Hoddesdon

Hoddesdon is a commuter town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. At its height during the Eighteenth century, more than 35 coaches a day would pass through the town.

The town saw a boom in the mid Twentieth century as gravel was mined from the area to be exhausted by the 1970s. The lakes and water pits left behind have been used for local leisure amenities. Today Hoddesdon has a little light industry but is mainly a dormitory town for commuters to London.

The town hosted the eighth Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in 1951.

1 History
2 Town centre
3 Schools
4 See also

[edit] History

Hoddesdon is said to be a day's march from London and so was a handy resting place for armies and other travellers on their way north to Cambridge or the northern towns and cities. What is now the High Street was littered with inns. Brewing was an important industry for the area, especially in neighbouring towns Hertford and Ware. Trade in Hoddesdon was centered on the hops market each Thursday. As time went on, more and more hops were carried on the River Lea rather than the roads and the Wednesday meat market took predominance. The Wednesday market has survived in Hoddesdon and was joined in the late 20th century by a Friday market.

Until 1866, Hoddesdon was divided between the two civil parishes of Broxbourne and Great Amwell. The boundary between the two parishes ran through an archway in the town's High Street. When this building was demolished in the 1960s, a specially inscribed stone was set into the pavement marking the historic boundary. Part of Hoddesdon was created an urban district by the Local Government Act 1894, and the remainder becoming the parish of Hoddesdon Rural in the Ware Rural District. In 1937 a County Review Order enlarged the urban district by taking in the entire Hoddesdon Rural parish and parts of the parishes of Broxbourne, Great Amwell, Stanstead Abbots and Wormley. The western boundary of the urban district was fixed by the track of the Roman Ermine Street. Hoddesdon's urban district status was abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of the district of Broxbourne.

[edit] Town centre

Hoddesdon town centre, July 2005

Hoddesdon High Street (much of it pedestrainised) has many shops, fast food outlets, pubs, estate agents and banks and a library. At the north of the High Street is the "Tower Centre" shopping centre, which is known for its high turnover of stores. Fawkon Walk was once a vibrant pedestrian shopping area to the west of the High Street; it had been in decline since the year 2000 but is currently being redevloped with several new retail units. It also now serves as a cut-through to the new Aldi store. Sainsbury's, once in Fawkon Walk, occupies a new site to the east of the High Street. Other notable outlets in the town centre include Argos, Woolworths, Boots, two Lloyds pharmacies, Tesco and Ladbrokes.

Shops in Hoddesdon suffer from competition from the nearby Brookfield Centre in Cheshunt and the retail parks in Harlow. Since the 1990s a number of independent traders have moved out of the town and been replaced with chains, although many independents still remain.

Hoddesdon Town Centre was due to be developed in 2006 with the arrival of superstore giant Wilkinsons. Wilkinsons is not now expected to open until 2008. The town still attracts many shoppers who also enjoy local restaurants and such as Marcanato's or a fast food snack at Starburger or Flames. A branch of Caffè Nero opened in the Summer of 2006.

[edit] Schools

There are two local secondary schools - The John Warner School (a community, foundation comprehensive for 11-18 year olds) and Sheredes School (a community, comprehensive, for 11- 18). John Warner has specialist status in Science and Sheredes has a well regarded creative arts department.