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Watford

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For other uses, see Watford (disambiguation).
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Borough of Watford
Watford Watford
Shown within Hertfordshire
Geography
Status:Non-metropolitan district and Borough
Region:East of England
Admin. County:Hertfordshire
Area:
- Total		Ranked 347th
21.43 km²
Admin. HQ:Watford
ONS code:26UK
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2005 est.)
- Density		Ranked 296th
79,300
3,700 / km²
Ethnicity:86.0% White
8.2% S.Asian
2.7% Afro-Carib.
Politics
Watford Borough Council logo
Watford Borough Council
http://www.watford.gov.uk/
Leadership:Mayor & Cabinet
Mayor:Dorothy Thornhill
(Liberal Democrats)
MP:Claire Ward, (Labour)

Watford is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England and is situated approximately 27 miles northwest of London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough lies just to the north of Greater London, but is not part of it.

The borough of Watford has 89,500 inhabitants. The parish of Watford Rural covers an area to the south of the borough of Watford (which is largely urbanised), in the Three Rivers District. The nearby areas of Bushey, Rickmansworth, Kings Langley, Abbots Langley, South Oxhey and Leavesden, located in Three Rivers and Hertsmere districts, form part of the Watford postal area.

The head offices of many national companies such as Camelot Group, operator of the UKs National Lottery; Iveco, manufacturers of commercial vehicles; and Haden Young, the building services division of Balfour Beatty are located in the town. The borough is also the UK base of many multi-nationals including Total Oil, Sanyo, TK Maxx, Costco, and Beko.

The site of a former Rolls Royce factory in the north of the town has been transformed into Leavesden Film Studios, with the remaining land used for housing and the Leavesden Park business units. Leavesden Parks tenants include BBC Vecta and BT

English Learning opportunities for migrant workers, au pairs and other groups are available at West Herts College and the Prospect English Language Centre

Watford was created as an urban district under the Local Government Act 1894, and became a municipal borough by grant of a charter in 1922.

Contents

[edit] Transport

[edit] Road

Watford is close to strategic roads - the M25 motorway that rings London and the M1 motorway that connects London to the English Midlands and Northern England.

[edit] Rail

The town is served by one of the principal north-south rail routes - the West Coast Main Line - which connects London (terminus at Euston) to the Midlands, north-west England and Scotland. Some long-distance trains on this route serve Watford Junction, where there are also frequent suburban and regional trains. There is also a local service to St Albans, via some small stations within Watford and there is a suburban loop to Watford High Street station. There is a rail connection to Gatwick Airport and the English south coast.

London Underground serves Watford Metropolitan Line station at the outer edge of the system. The Metropolitan Line branch is due to be diverted to Watford Junction via the disused Croxley Green branch.[1]

[edit] Water

Watford is on the main Grand Union Canal route northwards from London. There is little commercial use, since the advent of the railway, but the canal is used for recreational and AMENITY purposes.

[edit] Air

Regular and frequent coach services connect Watford to the major international airports at Heathrow and Gatwick and also to Luton and Stansted airports.

Watford's closest airfield is Elstree Aerodrome [2], 3 miles east of the town. Many private charters, as well as occasional holiday charters take off from here, with the on-request customs service contributing to the popularity of this airfield. Many celebrities have been known to travel through Watford, due to its location close to the world famous Elstree Film and Television Studios in nearby Borehamwood.

Leavesden Aerodrome, to the north of Watford, is no longer operational and has been converted into Leavesden Film Studios.

[edit] Nightlife

The High Street running through the town centre is the main place for any activity at night. The part of town is sometimes referred to as the café quarter, and has a high concentration of the town's bars, clubs and restaurants.

The Watford Observer reported on 30 October 2005 that Watford is the "binge drinking capital" of Hertfordshire. This label is only strengthened by a look around "the pond" (a large stagnant street pond fronted by bars and nightclubs) at closing time where you will generally see large crowds of people heading home after a great night out.

A survey by TakeAwayFever.coman online directory of menus, found Watford has now been named as the "curry capital of the UK". This is based on the fact there are more Indian restaurants per head than anywhere else in the UK.

[edit] "North of Watford"

The phrase "North of Watford" is widely used to describe areas of the United Kingdom that are north of London. This is possibly because Watford was one of the first places that horses were changed on the route to the north-west from London. Alternatively, the phrase may refer to the Northamptonshire village of Watford, about 50 miles farther north, which traditionally was an important waypoint on the old east-west and north-south coaching routes. This was the point where the main north-south road, rail and canal routes came together at a gap in the hills known as Watford Gap. Watford in Hertfordshire is much better known and so frequently mistaken, in the context of this phrase, for the same place. It is also possible that the phrase relates to the Watford Gap services, which are the oldest motorway services in England and would have been a popular stopping point for travellers on the M1 motorway.

An alternative theory is that many of the original signs at the southern end of the M1 motorway bore the legends "Watford" and "The North", Watford being the first major town on that route, although the phrase pre-dates the construction of the motorway.

[edit] People

Watford was the birthplace of:

[edit] Sport

Watford is home to professional football club Watford F.C., who reached the FA Cup Final in 1984 (as well as three other semi-finals), also finishing as league runners-up in 1983. They were promoted back to top-flight football, after beating Leeds United 3-0 in a Championship playoff match in May 2006, under the management of Adrian Boothroyd.

Since 1997 the club has shared its ground, Vicarage Road, with Saracens F.C. rugby club.

Singer-songwriter Sir Elton John is a keen, long-term supporter of Watford F.C. and a former club chairman. He still maintains his links with Watford F.C. as one of its most valuable benefactors and creditors. The current Chairman is Graham Simpson and the Chief Executive is Mark Ashton.

[edit] Nearby places

[edit] Twinning

Watford has five twin towns. These are:

[edit] Other Watfords

[edit] Watford Colosseum

The Watford Colosseum was used to record the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack and is well renowned for its acoustic qualities, which are often said to be the best available in the UK. It is now in administration after funding difficulties but is still open to bookings whilst the local council decides its fate.

[edit] Future Plans

Watford Council have announced plans to develop the High Street and the Cafe Quarter to open up the areas in and around the High Street and develop a more diverse centre for the town.[citation needed]

[edit] External links


Districts of the East of England Image:Flag of England.svg

Babergh | Basildon | Bedford | Braintree | Breckland | Brentwood | Broadland | Broxbourne | Cambridge | Castle Point | Chelmsford | Colchester | Dacorum | East Cambridgeshire | East Hertfordshire | Epping Forest | Fenland | Forest Heath | Great Yarmouth | Harlow | Hertsmere | Huntingdonshire | Ipswich | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | Luton | Maldon | Mid Bedfordshire | Mid Suffolk | North Hertfordshire | North Norfolk | Norwich | Peterborough | Rochford | St Albans | St Edmundsbury | South Bedfordshire | South Cambridgeshire | Southend-on-Sea | South Norfolk | Stevenage | Suffolk Coastal | Tendring | Three Rivers | Thurrock | Uttlesford | Watford | Waveney | Welwyn Hatfield

Counties with multiple districts: Bedfordshire - Cambridgeshire - Essex - Hertfordshire - Norfolk - Suffolk


Coordinates: 51°40′N 0°24′Wde:Watford id:Watford it:Watford he:ווטפורד nl:Watford no:Watford pl:Watford ru:Уотфорд

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