Letchmore Heath is a village in
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 govern ...
in England, situated about three miles east of
Watford.
General
The village, consisting of about 150 houses, lies to the east of
Watford, southwest of
Radlett
Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...
and southeast of
Aldenham.
Due to its proximity to
Elstree Studios, 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 "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.
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
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...
(1896-1977), the founder of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the Hare Krishnas, stayed in Letchmore Heath for a few months every year after establishing
Bhaktivedanta Manor, 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’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](_blank)
/ref>
Graphic designer David Rudnick
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
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