Cuffley is a village in the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley, in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east

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 ...

located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. and is part of Broxbourne parliamentary constituency.

History

The railway had an important impact on the development of the village. Cuffley was reached by the Great Northern Railway in 1910, as part of the plan to create the Hertford Loop Line, as a strategic alternative to the main line out of King's Cross to the north, by extending the line from Enfield Chase. The early history of Cuffley is recounted by one of its residents,

Molly Hughes Mary Vivian Hughes (2 October 1866 – May 1956), usually known as Molly Hughes and published under M. V. Hughes, was a British educator and author.'Miss M. Hughes: Pioneer women teacher', ''The Times'', 5 June 1956 Life The daughter of a London ...

, in her autobiographical book ''A London Family Between the Wars.'' On 3 September 1916 the German airship SL 11 was shot down and crashed in Cuffley during an aerial bombardment intended for London.First German Airship Shot Down
BBC - WW1 At Home, Nov 2014. Retrieved: 24/04/18 This incident is commemorated by a memorial on East Ridgeway to Lieutenant W. Leefe Robinson, the pilot who shot the airship down; he was awarded the Victoria Cross. There is also a model of the airship in the village hall. Contrary to many reports of the incident, the SL 11 airship was not a Zeppelin but an army Schütte-Lanz airship. Regardless, the local football team is still nicknamed 'The Zeps' after this event. In 1939, the Scout Association purchased part of the Tolmers Park Estate that lies within the Parish of Cuffley. Tolmers Scout Camp was opened on Whit Saturday 1940 by

Lord Wigram Baron Wigram, of Clewer in the County of Berkshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for the soldier and court official Sir Clive Wigram, Private Secretary to King George V George V (George Frederick E ...

. Today, Tolmers hosts thousands of young people annually from all over the UK and across Europe; not only Scouts and Guides but schools and youth groups as well.

Transport

Cuffley is near to the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

and is part of the London commuter belt. Cuffley railway station provides a commuter service to Moorgate, Finsbury Park and King's Cross, services operated by

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...

Facilities

Cuffley Primary School has occupied its present building since 1938 when it replaced the original Victorian school room. Preschool education for children aged 2 to 5 years old is available at the youth centre (Cuffley Community Centre Pre-School). St Andrew's Anglican Church, built in 1965 on the site of the old school, replaced the 'tin church' built in 1911 next to the old village green. The village also has a Baptist church, which in May 2011 changed its name to the Life Church and is associated with the Life Church at Potters Bar. There is also St Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Church.

Notable residents

Its most notable current resident is

Sir Terry Leahy Sir Terence Patrick "Terry" Leahy (born 28 February 1956) is a British businessman, previously the CEO of Tesco, the largest British retailer and the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. He now lives in Cuffley, Hertfordsh ...

, former CEO of Tesco, although this did not prevent locals from objecting vehemently to plans to build a "Express" store in the village replacing one of only two remaining village pubs.Daily Telegraph on-line 23 July 2007
/ref> Other famous residents include Premier League footballers Ledley King, Jermain Defoe,

Niko Kranjcar Niko may refer to: People The given name is sometimes a short form of Nikola, Nikolas, Nikolaos or others. * Nikō (1253–1314), Japanese Buddhist disciple of Nichiren * Niko (musician), American musician active from 2002 * NiKo (born 1997), B ...

, David Bentley, Kyle Walker and Armand Traoré; and also former Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan and Myleene Klass.

References

External links

Cuffley Online — Village Website
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England Welwyn Hatfield