Coordinates: 51°37′13″N 0°23′27″W / 51.62029°N 0.39082°W / 51.62029; -0.39082

South Oxhey
Oxhey Chapel
South Oxhey  South Oxhey shown within Hertfordshire
OS grid reference	TQ115925
Parish	Watford Rural
District	Three Rivers
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WATFORD
Postcode district	WD19
Dialling code	020
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	South West Hertfordshire
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

South Oxhey is a suburb of Watford in the Watford Rural parish of the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the south western corner of Hertfordshire and close to the boundary with Greater London.

Contents 1 History 2 South Oxhey Choirs 3 Local facilities 4 Education 4.1 Primary Schools 4.2 Secondary Schools 5 References 6 Further reading

[edit] History

South Oxhey is a large estate built on land that was formerly part of the Oxhey Hall Estate.^[1] There was a manor house here, Oxhey Place, and a chapel.^[2] The manor house was owned by the Blackwell family of Crosse and Blackwell fame. It burnt down in 1955. The chapel dates from 1612 and is still standing to the south of the parish church of All Saints.^[3][4] The church was opened in 1957 to serve the new estate built after the Second World War by the London County Council. The church was demolished and rebuilt in 2000.

South Oxhey is a large estate almost exclusively made up of council built properties. This is in stark contrast to the neighbouring estate of Carpenders Park, whose dwellings were predominantly built privately.

Since the introduction of the nationwide Right to buy policy in 1980, many South Oxhey residents have bought their homes from the local council, meaning that by 2007, some 70% of houses on the estate are privately owned. The estate was built after the Second World War to help alleviate the housing pressures thrust upon London during the Blitz as well as general inadequate housing. South Oxhey was originally built and managed by the London County Council and later the Greater London Council. In 1980 the ownership and management of the estate was transferred from the GLC to Three Rivers District Council.

[edit] South Oxhey Choirs

The South Oxhey Community Choir and the South Oxhey Youth Choir are two groups that were assembled by Gareth Malone as part of the BBC television series The Choir: Unsung Town ^[5].

The choirs have performed at venues including the Watford Colosseum in December 2008, St Albans Abbey in February 2009, and headlining at Sox Fest '09 in May 2009^[6]. In April 2009, the Community Choir made their debut recording at Abbey Road Studios^[7].

The first episode of The Choir: Unsung Town was first broadcast on BBC_Two on 1 September 2009^[8].

Following the conclusion of the TV recording, Gareth Malone has continued as choirmaster of both the Community and Youth choirs.

[edit] Local facilities

• Oxhey Library (Bridlington Road) ^[9]
• The Centre (Gosforth Lane) - A community and leisure facility^[10]
• Sir James Altham Pool (Altham Way)^[11]
• Carpenders Park railway station
• All Saints Church (Church of England)^[12]
• ASCEND
• Oxhey Jets football club
• South Oxhey Baptist Church
• 2384 Bushey and Oxhey squadron (Gosforth Lane) - Air Cadets
• South Ohey Choirs

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary Schools

• Colnbrook (Special School)^[13]
• Greenfields^[14]
• Oxhey Woods^[15]
• St. Josephs^[16]
• Warren Dell Primary^[17]
• Woodhall Primary^[18]

 Little Furze School (Recently Closed) 

[edit] Secondary Schools

South Oxhey has no secondary schools. However, from the early 1950s, there were two Secondary modern schools – Clarendon, on Chilwell Gardens, and the smaller Hampden School, on Little Oxhey Lane. Built to cater for the post-war 'baby boom', both schools eventually combined to form Sir James Altham Comprehensive (upper and lower schools) and eventualy closed as a result of the continual selling of public amenities to developers by Three Rivers Council.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

A book South Oxhey : "a giant on their doorstep" author Rose McNamara-Wright tells a brief history of South Oxhey for children growing up during the war as told through her own experiences.

v • d • e Ceremonial county of Hertfordshire England Portal Boroughs or districts Borough of Broxbourne · Borough of Dacorum · District of East Hertfordshire · Borough of Hertsmere · District of North Hertfordshire · City and District of St Albans · Borough of Stevenage · District of Three Rivers · Borough of Watford · Borough of Welwyn Hatfield Major settlements Apsley · Baldock · Berkhamsted · Bishop's Stortford · Borehamwood · Broxbourne · Buntingford · Bushey · Cheshunt · Chorleywood · Harpenden · Hatfield · Hemel Hempstead · Hertford · Hitchin · Hoddesdon · Letchworth · Potters Bar · Rickmansworth · Royston · Sawbridgeworth · St Albans · Stevenage · Tring · Waltham Cross · Ware · Welwyn Garden City See also: List of civil parishes in Hertfordshire Topics Parliamentary constituencies · Places · SSSIs

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