Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess of Salisbury, forms the nucleus of the old town. From the 1930s when de Havilland opened a factory until the 1990s when British Aerospace closed it, aircraft design and manufacture employed more people there than any other industry. Hatfield was one of the post-war New Towns built around London and has much modernist architecture from the period. The University of Hertfordshire is based there.
Hertfordshire is one of the home counties in southern England. It is bordered by Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it is placed in the East of England region. It covers 634.366 square miles (1,643.00 km2). It derives its name from a hart (stag) and a ford, used as the components of the county's coat of arms and of the flag. Hertfordshire County Council is based in Hertford, once the main market town.
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire.
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built, and his Comet was the first jet airliner to go into production.
Watford is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of London, on the River Colne.
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an 80 ha studio complex in Leavesden in Hertfordshire, in southeast England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film and media complex owned by Warner Bros. The studios were all converted from an aircraft factory and airfield called Leavesden Aerodrome, a centre of British aircraft production during World War II. It is situated in Leavesden, Watford, in southwest Hertfordshire. The nearest railway station is King's Langley which is a walking distance of 1.3 miles.
Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was a private airport on the border between Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, 4 NM north of Bristol, England.
Woodford is a suburban village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, 5.2 miles (8.4 km) south of Stockport, 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-west of Macclesfield and 10.7 miles (17.2 km) south-east of Manchester. Woodford is the most southerly point of Greater Manchester and consists of a ribbon of properties along the A5102 road, around which is open countryside.
The de Havilland Engine Company was an offshoot of the de Havilland aircraft building company, which started life as the 'Engine Division of the de Havilland Aircraft Company' in 1926 producing the famous de Havilland Gipsy aero-engine. The company was merged with Bristol Siddeley (BSEL) engines in 1961 with BSEL subsequently becoming part of Rolls-Royce Limited in 1968.
Hawarden Airport, is an airport near Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, near the border with England and 3.5 NM west southwest of the English city of Chester.
Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester, United Kingdom by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's reputation established with his cranes they quickly developed a reputation for superior engineering by manufacturing the "best car in the world". The First World War brought them into manufacturing aero-engines. Joint development of jet engines began in 1940 and they entered production. Rolls-Royce has built an enduring reputation for development and manufacture of engines for defence and civil aircraft.
Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK.
The Gatwick Aviation Museum is located in the village of Charlwood, in Surrey, United Kingdom on the boundary of Gatwick Airport.
Hatfield Aerodrome was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.
Dunsfold Aerodrome is an unlicensed airfield in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh. It extends across land in the villages of Dunsfold and Alfold.
British shadow factories were the outcome of the Shadow Scheme, a plan devised in 1935 and developed by the British Government in the buildup to World War II to try to meet the urgent need for more aircraft using technology transfer from the motor industry to implement additional manufacturing capacity.
Hunton Park is a large country house and estate in Abbots Langley, in south west Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It was originally called Hazelwood House when first built in the early 19th century. The original house was destroyed in 1908 and completely rebuilt. It is now a hotel owned by the Ruparelia family.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is a walkthrough exhibition and studio tour in Leavesden, southeast England, owned by Warner Bros. and operated by their Studio Tours division. It is located within Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, near Watford, in southwest Hertfordshire, and houses a permanent exhibit of authentic costumes, props and sets utilised in the production of the Harry Potter films, as well as behind-the-scenes production of visual effects. The tour is contained in Soundstages J and K, which were specially built for the attraction, and is separate from the studio's actual production facilities.
