Oxhey

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Suburb of Watford, Hertfordshire, England

title: "Oxhey" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-hertfordshire", "former-civil-parishes-in-hertfordshire", "watford"] description: "Suburb of Watford, Hertfordshire, England" topic_path: "general/populated-places-in-hertfordshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxhey" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Suburb of Watford, Hertfordshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

FieldValue
official_nameOxhey
static_image_nameAttenborough Fields in Oxhey Village, near Watford.jpg
static_image_captionAttenborough Fields
countryEngland
os_grid_referenceTQ125955
coordinates
population7,200
population_ref(2021)
post_townWatford
postcode_areaWD
postcode_districtWD19
dial_code01923
shire_districtWatford
shire_countyHertfordshire
regionEast of England
constituency_westminsterWatford
::

| official_name = Oxhey | static_image_name = Attenborough Fields in Oxhey Village, near Watford.jpg |static_image_caption= Attenborough Fields | country = England | os_grid_reference = TQ125955 | coordinates = | population = 7,200 |population_ref = (2021) | post_town = Watford | postcode_area = WD | postcode_district = WD19 | dial_code = 01923 | shire_district = Watford | shire_county = Hertfordshire | region = East of England | constituency_westminster = Watford

Oxhey is a suburb of Watford, under the jurisdiction of the Watford Borough Council in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the Oxhey ward of Watford Borough Council.

The wider locations which comprise the modern Oxhey area are Oxhey Village (the area around Bushey station and between Pinner Road and London Road) and Oxhey Hall (the area along Hampermill Lane towards Moor Park).

History

Oxhey grew during the mid-19th century with the coming of the London and Birmingham Railway from London Euston to Boxmoor in 1837, the settlement being developed to house railway workers. The line was completed to Birmingham in 1838. It was originally called 'New Bushey', after the well-established village a mile away, but was renamed 'Oxhey' in 1907.

In 1894 the parish of Bushey was split into 'Bushey Rural' (the part in Watford Rural District) and 'Bushey Urban' (in Watford Urban District). On 1 April 1906 Bushey Urban was renamed Oxhey; Bushey Rural was renamed Bushey and became an urban district. On 1 April 1935 Oxhey was abolished and merged with Watford.

In 1931 the parish had a population of 2,636.

Oxhey Grange in Oxhey Lane was built in 1876 by architect William Young (1843–1900) in the High Victorian Gothic style. It is a Grade II listed building.

Culture

Community groups

Residents are represented by local community group Oxhey Village Environment Group, colloquially known as OVEG. Founded in 1974, OVEG is a non-political, non-profit residents’ group run by volunteers, which aims to "maintain, protect and enhance the character and environment of Oxhey Village and its surroundings." The group takes action on local issues, such as major planning applications, and operates a number of community events including an annual summer fair and Brewfest; an annual beer festival.

OVEG’s former committee members include Baroness Thornhill; a former mayor of Watford, and the first female directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.

Sport and leisure

Oxhey has a non-League football team Oxhey Jets F.C. who play at the Boundary Stadium.

Oxhey Park Golf Club is a public pay & play course that used to be an 18-hole course built on land owned by the Blackwell family in 1910, who then sold the estate to London County Council in 1946, who made it a municipal course in 1947 with a par of 78, but it was closed in 1954. It subsequently became a 9-hole course.

Places of worship

Oxhey's parish church is St Matthew's, a Grade II listed building dating from 1880 in Gothic Revival style with some elements of early Art Nouveau decoration. The church also features a Karl Parsons window in the Lady Chapel.

Public houses

Watford has a long historical association with beer and brewing. At one point, the Oxhey and neighbouring Bushey area was served by as many as 25 pubs.

Today, Oxhey Village is served by six public houses:

  • The Load of Hay
  • The Railway Arms
  • The Rifle Volunteer
  • The Royal Oak
  • The Victoria
  • The Villiers Arms

Education

  • Bromet Primary School
  • Bushey and Oxhey Infant School

The nearest secondary schools are Grange Academy, which sits just outside the ward boundaries, and Queens' School in Bushey.

Transport

Rail

Bushey station is a London Overground and Network Rail station in London fare zone 8; it has direct links to London Euston station and Watford Junction station.

The station is served by London Northwestern Railway semi-fast trains on the West Coast Main Line, and by London Overground services on the Watford DC line, a slow local service along the West Coast route.

It is an oddity that the station, which serves both Oxhey and the town of Bushey a mile away, is situated on the edge of Oxhey Village and yet is called Bushey Station. The original name of the station was 'Bushey', it was renamed 'Bushey & Oxhey' when Oxhey Village was renamed, and was then renamed again in 1974.

Bus

The area is served by London Bus routes 142 and 258. It also served by Intalink routes 306, 328, 346, 602, R16 and R17

Oxhey Park

Oxhey Park is a large public space located in Oxhey. Founded in 1924 by recently established Watford Borough Council, the park comprises approximately 14 hectares of parkland with a wooded dell and rolling grassy slopes.

The site lies between Eastbury Road, Deacons Hill and the West Coast Main Line at Bushey Arches.

In 2020, a new Oxhey Activity Park was opened within the site, including a skate park and a cafe. The redeveloped activity park subsequently won the 'Excellence in Public Health and Wellbeing' prize at the 2021 Landscape Institute Awards.

Oxhey Park - and Oxhey Activity Park - were named amongst ten parks that received the 2022 Green Flag People's Choice Awards.

Notable people

References

References

  1. [https://www.geopunk.co.uk/council/Watford-District-(B)# Map of Watford Borough Council], ''Images of England'', [[Geopunk]] Council Districts of UK.
  2. "Bushey CP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
  3. "Oxhey Hmlt/CP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
  4. "Watford Registration District". UKBMD.
  5. "Population statistics Oxhey CP/Hmlt through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
  6. "Oxhey Village Environment Group". Watford Three Rivers Trust.
  7. "Watford and Three Rivers environmental groups". Watford Borough Council.
  8. "About Oxhey Village Environment Group". Oxhey Village Environment Group.
  9. "Neighbours petition against plans to build 'large' development on equestrian site in Bushey". Watford Observer.
  10. "Paintings from an Oxhey Village Environment Group summer fayre". Watford Observer.
  11. "Oxhey Village Summer Fayre". Oxhey Village Environment Group.
  12. "Brewfest Oxhey Village 2025: six Watford-area pubs sign up".
  13. "Oxhey Village Brewfest".
  14. "Dissolution Peerages 2015". Government of the United Kingdom.
  15. [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1101130&resourceID=5 Church of St Matthew, Eastbury Road, Watford], ''Images of England'', [[English Heritage]] National Monuments Record.
  16. "Oxhey stout black hops crowned champion at brewfest". Watford Observer.
  17. [http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/615576.changing_names_at_bushey_station/], Changing Names at Bushey.
  18. "Oxhey Park". Park Herts.
  19. "Redeveloped Oxhey Activity Park opens to public". Watford Observer.
  20. "Oxhey Activity Park wins Landscape Institute award". Watford Observer.
  21. "Oxhey Activity Park recognised for its health and wellbeing benefits at Landscape Institute Awards". Watford Borough Council.
  22. "Winners Announced - Best of the Best & People's Choice Top 10". Green Flag Award.
  23. "Vinnie Jones". Sunday Express.
  24. "An Emotional Trip Home, Vinnie Jones In The Country". Facebook.
  25. "Mayor of Watford ridiculed after leaflets show her canvassing at her own home". The Telegraph.
  26. "Remembering well known people in Watford, Bushey & Oxhey". Watford Observer.
  27. "Mary Pownall Bromet". Our Oxhey.
  28. "Reginald ‘Rex’ Warneford, destroyer of Zeppelins". Oxhey Village Environment Group.
  29. "WW1 VC pilot 'Reckless Rex' honoured with memorial". BBC.
  30. "Oxhey actor Alex Lowe, better known as Barry from Watford". Watford Observer.
  31. (11 March 1988). "Wilfred Sobey". [[The Guardian]].
  32. "Recalling Kingsfield School in Oxhey where British Lion was principal". Watford Observer.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

populated-places-in-hertfordshireformer-civil-parishes-in-hertfordshirewatford