Watton-at-Stone
| Watton-at-Stone | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Village cast iron water pump | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL299194 |
| Location: | 51°51’29"N, 0°6’47"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,272 (2001) |
| Post town: | Hertford |
| Postcode: | SG14 |
| Dialling code: | 01920 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Hertfordshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North East Hertfordshire |
Watton-at-Stone is a village in Hertfordshire, situated midway between the towns of Stevenage and Hertford in the valley of the River Beane. The 2001 census showed a population of 2,272, living in 921 households. There is little employment directly within the village and it largely serves as a commuter village for commuters to London or to the nearby towns.
The village has a primary school and nursery school. The co-educational Heath Mount independent school is located on the outskirts in the private estate of the Grade II* listed Woodhall Park.
The A602 between Stevenage and Hertford ran through the centre of the village before a bypass was built in the 1980s through farmland to the north-east. Watton-at-Stone is served by a railway station on the Hertford Loop Line. The station opened for passengers on 2 June 1924, was closed on 11 September 1939 (though the line continued to run through the village), and reopened on 17 May 1982, paid for partly by public subscription.
A war memorial lies in a field adjoining the church.
Church
The parish church is St Mary and St Andrew, which dates from the fifteenth century,[1] and is built in the Perpendicular style.[2]
The evangelical author and social campaigner Bickersteth was rector of the church for twenty years from 1830 until his death in 1850.[3][4] His one-time curate was the theological scholar Thomas Birks.[4]
History
The name Watton first appeared in writing in an eleventh century publication of tenth century wills as Wattun. It was later recorded in the Domesday Book as both Wodtune and Watone.[1] The origin of the word is uncertain, and is variously ascribed to Old English wad, or woad, and ton meaning small farming settlement; or waden meaning ford; or from waétan meaning watery. The suffix -at-Stone dates from the early thirteenth century and is derived from the presence of two large examples of Hertfordshire puddingstone, now situated at the Waggon and Horses public house.
A Roman Road ran from Verulamium (modern St Albans), fording the River Beane at Watton-at-Stone. A battle between the Danes and English took place nearby in 1016. In later years, the natural springs in the area once made the village a popular spa town.
The village has a number of dwellings dating from early Tudor, such as Watton House, through to late Georgian constructions.[1]
Archaeological finds
The Iron Age Aston Mirror was found nearby, closer to Watton-at-Stone than to the village of Aston, but technically in Aston parish due to the convoluted border. It is now kept at the British Museum. A collection of Belgic armour and weaponry was discovered in the mid-19th century by workers digging a drain at the north end of the village.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Watton-at-Stone) |
- Watton-at-Stone Parish Council
- Village primary school
- Heath Mount school
- Watton-at-Stone (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)
- The Aston mirror
- Image gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 A History of the County of Hertford: volume 3
- ↑ Tompkins, Herbert H. (1922), Hertfordshire, Second Edition, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18252/18252-8.txt
- ↑ Hylson-Smith, Kenneth: Evangelicals in the Church of England, 1734-1984 - Continuum International, 1989. isbn 978-0-567-29161-5
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Larsen, David L: The Company of the Preachers - Kregel Publications, 1998, isbn 978-0-8254-3086-2