Batchworth was once a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and is now a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and part 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) and th ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

. The parish of Batchworth was created on 1 April 2017 consisting of two

Three Rivers District Three Rivers is a local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England use ...

Council

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s: Rickmansworth Town, and

Moor Park and Eastbury Moor Park and Eastbury is a ward in Three Rivers, in England. It is located in south-west Hertfordshire, in the East of England region. The ward includes the eponymous twin settlements of Moor Park and Eastbury, lying between Rickmansworth ...

. The first election to Batchworth Parish Council was on 4 May 2017. There are eight councillors; four in each ward. The

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...

passes through Batchworth. The Batchworth Canal Centre is alongside the Grand Union

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, near the junction of the A404 and A4145 roads. This is the home of the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust who run a visitors centre, a working heritage boat, a small outdoor cafe and co-ordination of the annual Rickmansworth Canal Festival. The future of the historic cotton mill is uncertain following its need of urgent repairs. Batchworth Sea Scouts have their headquarters alongside the canal. The Batchworth Dragons

dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of ...

club were born out of the scout group and competes at a national and international level. Batchworth Lake, created by the extraction of gravel for the original

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, is used for

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

and forms part of Rickmansworth Aquadrome.

Batchworth Heath Batchworth Heath is of designated common land in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, around the junction of Batchworth Heath Hill, Batchworth Lane and White Hill, owned and managed by Three Rivers District Council 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. ...

is four hectares (ten acres) of designated

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has ...

around the junction of Batchworth Heath Hill, Batchworth Lane and White Hill, owned and managed by

Three Rivers District Council 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

. The habitat is heathland with an ancient pond and rich wildlife. Since July 2015 the site has been listed by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

as a Local Nature Reserve, but according to Three Rivers Council this is an error and they have asked Natural England to remove it from the list. File:Rickmansworth Canal with barge ca 1895.jpg, Batchworth Lock No 81
Under the A404 bridge, Batchworth
''(circa 1895'') File:Batchworth Lock No 81, Grand Union Canal - geograph.org.uk - 1505248.jpg, Batchworth Lock No 81
Grand Union Canal
From the A404 bridge, Batchworth (1977) File:Rickmansworth, The Bury - geograph.org.uk - 1244958.jpg, The Bury File:Grand Union Canal in Rickmansworth - geograph.org.uk - 603417.jpg, Grand Union Canal in Batchworth File:Batchworth Heath 5.JPG, Batchworth Heath File:Rickmansworth Aquadrome 002.jpg, Batchworth Lake

References

Populated places in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire Three Rivers District {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub

See also

References