Editing Redbourn (section)

==History==
To the south-west of the village, just beyond the motorway, is the site of an [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]] called the ''Aubreys''.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1003520 |desc=The Aubreys camp |access-date=15 November 2013}}</ref> Nearby is [[Aubrey Park, Redbourn|Aubrey Park]], which dates back to the 13th&nbsp;century. To the north of the village is the site of a complex of Roman temples.<ref>{{cite web |title=Friars Wash, Redbourn, Hertfordshire |series=Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results |website=Wessex Archaeology |url=http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/reports/68735/friars-wash-redbourn}}</ref>

The village has been continuously settled in since [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] times at least and is recorded in the [[Domesday Book]]. Its [[parish church]], St&nbsp;Mary's, was built in the early 12th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stmarysredbourn.org/ |title=St Mary's Church |website=St Mary's Redbourn |access-date=29 January 2025}}</ref> Some fifty years later, a small [[priory]] was founded half a mile away on Redbourn Common, after the abbot of [[St Albans Abbey]] decided to consecrate the ground. Some bones had been found on the spot, reputed to be of [[Saint Amphibalus|St Amphibalus]], the priest who had converted [[Saint Alban|St Alban]] to Christianity.<ref name=HFWI>Hertfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes{{full citation needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

In the 16th century, the manor of Redbourn belonged to the Reade family. Sir&nbsp;[[Richard Reade]], formerly [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]], bought the manor when he came back to England from Ireland; he died in 1575 and was buried at the parish church. Reade left legacies to [[Winchester College]] and for the upkeep of the parish of Redbourn. The manor of Redbourn itself was inherited by his eldest son, Innocent, who also inherited the older family estate at [[Nether Wallop]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ball |first=F. Elrington |title=The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 |place=London, GB |publisher=John Murray |year=1926}}</ref>

In 2010, Redbourn's St Mary's Church celebrated its 900th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web |title=St Mary's Church |website=Redbournvillage.org.uk |url=https://www.redbournvillage.org.uk/st-marys-church/ |access-date=29 January 2025}}</ref>