Dacorum

The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. It includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, and Kings Langley. It had a population of 137,799 at the 2001 census.

The District of Dacorum was formed in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 by the amalgamation of 7 smaller local authorities which are symbolised in the 7 oak leaves which surround a tudor rose found on the coat of arms.

The five major components were the municipal borough of Hemel Hempstead, the urban districts of Berkhamsted and Tring, the rural districts of Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead and those parts of the rural districts of St Albans and Watford which were within the designated area of Hemel Hempstead new town.

The district was granted borough status in 1984. Hemel Hempstead had maintained Charter Trustees from 1974 to 1984.

The borough takes its name from the old hundred of Dacorum which covered approximately the same area. The name of the hundred, first recorded in 1196, is simply the Latin for "of the Danes", since the hundred lies at the margin of the Danelaw, the southern boundary of which was formed by the River Lee. This hundred was a combination of the two Domesday Book hundreds of Tring and Danais.

Main settlements
The main towns and villages of the borough are:

Aldbury, Bovingdon, Berkhamsted, Bourne End, Bulbourne, Chipperfield, Cow Roast, Flamstead, Flaunden, Frithsden, Gaddesden Row, Great Gaddesden, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, Little Gaddesden, Little Tring, Long Marston, Markyate, Nettleden, New Mill, Northchurch, Potten End, Ringshall, Tring, Tringford, Water End, and Wigginton.

The borough is entirely parished, apart from Hemel Hempstead.

Political representation
Dacorum Borough Council consists of 51 elected members, representing twenty-five electoral wards. 14 of the wards elect two councillors each. Six, denoted below, elect three councillors each. Five, also denoted below, elect one.

The Council is currently controlled by the Conservatives, who hold 43 of the 51 seats. The Liberal Democrats hold 6, making them the second-largest contingent. Labour hold 2, down from 14 in the last election, in 2003.

Wards
Dacorum consists of twenty-five wards. Wards electing three members are denoted with asterisks (*). Those electing one member are denoted an obelisk (†).

Town twinning

 * The Borough of Dacorum, is twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Neu-Isenburg, Germany

Two of the civil parishes in the borough also maintain their own separate twinning arrangements:


 * Berkhamsted Town Council is twinned with:
 * 🇫🇷 Beaune (France)


 * Kings Langley Parish Council with:
 * 🇬🇭 Baku (Ghana).

Sport
The Dacorum Borough has a wide range of Sports Clubs and most are denoted by their local Town or District Name. Dacorum Borough Swimming Squad is an elite Swimming Squad made up of members from the swimming clubs in the Dacorum Borough including Hemel Hempstead Swimming Club, FIFOLITS Swimming Club, Berkhamsted Barracudas Swimming Club, Berkhamsted Sports Centre Swimming Club, Kings Langley Swimming Club and Tring Swimming Club.