Puckeridge is a village in

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 ...

, England with a population of 3,561 ( 2011 Census). It is in the civil parish of Standon.

History

The earliest known settlement was founded by the

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their k ...

, Celts from northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Celts began to arrive around 250 BC. The

Belgae The Belgae () were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Ju ...

arrived around 180 BC. A Roman town existed just to the north of the existing village and the village is at the crossroads of two major Celtic roads,

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'', ...

and Stane Street. By 200AD the Romans had built a town, at the north of the current village, called Ad Fines. It was a regional capital and was also the start point for the roads to

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

and

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north n ...

– all-important pre-Roman Celtic centres. Ad Fines had a large temple dedicated to

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

. It also had at least two bath houses on the banks of the River Rib. The town survived until the end of the 5th century. The neighbouring villages of Standon and

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 English county of Hertfordshire. Braughing gave its name to a county division in Hertfordshire, known ...

are recorded 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 ...

, but Puckeridge is not although it was probably in existence. It survived the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

in the 14th century. A number of

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

were established in Puckeridge in the 17th century, which gave grants of land that enabled the expansion of the village. The village developed and thrived because it was on the coaching route between London and Cambridge;

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

records that he stopped at the Falcon (now the ''Crown and Falcon''). Eventually, the coming of the railway in the 19th century led to a decline in the fortune of the many Taverns and Inns in the village. The village is now a popular place to live close to good road networks leading into and around London. Near Puckeridge, there was Puckeridge DECCA tower, a free-standing tower radiator used for

DECCA Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

Today

The village houses three schools, small convenience stores and two pubs with a mixture of old and relatively new houses.

HMS Puckeridge

The village shares its name with HMS Puckeridge, a

Hunt class destroyer The Hunt class was a ship class, class of escort destroyer of the Royal Navy. The first vessels were ordered early in 1939, and the class saw extensive service in the World War II, Second World War, particularly on the British east coast and M ...

which was lost to enemy action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On 8 September 2003, a 60th Anniversary Commemoration Service was held in the village to honour members of the ship's company who lost their lives while serving aboard. This was attended by five survivors, members of th
Royal Naval Association

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

and the Puckeridge and Standon community. Puckeridge Village website HMS Puckeridge
/ref>

Notable people

Cyril Fordham Cyril Bernard Fordham (22 September 1906 – 22 April 1988) was an English cricketer. Fordham was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break. He was born at Puckeridge, Hertfordshire. Fordham made his debut in county cricket for Her ...

(1906–1988), cricketer

Trivia

Puckeridge is the name of a third-string theatre critic in

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's drama ''

The Real Inspector Hound ''The Real Inspector Hound'' is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit. By chance, th ...

''. The village is mentioned in the novel ''Colonel Jaques'' from

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

and

Rose Tremain Dame Rose Tremain (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. Life Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on 2 August 1943 in London to Viola Mabel Thomson and ...

's ''Restoration''.

References

External links

Puckeridge Hunt websiteWhite Hart PubCrown and Falcon
on ''A Guide to Old Hertfordshire'' Hamlets in Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire District {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub