Culture and leisure Berkhamsted

1 culture , leisure

1.1 literary connections
1.2 cinema
1.3 british film institute national archive @ king s hill
1.4 sport

culture , leisure
literary connections

geoffrey chaucer clerk of works @ berkhamsted castle 1389 , based doctor of phisick in canterbury tales on john of gaddesden, lived in nearby little gaddesden. william cowper born in berkhamsted rectory in 1731. although moved away when still boy, there frequent references town in poems , letters. in victorian era, cowper became cult figure , berkhamsted place of pilgrimage devotees. maria edgeworth, prolific anglo-irish writer of adults , children s literature significant figure in evolution of novel in europe, lived in berkhamsted child in 18th century. between 1904 , 1907, llewelyn davies boys inspiration author , playwright j. m. barrie s peter pan. little later, novelist graham greene born in berkhamsted , educated @ berkhamsted school, alongside literary contemporaries claud cockburn, peter quennell, humphrey trevelyan , cecil parrott. children s authors h. e. todd , hilda van stockum both lived in berkhamsted. comic character ed reardon radio 4 s semi-naturalistic radio drama ed reardon s week resides in berkhamsted.

cinema

rex cinema, berkhamsted

the rex cinema regarded some, including daily telegraph, britain s beautiful cinema. described dame judi dench absolutely awe-inspiring , in 2014, rex declared britain s best cinema in inaugural guardian film awards. built in 1937 rex recognised english heritage fine example of 1930s art deco cinema. cinema designed architect david evelyn nye shipman , king circuit. closed in 1988, cinema extensively restored in 2004 , has become thriving independent local cinema. rex has sold-out houses evening showings, cinema movie palace original art deco trimmings (its interior features decorations of sea waves , shells). inside step golden age of film when going movies experience; cinema features luxurious seating , 2 licensed bars. managed owner james hannaway, introduces films. there question , answer session directors , actors involved in films; these sessions have included dame judi dench, charles dance, mike leigh , terry jones.

prior cinema s construction, elizabethan mansion, egerton house, had occupied site @ east end of high street 350 years. house occupied briefly (1904–07) arthur , sylvia llewelyn davies, children j. m. barrie s inspiration peter pan.

british film institute national archive @ king s hill

rarely open public, bfi national archive s j. paul getty, jr. conservation centre in berkhamsted archive of british film institute. on 275,000 feature, non-fiction , short films (dating 1894) , 210,000 television programmes, 1 of largest film archives in world. 2 of archive s collections added united nations educational, scientific , cultural organisation (unesco) uk memory of world register, in 2011. archive collects, preserves, restores , shares films , television programmes have shaped , recorded british life , times since development of motion picture film in late 19th century. majority of collection british-originated material, archive features internationally significant holdings around world , films feature key british actors , work of british directors.

sport

the berkhamsted bowmen oldest archery club in england. there sports centre off douglas gardens, managed dacorum sports trust (sportspace). facilities comprise large indoor multi-purpose sports hall, squash courts, swimming pool , outdoor all-weather pitch. facility complemented dual use of leisure facilities of ashlyns school , berkhamsted collegiate school. deficit in leisure space compounded high level of sports participation locally , consequent heavy use of outdoor sports pitches. founded in 1875 berkhamsted cricket club competes in herts league , in 2015 ran twenty-five separate teams. 9 berkhamsted , hemel hempstead hockey club teams based outside town @ cow roast, playing matches @ tring school. there 2 bowls clubs, berkhamsted , kitcheners. berkhamsted , surrounding area has variety of road cycling , mountain biking routes, including traffic-free off-road routes in ashridge estate. town visited tour of britain in 2014.

the town s football club, berkhamsted f.c., play in spartan south midlands league premier division. team formed in 2009 after demise of berkhamsted town f.c., had been established in 1895. play @ town s football ground, broadwater, share watford l.f.c., play in fa women s super league division 2. founded in 1996, berkhamsted raiders c.f.c. football club recognised fa charter standard community club of year @ english football association community awards in 2014 , awarded uefa grassroots silver award in 2015 work across local community. club in 2015 had more 800 affiliated players, including 90 girls , 691 boys in youth set-up, 29 ladies, 20 seniors , 20 veterans: spread across 65 teams @ different levels. club based @ berkhamsted community cricket , sports club, kitcheners field, castle hill, berkhamsted.