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North Hertfordshire
District Council

Introduction
The Council
The District and its Economy
Hitchin
Letchworth Garden City
Baldock
Royston
Villages
Leisure and Fitness
Places to Go
Interesting Facts
How to Contact Us
Our Advertisers

North Hertfordshire District Council Contact Information

North Hertfordshire District Council
Council Offices,
Gernon Road,
Letchworth Garden City,
SG6 3JF

Tel Enquiries:01462 474000

service@north-herts.gov.uk
www.north-herts.gov.uk

 
North Hertfordshire District Council Official Guide Villages

VillagesStraddling the airy chalk ridge of the northern Chiltern Hills, North Hertfordshire boasts fine countryside of undulating farmland and woodland and its full share of picture postcard villages. From Ashwell to Langley, Nuthampstead and Newnham, curving through to Wymondley and on to Weston, the villages of North Hertfordshire have magical names, rich pasts and a lively present.Ashwell

Some were familiar to kings and queens, others boast idyllic ponds, thatched cottages and greens. All are strong communities, much loved and cared for by residents in partnership with North Hertfordshire District Council.

Take the time to look around them or try one of the many walks and bike rides that link parishes throughout the area. To whet your appetite, here is a brief guide to them all.

Ashwell

Ashwell was one of the premier towns in Hertfordshire at the time of the Norman invasion and boasts a wide range of fine timbered buildings, springs that feed the River Cam and heart-rending graffiti in the village church referring to the arrival of pestilence and plague in the village and the ‘miserable wild distracted’ dregs of people who remained.

The 14th Century church, visible for miles around, has a 176-ft ornate tower with an octagonal lantern and leaded spike.

The village has a railway station, a school, several pubs and shops as well as a museum housed in a 16th Century historic building. It is open Sunday and bank holiday afternoons. For more details call 01462 742956.

Barkway

Barkway is a delightful village full of fine old buildings and home to descendants of Dr Thomas Dimsdale who earned a vast fortune in 1768 by successfully inoculating Catherine the Great of Russia against smallpox.

The village was once an important community with a thriving market and inns catering for coaches travelling between London and the north. It became something of a backwater with the arrival of the railway and it is now a quiet picturesque village with a school and hall.

Barley

Barley’s village hall, known as The Town House, is one of the oldest buildings in the village and has been at various times a school, a workhouse and a garage for the fire engine. In 1726 Daniel Defoe described the merriment in its upstairs room, with a spit, large cauldron and bride bed for a newly-married couple to use on their first night together.

The village is also well known for the Fox and Hounds pub sign which straddles the road.

Bygrave

The tiny village of Bygrave, on a hill overlooking the ancient Icknield Way, was once important enough to host a three-day fair. Its church, dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church and features a carved Norman doorway and a nave strengthened with Roman bricks. Icknield Way

Caldecote and Newnham

Caldecote is the smallest parish in North Hertfordshire with a farmyard that includes a disused church featuring a canopied and crocketed stoup for holy water.

Newnham is only slightly larger than Caldecote and has a church of its own with Medieval wall paintings and 15th Century stained glass. Reginald Hine, who was a nationally-acclaimed historian, was born in the hamlet and a tapestry in the church commemorates his death in 1949.

Clothall

Clothall, set among woods and trees, remained locked in the past until the 20th Century, a rural community with a fine church and remnants of the ancient Medieval strip system of farming. St Mary’s has a 14th Century tower unusually incorporated into its porch, a 12th Century font, poppy head pews and fragments of 15th Century stained glass.

Clothall should not be confused with nearby Clothall Common, a new estate to the east of Baldock.

Codicote

Codicote, one of the district’s largest villages with more than 3,000 inhabitants, boasts the oldest licensed premises in the county at the former George and Dragon, now the As You Like It Chinese restaurant. It was recorded in 1279 and was used by pilgrims travelling to the shrine of St Albans.

Nearby is the thatched Node Dairy, built in the 1920s to a circular design modelled loosely on Marie Antoinette’s model farm at Versailles. It is now offices.

Codicote has a variety of timbered and listed buildings as well as recent housing, several pubs and shops, a village hall, a sports and social centre, thriving clubs and activities and a 12th Century church.

Graveley

Graveley is situated on the historic Great North Road and for centuries its inns catered for travellers on horseback, in stage coaches and then in cars. To the north lies Jack’s Hill, named after a legendary giant who terrorised the neighbourhood and is now buried in nearby Weston churchyard. The sad remnants of St Etheldreda’s Church still exist at Chesfield on the road to Weston, abandoned after the village was devastated by the Black Death around 1350.

Hexton

Long before the Romans came to Britain there was an Iron Age camp at Ravensburgh Castle above the present village of Hexton. The lines of the ditch that surrounded the 22-acre site can still be seen.

The village has a thriving school, a church which is also used as a community centre, a popular pub and numerous clubs and societies. In Edwardian times the vicar, the Rev Fillingham, became nationally known because of his controversial views, which were unpopular with the establishment. He is buried in the churchyard.

Hinxworth

Hinxworth is the most northerly village in the district and, although tiny, it has a village hall with a stage, a pub and several clubs including archery. The church tower dates back to 1304 but the chancel is 18th Century brick.

Holwell

St George, Jack Frost and the Turkish Knight are characters who can be seen in the unusual setting of Holwell Village Hall when Offley Morris Men stage their annual mummers play just before Christmas. They also practise in the village, which lies close to the Bedfordshire border. The church, largely rebuilt, retains some Perpendicular features.

Ickleford

In Victorian times Hitchin was one of the country’s leading lavender producers. Now lavender is again grown nearby, at Cadwell Farm in Ickleford, and guided tours are held in the summer. The church is also worth a visit with its 12th Century Norman nave, carving around the north doorway and fine stained glass in the east window dating from 1860.

Kimpton

This thriving village with its own school and buildings dating from the 16th Century lies along the route of a dried-up river bed. It hosts a very popular May festival each year, complete with a May Queen, attendants and Morris Men, and supports numerous clubs and organisations. Many meet in the village hall, which was completely rebuilt within two years of being destroyed in an arson attack in 1981, thanks to a tremendous community effort.

Kings Walden

The village is at the centre of attractive woodland, scattered farms and hamlets. The church features a William Morris stained glass window of three archangels. John Bunyan preached from the pulpit of the church in nearby Breachwood Green which now lies under the Luton Airport flight path.

Knebworth

Knebworth, situated on a major north-south road and main railway line, has grown into a small town with a variety of shops and businesses. Nearby Knebworth House, now open to visitors, was often visited by Charles Dickens and has been home to the Lytton-Cobbold family since 1492. The grounds boast a dinosaur trail among other attractions. Knebworth House is a famous venue for rock concerts featuring Robbie Williams in 2003, the Rolling Stones (1976) and Queen’s last concert in 1986. The house had also been the venue for many top films including Batman and Wings of a Dove.

Lilley

Gosmore Village, HitchinTelegraph Hill at Lilley is the highest point in the district at 600 feet above sea level. John Bunyan preached in a cottage in the village and the well-known 19th Century alchemist Johann Kellerman lived there, using a furnace in the cellar of his home for his experiments. There used to be a race course nearby which was a frequent haunt of the Prince Regent and Rupert Brooke mentioned Lilley Hoo in a poem - he knew the village from his regular walks along the Icknield Way.

Nuthampstead

This tiny hamlet was the site of an American airfield in the last war, used by the Flying Fortress bombers of the 398th Heavy Bombardment group. Although all that now remains are fields, it is still a site of pilgrimage for many Americans.

Offley

Offley, at the summit of a one-in-eight hill, stands to the west of the ancient Icknield Way and was plagued by traffic travelling between Hitchin and Luton until a bypass was built in the 1970s. It has two thriving pubs, a school and a church with some splendid monuments. Among the larger old homes are Offley Place, a popular venue for weddings which was rebuilt in the 19th Century but still retains a Tudor porch. Nearby Little Offley is a Tudor brick-built manor house.

Pirton

Visitors to Pirton, one of the largest villages in the district, can walk round the remains of a motte and bailey castle known as Toot Hill next to the village church. The tower had to be rebuilt after it dramatically collapsed in 1874 and is now topped with a Hertfordshire spike.

Pirton has a picturesque village green surrounded by cottages and two pubs, making it an ideal spot for an interesting stroll.

Preston

The Red Lion pub at Preston is owned by the villagers and overlooks the green, which features an old well with an octagonal roof. There are a number of picturesque cottages, a village hall and a small school. Princess Helena College is located at Temple Dinsley, a Georgian Manor House adapted by Lutyens and built on the site of a preceptory of the Knights Templar.

Radwell

The small and picturesque village of Radwell is notable for the brasses and monuments in its church, especially the poignant alabaster memorial to Mary Plomer, who died aged 29 in 1605 giving birth to her 11th child. She is portrayed cradling the dead baby and surrounded by her other children.

Reed

Reed’s village church features interesting Saxon long and short work at the four corners of the nave. It is located close to the route of the Roman Ermine Street and the grid layout of the streets indicates it may have been a Roman settlement before the Saxons settled there.

Rushden

Although Rushden is a small and scattered village, it has an illustrious past. The Victorian writer Anthony Trollope was a frequent visitor, staying with friends there, and the Duke of Wellington was a guest at the former forge. The Flemish ambassador during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I is believed to have hidden a valuable ring under a tree at his home in the village, before he was murdered by robbers.

St Ippolyts

The spelling of St Ippolyts underwent a succession of variants before settling on the present form. It stems from the name of the village church, dedicated to Hippolytus, the patron saint of horses, and appears to be unique in this country. Legend has it that horses were once taken to services in the church to be blessed.

The Rev William Lax had the stream dammed 200 years ago and used the lake for ice skating and to stock his ice house. An astronomer, he installed an observatory in the grounds of his home at St Ibbs which was once used by Sir Isaac Newton.

St Paul’s Walden

This hamlet is notable for being the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who is recorded as having been born at St Paul’s Waldenbury and was christened in the village church. The interesting church features an 18th Century vaulted and stuccoed chapel and an ornate Perpendicular screen.

Nearby Stagenhoe Park, an 18th Century mansion now used as a Sue Ryder care home, was once occupied by Victorian composer Sir Arthur Sullivan who liked it so much he tried to buy it.

Sandon

Sandon, a long-established agricultural community mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, is made up of a number of scattered settlements around Church End, where the 14th Century church is located. The annual flower festival attracts visitors from many miles around. Earthworks at nearby Sandon Mount are of the oldest known windmill in England.

Therfield and Kelshall

The villagers of Therfield and its nearby tiny neighbour Kelshall know all about appreciating each other to build a strong community - that’s the motto of their vicar, the Rev Richard Morgan, who won a Country Living magazine award as the nation’s best-loved vicar in 2005. He is particularly famed for his acting and singing skills and his sense of humour.

Kelshall has only about 120 inhabitants but nearby Therfield has a school, pub and a number of thriving clubs. The communities each have a church and a village hall.

The nearby heath is a popular walking spot and features prehistoric barrows.

Wallington

Picturesque Wallington, close to the Icknield Way, is notable as the home of writer George Orwell, who ran the village shop with his wife Eileen from 1936 until 1940. He was married in the church, wrote The Road To Wigan Pier in the village and left to fight in the Spanish Civil War, returning to draft Homage To Catalonia. After he moved to London he published Animal Farm, set at Manor Farm, Willingdon - a Manor Farm had been close to his Wallington home. A plaque marks the pretty thatched house where he lived.

Weston

Two stones in the churchyard mark the legendary resting place of Jack O’Legs, the giant who stole from the rich to give to the poor. When caught in Baldock he was condemned to be hanged and shot an arrow to determine where he would be buried. It landed in Weston. The church has some fine Norman work and was extensively restored in the mid 19th Century.

Whitwell

Whitwell is a large village with a number of picturesque houses, two pubs, a doctors’ surgery, a shop and a school - but no Anglican church because that’s up the hill at St Pauls Walden. ‘Whitwell watercress’ was once a famous cry on the streets of London and the sought-after watercress is still grown at Nine Wells Farm near the village.

Little and Great Wymondley

These neighbouring villages, which boast three pubs between them, also include three greens at Todds Green, Titmore and Redcoats in their parish. Great Wymondley is a picturesque community gathered round the Norman church, which is one of only three in the county to boast an apsidal chancel.

The village has links with Henry VIII, who was entertained at Delamere House by Cardinal Wolsey, and with the 17th Century preacher John Bunyan as well as with the present Queen, who presented a plaque to residents for the Best Kept Village in 1982.

Charles Dickens visited the famous Victorian hermit of Redcoats who was actually the wealthy James Lucas, reputed to be mad but, in Dickens’ opinion, a charlatan. There is now a pub named after him.

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and promoters cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies. Reproduction of any part of this publication in any format, without permission, is strictly forbidden. Photographs Courtesy of North Hertfordshire District Council unless otherwise stated.