Although there has been some debate,[3] modern, scholarly commentary has concluded that the name originated as a compound of the Old English words bysc ('bush, thicket') and hæg ('enclosure').

[4] The first written record of Bushey is its entry in the Domesday Book of 1086, which describes a small agricultural village named 'Bissei' (which later became 'Biss(h)e' and then 'Bisheye' during the 12th century).

However, chance archaeological findings of Stone Age tools provide evidence that the area was inhabited as far back as the Palaeolithic period.

Whilst the original aim was to produce food, being close to a railway and up to 500 ft above sea level with beautiful and broad views made the area attractive for housing developers.

The expansion eventually died down because much of the land in and around Bushey was protected under the Metropolitan Green Belt after the Second World War.

The railway passes to the north west of the town and crosses Bushey Arches Viaduct, an original feature dating from 1837.

Although one of the highwaymen responsible for the attacks is rumoured to have been the notorious Dick Turpin, evidence suggests that he was in fact more active in the region of Essex.

[7] The first meeting of Bushey Urban District Council was held on 16 April 1906 at Merry Hill School, with Richard Prowse being appointed the first chairman.

Local events include the Bushey Festival and quarter marathon, held each July, and the Horticultural Society's flower and produce show.

Several historic buildings in Bushey, notably the old Royal Masonic School for Boys, later the International University, in the Avenue, have been used in films over a long period of time, including Nuns on the Run, Out of Bounds, Children of Men and Harry Potter.

Warren Lake, a duck pond on Bushey Heath, was restored in 1992 after falling into a poor state of repair.

Hubert Herkomer was a poor immigrant from Bavaria, who grew up in Southampton and studied art in London before moving to Bushey in 1874.

His painting and portraits earned him fame and fortune, and he died in 1914 as Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA CVO.

Herkomer had visited a friend who lived in Bushey in 1873, and returned to rent a pair of cottages and a studio near Melbourne Road.

He founded Herkomer's Art School at Bushey in 1883, which, in its 21-year life, attracted some 500 students to the area, including the miniaturist Elsie Higgins.

Lululaund dominated the Bushey skyline until 1939 when it was almost entirely demolished; a lot of the building was used as hardcore for Bovingdon Airfield, and much of the woodwork and carvings from the castle were burnt.

[18] In 2018 an extension was built to provide for 50 further years of interment covering 16 acres (6.5 ha) of new landscaping and including prayer halls, offices and mortuary.

[19] Bushey has been twinned with German town Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria (Southern Germany) for its historical link.