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Wheathampstead
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{{Short description|Village in Hertfordshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{More citations needed|article|date=February 2013}} {{Use British English|date=November 2013}} {{Infobox UK place |official_name= Wheathampstead |civil_parish= Wheathampstead |static_image_name=Wheathampstead Town Centre.jpg |static_image_caption=Wheathampstead village centre |coordinates = {{coord|51.812|-0.293|display=inline,title}} |os_grid_reference= TL1714 |area_total_sq_mi= 10.03 |population= 6,622 |population_ref= (Parish, 2021)<ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=2021 Census Parish Profiles |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 March 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)</ref><br>{{nowrap|4,628 (Built up area, 2022)<ref>{{cite web |title=Population estimates - small area (2021 based) by single year of age - England and Wales |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/advanced.aspx |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=19 April 2025}} To get data for individual built-up areas, query the 'Population Estimates / Projections' dataset, then the 'Small area (2021 based) by single year of age - England and Wales' and then choose '2022 built-up areas' for the geography.</ref>}} |shire_district= [[City of St Albans|St Albans]] |shire_county = [[Hertfordshire]] |region= East of England |country = England |constituency_westminster= [[Harpenden and Berkhamsted (UK Parliament constituency)|Harpenden and Berkhamsted ]] |post_town= St Albans |postcode_district= AL4 |postcode_area= AL |dial_code= 01582 |website= [http://wheathampstead-pc.gov.uk Wheathampstead Parish Council] }} '''Wheathampstead''' is a large village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in [[Hertfordshire]], England, north of [[St Albans]]. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. The built up area of Wheathampstead had an estimated population of 4,628 in 2022, whilst the parish had a population of 6,622 at the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]]. ==History== [[Belgae|Belgic]] invaders settled in this area around 50 BC. They moved up the rivers [[River Thames|Thames]] and [[River Lea|Lea]] from what is now [[Belgium]]. Evidence for them was found in Devil's Dyke, at the eastern side of Wheathampstead. The [[Devil's Dyke, Hertfordshire|Devil's Dyke]] earthworks are part of the remains of an ancient settlement of the [[Catuvellauni]] and thought to have been the tribe's original capital. The capital was moved to [[Verlamion]] (which after the Roman conquest the Romans would rename [[Verulamium]], which in turn would become modern St Albans) in about 20 BC. Although silver Republican coins dating back to 100 BC are common finds around the verulam settlement. The Devil's Dyke is reputedly where [[Julius Caesar]] defeated [[Cassivellaunus]] in 54 BC, although this claim is disputed. Some historians suggest that the dyke was part of the same defensive rampart as nearby [[Beech Bottom Dyke]], which, if correct, would make the area one of the largest and most important British [[Iron Age]] settlements. [[File:St. Helen's Church, Wheathampstead - geograph.org.uk - 1431983.jpg|thumb|left|[[St Helen's Church, Wheathampstead|St Helen's Church]]]] Later, the village is recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 under the name {{lang|la|Watamestede}}. It appears that a church existed at Wheathampstead before the [[Norman Conquest]], as Wheathampstead was given by [[Edward the Confessor]] to [[Westminster Abbey]], but it is very difficult to determine whether any portion of the present [[St Helen's Church, Wheathampstead|St Helen's Church]] is of Saxon work. The original structure was demolished in the reign of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], the oldest portion of the present church, in the chancel, is assigned to the year 1280.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wheathampstead.net/sthhisst.htm|title=St Helen's Church, Wheathampstead, history.|website=www.wheathampstead.net}}</ref> Some historians have claimed ([[Trokelowe]], {{lang|la|Annales}} (Rolls Ser.), 78.) that in 1312 the barons who leagued against [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] and his favourite [[Piers Gaveston]], gathered their troops at Wheathampstead, and whilst there refused to receive emissaries from the Pope, although there seems to be no other documentary evidence of this. Until 1859, Wheathampstead and [[Harpenden]] were part of a single rectory. Before then, several of the rectors of Wheathampstead-cum-Harpenden after 1238 went on to have unusually successful ecclesiastical careers. [[Richard Sampson]], who held the position in the 16th century, was in 1523 appointed [[Lord President of Wales]], and in 1543 consecrated [[Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield]]. [[Richard Pate (bishop)|Richard Pate]], another rector, was in 1554 consecrated [[Bishop of Worcester]]. Lambert Osbaldeston was also master of [[Westminster School]], and became more famous later for a controversy with [[Archbishop Laud]]; having used libellous language he was, in 1639, deprived of his living and fined Β£5,000. [[Henry Killigrew (playwright)|Henry Killigrew]], in 1661, was made [[Master of the Savoy]]. John Lambe, whose father mainly devoted his life to the alleviation of the sufferings of prisoners, was also a rector, and was made Chaplain in Ordinary to [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]]. John Wheeldon (1773β1800) was the author of several works, and [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]]'s private tutor was also a former rector. [[File:IMG 0226 Wheathampstead Cricket Ground.jpg|thumb|Cricket at Wheathampstead]] The village is also close to [[Nomansland, Hertfordshire|Nomansland common]], and slightly further afield, [[St Albans]]. ==Amwell== [[File:Cross Roads by the Elephant and Castle Pub at Amwell - geograph.org.uk - 162146.jpg|thumb|The crossroads at Amwell.]] {{distinguish|Great Amwell|Little Amwell}} About {{convert|1|mile}} to the southwest of Wheathamstead and lying within its civil and ecclesiastical parish, the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of Amwell consists of a cluster of cottages and a public house at a crossroads. This small settlement has ancient origins and was first mentioned in 1272 as ''Hamewell'' in the records of [[Westminster Abbey]]. The name is derived from the [[Old English language]] ''hamm'', an enclosure, and ''weille'', a spring. The hamlet has five Grade II [[listed buildings]]; four are [[cottage]]s dating from the 18th century together with the Elephant and Castle pub, whose chimneys may date from the 16th century. A further three houses are [[locally listed]]. Amwell became a [[Conservation area (United Kingdom)|conservation area]] in October 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/planning-building-control/conservation/Amwell%20CACS.pdf |title=CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER STATEMENT FOR AMWELL |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=January 2012 |website=www.stalbans.gov.uk |publisher=St Albans City and District Council |access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref> ==Transport== There was once a [[Wheathampstead railway station|railway station]] serving the village but it closed in 1965 - a full amateur film of this line on the last day of operation can be seen on [[YouTube]] under the title "Welwyn Garden City, Harpenden East, Luton Hoo, Bute, Dunstable". Public transport is now provided by an hourly bus between [[Borehamwood]] and [[Harpenden]], operated by Aylesbury-based bus company Red Rose Travel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.redrosetravel.com/timetables/2816b521-dd3a-48cf-90bd-36e24bd37355 | access-date=2023-10-20| title=Timetable 357 Borehamwood - Harpenden via St Albans & Wheathamsptead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327013651/https://www.redrosetravel.com/timetables/2816b521-dd3a-48cf-90bd-36e24bd37355| archive-date=2023-03-27}}</ref> A half-hourly bus operated by [[Uno (bus company)|Uno]] also runs through Wheathampstead between [[Luton]] and [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire|Hatfield]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unobus.info/services/hertfordshire/dragonfly-610612/|title=610/612 | Uno|website=www.unobus.info}}</ref> ==Notable residents== * [[Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan]] (1865β1946), Field Marshal and Chief of Imperial General Staff * [[Apsley Cherry-Garrard]] (1886β1959), polar explorer * [[Reginald Owen]] (1887β1972), character actor * [[William Beach Thomas]] (1868β1957), author, journalist, war correspondent and writer about country life, lived here in later life and is buried here. * [[Archie Camden]] (1888β1979), bassoonist, died here at the age of 90. * [[Michael Ventris]] (1922-1956), linguist who deciphered [[Linear B]] * [[Nick Halling]], TV presenter and sports journalist * [[Nick Payne]], playwright * [[Diane Munday]], abortion activist ==Images== <gallery> File:Wheathampstead High Street.jpg|The Mill Bridge and ''the Bull'' public house File:River Lea joins Wheathampstead.jpg|River Lea flowing through Wheathampstead </gallery> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== *{{Cite book |last1=Page |first1=William |series=[[Victoria County History]] |title=A History of the County of Hertford, Volume 2 |year=1908 |pages=294β314}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Wheathampstead}} * [http://www.wheathampstead.net Village Website] * [http://www.wheathampstead.org.uk Wheathampstead Businesses] * [http://www.wheathampsteadwanderersfc.co.uk Wheathampstead Wanderers] {{Civil parishes of Hertfordshire}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Wheathampstead| ]] [[Category:Villages in Hertfordshire]] [[Category:Civil parishes in Hertfordshire]] [[Category:City of St Albans]]
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