Napsbury Park

Napsbury Park
OS grid reference	TL175045
District	St Albans
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ST ALBANS
Postcode district	AL2
Dialling code	01727
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	St Albans

Napsbury Park is a village in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway.

It is near St Albans and part of the St Albans District. It falls within the London Colney Parish Council area. It is considered a satellite or dormitory village of St Albans, where some villagers travel to work and shop. The 659 bus connects the village with St Albans and London Colney.

History

Napsbury hospital was designed by architect Rowland Plumbe in 1900, who also rebuilt, to his designs, the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel in 1897.

Designed for 1,205 residents, Napsbury opened, following the construction of the numerous buildings and extensive grounds on June 3, in 1905. According to Middlesex County Record, the initial cost, including land and equipment, was £545,000, or £473 per bed. In 1908 Plumbe designed an extension to accommodate a further 600 patients.

During the First World War, Napsbury was used for and known as the County of Middlesex War Hospital, which tended for soldiers wounded at the Front. Following this, in the late 1920s a nurses home was also added to the site, further adding to the variety of different buildings and facilities at the site.

Although Napsbury suffered some bomb damaged in the Blitz, it was in continuous use as a hospital until its closure in 2000. Due to its largely untouched parkland, Napsbury was listed by English Heritage as a Grade II Historic Park and Garden in 2001.

Redevelopment

Crest Nicholson, which specialises in creating new communities from redundant land and estates, seized the opportunity to acquire the site and to create a unique community, centred on the preservation and conservation of both the architectural and botanical heritage of the site.

Local features

File:Napsbury4.jpg

Napsbury Architecture

Napsbury Park is the home of several Arsenal FC & Watford FC footballers, due to it's proximity to their training grounds. The area retains a Railway Station, although this is currently out of service.

There is currently planning permission for the first commercial and retail units on the site, which will build upon the settlements village status.

External links

• Napsbury Park.com