Abbots Langley is a large village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the English county of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Economically the village is closely linked to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and was formerly part of the

Watford Rural District Watford Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire from 1894 to 1974. It initially surrounded but did not including the town of Watford, which was a separate urban district. It gradually ceded territory to other districts, and by the ...

. Since 1974 it has been included in the Three Rivers district.

History

This village has had a long history of human habitation. The first traces of human habitation in the area were recorded by archaeologist

Sir John Evans Sir John Evans (17 November 1823 – 31 May 1908) was an England, English archaeologist and geologist. Biography John Evans, son of the Rev. Arthur Benoni Evans, A. B. Evans, was born at Britwell Court, Buckinghamshire. At the age of seventeen ...

(1823–1908). The village sits on a saucer of clay covered by a layer of gravel, and as a result water supply has never been a problem; records show that in earlier times water could be drawn from a well just deep. In 1045 the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there w ...

Ethelwine 'the Black' granted the upper part of Langlai to

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

as Langlai Abbatis (Latin for Langlai of the Abbot, hence 'Abbot's Langley') the remainder being the king's Langlai. By the time of the

in 1086 the village was inhabited by 19 families. The area was split into four manors: Abbots Langley,

Langleybury Langleybury is a country house and estate in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of the centre of the town of Watford. The house stands on a low hill above the valley of the River Gade. Owners Raymond 1711–1756 The estate ...

, Chambersbury, and Hyde. In 1539,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

seized Abbots Langley and sold it to his military engineer Sir Richard Lee. The Manor of Abbots Langley was bequeathed by Francis Combe in his will of 1641 jointly to

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. The manors of

and Chambersbury passed through the Ibgrave and Child families, and in 1711 were conveyed to Sir Robert Raymond then Solicitor General later

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and

Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. On the death of his son without issue in 1756 the manors passed to the Filmer family. The Manor of Hyde passed to Edward Strong in 1714, through his daughter to

Sir John Strange Sir John Strange (1696 – 18 May 1754) was a British politician and judge. Life He was born to another John Strange of Fleet Street, London and his second wife, Mary Plaistowe. He studied Law at the Middle Temple on 11 July 1712 before starti ...

, who left the manor to be shared between his children and their descendents (including Admiral Sir George Strong Nares) and then to the possession of F.M. Nares & Co which sold the estate to the

British Land Company The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...

in 1858. On Tibbs Hill Road there is a well-preserved example of a

Prince Albert's Model Cottage Prince Albert's Model Cottage was the name given to a model dwelling designed in the mid-19th century to offer an alternative form of accommodation for poor families in England. It was supported by Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert, husband o ...

. The original design and construction was for

the Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

of 1851, to demonstrate model housing for the poor. Subsequently, the design was replicated in several other locations, including Abbots Langley. Kitters Green developed as a separate hamlet by Manor House. The land between Kitters Green and Abbots Langley was bought from the estate of Sarah Smith by the

in 1866. It laid out plots for development along Adrian, Breakspear, Garden and Popes roads. The development of these plots led to the merger of the two settlements and the loss of Kitters Green's separate identity.

Sport

Abbots Langley Cricket Club and Langleybury Cricket Club are both based in the village. There are a number of football clubs, including Abbots Langley F.C., Ecocall F.C., Evergreen, Everett Rovers, and Bedmond F.C.

People

Manuel Almunia Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26 La Liga games over the course of two seasons with Rec ...

(born 1977), former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. *

Nick Blinko Nicholas John Blinko (born 4 September 1961) is a British musician and artist, best known as the lead singer, lyricist, and guitar player for the anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni. He is also known for being an "outsider" artist, whose pen-an ...

(born 1961), artist and singer/songwriter/guitarist of

Rudimentary Peni Rudimentary Peni are a British anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, emerging from the London anarcho-punk scene. Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty, macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on a ...

. *

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian IV ( la, Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman t ...

(–1159), born in Abbots Langley as Nicholas Breakspear. *

James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, (4 September 1748 – 13 June 1823), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as The Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British nobleman and politician. Background Salisbury was the so ...

(1748–1823) probably lived at Cecil Lodge 1760s–80. * Violet Cressy-Marcks (1895–1970), explorer and journalist, lived at Hazelwood (now

Hunton Park Hunton Park is a large country house and estate in Abbots Langley, in south west Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It was originally called Hazelwood House when first built in the early 19th century. The original house was destroyed in 1908 ...

) 1930–70. *

David Crighton David George Crighton, FRS (15 November 1942 – 12 April 2000) was a British mathematician and physicist. Life Crighton was born in Llandudno, North Wales, where his mother, Violet Grace Garrison, had been sent because of the bombing of Londo ...

, (1942–2000), mathematician, educated at Abbots Langley primary school. *

Joan Evans (art historian) Dame Joan Evans (22 June 1893 – 14 July 1977) was a British historian of French and English mediaeval art, especially Early Modern and medieval jewellery. Her notable collection was bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Ear ...

(1893–1977), historian of mediaeval art. *

John Evans (archaeologist) Sir John Evans (17 November 1823 – 31 May 1908) was an English archaeologist and geologist. Biography John Evans, son of the Rev. A. B. Evans, was born at Britwell Court, Buckinghamshire. At the age of seventeen he started to work for the p ...

(1823–1908), archaeologist and geologist, married and buried, St Lawrence Church, Abbots Langley. * Elizabeth Greenhill, (1615–1679), mother of 37 single births and one set of twins.Bannerman, B.W. (1904)
Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica: Third Series. Vol 5.
Mitchell Hughes and Clarke -page 298 * Thomas Greenhill (1669–1740), surgeon to

Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk, (11 January 1655 – 2 April 1701) was an English nobleman, politician, and soldier. He was the son of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, and Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of W ...

and 39th and last child of Elizabeth Greenhill.Davidson,L. A. F. (2004). 'Greenhill, Thomas (fl. 1698–1732)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press

* James Hanratty#The murder, Michael Gregsten (1924–1961), physicist at the

Road Research Laboratory TRL Limited, trading as TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) is an independent private company offering a transport consultancy and research service to the public and private sector. Originally established in 1933 by the UK Government a ...

, victim of

James Hanratty James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962), also known as the A6 Murderer, was a British criminal who was one of the final eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. He was hanged at Bedfo ...

in the 1961 "A6 murder" for whose death he hanged. *

Ollie Halsall Peter John "Ollie" Halsall (14 March 1949 – 29 May 1992) was an English guitarist best known for his role in the Rutles, the bands Timebox, Patto and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of t ...

(1949–1992), influential rock/jazz guitarist and vibraphone player, lived here and recorded an album titled "Abbot's Langley" in 1980. *

Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley (21 November 1871 – 20 July 1954) was an English businessman, stockbroker, merchant banker, and public servant who organised the National Savings movement. Background Kindersley was born ...

(1871–1954), businessman, stockbroker, merchant banker, and public servant, lived at Langley House 1906–23. *

Hugh Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley Brigadier Hugh Kenyon Molesworth Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley of West Hoathly (7 May 1899 – 6 October 1976) was a British Army officer, businessman, banker. His father was businessman Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley GBE. Early y ...

(1899–1976) * Joe Lane (1892–1959), former professional

. *

Marghanita Laski Marghanita Laski (24 October 1915 – 6 February 1988) was an English journalist, radio panellist and novelist. She also wrote literary biography, plays and short stories, and contributed about 250,000 additions to the ''Oxford English Dictiona ...

(1915–88), journalist and novelist, lived at Abbots House 1937–45. *

Eryl McNally Eryl Margaret McNally (born 11 April 1942) is a former Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England constituency. Personal life She was born in Bangor, North Wales

, former Labour MEP. *

Henry Montagu, 6th Baron Rokeby General Henry Robinson-Montague, 6th Baron Rokeby, (2 February 1798 – 25 May 1883) was a senior British Army officer of the 19th century. Military career Born the son of the 4th Baron, Rokeby was commissioned into the 3rd Foot Guards in 18 ...

(1798–1883), soldier, lived at Hazelwood 1838–86. *

James Vincent Murphy James Vincent Murphy (7 July 1880 – 4 July 1946) was an Irish translator, writer, lecturer and journalist, who published one of the first complete English translations of '' Mein Kampf'' in 1939. Murphy attended St Patrick's College, Maynoot ...

, (1880–1946), propagandist for

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

that translated

Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...

while resident in Abbots Langley *

Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond, (20 December 167318 March 1733) was a British judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1710 and 1724. Life Raymond was the son of the judge Sir Thomas Raymond. He was educated at Eton an ...

(1673–1733), politician and judge, lived at Langleybury 1711–33. *

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

(1892–1975), spent the early part of his exile from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

at Hazelwood. *

Edward Skoyles Edward Skoyles (14 March 1923 – 30 July 2008) was the first quantity surveyor employed in the UK to research costs and practices in the construction industry. He did his research from 1960 until 1984 at the Building Research Establishment. ...

(1923–2008) researcher and

quantity surveyor A quantity surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and Cer ...

. * William Henry Smith (politician) (1825–91), member of the

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

station newsagent and bookselling family, lived at Cecil Lodge 1864–70. * George Turnbull (1809–1878), civil engineer (the '' "first railway engineer of India"), ''retired to Rosehill, Abbots Langley. *

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer. Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), as ...

(born 1960), entertainer lived in Breakspear Road. * Mark Walsh (born 1965), professional darts player within the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

. *

Nicky Stevens Nicky Stevens (born Helen Maria Thomas in Carmarthen, Wales, 3 December 1949) is a singer, famous as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man. She is the only Welsh person to have won the Eurovision Song Contest. Early career Nicky Stevens be ...

(born 1951), singer with The Brotherhood of Man, lived in Abbots Road. *Tom Hardy (Broadcaster) (born 1954), disc-jockey with

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...

in the late 1970s, lived in Parsonage Close. *

Liz Kendall Elizabeth Louise Kendall (born 11 June 1971) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West since 2010. Kendall was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where she read history. From 2011 to ...

(born 1971), Labour MP, lived in Langley Road *

Judy Grinham Judith Brenda Grinham (born 5 March 1939), also known by her married name Judith Roe or also by her former married name Judith Rowley, is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European champion ...

(born 1939), former British competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, and former world record-holder lives in The Crescent.

References

;Footnotes ;Notes

External links

Abbots Langley Parish Council A History of the County of Hertford: Abbots Langley
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Three Rivers District Civil parishes in Hertfordshire

History

Sport

People

See also

References

External links