One of the earliest mentions of Bosci de Boreham (Wood of Boreham), is in 1188:
"In 1188 Pope Clement granted to the kitchen of the monastery the whole land of Elstree. He also gave to the Abbey the wood of Boreham for the feeding of the swine."[4]
In 1776, the House of Lords granted:
"An Act for dividing and closing the Common or Waste Ground, called Boreham Wood Common, in the Parish of Elstree otherwise Idletree, in the County of Hertford."[5]
Borehamwood was historically part of the parish of Elstree. A separate ecclesiastical parish of "All Saints, Boreham Wood" was created on 26 February 1909, covering the part of Elstree parish east of the Midland Railway.[6] Despite this change to the ecclesiastical boundaries, Borehamwood remained part of the civil parish of Elstree. The name of the civil parish was changed to Elstree and Borehamwood on 24 February 1982.[7] The ecclesiastical parishes of Borehamwood and Elstree were reunited on 1 April 2005, also under the name "Elstree and Borehamwood".[8]
From the 1920s onwards, the town became known as one of the main centres of the UK film, and later television, industries due to the presence of production studios.
The War Memorial
Following the Second World War, the town's population greatly increased, with large areas of council housing set up for displaced Londoners, many of which are now in private ownership. Fast train connections to central London have resulted in the town becoming a primarily residential suburb. In 1946, the Admiralty started to build highly secret high-performance electronic digital computers at Borehamwood in a redundant wartime factory, firstly for the purpose of real-time gunnery control, and later for surface-to-air guided weapons and missiles, and for specialist cryptography and code-breaking computers for GCHQ.[9]
Borehamwood is currently[when?] undergoing a substantial housing transformation which has seen hundreds of new homes built over the last five years. Two further developments are being built and more are expected.
In addition to the studios, the town is home to many retail shops, hotels, restaurants, offices and light industry. The hotels cater mainly to tourists visiting the Elstree Studios, attendees of the television shows being recorded in the Elstree Studios, and London visitors due to the proximity to London and the considerable lower accommodation rates.
The A1 road passes just to the east of the town, and the M25 motorway passes about two miles (three kilometres) north of it.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, the population was 31,955; this rose to 36,322 in 2021, an increase of 13.67%. Borehamwood is the most populated town in Hertsmere, ahead of Bushey. The Jewish community numbers in excess of 6,100, up from just 3,900 in 2011; combined with neighbouring Elstree, the community counts around 8,000 individuals.[10]
Since the 1914, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood". Whilst most of these studios, collectively known as "Elstree Studios", have now closed, two still remain.
The area between the supermarket and the office blocks is all that remains of the original studio, which has been much reduced in size and usefulness to production companies as a result. The Shenley Road Studios were later used for the TV series Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Big Brother, as well as several major feature films. The Inspector Morse TV series' production offices were based in the studios and, although the series was set in Oxford, several exterior locations (banks, shops etc.) were filmed in the streets of Borehamwood.
The newer Millennium Studios were situated on Elstree Way, Borehamwood.
Notable companies
The UK headquarters of Pizza Hut restaurants is based in the town, the head office of the delivery portion having moved to nearby St Albans in 2015; and, until 2003, so were the headquarters of the United Kingdom subsidiary of T-Mobile, with both being based in the office blocks standing on part of what used to be the old Elstree Studios. Regent Inns has its head office on Elstree Way. George Wimpey also has offices within the town. The takeaway delivery company Just Eat also has an office in the town in the same complex as Pizza Hut. Since 2015, Borehamwood has also been home to the UK subsidiary of the olive oil brand, Filippo Berio.
Notable people
Den Dover (born 1938), Member of the European Parliament, lives in Borehamwood.[12]
Prof. Angus Charles Graham (1919–1991), Professor of Classical Chinese, London University, 1971–84, lived in Borehamwood.[13]
Sir Robert Holland (c. 1283–1328), nobleman, was murdered in Borehamwood on 15 Oct 1328.[14]
James Hay Stevens (1913–1973)[16] Aviation journalist, editor Aircraft Engineering (1945–1957), illustrator and pilot lived in Borehamwood. He developed the 1:72nd scale model used by Airfix and other toy manufacturers.[17][18]
Borehamwood is home to Boreham Wood FC and Watford FC Reserves who play their home games at Meadow Park. Arsenal previously played at Meadow Park before moving to Emirates Stadium in 2024. There are several parks in the area. Aberford Park is featured with the source of the brook which has been artificially made to look like a lake. Meadow Park includes a large playing field, tennis courts and basketball courts.
Borehamwood has a large shopping area called Borehamwood Shopping Park, featuring large retail stores.
The hamlet of Well End has a notable pub, the Mops and Brooms, reputedly the site of a battle between travellers and village folk.[23]
Adjacent to the pub is a much older building: Nelson Cottage (c.1600) is now a private residence but was the original Mops and Brooms alehouse. It was renamed the Lord Nelson c.1840–50 and traded under that name until its closure in 1932 and replacement by the current pub, which eventually reverted to the older name.[24]
The Borehamwood & Elstree Times is a privately owned, online-only local newspaper covering the local and adjacent area. The Town Crier is a quarterly, council-run community publication for Elstree & Borehamwood residents.
Borehamwood is the town upon which one of three maps is based in the game Urban Dead. This map was released as part of the promotional campaign for the release of British writer Charlie Brooker's Dead Set (set in the Big Brother house in Borehamwood).[30]
^William Page (editor), "Elstree", A History of the County of Hertford: volume 2, 1908 (at British History Online) retrieved 16 October 2011. Refers to Matthew Paris', Chronica Majora, vi, 46.
^Journals of the House of Lords, Volume 34, Publisher HMSO, 1774 (page 614)
^Alteration of Areas and Status of Local Authorities 1980–1982(PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1982. Archived from the original(PDF) on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021. Local Government Act 1972, Section 75. Parish of Elstree now known as Elstree and Borehamwood, date of notice 24 February 1982.
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