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Welcome to the BCS Hertfordshire Branch Website
The County of Hertfordshire
Archaeological relics date the first residents of Hertfordshire back to
the early Stone Age, although it was the Romans that later left a more
lasting impression. Verulamium, the Roman town of St Albans, was a thriving
centre during the occupation which ended in the fifth century with the
arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. The new rulers founded their own towns
such as Hertford which was built as a fortress, and the county became
a frontier in the struggle against the Danes.
The Normans, creators of the Domesday Book, were the next settlers
in the county, leaving their mark in a series of castles such as those
at Hertford, Bishop's Stortford and Berkhamsted. Proximity to London
made the county a popular retreat for the nobility, whose grand homes
often welcomed visiting royalty.
The industrial revolution had a significant impact, the county seeing
a spectacular growth of population. Letchworth was chosen in 1903
as the first site for the "Garden City" experiment in town
planning. Stevenage was the first of the New Towns, defined in 1946,
planned to combine residential, shopping, industrial and leisure areas
in discrete self-contained communities.
BCS Hertfordshire Branch
The Hertfordshire Branch covers an area of the country which includes
parts of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, as well as the eponymous
county. We have over 1600 members at all grades, and meet approximately
once per month from September / October to May / June. Meetings cover
a wide variety of topics, technical, commercial, academic etc.
The Branch began as a sub-branch of the London Branch, and was originally
named the Watford sub-branch. In April 1973, it moved location to
Hemel Hempstead and was renamed the West Herts sub-branch. The speaker
at the first meeting was Dr Tom Margerison, the well-known science
writer and broadcaster.
Various venues were tried, Batchwood Hall, the Langley Hotel, and
the Heath Park Hotel. The latter being the most popular, it was adopted
for meetings for some time.
Full Branch status was approved in May 1974. During the 1980s, meetings
were moved to the Aubrey Park Hotel. The University of Hertfordshire
played host in the early 1990s and the Thistle Hotel St Albans during
the latter years of the century. Our current location in Hemel Hempstead
is kindly provided by Steria Limited.
There have been many eminent speakers over the years including Sir
Edwin Nixon, MD of IBM (UK) Limited, Michael Jackson, founder of Michael
Jackson Systems Limited and all outgoing Presidents of the Society.
The Branch changed its name to the Hertfordshire Branch in 2003,
to reflect the majority of membership addresses.
About the BCS
As the industry body for IT professionals, and a Chartered Engineering Institution for Information Technology (IT), the BCS exists to provide service and support to the IT community, including IT practitioners and employers of IT practitioners. |
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