Last Modified July 22, 2024
Picturesque and historically impressive, Bushey retains its village atmosphere and is a pleasant location separated from neighbouring, more built-up areas by farmland commons and golf courses.
Largely residential with a population of around 24,000, Bushey offers much to interest visitors - notably its strong association with the Monro Circle of early English watercolourists and with the eminent Victorian artist Sir Hubert Von Herkomer (1849 -1914).
The main part of the village near the Church of St James and the quaint village pond is a conservation area. It boasts a number of attractive buildings from the 18th century with some dating back even earlier.
An intriguing mix of antique shops, restaurants, public houses and general stores cluster along the High Street and serve the needs of visitor and resident alike.
St James' beautiful churchyard is said to be the largest in Southern England and because of its antiquity contains a wide range of flora.
A church is reputed to have stood on this site since 1006, but none of the present structure can lay claim to such an early date.
The chancel is the oldest part dating from around 1250, and the hammer beam roof of the nave is a remarkably well-preserved example of 14th century workmanship. The fine Jacobean pulpit is well worth a look.
St James' was restored and enlarged at the end of the last century. It is the parish church of Bushey with two sister churches, St Paul's, Bushey Hall Road (1900) and Holy Trinity, Bushey Mill Lane (1950).
The refurbished Bushey Museum in Rudolph Road features a variety of exhibitions
of wide local interest. Here social history is matched with a unique art collection drawing on the area's heritage - more than 1,000 artists have worked in Bushey since 1800.
Awarded a Gulbenkian Museum and Gallery Award in its first year (1993), Bushey Museum has also been granted full Museum Registration by the Museums and Galleries Commission.
The Herkomer Room and exhibits relating to Bushey's famous local artists are impressive, but changing exhibitions on contemporary topics also offer a fresh approach to local history.