Pirton is a large 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

three miles north-west of

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding ...

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 gov ...

, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,274. The church, rebuilt in 1877, but with the remains of its 12th-century tower, is built within the bailey of a former castle, Toot Hill. Pirton Grange, which was remodelled in the 18th century, is in the north of the parish, and is a particularly interesting, moated Elizabethan house with a timber framed gatehouse. Hammonds Farm and Rectory Farm, with its tithe barn, are also Elizabethan. It first appeared in official records 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 ...

in 1086 within the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Hitchin. Pirton was then known as Peritone (meaning 'Homestead of Pears')''A Foot on Three Daisies - Pirton's Story'' - Pirton Local History Group, 1987 The

Icknield Way Path Icknield is a parliamentary ward, of the Luton district, in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The ward takes its name from the Icknield Way, a pre-Roman road which passes through Luton. Situated towards the northeast of Luton, the ward is ...

passes through the village on its journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. Th
Icknield Way Trail
a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also passes through the village. There are two churches in Pirton - one Methodist, one Anglican. There is a village school which teaches children from reception to Year 6. Many students continue on at Hitchin Priory. There are two local pubs - the Motte and Bailey on Great Green, and the Fox on High Street. Pirton has both football and cricket clubs.

References

External links

Pirton village websitePirton Local History Group websitePirton Parish Council Official website
Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub