At Wishful Drinking, we are eternally grateful to be part of the wonderfully welcoming and warm-hearted community of Rickmansworth. But how much do we really know about our town – affectionately known by us locals as “Ricky” – which is but 17 miles from central London and which nestles snuggly just inside the M25 Motorway?

To understand the Ricky of today let’s first of all take a stroll through history to understand how events and its environment have shaped our delightful little town. And then let’s check through some of the more obscure things Ricky is famous for but which put our town on the map.

This is the first in a series of bulletins for you to digest alongside our beers…

History #1

There was a settlement in this part of the Colne Valley as far back as the Stone Age. Rickmansworth was one of five manors with which the great Abbey of St Albans had been endowed when founded in 793 by King Offa (he of the Dyke).  Local tithes (a religious tax of approximately 10% of annual produce) supported the Abbey, which provided clergy to serve the people until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII,

Cardinal Wolsey (March 1473 – 29 November 1530) in his capacity as Abbot of St Albans, held the Manor of le More in the valley where Rickmansworth now sits. The manor house was replaced by the hill-top mansion Moor Park, which eventually became the residence of Admiral Lord Anson, who commissioned Capability Brown to remake the formal gardens, and in 1828 of the Barons Ebury (of Ebury Way and Road fame); it is now the Golf Club House. The wider area, including Croxley Green, Moor Park, Batchworth, Mill End, West Hyde and Chorleywood, formed the original parish of Rickmansworth.

Around the time of the Domesday Book, the population of “Prichemareworth” may have been about 200 and the town has grown steadily since then. In 1851, the population had increased to 4,800, in 1901 it was 6897 and the town had a population of 14,571 recorded at the 2001 census rising to 23,973 in the census of 2011.

The name Rickmansworth is believed to come from the Saxon surname Ryckmer (the local landowner) and the word worth meaning a farm or stockade. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as the Manor of Prichemaresworde. Other spellings include Rykemarwurthe (1119–46), Richemaresworthe (1180), Rykemerewrthe (1248), Richemereworthe (1259), Rikesmareswrth (1287), Rickmansworth (1382), Rikmeresworth (1396) and Rykemerysworth (1418)…..so take your pick!!

Rickmansworth – Fun Facts!

So did you know……

In 1819 the town was governed by two Constables and two headboroughs (a parish constable, or petty constable) which is probably about the same headcount as we have today at Rickmansworth Police station!!

With thanks to our very very good friend, the acclaimed author, award-winning blogger, qualified London tour guide, and all over enthusiast about London and its environs, Rob Lordan. Check this amazing guy out at https://robslondon.com/. Oh yeah….we may have had a wee look at Wikipedia too…just to check the “facts”.

Continue reading about the history of Rickmansworth

Share this article: