Bushey

Bushey (population 24,000) is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey is near Watford and is part of the London commuter belt. This article covers both Bushey the neigbouring town of Bushey Heath.

Local Heroes

A man who definitely deserves a mention in the history of Bushey was Hubert Herkomer, a poor immigrant from Bavaria who arrived in Bushey in 1874, and ended life in 1914 as Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA CVO. Herkomer visited a friend who lived in Bushey in 1873, fell in love with the nearby Bushey Village, then rented a pair of cottages and a studio near Melbourne Road. With his artistic talents, he founded Herkomer?s Art School at Bushey in 1883, which, in its 21 year life, attracted some 500 students to the area. He is sometimes referred to as having found Bushey, giving it an artistic reputation and leaving us with the many paintings by his pupils of past life in the town, a lot of which are on display in the Bushey Museum.

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At around 1888, he built Lululaund, a Bavarian ?castle?, which was named after his second wife Lulu Griffiths. Unfortunately, after being married only for a year, she died saving a small child from being run over by a carriage. Lululaund dominated the Bushey skyline until 1939 when it was demolished. Although it is said that it was demolished in fear of the running cost, there is speculation as to whether it was destroyed in a fit of anti-German rage at the start of the Second World War. Only the brick arched portal remains today; a lot of the building was used as hardcore for Bovingdon Airfield, and much of the grand carvings inside the castle were burnt. The inhabitants of Bushey have been bitter about the demolition of the castle ever since; not only is it a beautiful building lost, but it would have stood as a symbol of Bushey?s artistic past.

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More recently, Bushey was the hometown of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

Related Topics:
George Michael - Andrew Ridgeley

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Bushey is also the hometown of poker player John Gale.

Related Topics:
Poker - John Gale

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