Nettleden is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of

Nettleden with Potten End Nettleden with Potten End is a civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, covering the villages of Potten End and Nettleden and the surrounding rural area. The parish of Nettleden with Potten End was created on 1 April 1937 from the former parish o ...

, in the

Dacorum The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England that includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Kings Langley. The district, which was formed in 1974, had a population of 137,799 in 2001. Its ...

district, in the 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 ...

, England. It is in the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

, about four miles north-west of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

, near

Little Gaddesden Little Gaddesden (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in the borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire north of Berkhamsted. As well as Little Gaddesden village (population 694), the parish contains the settlements of Ashridge (population 53), H ...

Great Gaddesden Great Gaddesden is a village and civil parish in Dacorum Hundred in Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, north of Hemel Hempstead. The parish borders Flamstead, Hemel Hempstead, Nettleden and Little Gaddesden and al ...

and

Frithsden Frithsden is a small hamlet in Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about two miles north of Berkhamsted, to which it belongs. It is in the Dacorum Ward of Nettleden with Potten End. The village name is derived from t ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 133.

Etymology

The village name of Nettleden is

Anglo-Saxon 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- ...

in origin and means 'valley where nettles grow'. In

manorial Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...

records of the late twelfth century the village was recorded as ''Neteleydene''.

History

Historically, Nettleden was a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

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 or m ...

Pitstone Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred east of Aylesbury and south ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, although the boundary of the hamlet was almost surrounded by the county of Hertfordshire. Nettleden was included in the

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

Poor Law Union from 1835. As Nettleden had its own

overseer of the poor An overseer of the poor was an official who administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing in England and various other countries which derived their law from England such as the United States. England In England, overseers of the poo ...

, it was deemed to be a separate civil parish from 10 August 1866 under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866. When district councils were established in December 1894, Nettleden was included in the

Berkhamsted Rural District Berkhamsted Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area to the west of the county. Until 1937 the official spelling of the district's name was Berkhampstead Rural District. Evolution Be ...

, which was temporarily allowed to straddle Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire pending Nettleden being transferred to Hertfordshire, which happened on 30 September 1895. The church, St Lawrence, was first mentioned in 1285 when it became a part of the endowment of Ashridge Monastery. The church, except for the tower, was largely rebuilt in brick by John, Earl of Bridgewater, in 1811. Until 1895 it was a chapelry of Pitstone. The hamlet of St Margaret's, formerly belonging to

Ivinghoe Ivinghoe is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England, close to the border with Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. It is northwest of London, north of Tring and south of Leighton Buzzard, close to the village of Pitstone. Ety ...

in Buckinghamshire, was added to the parish of Nettleden in 1895 at the same time as the county boundary change. Here, Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, founded the nunnery of St Margaret's de Bosco. After the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

in 1539, St Margaret's came into private hands. During the Second World War, St Margaret's Camp was a London County Council senior school for evacuee boys from London. The school closed one week after the end of the war in Europe, when all the boys were returned to their homes in London. Since 1984 it has been the

Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Amaravati is a Theravada Buddhist monastery at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in South East England. Established in 1984 by Ajahn Sumedho as an extension of Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, the monastery has its roots in the Thai Forest ...

. On 1 April 1937 the civil parish of Nettleden was abolished, joining with parts of the parishes of

Great Berkhampstead Rural Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and

Northchurch Northchurch is a village and civil parish in the Bulbourne valley in the county of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It lies between the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring. Situated on the Roman road Akeman Street, a major Roman villa dating fr ...

to form a new parish called

. From Nettleden to

runs the ''Roman Road'' or ''Spooky Lane'', named in reference to the ghost of an

Ashridge Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Berkhamsted and north west of London. The estate com ...

monk. In the early 19th century, the lane was dug deeper into the hill, with high revetted walls on both sides, and a bridge was built over the lane, in order that people using the driveway leading to Ashridge did not meet the villagers. Another feature of Nettleden is the steep Pipers Hill to the east of the village.

References

External links

Nettleden (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)Nettleden (British-History)Nettleden Conservation Area - Character Appraisal& Management Proposals
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Former civil parishes in Hertfordshire Dacorum