Rushden is a small 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-west of

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

, 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 ...

. It shares a

grouped parish council A parish council is a civil local authority found in England, which is the lowest tier of local government. Parish councils are elected corporate bodies, with variable tax raising powers, and they carry out beneficial public activities in geogr ...

with the neighbouring parish of Wallington. The population of the parish was 226 at the 2021 census.

Geography

Rushden is located just off the A507 between

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 ...

and Buntingford. Rushden has several clusters of development, including around the village green near the church, at Southern Green to the east, at Mill End to the west, and at Cumberlow Green to the south. Rushden's only public house is the Moon and Stars at Mill End. Immediately north of the village is the extensive private parkland of the Julians estate, centred on an early 17th century mansion.

History

Rushden 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 19 households were listed. A church is known to have existed at Rushden since at least 1220. The current building, which is dedicated to St Mary, appears to date from the mid-14th century.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Rushden, 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: Rushden and Wallington 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 is a

, also covering the neighbouring parish of Wallington. The parish council holds its meetings alternately at Rushden Village Hall and Wallington Village Hall.

Population

At the 2021 census the population of the parish was 226. The population had been 242 in 2011.

Notable residents

Percy Portsmouth Percival ("Percy") Herbert Portsmouth RSA FRSBS (1874–1953) was a 20th-century British sculptor. His most notable public work is Elgin War Memorial, and the similar War Memorial in Thurso. Life He was born in Reading, England, in 1874, th ...

, (1874–1953) sculptor, retired to ''"Youngloves"'' in Rushden.

References

External links

Rushden Community Website
Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire District {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub