Sarratt is both a village and a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated north of

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) a ...

on high ground near the county boundary with

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

. The chalk stream, the River Chess, rising just north of Chesham in the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshir ...

, passes through Sarratt Bottom in the valley to the west of the village to join the River Colne in Rickmansworth. The conditions offered by the river are perfect for the cultivation of

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf ve ...

. Sarratt has the only commercially operating watercress farm in Hertfordshire. The valley to the east of Sarratt is

dry Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to ** Arid regions ** Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medica ...

Church and chapel

The parish church of Sarratt is the ''Church of the Holy Cross''. Founded , construction is flint-and-brick built with, reputedly, reused Roman tiles. From the 17th century a large linear village developed nearly away. Nowadays, this area is referred to as Sarratt Green and the area around the church is known as Church End. The village also included a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

Chapel and an independent Providence Mission Hall; both closed and converted into private residences.

Motorway

When the M25 London orbital motorwaywidened in 2011 to eight lanes (four each way)was opened, the rural atmosphere of Sarratt changed. Where it passes Sarratt, it is less than distant at its nearest point, the bridge carrying Sarratt Road. Junction 18 (M25) is on the Chorleywood Road (the A404) only by road from the village.

Schools

Sarratt's Church of England school, situated near the junction of Church Lane and The Green, is the village's primary school with 160170 pupils. In December 2015 Ofsted inspected the school and judged it to be ''good'' across the board, having been rated ''inadequate'' since December 2014. Sarratt Ducklings, an independent pre-school for children aged from 2 to 4, located in the grounds of Sarratt Primary School, is a registered charity. It was judged outstanding by Ofsted in 2015.

Fiction and filming

In some of the early novels of

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

, Sarratt is the fictional location of an agent training school and interrogation centre for the British foreign intelligence service, which is nicknamed 'the nursery'. Le Carré and Mikhail Lyubimov, a former KGB colonel, contributed to a book published by Village Books in 1999 as a fund-raiser for village charities titled, ''Sarratt and the Draper of Watford''. Sarratt has been used as a location in television and film productions, including: * '' Murder Most Foul'' (1964 film) with Margaret Rutherford as

Miss Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of ...

* ''Tightrope'' (ATV, 1971) children's espionage series written by Victor Pemberton * '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994 film) * '' The Demon Headmaster'' (BBC TV) second series of children's drama series * ''Just William'' (BBC TV) children's drama series * ''

The Woman In Black ''The Woman in Black'' is a 1983 gothic horror novel by English writer Susan Hill. The plot concerns a mysterious spectre that haunts a small English town. A television film based on the story, also called '' The Woman in Black'', was produ ...

'' (1989 film) * '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (2011 film) * '' Pudsey the Dog: The Movie'' (2014 film) * '' All the Money in the World'' (2017 film)

Notable people

* Sydney Valentine, actor, lived at Pear Tree Cottage, Sarratt.

Freedom of the Parish

People and military units who have received the Freedom of the Parish of Sarratt. * Carol Chorley : 10 December 2019.

References

External links

'Parishes: Sarratt', A History of the County of Hertford
Date accessed: 29 December 2006.
Holy Cross Church Website
{{authority control Three Rivers District Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire