March 2013
The village AGM took place in March. Among the various topics discussed were plans for a Safari Supper, the Summer Garden Party and a Village Noticeboard.
February 2013
Not content with rowing the Atlantic, Mill Close resident Graham Witham is now setting his sights on running across the Sahara! Graham, who completed the gruelling sea marathon in 2012, says it will be pale in comparison with his 2014 challenge of completing the desert run in just 7 days.
January 2013
The Marchmont Arms echoed to the sound of chatter and the chink of glasses at the 12th Night party. A gathering of residents old and new had plenty to talk about, from colds to Christmas!
November 2012
Another dry night and another big turnout for the annual Piccotts End fireworks party, provided courtesy of Fantastic Fireworks. Nearly 100 villagers, families and friends came to Marchmont Cottage to enjoy all the traditional fare of Bonfire Night – the only thing missing was the bonfire!
June 2012
It rained on every other parade but not on ours! Thanks to the Marchmont Arms, a terrific turnout of villagers, families and friends and the hard work of the social committee, the PERA Jubilee Party was a huge success.
February 2012
St Mary’s Church in Hemel Hempstead Old Town was packed with family, friends, neighbours and political colleagues for the funeral of PERA chairman Lord Robin Corbett.
December 2005
Villagers were awoken in the early hours of Sunday December 11 by a huge explosion at the Buncefield oil depot. Fortunately no one was injured but there was a widespread damage to buildings nearby. Piccotts End was spared the worst of the shockwave because it was sheltered in the Gade valley. However many residents reported cupboards and doors blown open by the force of the blast. This photo was taken at 8.17am from Marchmont Cottage.
June 2002
Residents celebrated the Queen’s Golden Jubilee with a garden party. It was organised by Mill Close resident Marilyn Hughes, who has revived the village’s social life after years in abeyance. The event was marked by the distribution of specially commissioned leather book marks, one of which is shown here courtesy of Margaret Stanier.
1991
A village man has been jailed for 15 years for the kidnap of a Markyate woman. John Warrington seized the wife of a wealthy Markyate businessman and locked her up in the attic of a shop in the Old Town. A ransom of £500,000 was demanded via a series of bizarre telephone calls in which the kidnapper disguised his voice to sound like a Dalek. The victim was only rescued when a milkman doing his early morning round heard her cries for help.
1991
The village’s historic mill has been burned down in what is believed to be an arson attack. The mill, which was a working water mill powered by the river Gate in the 19th century, has stood on the site for several centuries and probably dates back to Roman times.