St Ippolyts | |
---|---|
St Ippolyts village sign | |
Location within Hertfordshire | |
Population | 2,047 (2011 Census including Gosmore) [1] |
OS grid reference | TL197270 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Hitchin |
Postcode district | SG4 |
Dialling code | 01462 |
Police | Hertfordshire |
Fire | Hertfordshire |
Ambulance | East of England |
UK Parliament | |
St Ippolyts (or St Ippollitts) is a village and civil parish on the southern edge of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000.
St Ippolyts is located within the local government district of North Hertfordshire and within the Ward of Graveley, St Ippolyts & Wymondley, a Multi Member Ward currently represented by two Liberal Democrat councillors (Cllr Dominic Griffiths and Cllr Caroline McDonnell). [2]
St Ippolyts is located within the Hertfordshire County Council Division of Knebworth and Codicote and is represented by Cllr Richard Thake (Conservative). [3]
The Village is represented in Parliament by Alistair Strathern MP (Labour) who was first elected as the MP for Hitchin in 2024.
St Ippolyts is located in between the A602 (Stevenage Road) and the B656 (Codicote Road), 2 km (1.2 mi) south-east of Hitchin, Hertfordshire. It lies approximately 80 m (260 ft) above sea level in a gap in the Chiltern Hills.
Some features of the village are a 17th-century gabled house, a timber-framed house formerly known as the Olive Branch Inn, and a 16th-century house built around an even older timbered house.
Wymondley grid substation is in the village, south of the A602. The village of Wymondley is next door, to the north-east, on the other side of the A602.
The substation is 78 acres, and eventually cost £7.5m, built by Howard Farrow Construction.
The name of St Ippolyts, although spelled in a variety of ways, is derived from St Hippolytus to whom the village church was dedicated. According to Daphne Rance in her book on the parish "St. Ippolyts: a country parish in the nineteenth century" (1987) at various times also known as Epolites, Pallets, Nipples or St Ibbs. In the same vein, the 1881 census mentions the following 28 place names, all of which are believed to refer to it: Iplits, Ipolits, Ipollitts, Ipollyts, Ipolytes, Ipolyts, Ippatyts, Ipplits, Ipployts, Ipplyts, Ippolett, Ippoletts, Ippolits, Ippolitss, Ippolits, Ippolitss, Ippolitts, Ippollit, Ippollits, Ippollitts, Ippollyts, Ippollytts, Ippololits, Ippolts, Ippolytis, Ippolyts, Ippolytts, Ippoplitts. The name of the parish was officially changed from St Ippollitts to St Ippolyts on 2 October 1996. [4] Even in the 21st Century, official road signs to the village on consecutive junctions on the nearby A602 show contradictory spellings of the village name.
The church was built in 1087 in a beautiful setting on the hillside above the village. According to the church records, the building was funded by grants supplied by Judith de Lens, the niece of William the Conqueror. De Lens gave evidence against her husband Waltheof, a Saxon Earl, which led to his execution. The funding of the church was an attempt to make amends for this act. The church was rebuilt in the mid nineteenth century using old materials 'recycled' from the nearby abandoned Minsden Chapel. Apart from St Ippolyts, the church also serves the nearby villages of Gosmore and Langley.
The noted theologian Fenton John Anthony Hort (Fenton Hort) is amongst the former vicars of St Ippolyts church where he stayed for 15 years before taking up a fellowship and lectureship at Emmanuel College in Cambridge.
Politician George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd (1879–1941) was buried in the churchyard, [5] as is Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane (1918-2005), former Lord Chief Justice of England.
The ancient manor [6] of Almshoe, mentioned in the Domesday Book, [7] is located in the south of the parish. Almshoe Bury—now a farmhouse and wedding venue—is a grade I listed building. [8]
Hitchin is a market town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills. It is 16 miles (26 km) north-west of the county town of Hertford, and 35 miles (56 km) north of London. The population at the 2021 census was 35,220.
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about 27 miles (43 km) north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage was designated the United Kingdom's first New Town under the New Towns Act.
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.
North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Part of the district lies within the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden and Langley, and encompasses the village of Knebworth, the small village of Old Knebworth and Knebworth House.
Stevenage is a constituency in Hertfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Kevin Bonavia, a member of the Labour Party.
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.
Codicote is a large village, and civil parish about seven miles (11 km) south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has timber-framed and chequered brick houses, of special interest being the 18th-century Pond House and the half-timbered Taverners Place.
Little Wymondley is a village and former civil parish situated between Hitchin and Stevenage, now in the parish of Wymondley, in the North Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Paradoxically, it has a larger population than its near neighbour Great Wymondley. At the 2011 Census the population of the built-up area of Little Wymondley was 995. In 1931 the parish had a population of 445.
Great Wymondley is a village and former civil parish situated near Hitchin, now in the parish of Wymondley, in the North Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Despite the names, Great Wymondley is a smaller settlement than its neighbour, Little Wymondley. In 1931 the parish had a population of 285.
Shephall is a neighbourhood of the new town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire. It was formerly a separate village and parish, being absorbed into Stevenage in 1953.
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.
Aston is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 844, increasing to 871 at the 2011 Census. Located on a ridge between Stevenage and the Beane Valley, Aston is a 10 minutes drive from the A1(M).
Hitchin is a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.
Wymondley is a civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.
Langley is a hamlet and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire. The population was 175 in the 2011 census. It is located four miles south of Hitchin, on the B656 road near the large town of Stevenage. Minsden Chapel lies within the parish.
St Mary's Church is an active Anglican church in Great Wymondley, Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
District council notices of the change of name of a parish under section 75 of the Local Government Act 1972: Parish of St Ippollitts became St Ippolyts from 2 October 1996