I visited the Hertfordshire village put forward for ‘UK town of culture’ to find out if it is worthy of the title.
Tucked away halfway between Bushey and Radlett, Letchmore Heath is just as beautiful as advertised but an unassuming place to be drawing national attention.
It started when The Guardian writers gave their picks for the UK’s town of culture in response to the Government’s announcement of a search for the initiative’s first beneficiary, with Peter Bradshaw choosing Letchmore Heath.
A feeling of stepping back in time was quite striking on my first visit, as Grange Lane narrowed and darkened under tree cover before opening out onto the village-style homes and fabulously preserved 1921-built Aldenham Memorial Hall.
Some of the most picturesque houses led down to the green and pond which remain an unblemished representation of English village life.
Once there, I spoke with John Perry, 67, who said he regularly comes down to “just step out of it all”.
“It’s a beautiful place,” he added, contrasting it with the “madness” of life in nearby London and Watford. “So, you have a busy day, and you just come here step back and reflect on it.”
The green has retained its centrality to Letchmore Heath partly because of the busy Three Horseshoes pub, which is essentially its sole commercial space.
Several residents highlighted how vital it is as a community hub, despite it having been touch and go whether it would be redeveloped a few years ago.
General manager Lee Williams described how “everyone is on a first name basis” in the “really close-knit community”, highlighting strong participation in events such as Christmas and memorial celebrations.
Letchmore Heath is admittedly about 40 times less populous than the next smallest area on the Guardian's list, Abergavenny, and perhaps not really a town by any reasonable metric.
However, as Peter Bradshaw pointed out, its strength is the “sheer density of cultural significance per square foot”.
The short walk from one end to the other takes you past the hall, historic homes, a war memorial, and locations from film and TV including where parts of Village of the Damned and As Time Goes By were shot.
However, its single biggest cultural spot is just on the other side of a fence from the green, although primarily accessed from the Bushey side, Bhaktivedanta Manor.
Donated to the Hare Krishna movement by George Harrison and hosting annual festivals attended by up to 50,000 people, it lends serious weight to the town of culture claim.
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As does the glowing testimony of residents, like Maxie Keane, 62, who spotlighted community cooperation, walks, and efforts to keep it tidy, and Peter Fury, 47, who moved to the area for the peaceful atmosphere, good food, and nice people.
With its importance to UK Hindu communities, stories around every corner, and time capsule feeling, Letchmore Heath may be small, but it packs a cultural punch.
It would be a deserving recipient of the UK town of culture title as well as the £3.5 million funding to develop a culture programme which comes with it.
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