Hanstead House and the Yule family
Bricket Wood gained fame because of Sir David Yule (1858-1928) who processed his home at Hanstead Home off Smug Oak Lane, upright outside a village. He was natural around Edinburgh, Scotland and he spent most of his life inside India, which is where he was knighted by King George V in 1911.

Sir David Yule joined Andrew Yule & Company Ltd., which was begun by his uncle. Its business was to develop tea, jute & paper around India & export the two to Britain. Among his more business interests were directorships of Midland Bank, Mercantile Bank of India, Vickers Ltd., a Royal Exchange Assurance Company & ownership of the Daily Chronicle newspaper. Inside 1900 he married Annie Henrietta, oldest girl of his uncle Andrew Yule of Calcutta, India.

Herbert W. Armstrong who later bought the former home of Sir David Yule, wrote in his booklet The Seven Laws of Success: "In 1925 Sir David decided to build for himself a mansion on his 1200 acre (4.9 km²) estate, located only five miles (8 km) from the northwest edge of London. Prior to this he had built a 'modest' two-story house of some 14 rooms to live in during construction of the mansion. It was later to become the guest house."

Hanstead residence, which was built in a style of Georgian architecture, became a home of Miss Gladys Yule, the single little one of Sir David & Lady Annie. She sleep in a mansion using the servants when her mother sleep in the guest home. Sir David spent virtually all of his instance around India. Upon his dying around 1928 his widow woman inherited an judged £ 15 million & she returned to England. Commented Herbert W. Armstong: "He lies buried in an admirably designed carved stone tomb, covered overhead by a stone and wood canopy, enclosed by an ornate iron fence inside a small wooded park, the whole being encircled by another iron fence." A grave of Sir David Yule, which depicts various aspects of his life is placed on the evidence of Hanstead Home.

Lady Annie Henrietta Yule & her daughter Gladys were globe traveler world health organization reportedly shared an interest inside heavy game hunting and the love of fauna. Hanstead Home was said to keep close at hand been adorned by an the big stuffed bear which it got flushed in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. On the evidence it saved the seal, penguins brush kangaroo & beginning within 1925 they expanded their interests to Arabian horse breeding. To it prevent stables which late gained fame in their have correct, were rest on the expansive evidence.

Within 1934 Lady Yule also played the key a portion with J. Arthur Rank in the formation of Pinewood Film Studios and in the promotion of the British film industry.

As a consequence a dying of Miss Gladys Yule around 1957, Hanstead House was wear the market in which it remained uncared for above a considerable period.

Ambassador College
Around 1959 it was brought to the attention of Herbert W. Armstrong world health organization arrived around England wanting to find the big professional for his Radio Church of God staff. A existent professional experienced been opened inside London by his eldest boy Richard David Armstrong, brother of Garner Ted Armstrong. Spell Herbert W. & his married woman Lomthe get on their hike, Richard David was flushed inside a car crash in the USA.

Around 1959 Herbert W. Armstrong bought Hanstead Home, stalls & evidence when a places for his 2nd Ambassador College campus. Per period of a acquire a guest page experienced already been sold one by one to a second emptor, world health organization utilized a property as a personal home rather an island in the campus. (A number one Ambassador College opened within 1947 at Pasadena, California; in 1964 a third college opened in Big Sandy, Texas which for a brief instance became Ambassador University. Completely deuce-ace colleges develop since closed down.) around 1959 Hanstead Home was renamed Memorial Hall inside memory of Richard David Armstrong & a college at Bricket Wood began its number 1 first-season year within 1960.

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote within Chapter 72 of his autobiography that Trans World Airlines (TWA) had been looking for Hanstead Home as a school for hostess. "Yet this mansion, with these outstanding gardens, the aviary, greenhouses, cedars of Lebanon, all finally came to us for £8,000 ($22,800) - the not uncommon price of a five- or six-room cottage on a forty- or fifty-foot lot in America, - and that on terms that gave us several years to pay."

From either a radio studio of Ambassador College at Bricket Wood, Herbert W. Armstrong & his boy Garner Ted Armstrong mass produced English language daily recorded broadcasts of The World Tomorrow radio program which were heard around the world in hundreds of stations, while Dr. Benjamin Rea, the college's Vice-Chancellor made recorded Spanish language editions of the program for other stations. Additionally to the broadcasting activities the sizeable printing establishment was too commenced on the places. Dr. Ernest L. Martin was the Dean of Faculty who later gained fame in his own right as the author of several books on controversial topics.

Improvements were processed to the evidence & these involved lawn tennis courts, track & an Olympic standard indoor floating pool & gymnasium next to the track.

HSBC Training Centre
Once Ambassador College at Bricket Wood closed its doors around 1974, the sports facilities were sold to severally from either the independent buildings & it sooner or later became a share of a Sports Centre.

the college was sold to a succession of electric power utility interests as a step by step instruction centre & around 1993 it was sold to HSBC (named when its instauration member, A Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, which was established inside 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe.)

Naturism
A village of Bricket Wood is or so Spielplatz, Britain's oldest naturist club which was begun in 1929 by Charles Macaskie and his wife Dorothy. It moved from either Londin into the collapsible shelter on Dozen land (49,000 m²) of virgin forest it purchased touching Bricket Wood. It known as their utopian camp the Green Monastery & the Play Place (Spielplatz).

It were joined by more couples & people in weekends. Among their visitant until 1947 was Ross Nichols, founder of The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids. Successively he attracted two fellow Druids and Gerald Gardner, who late established his 1st coven at Bricket Wood around his development of Wicca as a modern religion.

Around 1931 Bricket Wood also attracted a development of another nudist club known as A Sun-Folk Society to the nearby metropolitan area.

Wicca
Inside 1954 Gerald Gardner published his book "Witchcraft Today" to advance his own practice of Wicca as a modern religion. He established his 1st coven at Bricket Wood. Gerald Gardner was besides the visitant to Spielplatz.