woollam's Mill near Redbourn Common. The mill was taken over by John Mangrove & Son and closed in 1938. At the outbreak of the World War II, Brooke Bond took over the silk mill. After closing their factory in 1996 the old silk mill manager’s house (the Grade II listed Silk Mill House) was donated as the village museum, which opened in May 2000. The former silk mill site is now a housing estate. Local grocer Russell Harborough set up a jam making factory, which in 1956 was bought by Thomas Mercer Ltd, marine chronometer manufacturer. The site, just off the High Street, is now an industrial estate.

Old industries in the village included making straw plait and hat making — Redbourn Village Hall was formerly a straw hat factory.

Coaching and other transport

During the coaching era, Redbourn was known as the "Street of Inns", boasting at least 25 pubs and inns at its peak, but in 1838 the opening of the railway from London to Birmingham, sounded the death knell of stage-coaching.

A branch railway line - known as the Nicky Line - from Hemel Hempstead to Harpenden, passed through Redbourn. The line opened on 16 July 1877 and closed in 1979. The route is now a public footpath and cycle path. The first bus service through the village started in 1908 though buses took some years to become established.

Miscellany

* In 1903 Mr Boucher, the local dentist, owned the first private car in the village, (a 6 HP Gladiator). Several motor rallies were centred in Redbourn in the 1900s using The Bull Pub. The three garages, Walkers & Hardings in the High Street, Bylands on Dunstable Road and Stathams at Church End have all closed leaving only a filling station next to The Chequers Pub on the St Albans Road.
* The first fatal motor accident in Redbourn was near The Chequers in 1908. Unfortunately accidents on the St Albans road still occur and are also now a regular occurrence on the nearby M1.
* The first mention of a Redbourn by-pass was in 1935 and one was built in 1984, the High Street was closed for a day of celebrations.
* Redbourn was Hertfordshire Village Of The Year, 2002 (Overall & Western Area Winner), and a section winner in 2003. In 2002 Redbourn was also an Eastern & Home Counties Section Winner. 2004 saw Redbourn again winning Hertfordshire Village of the Year, Western Area. 2005 Hertfordshire Village of The Year IT Section Winner and Eastern England Information Communication Technology Winner 2005, also Hertfordshire Village of the year Best Community Project Award. Silver Award Anglia in Bloom 2005.
* Redbourn Care Group, a local charity, was a 2003 Queen's Golden Jubilee Award Winner.
* The Chequers pub, the best known local hostelry, was serious damaged by fire in December 2004.
* In 2007 there was a Redbourn Music Festival in the nearby Herts County Showground. The headliners were Feeder, The Automatic and Dirty Pretty Things. The event was supposed to be an annual one, but has not taken place since.
* Michael Christopher Wilbert "Mick" Luckhurst was born in Redbourn on 31 March 1958. He is a retired American football placekicker. He made his professional debut with the Atlanta Falcons in 1981, remaining with the team until the 1987 NFL season. Mick was also the face of Channel Four's American Football coverage from 1987 through until 1991. In 1990, Mick was appointed Honorary President of the now defunct Blackpool Falcons, when they were twinned with the Atlanta Falcons, as part of the NFL Trust programme.

References

Alan Featherstone, "Redbourn's History", 1981, ISBN 0-9541948-0-2

ee also

* Nicky Line
* Redbournbury Mill
* Abbeys and priories in England

External links

* [http://www.redbourn.org.uk Redbourn Official Website]
* [http://www.redbourn.org.uk/twiki/bin/view/Redbourn/GeofWebbsRedbournCollection Photos]
* [http://www.redbourn.co.uk Redbourn Business Systems Ltd]