Bushey Heath
| Bushey | |
|---|---|
 Bushey
|
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| Bushey shown within Hertfordshire | |
| Population | 24,000 |
| OS grid reference | TQ132952 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BUSHEY |
| Postcode district | WD23 |
| Dialling code | 020, 01923 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Bushey (population 24,000) is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow reaching elevations of 165 metres (541 ft) above sea level.
The first written record of Bushey is an account in the Domesday Book, which describes a small agricultural village named 'Bissei' (which later became 'Biss(h)e' and then 'Bisheye' during the 12th century). However, chance archaeological findings of Stone Age tools provide evidence that the area was inhabited as far back as the Palaeolithic period. The town also has links to the Roman occupation of Britain, with the main road running through it being Roman; sites of possible Roman villas being unearthed in the area; and a Roman tessellated pavement was discovered near Chiltern Avenue.
The origin of the town's name is not fully known. In terms of the original name, "Bissei," an early theory in Reverend J.B. Johnstone's book The Place-Names of England and Wales states that it may have meant "Byssa's Isle," and it started life as a lake-village surrounded by marshes, streams and lakes. A more modern theory (but less romantic) is that it is simply derived from the Old English word bysce and Old French boisseie, meaning a 'place covered with wood'. The latter theory could prove more apt, as the town is located in the valleys which extend southwards from the Chiltern Hills, which were once covered in dense forests of oak, elm, ash, hazel and juniper.
Bushey Heath's story begins in the Napoleonic Wars during a large food shortage. To help solve the problem, the government awarded the waste land to the east of Bushey to Bushey landowners to be used as farming; the land was more generally known as Bushey Common. Whilst the original aim was to produce food, being close to a railway and up to 500 ft above sea level with beautiful and broad views made the area attractive for housing developers.
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Wikipedia