Sarratt

Sarratt is a village and civil parish in Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire. It is situated 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Rickmansworth on high ground near the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The chalk stream, the River Chess, rising just north of Chesham in the Chiltern Hills, passes through Sarratt Bottom in the valley to the west of the village to join the River Colne in Rickmansworth. The conditions offered by the river are perfect for the cultivation of watercress. Sarratt has the only commercially operating watercress farm in Hertfordshire.[3] The valley to the east of Sarratt is dry.

For the town in the Philippines, see Sarrat. For other uses, see Sarratt (disambiguation).

Sarratt

Church of the Holy Cross, Sarratt
Sarratt
Location within Hertfordshire
Population924 (2001 census)[1]
1,849 (2011 Census) [2]
OS grid referenceTQ045994
District
  • Three Rivers
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townRickmansworth
Postcode districtWD3
Dialling code01923
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament

Church and chapel

The flint- and brick-built Church of the Holy Cross was founded c 1190, reputedly reusing Roman tiles in its construction.[4] It is the parish church of Sarratt.[5] From the 17th century a large linear village developed nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) away. Nowadays this area is referred to as Sarratt Green and the area around the church is known as Church End.

The village also included a Baptist Chapel and an independent Providence Mission Hall—both closed in recent years and have been converted into private residences.

Motorway

When the M25 London orbital motorway – widened in 2011 to eight lanes (four each way) – was opened, the rural atmosphere of Sarratt changed. Where it passes Sarratt, it is less than 1 mile (1.6 km) distant at its nearest point, the bridge carrying Sarratt Road.

Junction 18 (M25) is on the Chorleywood Road (the A404) only 2 miles (3.2 km) by road from the village.

Schools

Sarratt's Church of England school, situated near the junction of Church Lane and The Green, is the village's primary school with 160 – 170 pupils. In December 2015 Ofsted inspected the school and judged it to be good across the board,[6] having been rated inadequate since December 2014.[7]

Sarratt Ducklings, an independent pre-school for children aged from 2 to 4, located in the grounds of Sarratt Primary School, is a registered charity. It was judged outstanding by Ofsted in 2015.[8][9]

Fiction and filming

In some of the early novels of John le Carré, Sarratt is the fictional location of an agent training school and interrogation centre for the British foreign intelligence service called the nursery.[10] Le Carré and Mikhail Lyubimov, a former KGB colonel, contributed to a book published by Village Books in 1999 as a fund-raiser for village charities titled, Sarratt and the Draper of Watford.[11]

Sarratt has been used as a location in television and film productions, including:[12]

Notable people

References
  1. "All people in Settlements in Hertfordshire" (PDF). 2001 Census, Key Statistics for HCC Settlements. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  2. "Civil Parish 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. "Village farmer only one still growing the salad leaf with health benefits". www.hemeltoday.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  4. "Victoria County History". British History Online. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  5. "The Foundation of Holy Cross". www.holycrosssarratt.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  6. http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/117404
  7. http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/14201106.Headteacher_of_Sarratt_Church_of_England_School_says_the_future_is__very_exciting__after_the_school_was_taken_out_of_special_measures
  8. http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/130613
  9. http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/14129454.Pre_school_rated_as__outstanding__by_education_watchdog/?ref=mr&lp=11
  10. Clark, Jessica. "Starry-eyed Sarratt". Hertfordshire Life. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  11. "Sarratt And The Draper Of Watford and Other Unlikely Stories About Sarratt". Nigel Williams Rare Books. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  12. "Titles with location 'Sarratt, Hertfordshire'". The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  13. Sydney Paxton, "An Appreciation", quoted in Edward Rollinson, Sydney Valentine 1865-1919: An Actor's Actor (Sarratt, 1996), ISBN 9780952389705, at pp. 1-5
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