Therfield

Therfield
Hertfordshire
St Mary, Therfield
Location
Grid reference:	TL334371
Location:	52°-0’59"N, 0°3’27"W
Data
Population:	539
Post town:	Royston
Postcode:	SG8
Dialling code:	01763
Local Government
Council:	North Hertfordshire
Parliamentary constituency:	North East Hertfordshire

Therfield is a small village of Hertfordshire which sits in the north of the county, on small but striking range of chalk hills three miles southwest of Royston, and six miles northeast of Baldock.

Therfield is a very small village that is locally famous for its church, chapel and pub. The Nature Reserve of Therfield Heath lies a mile to the north of the village. From here on a clear day it is possible to see the Cathedral of Ely, over twenty miles to the north.

Name

The name Therfield appears to come from an Old English original Þurreweld, which means either "Thunor's Field" or "Thunor's High place", from the name of the Saxon god of thunder. It was inhabited long before the Anglo Saxons came and gave a name to it, as the Icknield Way runs through the village, and Neolithic barrows have been found on Therfield Heath.

Church and chapel

Church of St. Mary the Virgin

The parish church is St Mary the Virgin, which though modern by church standards is on a spot hallowed by the ages. The current church was completed in 1878 and it replaced the church that had stood since the 13th Century. The latter church fell into such disrepair that it was in danger of collapsing. When it was replaced, the windows, pulpit and font were removed from the old church and built into the new structure.

The tower of today's church contains six bells dating from 1597, 1608, 1626, 1656, 1689 and the most recent from 1707. For years these bells were not used and worship services were marked by the ringing of a bell dated 1862 that hung from a tree in a nearby field. The church register dates from the year 1538.

Bishop Francis Turner was buried here in the chancel in 1700.

Therfield Chapel

Therfield Chapel was established as a congregation of Protestant dissenters (the "Independents") in 1836. The current Chapel was built subsequently, in 1854, and the Church eventually became known as Therfield Congregational Church, being affiliated to the Congregational Union who acted as trustees for the Church property.

When in 1966 the Congregational Union was replaced by a body which espoused more liberal views, the Chapel seceded and became affiliated first to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), and then to the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC).

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Therfield)

• Therfield,net - History and pictures of Therfield
• Hagger Genealogy Library