Braughing is a 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 ...
, between the rivers
Quin Quin may refer to:
* Quin (name), including a list of people with the name
* Quin, colloquially, one of a set of quintuplets, a multiple birth of five individuals
* Quin (Sigilverse), a fictional planet
* Quin, County Clare, a village in County Cla ...
and
Rib
In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...
, in the
non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non-m ...
of
East Hertfordshire
East Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and the other main towns are Ware, Bunti ...
, part of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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 ...
. Braughing gave its name to a county division in Hertfordshire, known as a "
hundred". This was a
rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...
from 1935 to 1974. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,203. This includes
Bozen Green
Bozen Green is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England. It includes the lost settlement of Bordesden. It is in the civil parish of Braughing
Braughing is a village and civil parish, between the rivers Quin and Rib, in the non-metropolitan distric ...
,
Braughing Friars
Braughing Friars is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Braughing
Braughing is a village and civil parish, between the rivers Quin and Rib, in the non-metropolitan district of East Hertfordshire, part of the Engli ...
and
Brent Pelham
Brent Pelham is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, and situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of Buntingford. It is one of the three Pelhams, with Stocking Pelham and ...
.
History
Prehistory
There is some evidence of human activity in the
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
,
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
and
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, but settled habitation began in the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, around the 3rd century BC. It was possibly a trading post, situated on the navigable extreme of the Rib, providing a route to the larger
River Lea
The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...
. In the late Iron Age (100BC - 43AD) it was the site of the largest 'Celtic' mint discovered in Europe.
Roman times
There were significant
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
and Roman settlements at Wickham Hill, near Braughing. This is situated at the junction of several major Roman roads, including
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'', ...
(now the
A10),
Stane Street (now the
A120) and the Great Chesterford Road. This covers at least 36 hectares.
When the River Rib is in full flood, bricks, tiles and other more interesting artefacts from the Roman settlement are washed onto its banks.
Saxon times
After the Roman period it was settled by the
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
: the earliest form of the name Braughing is ''Breahinga'',
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
for the people of Breahha, who was probably a local leader. It is mentioned 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 ...
(1086) at ''Brachinges''.
Gatesbury
Little remains of this hamlet, which lies to the east of the B1368 close to the Puckeridge junction. Originally part of Westmill parish, Gatesbury is now within the parish of Braughing. Its name originates from the Gatesbury family, who held the manor from the late 12th century up to the 15th century, when it was passed to the FitzHerberts.
Customs
Old Man's Day
On 2nd October 1571, as the funeral bell was being tolled, the coffin of a local farmer, Matthew Wall, was being carried down Fleece Lane towards the Parish Church of
St Mary the Virgin.
Wall's fiancée and other mourners were deeply distressed. As they made their way to the funeral service, one of pallbearers slipped on the damp autumn leaves and they dropped the coffin - waking the young man. Confused and wondering where on earth he was, he began frantically hitting the inside of the wooden case with his fist. The mourners removed the lid and were overjoyed to find him alive.
Matthew had probably been in a
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
after suffering from what is believed to be a form of
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
. A year later, he married his fiancée; he lived many more years and had two sons. When he did die in 1595, his will made financial provision for Fleece Lane to be swept each year, after which the funeral bell, and then a wedding peal, were to be rung. The money, invested in 'Braughing Parish Charities' also paid for his grave to be pegged with brambles to prevent grazing sheep from damaging it.
The 2nd October is still known as 'Old Man's Day'. The tradition continues and schoolchildren now sweep the leaves from the lane, the bells are rung, and a short service is held at Matthew Wall's graveside.
Sausages
The Braughing Pork Sausage was first made in 1954 by Douglas White and his wife Anna. The recipe remained the same until the company was sold to Musk's of Newmarket. Local sausages are served in the village's pubs.
Wheelbarrow race
On the second weekend of July the Braughing Wheelbarrow race takes place. This event started in 1964 with teams of two pushing a wheelbarrow round a 400 metre course through the village streets, starting and finishing in the village ford.
Transport
![Braughing railway station 1890743 c9c92279](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Braughing_railway_station_1890743_c9c92279.jpg)
There was a station on the ex-
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
St Margaret's - Buntingford branch which closed in 1964. The station featured in the comedy film ''
Happy Ever After'' which starred David Niven and George Cole in 1953. The location was temporarily renamed Rathbarney, an Irish hamlet.
Famous residents
*
John Brograve, (1538–1613), a lawyer and politician, was the Member of Parliament for Preston, and was
custos rotulorum
''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...
, keeper of the county records of Hertfordshire for thirty years.
*Brigadier Richard Hanbury was
High Sheriff of Hertfordshire
The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisio ...
in 1960.
*
Brodie Henderson, (1869 – 1936), was in charge of railway lines used to transport Allied troops and supplies during the First World War and worked for many railroad corporations across South America, Australasia and Africa. He was
High Sheriff of Hertfordshire
The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisio ...
in 1924.
*
George Meriton
George Meriton (or Meryton) (died 1624) was an English churchman, Dean of Peterborough in 1612 and Dean of York in 1617.
Life
He was born in Hertfordshire, probably at Braughing. His father was a tenant of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, who ...
(born in Braughing, circa 1564 and died 1624) was a churchman who became Dean of Peterborough in 1612 and Dean of York in 1617.
*
Vera Strodl Dowling
Vera Elsie Strodl Dowling (16 July 1918 – 11 January 2015) was a Danish pilot who gained fame in the Second World War as the only Scandinavian woman to fly for the RAF's Air Transport Auxiliary. Later, based in Alberta, Canada, she instructed pi ...
(1918–2015), pilot
*
Charles Ward (born in Braughing in 1875) was an
English cricketer who died in 1954.
*
Sally Wentworth
Sally Wentworth was the pseudonym used by Doreen Hornsblow (1936 or 1937, Watford - 2001, Hertfordshire), a British romance writer of 70 romance novels in Mills & Boon's from 1977 to 1999.
Personal life
Doreen was born on 1936 o 1937 in Watfo ...
, the pseudonym used by Doreen Hornsblow (1930s –2001), was a romantic novelist and writer of seventy novels in Mills & Boon from 1977 to 1999.
See also
*
The Hundred Parishes
The Hundred Parishes is an area of the East of England with no formal recognition or status, albeit that the concept has the blessing of county and district authorities. It encompasses around 450 square miles (1,100 square kilometres) of northwes ...
References
External links
Braughing community websiteBraughinga
Roman-Britain.co.ukBraughing at Google mapsPhotos of Braughinga
Geograph.org.ukFord Bridge, Braughing Grade II listed- British Listed Buildings
Pic of the fording of the River Rib at Braughing- Geograph.org.uk
{{authority control
Villages in Hertfordshire
Civil parishes in Hertfordshire
East Hertfordshire District