To the west the land rises gently towards the dip slope of the Chiltern Hills, although there are some local steep inclines where dry valleys in the chalk make deep incisions.

The ancient route known as Old Shire Lane runs in a north south direction at the summit of the rising high ground half a mile to the west.

[2] Until the Second World War it was little more than a hamlet with some cottages for agricultural workers and two businesses providing services to travellers on the road, an inn, and a farriers.

The village has no churches, historically it lacked the population to support one and its residents were part of the parish of St Thomas's West Hyde a mile to the south.

[4] The public house called The Cross stands on Denham Way, the main road from Rickmansworth to Uxbridge and is a listed building with parts dating back to at least the 1700s.

Strong local opposition prevented demolition and the original historic building still stands, converted into dwellings with a small close on the rest of the pub's site.

The area east of The Cross and close to the river was used for gravel extraction facilitated by the Grand Union canal which made transport of bulk material relatively easy.

The giant plant, with its sister site at Blackbirds Farm in Aldenham serve the whole of West Hertfordshire; an area with a population of 557,000 people.

Sludge settled from the incoming sewage is treated by retention in enclosed heated anaerobic digestion tanks, a by-product of this process being methane gas which is used for on-site electrical power generation.

[11] The sewage plant became famous when it was used as a storage facility for the toxic waste perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) after it was used to extinguish the fire at the Buncefield Oil Terminal.

The village achieved notoriety in 2021 with the news that a flock of South American rhea birds had been sighted on the estate, with police issuing warnings to the public.