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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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