Area Guide

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Population 14,571
OS grid reference TQ061944
District Three Rivers
Shire county Hertfordshire
Region East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town RICKMANSWORTH
Postcode district WD3
Dialling code 01923
Police Hertfordshire
Fire Hertfordshire
Ambulance East of England
European Parliament East of England
UK Parliament South West Hertfordshire
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles (7km) west of Watford.

The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley Park.

It began to grow in the 1920s and 1930s as part of the Metro-land area, due to Rickmansworth station on the Metropolitan line of the London Underground. As such, it is largely a commuter town. It is contained within the M25 with good transport links to Luton and Heathrow Airports.

Colloquially Rickmansworth is often shortened to "Ricky" as used in the town's annual "Ricky Week" celebrations, which was 12th-20th May in 2007.

Contents

Etymology

The name Rickmansworth comes from the Saxon name "Ryckmer", the local magnate, and "worth" meaning farm or stockade. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it is known as The Manor of Prichemaresworde. Later spellings are Rykemarwurthe (1119-46), Richemaresworthe (1180), Rykemerewrthe (1248), Richemereworthe (1259), Rikesmareswrth (1287) and Rikmansworth (1382).

In literature

One notable claim to fame is its inclusion on the opening page of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Rickmansworth and some of its surrounding communities are also featured in the works of John le Carré.
Victorian novelist George Eliot, real name Mary Ann Evans, had a summer residence in the lower High Street named "The Elms", which now forms part of St Joan of Arc School.
Rickmansworth, and more specifically the Rickmansworth Conservative Association, features in The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, a 1972 Australian film starring Barry Crocker, and written by Barry Humphries

Famous Residents

Martin Kemp-actor famous for role as steve owen on eastenders

Sport

The town has a public golf course called Rickmansworth Golf Club which is adjacent to the two courses that make up the private Moor Park Golf Club. Rickmansworth Cricket Club was founded in 1787 and is one of the oldest recorded clubs in England. The present clubhouse was built in 1921 by Sir William Francis Reckitt - a member of the Reckitt and Colman Mustard dynasty. Rickmansworth Cricket Club currently run 4 sides on a Saturday in the Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket League. Chess Valley Rugby Club [1] use the same grounds as the Cricket Club. The club have a website www.rickmansworthcc.uk.com. William Penn Leisure Centre in Mill End is named after the former school at the same site, using the original school swimming pool.

Aquadrome

Rickmansworth contains a large public park called the Aquadrome. This includes several large lakes, grass and woodland areas and a children's play area. The lakes are suitable for canoeing, sailing and fishing. The lakes are artificial, being former quarries that have been filled with water. Some of the stone from the site was used in the building of the original Wembley Stadium.

Schools

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools

Arenas

Watersmeet Theatre is a 481 seat venue complex owned by Three Rivers District Council, situated in the centre of the Rickmansworth High Street. The auditorium can transform from a raked theatre to a flat floor for performances "in the round" or dinner dances, cabarets, weddings, indoor markets and craft fairs.

References

External links