Weston 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

North Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston ...

district of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. The village stands on a plateau of high ground, about south of

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The River Ivel rises from springs in the town. It lies north of London and north northwest of the county town of Hertford. Nearby towns inc ...

, its nearest town, although Weston's

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

, to the west. The parish includes extensive rural areas as well as the village itself, including the hamlet of Hall's Green to the south-east of the village. At the northern end of the parish are the Weston Hills, where the plateau drops down to the southern edges of Baldock. The Weston Hills Tunnel carries the A505 Baldock bypass under the hills. The parish had a population of 1,035 at the 2021 census.

History

Weston appears 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, when it was described as having 75 households. Two priests were mentioned, suggesting Weston was already a parish. At that time Weston included the site where the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

would later develop the town of Baldock in the 12th century. The northern tip of Weston parish was ceded to become the new parish of Baldock around that time. The concession was modest; the parish of Baldock originally had an area of just , whereas the remainder of Weston parish had an area of . Holy Trinity Church Weston

Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

stands on the south-eastern edge of the village and dates back to the 12th century. The main part of the village subsequently developed along Fore Street, Maiden Street and Damask Green Road, which meet at a small village green with a pond, about half a mile west of the church. There is a local legend of a giant called

Jack o'Legs In folklore, Jack o' Legs (also spelled Jack O'Legs) is a giant from Hertfordshire, England. Jack is said to have been an archer who, like Robin Hood, robbed the rich to give to the poor. His supposed grave is in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Chu ...

, who is said to have lived in a cave in the area and stole from the shopkeepers in Baldock to give to the poor in Weston. On being caught and either mortally wounded or sentenced to death (versions differ) he asked to be allowed to shoot an arrow to indicate where he wanted to be buried. The arrow flew three miles to the churchyard at Weston. Stones and a sign in the churchyard still mark his supposed grave. The earliest documented reference to Jack o'Legs dates from 1521, but in a context suggesting it was already a well-known story.

Weston Windmill, also known as Lannock Mill, was built in 1860 to the west of the village. It is no longer operational, and has lost its cap, sails and machinery. The surviving tower has been converted to other uses.

Weston Road Weston Road is both a contour street and a north–south street in western Toronto and western York Region in Ontario, Canada. The road is named for the neighbourhood and former Town of Weston, which is located near Weston Road and Lawrence Ave ...

and the Village of Weston, both within

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, were named after this place.

Facilities

Weston village today has a primary school, village hall, a shop, and a pub, the Cricketers. There is another pub, the Rising Sun, in the hamlet of Hall's Green.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Weston, at

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

, and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

level: Weston Parish Council, North Hertfordshire District Council, and

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

. The parish council meets at the village hall on Maiden Street.

Population

At the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 1,035. The population had been 1,054 in 2011.

Gallery

File:Weston Primary School 2014.jpg, Weston (CofE) Primary School and Nursery Image:Weston Cottages.jpg, A row of cottages at Weston

References