Percy Birtchnell (8 April 1910 – 12 March 1986) was a British writer and historian. He was especially noted for his writing about the history of his home town of
Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...
in West
Hertfordshire. His publications include ''A History of Berkhamsted'' and ''Bygone Berkhamsted'', both published by Clunberry.
Life and career
Birtchnell was born in Highfield Road, Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire in 1910.
After working as a
typesetter
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random ...
at Cooper's printing works (later the Clunbury Press), he opened a
menswear
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion ...
shop in the parade of shops next to the newly built
Rex Cinema. He was one of the founders of the Berkhamsted & District Local History Society in 1950. His menswear shop later moved west along the High Street to new premises.
From an early age, Birtchnell developed an interest in history, especially local history, and began writing articles for local papers when he was aged fifteen. He had articles published in the ''
Berkhamsted Gazette'' and the ''
Watford Observer
The ''Watford Observer'' is a weekly local newspaper, published by Newsquest. It serves the town of Watford in southwest Hertfordshire, as well as the surrounding area. The paper covers local news, politics and sport, including the town's larges ...
''. He also contributed historical articles to the ''Berkhamsted Review'', a local parish magazine, writing under the
pen name ''Beorcham'', which was an archaic name for Berkhamsted.
Death and legacy
Percy Birtchnell died from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
on 12 March 1986. Birtchnell's menswear shop continued to trade after his death and closed in 2010. Following structural damage, the building collapsed unexpectedly in January 2011 and was demolished.
When Augustus Smith Middle School merged with Thomas Bourne CofE Middle School in 1990 one proposed name for the new school was Percy Birtchnell Middle School,
[Berkhamsted Gazette] before the name
Thomas Coram Middle School was eventually selected.
Bibliography
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See also
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History of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is an English county, founded in the Norse–Saxon wars of the 9th century, and developed through commerce serving London. It is a land-locked county that was several times the seat of Parliament. From origins in brewing and pap ...
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Dacorum Heritage Trust
Dacorum Heritage (DH) is a local history advocacy group in the United Kingdom. It collects and records the history of the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, in the south of England, and aims to encourage the appreciation of the heritage of Dac ...
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Robert Clutterbuck
Robert Clutterbuck (28 June 1772 – 25 May 1831) was an English historian. He spent 18 years writing ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Hertford''.
Life
He was the eldest surviving son of Thomas Clutterbuck, of Watford Hertfordshir ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birtchnell, Percy
20th-century English historians
1910 births
People from Berkhamsted
1986 deaths
Writers from Hertfordshire