North Watford
| North Watford | |
|---|---|
 19th century houses & shopfronts on the St Albans Road, the area's main thoroughfare |
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 North Watford
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| North Watford shown within Hertfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | TQ108987 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WATFORD |
| Postcode district | WD24 |
| Dialling code | 01923 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
North Watford is an area in the town of Watford, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is primarily a residential area which developed as a result of expansion from the town during the 19th century.
North Watford is situated between Watford town centre and Garston. The area of North Watford is not officially defined, but is generally understood as the area north of Watford Junction railway station. North Watford roughly corresponds to the boundaries of three electoral wards in Watford, Leggatts, Callowland and Tudor Wards. Together, they form a triangular area bounded to the south west by the West Coast Main Line, to the north by the A41 road (North Western Avenue) and to the south east by the River Colne, with the southern edge running along Colne Way and across the industrial areas north of Watford Junction station.
The earliest record for the town of Watford documents a charter granted by King Henry I to hold a market in Watford. Until the 19th century, Watford was a small town and the area to the north Watford was little more than farmland and manorial estates, owned by the Earls of Essex and the Earls of Clarendon. Census documents from the 1880s show that much of the farmland belonged to Callowland Farm and Bushey Hall Farm.
In 1833 the London and Birmingham Railway began to construct its new long-distance railway line through Watford which opened in 1838 between London Euston and Boxmoor. The advent of the railway improved links to London and other cities and made Watford attractive to industry; as a result, the need for more housing increased and the land usage in North Watford was given over to house building. In 1881 Callowland was purchased by the Earl of Essex from the Master and Fellows of Merton College, Oxford, and housing development began in the 1890s. The area was given the name of Watford New Town and later took the name of Callowland, but in 1916 the area was renamed North Watford. Today, North Watford is mostly residential and is mainly characterised by red brick terraced houses of the late 19th century.
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Wikipedia