Layston
Layston is a former village and ancient parish in the Edwintree Hundred of Hertfordshire, to the north-east of Buntingford. The parish includes much of Buntingford, with the remainder being shared between Aspenden, Throcking and Wyddial.
In 1931 the parish had a population of 724.[1] On 1 April 1937 the civil parish was abolished to create Buntingford civil parish, a part also going to form Hormead.[2]
Its former church, St Bartholomew's, became derelict but is the subject of a restoration project. People connected with the church include:
- Thomas Crouch, who was baptised in St Bartholomew's in 1607
- Robert Wogdon (January 1734 – 28 March 1813), founder of the gunsmith firm Wogdon & Barton, who was buried in the chancel with his wife, who had died in 1805
- Rev. Jonathan Gilder and Mary Brazier, who were married there in 1759; their daughter Sarah, baptised there in 1767, became (posthumously) the maternal grandmother to New Zealand suffragette Catherine Fulton
- Claud Lovat Fraser (15 May 1890 – 18 June 1921), who was buried in the churchyard.
- Joseph Ironmonger Snoxell (1743-1810) of Stanmore, Middlesex, married Martha Moore (1740-1785) in the church on 15 November 1763. He owned or leased farms in Great and Little Stanmore, and Hatch End, Middx; Hitchin and Watford, Herts; and Barton, Cambridgeshire. Husband and wife are buried next to the ruined church at Stanmore, where there are memorials to them.
There is a state-funded primary school, Layston First CE School.
References
- ↑ "Population statistics Layston AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10171090/cube/TOT_POP. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ↑ "Relationships and changes Layston AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10171090. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
Outside links
- Location map: 51°57’8"N, 0°-0’41"W
- Layston Church website - history and restoration
- Church family history index