River Bulbourne - Chaulden

River Bulbourne
The Bulbourne flows eastwards
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Pleasant canal side stretch at the back end of Hemel Hempstead

Post to the west Bourne End
Post to the east Boxmoor

A4
Built as a dual carriageway motorway standard road In the 1990s across the upland chalk plateau
Chaulden House Garden
Area of the gardens of Chauldon House
Chaulden House was built in the early 19th. It was used by the Charing Cross Hospital medical school during the Second World War.
Isbister Centre. The building is part of the stable block of Chauldon House. It became a day centre for the mentally ill when Hill End Hospital closed and is now a palliative care centre. It includes a 19th
octagonal tower in flint rubble, and brick with an octagonal wooden lantern and a weather vane. It has pointed arches to the door and slit windows. Conch shells are set in the flint rubble above the arches and there are arched pigeon holes on 3 sides in 3 rows. There is a band of shells below the brick frieze.

Chaulden Lane
The road is said to be on the original line of Akeman Street
Hemel Hempstead (Camelot) Rugby Union Club Ground. The club was founded in 1919 but has been refounded - the current club is the third with that name. The origins of their name are obscure and could refer to shallots being eaten at a ‘round table’. The club was refounded in the 1930s and closed in the Second World War. It began again in 1951 and played at Wood Farm. The club members built the present Club House themselves. The field belongs to the Boxmoor Trust who bought it in 1967 with money made through the sale of the land on which the Kodak Tower is built.
163 -165 19th brick houses said to have been built as housing for gardeners at Chaulden House.
Playing Fields with football and rugby pitches, changing rooms and showers. There is also a children’s playground

Grand Union Canal
This section was part of the Grand Junction Canal, built to link the Oxford Canal at Braunston with the Thames at Brentford. It was  constructed with a wide channel to encourage commercial traffic, but its links to other canals were kept so narrow that only the standard 2-metre craft were able to use it.   It reached here in December 1797.
Winkwell skew railway bridge
Boxmoor Top Lock. the lock cottage was demolished and a private house built on the site
Old Fishery Lane Bridge. this used to be called Cangels Bridge
Watercress beds between river and canal shown on maps as various parallel waterways. The Harrison family leased beds here from the Boxmoor Trust in the 1890s. A packing shed was built nearby in 1964 by a co-operative group. The Williams family also had beds here up to the 1980s.

Hazeldell Road
Pixies Hill Primary School
St Stephen’s Parish Hall

Long Chaulden
Tudor Rose Pub. Purpose built in 1957 as part of the new town development. The name is because of Henry VIII grant of the town’s first charter
Chaulden Community Centre
St George’s United Reform Church. It was founded as a Presbyterian Church in 1953 when the site was purchased and in 1954 a temporary hall was built here. The foundation stone, now in the entrance porch, was laid in 1956.The building was designed by J Sebastian Comper, in reinforced concrete and brick. A manse was also built.  In 2004 it amalgamated with St Andrew’s, Berkhamsted.
St George’ Hall. The first Church Hall was built in 1960, as Cedar Hall and replaced in 1981. In 2002 a new Link Building was constructed between the Church and the Hall and in 2009 the new hall was opened
St.Stephen’s Church. Built in 1959 and became part of Boxmoor Parish in the 1990s.

Old Fishery Lane
This was once called Cangels Lane
Old Fishery House
Old Fishery Cottage. This was at one time three labourers cottages

Pixies Hill
The area to the immediate north of Chaulden Lane was used by Pixies Hill a children's camp run by the National Camps Corporation. This was set up under the Camps Act if 1939, which provided for the construction of government-financed camps for camps for evacuees during war. After the war it was used as a recreation camp for inner city school children. The old camp buildings later became a school before permanent schools could be constructed

Railway
The main line railway runs on an embankment on land bought from the Boxmoor Trust in 1837

River Bulbourne
Boat house. This stood before the Second World War on the north side of the river. It is said to have been round with a whalebone over the river entrance,
Waterfall and pump house. The pump house was built to supply fresh water to Chaulden House. It was a decorative flint and brick tower. It became a local scout head quarters and was demolished in the 1960s.

School Row
Chaulden Junior School
Chaulden Infant and Nursery School


Sources
British Listed Buildings. Web site
Canal Plan. Web site
Chaulden Junior School. Web site
Churches of the Boxmoor Parish. Web site
Dacorum Council. Web site
Hemel Hempstead Rugby Club. Web site.
National Camps Corporation. Wikipedia web site.
Snoxalls. Web site
Chaulden Junior School

Chaulden Infant and Nursery School
Sources
British Listed Buildings. Web site
Canal Plan. Web site
Chaulden Junior School. Web site
Churches of the Boxmoor Parish. Web site
Dacorum Council. Web site
Hemel Hempstead Rugby Club. Web site.
National Camps Corporation. Wikipedia web site.
Nobbs. A walk along the canal towpath
Snoxalls. Web site

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