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 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.
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.
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 Telegraph 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 was reputedly
born at St Paul’s Waldenbury and was christened in the village
church. Her nephew Simon Bowes Lyon, who still lives in the family
home, is Lord Lieutenant of the county. 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.
Families come in the warmer weather to visit Water Hall Farm where
they can see animals and visit the small cafe and shop.
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.
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