King's Walden
King's Walden is a civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. The name includes an apostrophe,[1] but this is often omitted.[2]
| King's Walden | |
|---|---|
  King's Walden Location within Hertfordshire | |
| Population | 1,600 (2001) 1,015 (2011 Census)[3] |
| OS grid reference | TL151220 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HITCHIN |
| Postcode district | SG4 |
| Dialling code | 01438 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
The main settlement is now Breachwood Green, and there are also the hamlets of King's Walden, Ley Green, Darleyhall, Lye Hill, Wandon End, Wandon Green and Winch Hill. At the south of the parish there is Lawrence End Park.
King's Walden settlement
The parish name is derived form the Old English 'walh denu', which means a valley of Britons.[4] The town was cited in a charter dated AD 888, when King Æthelred of Mercia granted land to a thegn, Wulfgar.[5] At the time it was close to the border between English Mercia and the Danelaw.
In 1086, the community of Waldenei contained 53 households, which was considered very large when compared to other Domesday era settlements in the ancient hundred of Hitchin.[6] King's Walden lies in the centre of the parish, near the church, and its population in 2001 was 35.[7]
Breachwood Green
Breachwood Green lies 1 mile south-west of the old village, and its population is 614.[7] Breachwood Green was serenaded by a Hitchin comedian, Paul B. Edwards, in a song making fun of the quiet village. The village has one pub, The Red Lion, which is owned by Greene King. The village has the only school (Breachwood Green JMI) in the parish, which was built in 1859.[8] During the 1970s there was a separate Post Office and Village Stores located in different parts of the village. The Post Office was originally located in Chapel Road next to the Red Lion. This moved a few hundred yards along the road north, near St Mary's Rise. It then moved again in the mid-1970s to the village store on retirement of the village postmistress. The Village Store closed during the 1990s and has become part of a neighbouring car showroom which was formerly the village petrol station. To the north of the village is a partially restored windmill (without sails). Breachwood Green owes it existence to the farming community, as the village was originally a collection of farms, Wheelwrights, Blackmiths and substantial stables. The village also has a large gothic Chapel.
Kings Walden, Hertfordshire - St. Mary's Church
Breachwood Green JMI School
Oxford Road, Breachwood Green, looking East
Oxford Road looking West towards Red Lion Public House
St Mary's Church, King's Walden
Ley Green
Ley Green lies ½ mile north of the old village, and its population is 86.[7] The village has a post office and store, it had a small school which is now closed. There is a pub called The Plough. This settlement also existed in 1086.[9]
Darleyhall
Darleyhall lies ½ mile west of Breachwood Green, and its population is 30.[7]
Lye Hill
Lye Hill lies ½ mile south of Breachwood Green, and its population is 33.[7]
Wandon End
Wandon End lies 1 mile west of Breachwood Green.[10]
Wandon Green
Wandon Green lies 1 mile south of Breachwood Green and includes Diamond End.[10]
Winch Hill
Winch Hill lies 1 mile south-west of Breachwood Green. It is made up of several houses and a derelict farm adjacent to Eastern perimeter of London Luton Airport; much of the land here is owned by the Crown Estates.
References
- Ordnance Survey, OS Explorer Map 193, Edition A1, 2006, ISBN 0-319-23783-4.
- Royal Mail, Postal Address Book: Anglia 2, Edition H, 2003.
- "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- Nottingham University. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- Birch, Walter de Gray (1885). Cartularium saxonicum: a collection of charters relating to Anglo-Saxon history. Harvard University. London, Whiting & company (limited).
- Open Domesday Online: King's Walden, accessed January 2018.
- Population figures are taken from Hertfordshire County Council - Population and household counts for Hertfordshire settlements - 2001 census Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine.
- "Breachwood Green JMI - School History". Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- Open Domesday Online: Ley Green, accessed January 2018.
- Open Domesday Online: Wandon End and Wandon Green, accessed January 2018.
External links
