South Mimms
| South Mimms | |
 Aerial view |
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  South Mimms |
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| Population | 729 |
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| OS grid reference | TL225015 |
| District | Hertsmere |
| Shire county | Hertfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | POTTERS BAR |
| Postcode district | EN6 |
| Dialling code | 01707 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Hertsmere |
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Coordinates: 51°41′56″N 0°13′44″W / 51.69889°N 0.22885°W
South Mimms, sometimes spelt South Mymms, is a village and civil parish forming part of the Hertsmere district of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It is a small settlement located near to the junction of the M25 motorway with the A1(M) motorway and is perhaps more widely known because of the naming of the service station at that junction.
History
Potters Bar was originally a small settlement in the parish of South Mimms. Potters Bar became the location of the nearest railway station and eventually became much larger. Both Potters Bar and South Mimms were part of Middlesex until the creation of Greater London, which abolished the county of Middlesex in 1965. South Mimms was the northernmost village in Middlesex.[1]
South Mimms parish was split in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 with the extreme southern tip forming South Mimms Urban parish in the Barnet Urban District and was transferred to Hertfordshire. This area now forms part of the London Borough of Barnet. The rest of the parish became the South Mimms Rural District, later renamed the Potters Bar Urban District.
South Mimms served as a home for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands during her exile in World War II. A German air attack on South Mimms at this time narrowly missed her, killing two of her guards, an incident mentioned in her autobiography.
Dancers Hill in South Mimms was the location of a World War II prisoner-of-war camp, Camp 33, that consisted of two compounds, both providing tented accommodation for prisoners.[2]
Richmond Thackeray, father of William Makepeace Thackeray, was born in the parish and baptised in the church in 1781.[1]
For many years Clare Hall Hospital was used as a tuberculosis sanatorium. It is now used by Cancer Research UK.
A notable person born in South Mimms is Samuel Tinsley, a famous chess player.
References
- 1 2 "South Mimms: Introduction | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
- ↑ "PRISONER OF WAR CAMPS (1939 – 1948)". Historic England. Historic England. 2003. p. 23. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
External links
Media related to South Mimms at Wikimedia Commons