Digswell is an ancient village and former

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

in the English county of Hertfordshire which is recorded in the 1086

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 manus ...

. The population of the urban area of Digswell in the 2011 Census was 1,632. Digswell's name may be derived from Deacon's Well. There were two manors, with two water mills, much land under plough, and a large area of woodland. From 1835 the parish of Digswell was included in the

Welwyn Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands. It is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, to distinguish it from the much newer and larger ...

Poor Law Union, and from 1894 the parish was part of the Welwyn Rural District. The 1911 census recorded the parish of Digswell as covering and having a population of 401. The small village of Digswell comprised the parish church of St John the Evangelist (13th century, much altered), the 19th century Digswell House (built on the site of a much earlier residence) and a few nearby houses. There were other small hamlets in the parish, notably at Digswell Water on the River Mimram. The parish of Digswell also included Welwyn railway station which opened in 1850 on the Great Northern Railway to serve the village of Welwyn, just over a mile to the west of the station. In the early 20th century an area called "High Welwyn" began to develop around the railway station. On 30 May 1919 part of the estate once belonging to Lord Cowper of

Panshanger Panshanger was a large country house located between the outer edge of Hertford and Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England. History Earl Cowper, who later became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, acquired the Cole Green estate c. 1700.R ...

was bought at auction by a group of pioneers of the

Garden City Movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...

including

Ebenezer Howard Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication ''To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in whic ...

. Adjoining land was purchased later that year, and a company called Welwyn Garden City Limited was formed on 20 April 1920 with the aim of building a new garden city. The land earmarked for the town straddled the parishes of Hatfield,

Tewin Tewin is an English village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England between the towns of Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Welwyn (village) and the county town Hertford, it is within commuting distance of London. Tewin Wood is a very affluent re ...

and Digswell. A new

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 authorit ...

called Welwyn Garden City was created on 1 October 1921 from parts of these four parishes. Digswell parish ceded to the new parish, representing over half its area, with the transferred territory including the original Digswell village. The remaining Digswell parish was left covering the area broadly north of the Mimram, with the main population centre being the High Welwyn area that was growing up around the station. The station was renamed Welwyn North in 1926, following the opening of a new permanent station for Welwyn Garden City to the south. High Welwyn gradually also became known as Digswell. The civil parish of Digswell was finally abolished in 1935, merging with the neighbouring parish of Welwyn on 1 April 1935. In 1931 the parish had a population of 644. The Digswell Viaduct, designed by

William Cubitt Sir William Cubitt FRS (bapt. 9 October 1785 – 13 October 1861) was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type o ...

and opened in 1850, carries the Great Northern Railway over the valley of the

River Mimram The River Mimram is a river in Hertfordshire, England. Geography The river valley known locally as the Mimram Valley is named after the River Mimram, which rises from a spring to the north-west of Whitwell, in North Hertfordshire, England, a ...

(River Maran) on some 40 brick arches, reaching above ground level. The residential workshop for sculptors, artists and musicians sponsored by the Digswell Arts Trust, was once located in Digswell House. Part of the southern Parish Boundary Baulk (raised bank) between the ecclesiastical parishes of Digswell and Hatfield may still be seen in Sherrardspark Wood, a local woodland, nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest.(5) Much of Digswell is now part of the borough of

Welwyn Hatfield The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in southern Hertfordshire, England, governed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. It covers the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, Hertfordshire, ...

. The area known as Digswell today is the largely residential area centred on Welwyn North station. It has a population of about 1600, with a shop or two, and a pub called the Cowper Arms. Notable past residents here include

Kenneth Allsop Kenneth Allsop (29 January 1920 – 23 May 1973) was a British broadcaster, author and naturalist. Early life Allsop was born on 29 January 1920 in Holbeck, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was married in St Peter's Church, Ealing, i ...

Alan Brazil Alan Bernard Brazil (born 15 June 1959) is a Scottish broadcaster and former football player, most notably for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and internationally for Scotland. He played as a forward before being forced to r ...

Ron Pickering Ronald James Pickering (4 May 1930 – 13 February 1991) was an athletics coach and BBC sports commentator. Biography Pickering was born in Hackney. His father was a sign fixer. He became head boy at West Ham Secondary School (later to become ...

, Graham Richard James, the police reformer

Sir Arthur Young Colonel Sir Arthur Edwin Young (15 February 1907 – 20 January 1979) was a British police officer. He was Commissioner of Police of the City of London from 1950 to 1971 and was also the first head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary to be styled ...

, H.G. Wells and American actor Barry Chapman. When first developed, this residential area was known as "High Welwyn"Tony Rook 'River Mimram' Amberley Publishing Limited 2014 - chapter 7 before later taking on the name of the old parish on the south side of the nearby Hertford Road. Digswell_Viaduct_as_seen_from_Digswell_Park_Road_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1310000.jpg, Digswell Viaduct Digswell_Lake_-_geograph.org.uk_-_272943.jpg, Digswell Lake

References

External links

Digswell Community website
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Former civil parishes in Hertfordshire Welwyn

Further reading

References

External links