Napsbury Park
Encyclopedia
Napsbury Park is a village
in Hertfordshire
, England
. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway
.
It is near St Albans
and part of the St Albans District
. It falls within the London Colney Parish Council area. It is considered a satellite or dormitory village of St Albans, where some villagers travel to work and shop. The 659 bus connects the village with St Albans
and London Colney
.
or Roman
activity is indicated by cropmarks to the east of the railway in Napsbury hospital grounds; and again on the north side of the hospital. Documentary evidence suggests the existence of a lost medieval settlement
. Early Napsbury is mentioned in the Domesday Book
: it had a house called Tylehouse which was associated with tile
and brick
workings. It is known that there were people settled there with tofts, smallholding
s or farms, since tithe
s were payable in the 14th century.
style by architect Rowland Plumbe in 1900, who also rebuilt, to his designs, the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel in 1897.
The hospital was designed for 1,205 residents, and the grounds were designed by William Goldring. Napsbury opened, following the construction of the numerous buildings and extensive grounds on June 3, in 1905. According to Middlesex County Record, the initial cost, including land and equipment, was £545,000, or £473 per bed. In 1908 Plumbe designed an extension to accommodate a further 600 patients.
During the First World War, Napsbury was used for and known as the County of Middlesex War Hospital, which tended for soldiers wounded at the Front. Following this, in the late 1920s a nurses home was also added to the site, further adding to the variety of different buildings and facilities at the site.
Although Napsbury suffered some bomb damaged in the Blitz, it was in continuous use as a hospital until its official closure in 1998. However, until at least 2002 one building was still in use for psychiatric patients. Due to its largely untouched parkland, Napsbury was listed by English Heritage as a Grade II Historic Park and Garden in 2001.
Napsbury railway station was built by the Midland Railway in 1905 on its line to St Pancras station.
It was never more than an island platform between the slow lines, with a siding serving the Middlesex County Asylum at Napsbury, and closed in 1959.
There is currently planning permission for the first commercial and retail units on the site, which will build upon the settlements village
status.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
.
It is near St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
and part of the St Albans District
City and District of St Albans
The City of St Albans , also known as the City and District of St Albans or District of St Albans, is a local government district, in Hertfordshire, England. It was created in 1974 and since then has held the status of non-metropolitan district and city. The local authority is St Albans City Council...
. It falls within the London Colney Parish Council area. It is considered a satellite or dormitory village of St Albans, where some villagers travel to work and shop. The 659 bus connects the village with St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
and London Colney
London Colney
London Colney is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway....
.
Early history
The presence of prehistoricPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
or Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
activity is indicated by cropmarks to the east of the railway in Napsbury hospital grounds; and again on the north side of the hospital. Documentary evidence suggests the existence of a lost medieval settlement
Abandoned village
An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages were deserted for a variety of causes...
. Early Napsbury is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
: it had a house called Tylehouse which was associated with tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
and brick
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
workings. It is known that there were people settled there with tofts, smallholding
Smallholding
A smallholding is a farm of small size.In third world countries, smallholdings are usually farms supporting a single family with a mixture of cash crops and subsistence farming. As a country becomes more affluent and farming practices become more efficient, smallholdings may persist as a legacy of...
s or farms, since tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s were payable in the 14th century.
History
The Middlesex County Asylum was founded in 1898 with the hospital designed in a country estateEstate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
style by architect Rowland Plumbe in 1900, who also rebuilt, to his designs, the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel in 1897.
The hospital was designed for 1,205 residents, and the grounds were designed by William Goldring. Napsbury opened, following the construction of the numerous buildings and extensive grounds on June 3, in 1905. According to Middlesex County Record, the initial cost, including land and equipment, was £545,000, or £473 per bed. In 1908 Plumbe designed an extension to accommodate a further 600 patients.
During the First World War, Napsbury was used for and known as the County of Middlesex War Hospital, which tended for soldiers wounded at the Front. Following this, in the late 1920s a nurses home was also added to the site, further adding to the variety of different buildings and facilities at the site.
Although Napsbury suffered some bomb damaged in the Blitz, it was in continuous use as a hospital until its official closure in 1998. However, until at least 2002 one building was still in use for psychiatric patients. Due to its largely untouched parkland, Napsbury was listed by English Heritage as a Grade II Historic Park and Garden in 2001.
Redevelopment
Crest Nicholson, which specialises in creating new communities from redundant land and estates, seized the opportunity to acquire the site and to create a unique community, centred on the preservation and conservation of both the architectural and botanical heritage of the site.Local features
Napsbury Park is the home of several Arsenal FC & Watford FC footballers, due to its proximity to their training grounds.Napsbury railway station was built by the Midland Railway in 1905 on its line to St Pancras station.
It was never more than an island platform between the slow lines, with a siding serving the Middlesex County Asylum at Napsbury, and closed in 1959.
There is currently planning permission for the first commercial and retail units on the site, which will build upon the settlements village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
status.