Little Gaddesden
| Little Gaddesden | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Saints Peter and Paul, Little Gaddesden | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP995135 |
| Location: | 51°48’41"N, -0°33’29"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 694 (2001) |
| Post town: | Berkhamsted |
| Postcode: | HP4 |
| Dialling code: | 01442 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dacorum |
Little Gaddesden is a village in Hertfordshire three miles north of Berkhamsted. As well as Little Gaddesden village, the parish contains the Buckinghamshire hamlets of Ashridge (population 53), Hudnall (population 139), and part of Ringshall (population 81).
The village is a border village, standing in partly in Buckinghamshire and close to the bounds of Bedfordshire. Within the Buckinghamshire part of the parish is Witchcraft Bottom, notable as the alleged location where the last witch in Buckinghamshire was tried and hanged.
Little Gaddesden and the surrounding area of the Ashridge Estate is owned and managed by the National Trust. This area has been used in many famous films, television programmes and commercials.
Little Gaddesden has many period properties, of note: Ashridge House, (designed by Sir James Wyattville along with gardens and grounds designed by Sir Humphrey Repton and Capability Brown - Golden Valley) The Manor House situated on the Green along with John O'Gaddesden House and Marian House, Little Gaddesden House along Nettleden Road heading towards the hamlet of Nettleden and the Old Rectory past the village shop heading to Ringshall.
The Ashridge Estate that surrounds the village is a 5,000-acre area of open countryside and woodland on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, with a rich variety of wildlife including fallow deer, muntjac and the renowned red kite. There are large areas of mature woodlands with carpets of spring bluebells and fine autumnal displays, along with the panorama from the Bridgewater Monument.
Little Gaddesden is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Conservation Area protected by the National Trust.
Big Society
There is a vigorous community life with 30 different clubs and societies. The oldest of these is probably the Women's Institute (founded in 1919) and the Royal British Legion.
Residents are kept updated on events in Little Gaddesden through the Gaddesden Diary, published seasonally. The Parish News also provides a further summary.
Little Gaddesden Cricket Club is the local side.
About the village
Local amenities include the famous Ashridge Golf Course, and two pubs; the Alford Arms, and the Bridgewater Arms. There is a Village Shop and Post office, Munns Farm Shop, Grove Farm, and a primary school.
Nearby is the Ivinghoe Beacon, popular with walkers and picnickers and the Dunstable Downs (from which the London Gliding Club operated).
Sights around and about include Pitstone Windmill and Frithsden Vineyard, Gaddesden Place and the The Gaddesden Estate, Walter Swinburn Racing Stables, Stocks House, Ashridge Business School also known as Ashridge House, and Whipsnade Zoo.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Little Gaddesden) |
- Little Gaddesden Village Website
- Gaddesden Estate
- Little Gaddesden Cricket
- Little Gaddesden
- Munns Farm Shop
- Grove Farm
- Little Gaddesden Primary School
- Gerald Massey: a biography - Chapter 5 (mentions Witchcraft Bottom)
- Gaddesden Place
- Little Gaddesden (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire) - Includes information on the Manor House
- Little Gaddesden TV - (Local TV)
References
Books
J. Leonhardt, A Century Remembered: The Millennium Book for Little Gaddesden, Ringshall, Hudnall and Ashridge, Rural Heritage Society, 2002, ISBN 0-9542174-0-3.