# Boxmoor > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Boxmoor > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Boxmoor.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxmoor > Source revision: 1342636001 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Area of Hertfordshire, England Human settlement in England Boxmoor St.John's Road, Boxmoor Boxmoor Location within Hertfordshire OS grid reference TL046064 Shire county Hertfordshire Region East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town Hemel Hempstead Postcode district HP1, HP3 Dialling code 01442 Police Hertfordshire Fire Hertfordshire Ambulance East of England UK Parliament Hemel Hempstead List of places UK England Hertfordshire 51°44′47″N 0°29′10″W / 51.746282°N 0.486152°W / 51.746282; -0.486152 **Boxmoor** is part of [Hemel Hempstead](/source/Hemel_Hempstead) in [Hertfordshire](/source/Hertfordshire), England. It is within the district of [Dacorum](/source/Dacorum) and comprises mainly 19th-century housing and meadowland, with transport links from London to the [Midlands](/source/English_Midlands). At the 2011 Census, the population of Boxmoor was included in the Dacorum ward of Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield. ## Toponymy The name Boxmoor derives from the [box tree](/source/Buxus_sempervirens), a bushy inhabitant of the chalky hills that surround the location. This is linked together with the word 'mor', which signifies a marshy spot; Boxmoor's ancient [watermeadows](/source/Watermeadow) alongside the [River Bulbourne](/source/River_Bulbourne) are still a major feature of the locality.[1] ## History Blackbird Moor, managed by the Box Moor Trust A [Mesolithic](/source/Mesolithic) camp site was discovered in 1975 on the site of what is now Boxmoor Trout Fishery, close to Fisheries' Wharf. Finds include [pot boiler](/source/Pot_boiler#In_Archaeology) stones, bones of the wild ox, [Bos Primigenius](/source/Bos_primigenius_taurus) and a hand-crafted grinding [quern](/source/Quern-stone) made of the hard local rock known as [Hertfordshire puddingstone](/source/Hertfordshire_puddingstone). All were dated to around 1500 BCE.[2] An even older stone axe head dated to 6000 BCE was also discovered. The remains of a [Roman villa](/source/Roman_villa_(Boxmoor)) have been found in the grounds of Boxmoor House School, near the railway station, dating from around the 1st or early 2nd century AD.[3][4] The [Box Moor Trust](/source/Box_Moor_Trust) owns meadow land in the area alongside the [River Bulbourne](/source/River_Bulbourne). This was land purchased by tenants in secret during the 16th century to prevent it being enclosed, which would have deprived them of grazing. It is still held by the same trust established at that time. Today, it is used for summer grazing and has open access for recreational use. The ancient Box Lane runs uphill from Boxmoor to [Bovingdon](/source/Bovingdon). On this lane, close to the Boxmoor end, stood the historic early 17th century Box Lane Chapel. See the section below on places of worship. The [Sparrows Herne turnpike](/source/Sparrows_Herne_turnpike), set up in 1762, was the stagecoach route from London to [Aylesbury](/source/Aylesbury); it passed along the valley bottom through Boxmoor following the present day London Road (A4251). The [Grand Junction Canal](/source/Grand_Junction_Canal), latterly known as the Grand Union, and the trunk canal from London to the Midlands followed along the same route in 1804. A local public house, the Fishery Inn, was an historic refreshment stop on the canal. Boxmoor village itself was developed after 1837 when the [London and Birmingham Railway](/source/London_and_Birmingham_Railway) was forced, by local landed interests, to build its main line and station about a mile to the west of Hemel town. [Hemel Hempstead railway station](/source/Hemel_Hempstead_railway_station), originally called Boxmoor, offered fast commuting to London combined with a small country town life, attractive to wealthier commuters; this stimulated the development of [Victorian era](/source/Victorian_era) housing near the station, but outside of the original bounds of Hemel Hempstead. In 1846, it became part of the [London and North Western Railway](/source/London_and_North_Western_Railway) (L&NWR). In 1877, a branch line – known as the [Nickey Line](/source/Nickey_Line) – was opened by the [Midland Railway](/source/Midland_Railway); it ran from Boxmoor station, through the now-disused [Hemel Hempsted station](/source/Hemel_Hempsted_railway_station) closer to the town centre, to [Harpenden](/source/Harpenden_railway_station). However, disputes between the railway companies prevented this from ever being used for a passenger connecting service and the railway station's link to Hemel town was always via horse, bus or on foot across the Boxmoor meadows. From 1912, Hemel Hempstead station was known as Boxmoor and Hemel Hempstead. The area was absorbed into the expanded Hemel Hempstead [new town](/source/New_towns_in_the_United_Kingdom) during the 1950s and 1960s, but retains a local character. In 1963, the station was renamed again, from Hemel Hempstead and Boxmoor to Hemel Hempstead, its current name. A four-lane dual carriageway, the [A41 trunk road](/source/A41_road), was built through the district in the 1990s, connecting the [M25](/source/M25_motorway) to Aylesbury. This crosses Boxmoor meadows in a strip of land in which all the earlier links run side by side: turnpike, canal, railway and modern trunk road. In 1889, Boxmoor Hall was built by the local trust from surplus funds. It has been used as a [magistrates' court](/source/Magistrates'_court) and, more recently, as an arts centre run by Dacorum Borough Council. In 2007, the hall became privately owned. It is now used for performing arts and is a licensed premises, hosting special occasions.[5] ## Economy The area has little industry and limited commerce but its mostly Victorian family houses are in demand for those who work elsewhere in Hemel Hempstead and especially [commuters](/source/Commuting) who use the railway station to reach [London](/source/London) in around 30 minutes. ## Religious sites Boxmoor Cricket Club and St. John's Church Box Lane Chapel, a Non-conformist chapel founded in 1668 on land owned by the Westbrook Hay estate, was re-built in 1690 and then altered in 1856 and again in 1876. Tradition has it that [Oliver Cromwell](/source/Oliver_Cromwell) once worshiped here at an earlier building on the site. It is now a private house after being sold in 1969. There was a Primitive Methodist chapel at Crouchfield built in 1849, which was in the St Albans Circuit. This stood until the congregation moved to Bourne Chapel in Chaulden in 1959, which is now called Hemel Hempstead Methodist Church. [St John's Church](/source/St_John's_Church%2C_Boxmoor) was built, in 1874, on part of the [Box Moor Trust](/source/Box_Moor_Trust) land. ## Sport and entertainment ### Boxmoor Cricket Club Boxmoor Cricket Club was founded in 1857 when the [Box Moor Trust](/source/Box_Moor_Trust) let some of their land be used as a [cricket pitch](/source/Cricket_pitch); it is known as the Boxmoor Oval, which had a [pavilion](/source/Pavilion) added in the 1930s.[6] ### Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company Originally known as the Hemel Hempstead Operatic and Dramatic Society, the Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company has operated since 1925. Over the years, the company performed in a number of locations, including the Luxor cinemas in the Marlowes and St. John’s Hall at 72 St. John's Road, which had been built in 1930 as extension of the nearby [St. John’s Church](/source/St_John's_Church%2C_Boxmoor). The first-ever theatrical performance at St. John’s Hall was given by the Theatre Company in April 1932. Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company purchased the St. John's Hall building in 1997 and renamed it the Boxmoor Playhouse. Holding up to 200 seats, the Boxmoor Playhouse is said to be the largest theatre in Hemel Hempstead. Each year, the Company produces a variety of productions from plays to musicals to pantomimes. Due to the flexibility of the space, the Company also holds social events such as quiz nights, creative workshops and cabaret evenings.[7][8][9][10] ## Notable people [Robert Snooks](/source/Robert_Snooks) became, in 1802, the last highwayman to be hanged and buried at the scene of his crime, after he robbed a postboy on the turnpike on Boxmoor meadows. His remains are interred in Boxmoor meadows near the place where he was hanged, and the likely spot is marked by two stones, erected by the [Box Moor Trust](/source/Box_Moor_Trust) in 1904. Rock musician and producer [Steven Wilson](/source/Steven_Wilson) spent his childhood in Boxmoor, and for many years maintained his No Man's Land studio in his former bedroom in his parents' bungalow. British/Canadian actor [Michael Bradshaw](/source/Michael_Bradshaw_(actor)) grew up in Boxmoor from 1938 until the mid-1950s. Johnny Johnston of 1950s vocal group [the Johnston Brothers](/source/The_Johnston_Brothers) lived in The Old House on Box Lane.[11] ## Further reading - Hands, Roger and Joan; Davis, Eve (1989). *The Book of Boxmoor* (1994 ed.). Barracuda Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-86023-544-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-86023-544-0). - Yaxley, Susan; others (1981) [1973]. *History of Hemel Hempstead*. Amplion Press: Hemel Hempstead Local History and Records Society. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9502743-0-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9502743-0-5). - Hands, Joan; Hands, Roger (2004). *ROYALTY TO COMMONERS – Four Hundred Years of the Box Moor Trust*. Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom: The Box Moor Trust. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9504532-2-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9504532-2-6).. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Hertfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes; Ann Roxburgh (Forward) (1986). *The Hertfordshire Village Book*. Countryside Books. Section on Redbourn [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-905392-71-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-905392-71-X). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Hands & Davis (1989), page 14 1. **[^](#cite_ref-romanpastscape_3-0)** ["MONUMENT NO. 359304"](http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=359304&sort=1&type=&class1=None&period=None&county=None&place=Boxmoor&yearfrom=ALL&yearto=ALL&recordsperpage=5&source=text&nmr=&defra=). English Heritage: Pastscape. Retrieved 6 January 2009.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Baker, John T. (2007). *Cultural Transition in the Chilterns and Essex Region, 350 AD to 650 AD: Volume 4*. Hertfordshire: University of Hertfordshire Press. p. 57. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-902806-53-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-902806-53-2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Boxmoor Hall](http://www.boxmoorhall.co.uk) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Boxmoor Cricket Club- 150 not out: Boxmoor Cricket Club 150th Anniversary in 2007"](http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/many-happy-returns-for-boxmoor-as-they-celebrate-150-years-of-cricket-1-1192466). hemeltoday from The Hemel Gazette. 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["About Us"](https://www.hhtheatreco.com/about-us). *Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company*. HHTheatreCo. Retrieved 7 October 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** John, Emma (15 December 2012). [""Luvvies with wobbly sets? Oh no they're not! Raising the curtain on the new am-dram""](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/dec/15/raising-the-curtain-am-dram). *[The Observer](/source/The_Observer)*. London. Retrieved 7 October 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Hands, Joan & Roger (2004). *"Royalty to Commoners: 400 Years of the Box Moor Trust"*. Hemel Hempstead, England, UK: Boxmoor Trust. p. 174. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0 95045 322 6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0_95045_322_6). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Hands, Roger & Joan; Davis, Eve (1989). *"The Book of Boxmoor"*. Buckingham, England, UK: Barracuda Books Limited. p. 104. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0 86023 419 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0_86023_419_3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [The National Archives](/source/National_Archives_and_Records_Administration) at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Number: 2848504; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3998; NARA Roll Number: 520 ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Boxmoor](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Boxmoor). - [Boxmoor — a parish created in Victorian times from part of the parish of Hemel Hempstead](http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/links/boxmoor.htm) - [Box Moor Trust](http://www.boxmoortrust.org.uk/) - [Local government](http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/) - [Boho Boxmoor — community news and events](http://www.bohoboxmoor.com/) Authority control databases National Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Boxmoor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxmoor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxmoor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.