Lilley 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. It lies north-east of the centre of

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, its

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 ...

, and west of

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 ...

. The parish had a population of 384 at the 2021 census.

Geography

The village lies in a dry valley within the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

, a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. The valley continues for several miles to the south of the village, where it is known as Lilley Bottom, extending into the parishes of

Offley Offley is a civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The main village is Great Offley, also known as Offley, which stands on a ridge of high ground. The parish covers most of the area between the towns of Hit ...

and

King's Walden King's Walden is a civil parish in the England, English county of Hertfordshire. The parish contains several settlements, with the largest village being Breachwood Green. King's Walden itself is a non-nucleated settlement, with several small clus ...

. There is a ridge of high ground to the east of the village known as Lilley Hoo, which reaches its highest point at

Telegraph Hill A telegraph hill is a hill or other natural elevation that is chosen as part of an optical telegraph system. Telegraph Hill may also refer to: England * A high point in the Haldon Hills, Devon * Telegraph Hill, Dorset, a hill in the Dorset Downs ...

, above sea level. The

Icknield Way Path The Icknield Way Path or Icknield Way Trail is a long distance footpath and riding route in East Anglia, England. The ancient Icknield Way itself is unique among long-distance trails because it can claim to be ‘the oldest road in Britain’ ...

passes the edge of the parish on its 110-mile course from

Ivinghoe Beacon Ivinghoe Beacon is a prominent hill and landmark in Buckinghamshire, England, 233 m (757 ft) above sea level in the Chiltern Hills, close to Ivinghoe and Aldbury. Dunstable, Berkhamsted and Tring are nearby. The Beacon lies within t ...

in Buckinghamshire to

Knettishall Heath Knettishall Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Knettishall in Suffolk, England. A larger area of 176 hectares is the Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Despite its n ...

in Suffolk. There is one public house in the village, the Lilley Arms on West Street.

History

Lilley 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 owned by Geoffrey of Bec. It was described as having a priest, suggesting it was already a parish by then. St Peter's Church is known to have existed from at least the 12th century. It was completely rebuilt between 1870 and 1872, with a couple of features from the earlier building re-used in the new one. According to tradition, in the early 19th century Lilley was the residence of John Kellerman, an alleged occultist described by

Sir Richard Phillips Sir Richard Phillips (13 December 1767 – 2 April 1840) was an English schoolteacher, author, publisher and vegetarianism activist. Life Phillips was born in London on 13 December 1767. Following some political difficulties in Leicester w ...

as the "last of the alchemists."

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Lilley, 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: Lilley 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, known as the Cassel Memorial Hall, which is in the recreation ground off West Street. For national elections, Lilley forms part of the Hitchin constituency.

Sport

The village cricket club is one of the oldest in Hertfordshire, with fixtures dating back to the mid-1890s. The cricket club plays at the Geoff Banks-Smith Memorial Cricket Ground, between St Peter's Church and the village hall. The Lilley Arms - geograph

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire