Hertingfordbury | |
---|---|
Location within Hertfordshire | |
Population | 689 (2021 Census) |
• Density | 61.92/km² |
OS grid reference | TL307120 |
Civil parish |
|
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Hertford |
Postcode district | SG14 |
Dialling code | 01992 |
Police | Hertfordshire |
Fire | Hertfordshire |
Ambulance | East of England |
UK Parliament | |
Hertingfordbury is a small village in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Hertingfordbury is also the name of a neighbouring civil parish, which does not contain the village. [1] Hertingfordbury village is within the Castle ward of Hertford Town Council. [2] The population of the civil parish as of the 2021 census was 689. [3]
Hertingfordbury lies one mile west of Hertford on the A414 road. Ribbon development along that road has yet to reach the village, which retains a rural character. The village straddles the River Mimram, on which was built a water mill in the 18th century, and lies just north of the River Lea. The northern boundary of the village is Panshanger Park, with its Great Oak, considered by some to be the oldest oak in England. It is situated within the Castle ward of Hertford Town Council, the London metropolitan green belt and is a named conservation area of East Herts District Council.
Although Hertingfordbury civil parish does not include the village, it does contain five smaller villages known as the "five greens". They are Birch Green, Cole Green, East End Green, Letty Green and Staines Green. [4] Letty Green, to the west, has a grade II listed deconsecrated St John's Church. [5] Between the villages are the hamlets of Cumberland Green, Labby Green and Pipers End. [4] On 1 April 1924 St Andrew Rural parish was merged with Hertingfordbury, on 1 April 1935 the village of Hertingfordbury was transferred to Hertford. [6]
The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hertfordingberie, meaning "Stronghold of the people of Hertford":
Ralph himself holds Hertfordingberie. It is assessed at 5 hides. There is land for 10 ploughs. In demesne are 3 hides and 1 virgate, and there are 2 ploughs, and there can be a third. There 5 villans with 1 Frenchman and 6 bordars have 5 ploughs, and there can be 2 more. There are 11 cottars and 4 slaves, and 2 mills rendering 6s, meadow for 3 ploughs, pasture for the livestock of the vill and woodland for 200 pigs. From woodland pasture, 7s. In all it is worth £8; when received, £6; TRE £10. Alwine, a thegn of Earl Harold, held this manor and could sell. [7]
St. Mary's Church is situated on rising ground to the east of the village, overlooking the water meadows that lead down to the River Mimram. A church seems to have stood on this spot as early as the 13th century. Construction is mainly of local flints with stone dressing, and the roof is tiled. Extensive alterations and restorations were carried out in 1845 and 1890. Inside the church is some interesting alabaster work, including the pulpit, and oak carvings by a native of Oberammergau. The churchyard contains the unmarked grave of Jane Wenham, erroneously believed to be the last person to be sentenced to death for witchcraft in England. She was condemned by a Hertford court in 1712 but was given a reprieve from the death sentence and later granted a Royal pardon by Queen Anne. Originally from Walkern her cause was adopted by William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, and she lived out her days in a cottage on his land at Panshanger Park. Also buried in the churchyard are members of the Cowper family, and, under the yew tree by the west door, Benjamin Truman, owner of the Truman Brewery in the 18th century, which was at one time the biggest brewery in the world. [8] The Camden Town Group artist, Spencer Gore, whose mother lived in Hertingfordbury, was buried in the churchyard, after dying in Richmond. An American heiress, Pauline Payne Whitney, who had married Lord Queenborough, is buried there as is their daughter, Dorothy Paget, a racehorse owner, whose horses won the Cheltenham Gold Cup seven times and the Champion Hurdle four. Her funeral procession included a string of race horses, whose jockeys included Gordon Richards.
Both Hertingfordbury Park, former residence of the Cowper family, and St Joseph's in the Park, a private primary school, stand to the east of St. Mary's. [9] Houses in the village include "Epcombs", a Georgian brick house and "Amores", which stands in a triangle in the centre of the village and is over 500 years old. A little to the south of the main village is "Roxford House" on St. Mary's Lane, a Grade II Listed Building, where Austrian composer Joseph Haydn stayed for the summer of 1791. [10] [11] The White Horse is a 15th-century Georgian-fronted building that in the past was a staging post for the Reading to Cambridge coach. To the north-east of the church is the Old Rectory, formerly home of the Addis family, descendants of William Addis, inventor of the first mass-produced toothbrush. There was an Addis brush factory in Hertford from 1920 to the 1990s.
Mayflower Place was commissioned by Countess Cowper and built in 1910. It was originally for the workers and their families from the Panshanger Estate. [12] It is now owned by the East Herts Lodge of Freemasons. [13]
A by-pass was constructed in 1974. Since then the village has changed in character and now provides homes for those who commute daily to London rather than for farm workers.
Hertingfordbury was formerly served by Hertingfordbury railway station on the Hertford to Hatfield line. This was built for the Hertford & Welwyn Junction Railway and appeared in passenger timetables by 1858. [14] Passenger services ceased in 1951 and the line eventually fell victim to the Beeching Axe when goods traffic ceased in 1966. The station was the setting for scenes in the 1936 film When Knights Were Bold , and an ITV children's TV programme, Catweazle in 1970. [15] It has now been converted into a residence. The disused railway line is now the Cole Green Way, popular with walkers, riders and cyclists.
Hertingfordbury Cricket Club plays at the recreation ground as does Hertingfordbury Tennis Club, which was formed at a public meeting in 1961. [16] [17] There is an annual fete on the third Saturday in June to raise funds for the upkeep of the recreation ground.
Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands. It is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, to distinguish it from the much newer and larger settlement of Welwyn Garden City, about a mile to the south.
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census.
East Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and the other main towns are Ware, Buntingford and Sawbridgeworth. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 137,687. By area it is the largest of the ten local government districts in Hertfordshire. The district borders North Hertfordshire, Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford in Essex.
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social care, transport, education, and the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. The Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council since 1999. The council is based at County Hall in Hertford.
Bengeo is a suburb and former village and civil parish on the north-west edge of the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England. It is an electoral ward of Hertford. In 1891 the parish had a population of 2586. In 1894 the parish was abolished to form Bengeo Rural and Bengeo Urban.
Kimpton is a village in Hertfordshire, England, six miles south of Hitchin, seven miles north of St Albans and four miles from Harpenden and Luton. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,167.
Watton-at-Stone is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, and is midway between the towns of Stevenage and Hertford in the valley of the River Beane.
The River Mimram is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. It runs from its source near Whitwell in Hertfordshire to join the River Lea at Hertford.
Digswell is a village and former parish in the English county of Hertfordshire which is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. The population of the urban area of Digswell in the 2011 Census was 1,632.
Hertford was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire, which elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1298 until 1974.
Hertford Heath is a village and civil parish near the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,672.
Great Amwell is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Ware and about 20 miles (32 km) north of London. In 2011 the parish had a population of 2353.
Little Amwell was a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, lying 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south-east of the county town of Hertford. The old village of Little Amwell forms the northern part of the modern village of Hertford Heath. The civil parish of Little Amwell was abolished in 1990, merging with parts of the neighbouring parishes of Great Amwell, Stanstead St Margarets, and Ware to form the new parish of Hertford Heath. Little Amwell remains the name of the ecclesiastical parish which covers Hertford Heath. In 1961 the parish had a population of 982.
Panshanger was a large country house located between the outer edge of Hertford and Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England.
The Cole Green Way is a rail trail which runs east-west from the eastern edge of Welwyn Garden City to Hertford in Hertfordshire. Part of National Cycle Network Route 61, and the Lea Valley Walk, it runs for more than six miles along the former Hertford, Luton & Dunstable branch line from Welwyn Garden City railway station to Hertford North railway station.
Sacombe is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, of Hertfordshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 165. Sacombe is located about 4 miles N N W of Ware; other nearby settlements include Dane End and Sacombe Green.
Cole Green is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Welwyn Garden City just off the A414. It is in the Hertingfordbury Ward of East Herts District Council. Residents of note include Sky Sports boxing commentator Nick Halling.
Letty Green is a village in the parish of Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire, England.
Holy Trinity Church is the parish church for the village of Weston in Hertfordshire. The church building stands to the south-east of the village on high ground, and is built of flint and coursed ironstone rubble. It was Grade I listed in 1968. In the churchyard is the supposed grave of the giant Jack o'Legs.
Nathaniel Brassey of Roxford, Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire and Lombard St., London was a British banker and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1761.