Berkhamsted
| Berkhamsted | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 51 ° 46 ′ N , 0 ° 34 ′ W | ||
| OS National Grid | SP993077 | ||
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| Residents | 18,015 (as of 2011) | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | BERKHAMSTED | ||
| ZIP code section | HP4 | ||
| prefix | 01442 | ||
| Part of the country | England | ||
| region | East of England | ||
| Shire county | Hertfordshire | ||
| District | Dacorum | ||
| Civil Parish | Berkhamsted | ||
| British Parliament | South West Hertfordshire | ||
Berkhamsted [ ˈbɜ: kəmstɛd ] is a historic parish in England with around 19,000 inhabitants today. The place is in the west of Hertfordshire between the places Tring and Hemel Hempstead . The River Bulbourne flows through the place. Berkhamsted belongs to the district or Borough Dacorum .
The place name has undergone a number of changes over the centuries, the current form dates from 1937, previously the parish was called Berkhampstead , Great Berkhamsted and Berkhamstead, among others .
Berkhamsted is home to the British Film Institute 's National Film and Television Archive .
history
Berkhamsted was the end point of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, when William the Conqueror waited for the subjugation of London and the remaining Anglo-Saxon nobility after his campaign .
Berkhamsted Castle was rebuilt in stone in the 1080s and became the preferred abode of kings from the Rollonid and Plantagenet families . It remained a royal castle until it was abandoned in 1495. The population used the stones from the castle, of which little is left today.
Berkhamsted has the oldest surviving shop in Great Britain, dendrochronologically dated between 1277 and 1297. There is evidence that it was a jeweler or goldsmith's shop (173, High Street).
Personalities
- William Cowper (1731–1800), lawyer and poet, born here
- Thomas Stevens (1854–1935), author and adventurer, born here
- Horace Smith-Dorrien (1858–1930), General and Army Commander in World War I and Governor of Gibraltar, born here
- Frank Clement , (1888–1970), British racing car driver
- Graham Greene (1904–1991), writer, born here
- Michael Hordern (1911–1995), stage and film actor, born here
- John Cleese (* 1939), comedian, actor, screenwriter and voice actor, lived here
- Sarah Brightman (* 1960), soprano and actress, born here
Town twinning
Berkamsted maintains the following city partnership :
