Grovehill is an area of Hemel Hempstead; it comprises two distinct developments. 'Precinct A' laid out and developed by the New Town Commission in 1967–68 and from the beginning a mixture of private and rented housing specifically intended to accommodate families of migrating management and professionals that a developing New Town required. This first development is situated at the Redbourn Road end of St. Agnells Lane, and takes in the self-build scheme already in progress at Wooton Drive in 1967/8, Crawley Drive to the Hammond Nursery, Infant and Junior School facing West on to Cambrian Way, and extending along the East side of Aycliffe Drive, and taking in the South side of Washington Avenue.
The second development, the large social housing estate in the west of the ward, began in 1972 and starts from the North side of Washington Avenue taking in: that part of St Agnells Lane north of Washington Avenue as far as Cupid Green Lane and continuing on to regain the upper end of the North side of Washington Avenue that meets Aycliffe Drive; the major sprawl of the development is West of Aycliffe Drive taking in Piccotts End Lane and beyond.
Left is Henry Wells Square taken from the other side of Aycliffe Drive (2007).
Henry Wells Square with local shops features a Tesco Express, Post Office, Chemist, a pub and a fish and chip shop. Tucked behind the shops is the Grovehill Community Centre (home to an internet cafe) and Grovehill Playing Fields, home to many football pitches, a baseball ground and changing facilities and from 2011, an area of scrub land was converted into allotments.There are also various churches, a medical and a dental surgery as well as several schools including the original Grovehill School built by the New Town Commission (and renamed Astley Cooper School by at a later date).
Right is Aycliffe Drive off Link Road coming into Grovehill (2007).
Grovehill was part of the second wave of New Town development with building commencing in 1967. The large housing estate at Grovehill West started construction early in 1972 but took some years to complete due to the insolvency of the main contractors and was finally completed in the early 1980's.
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Grovehill area: 236.46 Hectares (584.3 Acres)
Grovehill population (2016): 8,099
Distance between Grovehill, Dacorum and Grovehill, Middlesborough: 228 miles.
More statistics can be found here:
You may also be interested in Grove Hill Wines from err... Australia!
Researched and written by Ruth Clinch, The Grovehill Chronicle is an excellent resource for anyone keen to find out more about Grovehill. A sincere and special thanks to Ruth for all her hard work on this amazing project.
GROVEHILL COMMUNITY CENTRE AND GROVEHILL YOUTH CENTRE
Left is the Grovehill Community Centre (2007).
The community centre is overseen by the Grovehill Neighbourhood Association, a self financing and non profit making, community run charity.
The centre itself has been around since the 1970's when it was built as part of the estate. In the same building is the Grovehill Church of Resurrection which serves the wards of Grovehill and Woodhall Farm.
The centre is leased to the Grovehill Neighbourhood Association by the local authority, Dacorum Borough Council which provides ongoing support and advice.
It exists for the people of Grovehill and to provide education, recreation and leisure facilities in the interests of social welfare for the general benefit of the area.
This facility is available for hire for a variety of uses, both by regular hirers as well as for private functions or activities such as:
- Wedding receptions
- Birthday parties
- Training courses
- Activity groups
- Meetings
- Sport clubs
- Children's entertainment events
The centre also acts as a political venue for local and national elections.
The centre has disabled access and cloakroom facilities.
Grovehill Community Centre works under Equal Opportunity, Health & Safety and Child Protection Policies.
The community centre is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Julie the centre manager, is normally available on Mondays to Thursdays, between 9:30 and 1:00.
Similarly, the Grovehill Youth Centre, located just a few meters away from the community centre has rooms and halls available for hire. The Grovehill Neighbourhood Association does not run the youth centre. Instead, a small committee oversees its running although the GNA does lend a hand. The Grovehill Youth Centre is also a registered charity.
Grovehill Community Centre, Henry Wells Square, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. HP2 6BJ.