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Aldbury

Coordinates:51°48′N0°36′W/ 51.80°N 0.60°W/51.80; -0.60
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Not to be confused with many places namedAlbury.

Aldbury
The duck pond at the centre of the village
Aldbury is located in Hertfordshire
Aldbury
Aldbury
Location withinHertfordshire
Population964 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP9612
Civil parish
  • Aldbury
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTRING
Postcode districtHP23
Dialling code01442
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire
51°48′N0°36′W/ 51.80°N 0.60°W/51.80; -0.60

Aldbury(/ˈɔːldbəri/) is a village andcivil parishinHertfordshire,England, near the borders ofBuckinghamshireandBedfordshirein theBulbournevalley of theChiltern Hills,anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.The nearest towns areTringandBerkhamsted.Uphill from the narrow valley are theBridgewater monumentand theAshridge Estate,a country estate owned and managed by theNational Trust.

Aldbury is designated as aconservation area,with most of the land surrounding the village unaltered since the late medieval period. The village is a popular filming location, retaining several archetypical historical features: in the centre is a green and pond; close by stand well-preservedstocksand awhipping-post,and the Church ofSaint John the Baptist.

The village has a lively community life, including a number of local societies and clubs.[2]Residents are kept updated on village events through theAldbury Outlook,a magazine published by local residents ten times a year. It has a village shop and post office, two pubs, three cafés, a Church of England primary school, a sports ground and tennis court, as well as the nearby Stocks Golf Club.

Aldbury's picturesque setting and proximity toTring railway stationmakes it one of the most desirable places to live in Hertfordshire.[3]It has been referred to as a "chocolate-box"village due to its traditional appearance.[4]

History

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Themanorwas recorded as Aldeberie in the 1086 Domesday Book. Thepublic house,"The Valiant Trooper", served as an ale house for centuries, the first traceable evidence dated to 1752.[5]

The wooded slope towards the Bridgewater Monument is one of the steepest ascents inHertfordshire,crowned by a ridge at one of the five highest elevations in the county.[6]Monuments in the church witness the importance of certain manorial families including the family of Sir Ralph Verney (1546), who have the northern chapel in the church, and the similarly landed family of Thomas Hyde (1570) and his son George (1580).[5]Aldbury was the home of Sir Guy de Gravade, known as the Wizard of Aldbury, who was reputed to be able toturn base metals into gold.[7]

To the northwest of Aldbury,Aldbury Nowersforms part of theChiltern Hills.It is traversed byThe Ridgewayancient tracks and by two sections ofGrim's Ditch,a linear earthwork dating from theIron Age.[8]

Etymology

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The name 'Aldbury' is derived from theOld Englishald(old)burh(fortification).[9]

Aldbury Manor

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In the time ofEdward the ConfessorAldbury Manor was held by Alwin, athegnof the king, and by 1086 was in the hands ofRobert, Count of Mortain.Throughout most of theNorman periodthe manor was held "of the honour" (with part rent due to) of the manor ofBerkhamsted.Various lower nobles followed until it was held in the 1530s under a Dynham family trust by a wife ofWilliam Fitzwilliam (Sheriff of London).Shares created became acquired by John Hyde of Hyde,Dorsetan officer of theCourt of Exchequerwho had a lease of the manor and died in 1545.[5]

In 1665, Sir Thomas Hyde, whose family had held the main manor for more than 100 years, died leaving the estate to his only daughter, Bridget. She marriedPeregrine Osborne, 2nd Duke of Leeds;whose family held the estate untilThomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leedssold it toScroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater.After further subdivision, the remaining manor descended to Francis Henry, ninth and last earl of Bridgewater, whose widow held it for life. At her death, it passed toJohn Hume Cust, Viscount Alford,eldest son of the firstEarl Brownlow,and so finally to the3rd Earlin 1867. He died in 1921 without leaving an heir (at which point the earldom and viscountcy became extinct). The lordship of the manor appears then to have passed to his second cousin, Adelbert, the 5th Baron and 8th Baronet Brownlow (d.1927); as in 1935, the then Lord of the Manor, Lord Brownlow (presumably Adelbert's son, the6th Baron (9th Bart) Brownlow,d.1978), is reported to have conveyed "by deed of gift" the village green to the Aldbury Parish Council.[10]

A few of the court rolls of the manor are held at thePublic Record Office,now part of theNational Archives).[5]

Stocks House or Stocks Manor (ancientlyla Stok)

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Main article:Stocks House
Stocks House

LandownerWilliam de Mandevilleheld land at "la Stock' in Aldbury around 1176–1177.[5]Records exist of a Henry de Bohun who was a knight in the service ofKing Henry III's son,Prince Edward,and uncle ofHumphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Herefordand of Essex. In 1277–1278, the men of Stocks were ordered to come de Bohun'sview of frankpledgeatAmersham(Agmondesham) inBuckinghamshire.In 1278 de Bohun was granted the manors of Amersham andNuthampsteadby his nephew Humphrey. Henry may be the same SirHenry de Bohunwho was killed at theBattle of Bannockburnby the Scottish kingRobert the Brucein 1214.[11]The land at Stocks belonged to a John de la Stock, who died in 1270. Records of feudal duties show that the land was held by a Master Henry Sampson in 1273. The last mention of Stocks until the 17th century appears when Philip de Aylesbury granted a piece of land calledStockynggeto William de Dunhamstede in 1318.[5]

After a gap there are references from the 17th century of the land being in the possession of Robert Duncombe, an ancestor of theLords Feversham.In 1773, Arnold Duncombe built a new house,Stocks House.[12]The estate then passed successively to the Hayton, Whitbread and Gordon families.

An heir to the Stocks estate, James Adam Gordon (d.1854), was a friend of the Scottish author SirWalter Scott,and it is reputed that the writer visited Gordon at Stocks House.[5]Gordon's widow, Emma Katherine, married the politicianRichard Bright,who died at Stocks in 1878. Emma Katherine died in 1891, and left the estate to Foreign SecretarySir Edward Grey,as a descendant of Samuel Whitbread. He shortly afterwards sold the house, as all that remained, to the authorMary Augusta Ward,whose husband was also a writer,Thomas Humphry Ward.[5][13]While the Wards lived at Stocks, it became a bustlingliterary salon,welcoming leading intellectuals and writers of the day, including their nephewsAldous HuxleyandJulian Huxley,their son-in-lawGeorge Macaulay Trevelyan,and Eric Blair (George Orwell). Mary Ward died in 1920 and Stocks was inherited by her son, politicianArnold Ward.[14]

In 1944, Stocks was turned into a girls' school. Stocks House achieved some notoriety when in 1972 it was purchased byVictor Lownes,an owner ofPlayboymagazine, who hosted lavish, rowdy parties there, staffed by scantily-cladbunny girls.The parties were attended by a number of celebrities of the day includingPeter Cook,John Cleese,Christopher Reeve,Jack Nicholson,Keith MoonandTony Curtis.[15]After Lownes's death, the house was sold and became a hotel and golf course. Today it is the home of racehorse trainerWalter Swinburn.[16]

Launcelene's Manor

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This consisted of 70 acres (28 ha) of general land, 3 acres (1.2 ha) of meadow and 5 shillings rent and was held in 1361 of the heir of Roger Launcelene in freesocagefor the service of one pair of whitegauntlets.John, son of William Aignel, died seised of this manor in 1361 and from this time it appears to have descended with the manor of Pendley inTring.[5]

Cherrywicke Manor (reputed as a manor)

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Robert Dogget bought land in Aldbury from Edward Verney in 1557, described as a manor in 1615, Edward Dogget sold the actual manor to Francis Bellingham, though parcels near thechurchlandswere held by John Dogget in 1638.[5]

1954 Valetta accident

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Main article:1954 Aldbury Valetta accident

On 6 January 1954, aRoyal Air ForceVickers Valettatwin-engine training aircraft crashed at Tom's Hill, just south of the village. Of the 17 airmen on board, 16 were killed.[17]

Notable buildings

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Parish Church

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Parish Church of St. John The Baptist, Aldbury
The Pendley Chapel inside the Parish Church
The Whittingham tomb Wild Man

TheParish ChurchofSaint John the Baptistis ofEarly Englishstyle. In 1203 the church was granted to the Canons of thePriory of St. Mary, Missendenby William de Brocland. Parts of thechancelandnaveare 13th century in origin, thought to be part of an olderRomanequsechurch which was enlarged in the 14th century. The church was restored in 1866–1867 by W. Browning, who removed two Romanesque arches from the north arcade of the nave and dressed the exterior inflintrubble masonryandtotternhoe Stone.[18]

The church is noted for the Pendley Chapel, also known as the Verney Chapel, an ornate memorial chapel which is located at the east end of the nave. It was installed here in 1575 but its origins are much older; Edmund Verney had the tomb moved here from thedissolved monasteryofAshridgeand enclosed it in an ornate stoneparclose screen,also brought from Ashridge. The floor is covered in medievalencaustic tiles.The small chapel contains a carved stonerecumbent tombof Sir Robert Whittingham (d.1471), a nobleman who was slain at thebattle of Tewkesbury(illustrated below). He is depicted inplate armourlying next to his wife. At his feet lies awild man,a mythical creature covered in hair, and ahindlies at his wife's feet. On the wall is a later monument to Sir Richard Anderson (1635–1699) ofPendley Manorand to his wife Elizabeth (1631–1698), sister ofGeorge, Viscount Hewwett.The Anderson are represented as a pair ofbustssurrounded by marblepilasterssurmounted by asegmental pediment.[18]

The church also contains memorials of the Hides and Harcourts, families who left charities to the poor of the parish.[19]

The Valiant Trooper

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The 17th-century cottages that form theTrooperhave served as alehouses for several centuries. The first traceable evidence dates back to 1752 when the pub – then known asThe Royal Oak– was left in the will of one John Barnes. Its next owner was Isaac Dell Master, whose initials "ID" and the date "1769" can be seen carved in the brickwork alongside the main front window. The name changed toThe Trooper Alehousein 1803 – rumoured to be because theDuke of Wellingtonmet his troops here to discuss tactics.[20]In the 1970s,Playboyexecutive Victor Lownes was a regular customer at the Valiant Trooper.[21]In 2023, the pub reopened after restoration as the Trooper, with an adjoining café opening in 2024.[22]

Parish council

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Aldbury Parish Council is the local administrative body and covers Aldbury village itself and the hamlet at Tring Station – in Saxon times, Aldbury lay in Dacorum, one of theHundredsof Hertfordshire and in 1973, the Dacorum Borough of Hertfordshire providing recycling, ultimate planning authority and certain business and leisure services was created with Aldbury in it.[23]

Transport

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Tring railway stationlies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village, within the parish of Aldbury.West Midlands Trainsrun frequent passenger rail services southbound toLondon Eustonand northbound toMilton Keynes Central.

Aldbury is served by the 387 bus route to Tring via the railway station.[24]

Film and television

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Aldbury is a popular location for films and television. Among film and television series scenes filmed in the village are:

References

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  1. ^"Civil Parish population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics. Archived fromthe originalon 25 October 2016.Retrieved24 October2016.
  2. ^"Activities | WELCOME TO ALDBURY".Aldbury Village.Retrieved4 October2023.
  3. ^"Things to do in Aldbury".Great British Life.11 May 2015.Retrieved2 October2023.
  4. ^"Why we love Hemel's villages".Hertfordshire.15 October 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 3 May 2017.Retrieved3 May2017.
  5. ^abcdefghijWilliam Page, ed. (1908)."Parishes: Aldbury".A History of the County of Hertford: volume 2.Institute of Historical Research.Retrieved11 December2012.
  6. ^Grid reference Finder measurement tools
  7. ^Ash, Russell (1973).Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain.Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 256.ISBN9780340165973.
  8. ^"Aldbury Nowers - 1005932"(PDF).naturalengland.org.uk.Natural England.Retrieved7 January2019.
  9. ^Field, John (1980).Place-names of Great Britain and Ireland.Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 22.ISBN0389201545.OCLC6964610.
  10. ^Davis, Jean (2004)."Ch. 9: 'Aldbury & Other Green Villages in Hertfordshire'".In Jones-Baker, Doris (ed.).Hertfordshire in History: Papers presented to Lionel Mumby(2nd ed.). Hatfield: Hertfordshire Publications for University of Hertfordshire Press. p. 156.ISBN0954218949.Retrieved7 April2022.
  11. ^ Richardson, Douglas (2011)."Henry de Bohun, Knt.".In Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.).Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011(2nd ed.). Salt Lake City: Douglas Richardson. p. 296.ISBN9781461045137.Retrieved3 May2017.
  12. ^Historic England,"Stocks House (1078055)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved3 May2017
  13. ^Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition
  14. ^"Arnold Ward".Spartacus.Retrieved27 June2015.
  15. ^Cook, Judy; Levin, Angela (2008)."15. Town and Country Living".Loving Peter: My life with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.Little, Brown Book Group.ISBN9780748110261.Retrieved3 May2017.
  16. ^"Hertfordshire Genealogy: Places: Aldbury, Herts".hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk.Retrieved3 May2017.
  17. ^Accident descriptionat theAviation Safety Network
  18. ^abHistoric England,"Church of St John the Baptist (1078047)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved2 May2017
  19. ^"St John the Baptist, Aldbury".Hertfordshire Genealogy.Retrieved24 April2017.
  20. ^"About us".The Valiant Trooper.Retrieved24 April2017.
  21. ^"The Playboy who threw parties in Aldbury".Tring Gazette.18 January 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 5 May 2017.Retrieved5 May2017.
  22. ^"The Trooper".24 February 2024.
  23. ^"Albury Parish Council".Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2017.Retrieved24 April2017.
  24. ^"Service 387: Intalink".intalink.org.uk.Hertfordshire County Council.Retrieved2 May2017.
  25. ^Reeves, Tony."Filming Locations for The Dirty Dozen (1967), in Hertfordshire".The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations.Retrieved4 May2017.
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