Chorleywood: Encyclopedia II - Chorleywood - History

Chorleywood - History

Settlement at Chorleywood dates to the Paleolithic era, when the plentiful flint supply led to swift development of tools by early man. The Romans built a small village on the ancient site, complete with a mill and brewery. Ruins of a Roman villa are thought to be found under the M25, which passes through the outskirts of Chorleywood.

A large influx of Saxon settlers in Chorleywood led to it being an important town. The Saxons called it 'Cerola Leah', meaning a meadow in a clearing. Through Chorleywood runs the line that once divided the Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and now divides the counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Edward the Confessor gave the town of Chorleywood to the Monastery of St Albans.

By the thirteenth century, it was known as 'Bosco de Cherle' or 'Churl's Wood', Norman for 'Peasant's Wood'. Upon the Reformation, it passed to the Bishopric of London, being renamed 'Charleywoode'. It became Crown property during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Turnpike Act (1663) gave Chorleywood a chance to exploit its strategic position, allowing locals the opportunity to charge civilians to use the road from Hatfield to Reading.

Chorleywood is most famous for its Quakers. Non-conformists flocked to Chorleywood, promised sanctuary by the locals. William Penn founded the Pennsylvania Colony with settlers from Chorleywood, Rickmansworth, and nearby towns in southern Buckinghamshire. Despite this claim to fame, the massive exodus to the New World plunged Chorleywood into financial ruin.

However, with the boom in the paper and printing industries, on which much of southwestern Hertfordshire's economy was based in the 19th Century, came new prosperity. The extension of the Metropolitan Line to Chorleywood in the 1890s brought with it incredible population growth. From a population of 1,500 people in 1897, the population has grown to over 9,000 today. In 1913, the town's name became 'Chorleywood'.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki