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Piccotts End is home to several leading names in the media. Among them are Radio 3 presenters Penny Gore and her partner Martin Cotton. After seven years of having to be up before dawn for the journey to Broadcasting House and her early morning programme of classical music, Penny is now enjoying a lie-in. From April 2007 she has been presenting the afternoon show - a move which has not been without some controversy. Some of her male fans have complained that they miss her velvet voice early in the morning - 'so much more soothing than all that shouting on Radio 4' said one! Penny, pictured here, has her own BBC web entry where you can read more about her broadcasting career.
Hello's Royal correspondent Judy Wade is another resident. Author Judy has written books on the Royals including Diana: Portrait of a Princess. Her latest, Diana: The Intimate Portrait, was published in May 2007.
Joyce Hopkirk used to enjoy the limelight as the founding editor of the UK edition of Cosmopolitan. For anyone who has seen The Devil Wears Prada, about a tyrannical American magazine editor of the Cosmo variety, Joyce bears no resemblance! These days, as wife of Bill Lear and mother of PERA committee member Vicki Linsey, Joyce enjoys the peace and quiet of Piccotts End in between travelling.
The village is also home to Emma Sweeney, lecturer in creative writing at the University of New York in London, who moved into one of the black & white cottages by Piccotts End Lane in 2007. Emma has brought her literary skills into village life as a founder member of the book club.
Just down the road you will find Sheila Pratt who used to be the editor of the Law Society Journal.
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mong Piccotts End's many distinguished residents are Hemel Hempstead's former MP Robin Corbett and his wife Val. Robin, now Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, and Val play a prominent role in the community.
In addition to being a working peer, Robin chairs PERA while Val is involved in charity work, notably Dacoum Women's Aid www.dacorumwomen.org.uk. She is also also associate director of Training For Life which gives disadvantaged people skills and training to get a job.
Their daughter Polly Hudson, who attended Cavendish School when she lived in the village, has followed in her parents' former journalistic footsteps. Polly, who has had regular slots on GMTV as a tv reviewer, has her own weekly column in the Daily Mirror, where Robin was once political editor.
For anyone with a sweet tooth and a penchant for afternoon tea with jam and scones, getting to know Michael and Valerie Tate might be a good idea. PE resident Michael is the owner of a specialist jam factory in France! The St Dalfour brand can be found in upmarket UK food shops, and my particular favourite is his Rhapsodie de Fruit raspberry jam, which goes down extremely well on a slice of toast.
Pint-sized Piccotts End is fortunate enough to have not one but two pub restaurants with an even wider choice of eateries on its doorstep. In the centre of the village isThe Boars Head, a traditional 18th century inn with a big garden and a regular programme of live music nights.
The Marchmont Arms, once the home of Lord Marchmont, has been transformed into a modern, stylish, gastro-pub. Built in the 18th Century by Lord Marchmont, the building was a private residence for over two centuries before being converted. With a menu including 'black pearl' scallops, beef carpaccio and duck confit, and where chips are called 'belgian frites', iIt is clearly aiming at the clientele who frequent places like the nearby Alford Arms. Not far away, over at Water End, the old Red Lion has also been transformed into a bustling, noisy restaurant where it's often hard to find a table.
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Piccotts End is renowned for its mediaeval wall paintings. They date back to the late 15th century but were only discovered in 1953. They are believed to have been painted by pilgrims staying in a row of cottages while on their way to The College of Bonhommes monastery at Ashridge.
The paintings were discovered on the wall of a first floor bedroom, behind a layer linen and a further six layers of wallpaper. It was quickly realised that the paintings extended down to the ground floor and originated from the time when this part of the building was a medieval hall. In the early 19th century the eminent surgeon Sir Astley Paston Cooper, who lived at Gadebridge House, established in the building the first cottage hospital in England. After the hospital moved to its present site at Marlowes a few years later the cottages returned to residential use.
The cottages' present owner is PE resident Mervyn Sellick. Lack of permanent visitor facilities prevent him from opening the murals to the public on a daily basis, however group visits by history and associated societies can be arranged by contacting him by email mervynsellick@btconnect.com
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