Park Street, Hertfordshire

Park Street is approximately 2½ miles by road from St Albans via Watling Street (the old Roman road from London to Chester and Holyhead) and then a post-Roman offshoot, St Stephen's Hill, into the medieval city centre.

Just south of the A405/A414 North Orbital Road, Hertfordshire which has a direct spur to the M25 (J21A) and Watford, the A405, road links and rail links are within the village boundaries.

The A405, A414, A5183 (formerly A5, Watling Street) and the former M10 motorway (now numbered as part of the A414 as of 1 May 2009), join at Park Street Roundabout. This was featured for many years in the road signs section of the Highway Code.

To the east and south-east of the village lies the disused Handley Page aerodrome.

It is thought unlikely the name 'Park' comes from the usual meaning of an enclosure of land for the purpose of hunting but rather simply designates an enclosure of some kind derived from the Saxon word for enclosure which is ‘pearroc’.

The village lies on the Roman Road of Watling Street which forms the main street and continued as a trunk route for travellers going to and from the north from London during Saxon and Norman times.[3]

The immediate village has fourteen heritage-listed buildings (one of which is half-timbered) on Watling Street – the majority of the rest being brick built early Victorian buildings – though Toll Cottage on Bury Dell just to the east is 17th century.[4] Most significantly to this area would have been the passing trade for villagers to sell their ale and produce along Watling Street and easy access to the markets in the nearby pre-Roman settlement, see History of St Albans.

Queen Elizabeth I's spy master Sir Francis Walsingham lived at nearby Old Parkbury, south of the village which was the manor house.[5]

There used to be a Sub Post-Office and more shops, however both How Wood and St Albans provide a larger range of shops.

The main landmark in the village is a Mill, which was converted into offices in 1984. During the conversion a World War II bomb was found in the "Old Smithy's" garden.

There is a Village Hall, accessed from the A5183. Opened in 1936 it is the polling station.

Park Street Baptist Church is on Penn Road.

Park Street Railway Station

Park Street railway station is the first station after St Albans Abbey on the St Albans Branch Line. The train service on this line is known locally as the 'Abbey Flyer'. The railway was built in 1858 as a branch line from the London & Birmingham Railway, and Park Street station has been on its current site since 1890. Before being moved to its current position, on Watling Street, it was situated just near Hyde Lane off Park Street Lane, near the current How Wood station.

There was another railway line, built in 1866, which linked the above London and North Western Railway branch line to St Albans, to the newly constructed Midland Railway's main line from Bedford to St Pancras, at Napsbury. It was a goods line in brief use, closed by 1910, called the Park Street Branch and was operated by the Midland Railway. The railway bridge near Sycamore Drive was demolished around 1948 after being damaged by a giant propellor being delivered to the Handley Page aircraft works. It is still possible to see some of the bridge brickwork here which is just by 'The Overdraught' pub. Another, over the River Ver at the back of Sycamore Drive still survives. Beyond the bridge over the River Ver this line crossed what became the Handley Page aircraft factory runway. This runway was in use until the mid-1960s for the maintenance and testing of the V bomber fleet.

A 1960s metal bridge carries the Abbey Line trains, sometimes affectionately dubbed the Abbey Flyer, over the main road, replacing a previous brick one.

Park Street has two primary schools, Park Street Church of England Primary School[6] and How Wood Primary School.[7]

The nearest secondary school is Marlborough School,[8] near the 'King Harry' public house in St Albans.

There are just two pubs in the village: The Falcon and The Overdraught. There were previously seven other pubs in Park Street/Frogmore/Colney Street: 'The Red Lion' closed in 2009, and 'The Swan' closed in 2008. In Frogmore, 'The Red Cow' closed 2001/02, and 'The Lamb' closed in the early 1970s. In Colney Street there used to be three pubs: 'The Black Horse', which was demolished in 2003; 'The George and Dragon', which closed in the early 1990s; and 'The Jolly Farmer', which closed in the 1930s.

'The Overdraught' used to be called 'The White Horse'.

Until the early 1970s, 'The George & Dragon' was situated opposite the entrance to Handley Page aircraft factory. Once the factory closed the last landlord couldn't make a living and, so legend has it, he and his wife closed the pub, locked themselves in and drank the pub dry before being ordered out by the brewery. The pub's building still exists as a private residence.

'The Lamb's' building still stands, almost opposite the Holy Trinity Church. It is now divided into 3 flats.

The Falcon is reputed to be on the site of a "Pilgrim's Rest", which was a series of places to house the pilgrims to St Alban's shrine in the 1600s.

Park Street has three parks:

• Recreation Ground by sports fields on Park Street Lane: Park Street Football Club and the cricket (sport) ground and pavilion.
• Mayflower Road Park
• Frogmore Lakes Park, to the south of the village just past the gravel pits, popular for fishing.

There also used to be a big park along Burydell/ Bury Dell Lane, replaced by the vegetable allotments, this was in use at least until 1900.

• Media related to Park Street, Hertfordshire at Wikimedia Commons