Letchmore Heath is a village in Hertfordshire in England, situated about three miles east of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

General

The village, consisting of about 150 houses, lies to the east of

, southwest of Radlett and southeast of

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed buil ...

. Due to its proximity to

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

, it has often been used as a set in films, in particular the 1960 British horror movie '' Village of the Damned''. It has a village green, a pond and a pub, the Three Horseshoes, which is on the north side of the green. The name Letchmore is derived from the

Old Saxon Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It ...

"leche mere", meaning muddy pond. The present pond is located to the south of the village green. To the west, but still within the village, is

Bhaktivedanta Manor Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple set in the Hertfordshire countryside of England, in the village of Letchmore Heath near Watford. The Manor is owned and run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), bette ...

Transport

Letchmore Heath has no main roads running through it and no public transport. It is, however, close to the M1 and M25 motorways. The nearest railway stations are at Radlett, Stanmore, Elstree & Borehamwood and Watford.

Famous residents

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), the founder of the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...

, commonly known as the Hare Krishnas, stayed in Letchmore Heath for a few months every year after establishing

, a temple, in the village. He commented about Letchmore Heath, that because it was so beautiful with many forest walks, it reminded him of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

’s birthplace,

Vrindavana Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

. He would daily go on long walks through the village and appreciated its cleanliness. Bhaktivedanta Manor Janmashtami website
/ref> Graphic designer David Rudnick was born in Letchmore Heath and spent his formative years there.Interview with David Rudnick
/ref> Novelist Joanna Briscoe spent her early years here, and the location inspired the setting for her novel 'Touched.

References

External links

{{authority control Aldenham History of science fiction Villages in Hertfordshire