Piccotts End

Piccotts End is a village in Hertfordshire, England situated on the upper River Gade. While often mistaken for a hamlet, it became a village when its church – All Saints – was dedicated in 1907[1] and remained a place of worship until the 1970s.[2] It is in the Dacorum Ward of Gadebridge.

Piccotts End
Piccotts End
Location within Hertfordshire
OS grid referenceTL051090
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHemel Hempstead
Postcode districtHP1
Dialling code01442
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
Piccotts End, Marchmont Regency villa. Now a public house.

Description

The village is home to several medieval cottages and a number of Georgian and Regency villas. One of these, Marchmont, is now a public house. There is an extensively restored 19th century watermill. Piccotts End is positioned on the edge of Hemel Hempstead's extensive urban area, but careful planning has kept green space between it and the town.

The Piccotts End Pumping Station operated by Three Valleys Water takes its name from the village, but is actually located on a dedicated utility site containing water treatment works and an electricity sub-station.

Switching and transformer station Piccotts End.

Piccotts End Murals
Main article: 130–136 Piccotts End

In 1953 some unusually fine medieval wall paintings were discovered in some cottages here. The paintings date to between 1470 and 1500 and show a number of religious scenes, including the baptism of Jesus by St John (wearing camel skin complete with head and hoofs) and a scene of the Virgin Mary holding Christ's body in front of the cross. Also depicted are St Peter, St Catherine of Alexandria with her wheel and sword and St Margaret of Antioch emerging from the belly of the dragon.[3] It is believed that these wall paintings show a link to the 'heretical' Cathar beliefs of southern France and adjacent areas of Catalonia and northern Italy. The building was also found to have a hidden room in the roof, suggesting it was a priest hole and an Elizabethan painted room in the next door cottage. In 1827 the same building had been converted into the West Herts Infirmary, the first cottage hospital, by Sir Astley Cooper, providing free medical services.[4]

References
  1. National Archives Hemel Hempstead Parish Records, 1558-1993
  2. London Gazette The London Gazette, 16 February 1973: to the north of the front entrance to Piccotts End farmhouse opposite All Saints Church
  3. "Wall paintings on the move", Financial Times, 28 October 2000, p. 18; and
  4. Dacorum Heritage Trust Archived 8 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine On the future of Piccotts End Cottages. Accessed April 2007

Media related to Piccotts End at Wikimedia Commons

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