# Oxhey

Oxhey is a suburb of Watford, under the jurisdiction of the Watford Borough Council in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the Oxhey ward of Watford Borough Council.
The wider locations which comprise the modern Oxhey area are Oxhey Village (the area around Bushey station and between Pinner Road and London Road) and Oxhey Hall (the area along Hampermill Lane towards Moor Park).

## History

Oxhey grew during the mid-19th century with the coming of the London and Birmingham Railway from London Euston to Boxmoor in 1837, the settlement being developed to house railway workers. The line was completed to Birmingham in 1838. It was originally called 'New Bushey', after the well-established village a mile away, but was renamed 'Oxhey' in 1907.
In 1894 the parish of Bushey was split into 'Bushey Rural' and 'Bushey Urban', on 1 April 1906 Bushey Rural was renamed Oxhey'.
In 1931 the parish had a population of 2,636.
Oxhey Grange in Oxhey Lane was built in 1876 by architect William Young (1843–1900) in the High Victorian Gothic style. It is a Grade II listed building.

## Culture
### Community Groups

Residents are represented by local community group Oxhey Village Environment Group, colloquially known as OVEG. Founded in 1974, OVEG is a non-political, non-profit residents’ group run by volunteers, which aims to "maintain, protect and enhance the character and environment of Oxhey Village and its surroundings." The group takes action on local issues, such as major planning applications, and operates a number of community events including an annual summer fair.
OVEG’s former committee members include Baroness Thornhill; a former mayor of Watford, and the first female directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.

### Sport & Leisure

Oxhey has a non-League football team Oxhey Jets F.C. who play at the Boundary Stadium.
Oxhey Park Golf Club is a public pay & play course that used to be an 18-hole course built on land owned by the Blackwell family in 1910, who then sold the estate to London County Council in 1946, who made it a municipal course in 1947 with a par of 78, but it was closed in 1954. It subsequently became a 9-hole course.

### Places of worship

Oxhey's parish church is St Matthew's, a Grade II listed building dating from 1880 in Gothic Revival style with some elements of early Art Nouveau decoration. The church also features a Karl Parsons window in the Lady Chapel.

### Public houses

Watford has a long historical association with beer and brewing. At one point, the Oxhey and neighbouring Bushey area was served by as many as 25 pubs.
Oxhey Village is currently served by five public houses:
* The Rifle Volunteer
* The Villiers Arms
* The Load of Hay
* The Victoria
* The Railway Arms

### Education

* Bromet Primary School
* Bushey and Oxhey Infant School
The nearest secondary schools are Grange Academy, which sits just outside the ward boundaries, and Queens' School in Bushey.

## Transport
### Rail

Bushey station is a London Overground and Network Rail station in Travelcard Zone 8; it has direct links to London Euston station and Watford Junction station.
The station is served by London Northwestern Railway semi-fast trains on the West Coast main line, and by London Overground services on the Watford DC line, a slow local service along the West Coast route.
It is an oddity that the station, which serves both Oxhey and the town of Bushey a mile away, is situated on the edge of Oxhey Village and yet is called Bushey Station. The original name of the station was 'Bushey', it was renamed 'Bushey & Oxhey' when Oxhey Village was renamed, and was then renamed again in 1974.

### Bus

The area is served by London Bus routes 142 and 258.

## Oxhey Park

Oxhey Park is a large public space located in Oxhey. Founded in 1924 by recently-established Watford Borough Council, the park comprises approximately 14 hectares of parkland with a wooded dell and rolling grassy slopes.
The site lies between Eastbury Road, Deacons Hill and the West Coast Main Line at Bushey Arches.
In 2020, a new Oxhey Activity Park was opened within the site, including a skate park and a cafe. The redeveloped activity park subsequently won the 'Excellence in Public Health and Wellbeing' prize at the 2021 Landscape Institute Awards.
Oxhey Park - and Oxhey Activity Park - were named amongst ten parks that received the 2022 Green Flag People's Choice Awards.

## Notable people

* Vinnie Jones, actor and former footballer
* Dorothy Thornhill, Baroness Thornhill of Watford, former Mayor of Watford
* Robert Cawdron, actor
* Shirley Eaton, actress
* Mary Pownall Bromet, sculptor and former president of the Society of Women Artists