I am a Yorkshireman living in the south of England, in a small town called Chorleywood, near Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire. I have lived here with my wife and family for 30 years.

After graduating from University College London with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry, I spent most of my life working in R&D at Kodak Ltd., Harrow. Whilst working at Kodak, I switched careers, studied for an M.Sc. degree in Information Science, and then worked entirely in the technical information field. I am now semi-retired and doing part-time editorial work for The Royal Photographic Society and Pira International, plus a bit of website development, design and maintenance (e.g. The Royal Photographic Society Imaging Science Group, The Royal School of Church Music - St Albans and Chorleywood House Estate).

I enjoy computing, amateur radio, photography, reading, walking, cycling, rugby (watching), DIY, food and drink. In fact I enjoy most things in life!

Chorleywood is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of around 10,000 people. The town lies in the far south-west of Hertfordshire, on the historic border with Buckinghamshire. Chorleywood is in the heart of the wealthy London commuter belt to the north-west of London.

The photo on the right (not my house I might add) was taken on Chorleywood Common.

History of Chorleywood

Settlement at Chorleywood dates to the Paleolithic era, when the plentiful flint supply led to swift development of tools by early man. The Romans built a small village on the ancient site, complete with a mill and brewery. Ruins of a Roman villa are thought to be found under the M25, which passes through the outskirts of Chorleywood.

A large influx of Saxon settlers in Chorleywood led to it being an important town. The Saxons called it 'Cerola Leah', meaning a meadow in a clearing. Through Chorleywood runs the line that once divided the Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and now divides the counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Edward the Confessor gave the town of Chorleywood to the Monastery of St Albans.

By the thirteenth century, it was known as 'Bosco de Cherle' or 'Churl's Wood', Norman for 'Peasant's Wood'. Upon the Reformation, it passed to the Bishopric of London, being renamed 'Charleywoode'. It became Crown property during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Turnpike Act (1663) gave Chorleywood a chance to exploit its strategic position, allowing locals the opportunity to charge civilians to use the road from Hatfield to Reading.

Chorleywood is most famous for its Quakers. Non-conformists flocked to Chorleywood, promised sanctuary by the locals. William Penn founded the Pennsylvania Colony with settlers from Chorleywood, Rickmansworth, and nearby towns in southern Buckinghamshire. Despite this claim to fame, the massive exodus to the New World plunged Chorleywood into financial ruin.

However, with the boom in the paper and printing industries, on which much of southwestern Hertfordshire's economy was based in the 19th Century, came new prosperity. The extension of the Metropolitan Line to Chorleywood in the 1890s brought with it incredible population growth. From a population of fewer than 1,501 people in 1898, the population has grown to about 10,000 today. In 1913, the town's name became 'Chorleywood'.

[Extracted from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]