A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



DATCHWORTH 



Decawrthe (x cent.) ; Dasccewyrthe, Daceworde 

 (xi cent.) ; Tachwird, Tacheworth, Thatcheworth 

 (xiiicent.) ; Dachesworth, Daccheworthe (xiv cent.). 

 The parish of Datchworth has an area of 2,018 

 acres, of which about three-quarters is arable land, the 

 remainder, with the exception of about 18 acres of 

 wood, being permanent gra.-s.' It is long and narrow 

 in shape, sloping upwards from just over 200 ft. in the 

 north to over 400 ft. in the south. The road from 

 Aston to Bramfield winds down the centre of the parish 

 and is crossed in the north of the parish by the main 

 road from Stevenage to Watton ; the hamlet of 

 Bragbury End lies at the cross-roads with the house 

 and park of Bragbury, the residence of Mr. Samuel 

 S. Berger, J. P. The park has an extent of about 

 50 acres and is watered by the River Beane. In the 

 south the central road is crossed by the road from 

 Woolmer Green to Watton, the hamlet of Datch- 

 worth Green being situated at this junction. 



The village of Datchworth is on the west side of 

 the main road where a lane turns off south-west 

 towards the rectory. The site of the manor-house 

 with the remains of a moat is situated in the angle 

 thus formed and the church of All Saints is a little 

 further south. On the north side of the green is a 

 late 17th-century building of timber and plaster and 

 brick with a tiled roof now divided into two cottages. 

 The initials w » ,, and date 1694. are placed in 

 plaster over three gabled windows. Near by on the 

 green is the whip ping- post, to which the h.indcuffs are 

 still attached. About half a mile south of the village 

 is Hoppers Hall, a timber and plaster house with 

 tiled roof of mid-1 7th-century date. It is gabled 

 and has a small porch. Two of the rooms still have 

 their original fireplaces, over one of which is a paint- 

 ing of a hunting scene, probably of the date of the 

 house. The staircase has turned balusters and square 

 newels with ball heads and is probably original. A 

 little further on is Cherry Tree Farm, a I 7th-century 

 brick house plastered, with a tiled roof. 



There are several hamlets in the parish. In the 

 south is Painter's Green, where the road forks to 

 Datchworth Green and Hawkin's Hall. In the 

 extreme south of the parish are the h.imlets of Bull's 

 Green, where there are the remains of a moat, and 

 Burnham Green, partly in Digswell parish. By the 

 Divided Parishes Act of 1882 Swangley Farm and 

 Cottages in the north west were attached to Datch- 

 worth instead of Knebworth for civil purposes. 

 Oak's Cross, on the road from Stevenage to Watton 

 marks the north-eastern angle of the parish. 



The Great Northern main line touches the parish 

 in the north-west, the nearest station being Kneb- 

 worth, a mile and a half from Datchworth village. 



The subsoil is London Clay in the centre, surrounded 

 by Woolwich and Reading beds, and giving place to 



1 Smti.de* from Bd. of Agric. (190;). » ibid. 1O t 



^"T^ ,(**■ Com.), *, 9 . » Ibid . jL. 



chalk in the north, where there are two disused 

 chalk-pits. There are also two small chalk-pits in 

 the south-west and a large gravel-pit west of the 

 village. 



Place-names mentioned in the 13th century are 

 Godbyry, Chippeden, Pesccroft, Baronesfeld, and 

 Baron esg rave. 1 ' The first three of these survive in 

 the early 1 8th century as Godbury, Chibden, and 

 Peascroft. 2 Others which occur in the 17th and 

 early 18th centuries are Candell, the Great Lawne, 

 Foldingshott, Cunden Field, Clubden Field, Rockleyj] 

 Collewood or Colewood, Datts or Jacks, Lethmore, 

 Feeks Shott Pitle, Shoulder of Mutton Field, Hitch- 

 field, Rush Grounds Field, and Pakesgrove, 1 



King Edgar, who reigned from 959 

 to 975. g ave l an d m Datchworth to the 

 church of St. Peter of Westminster,* 

 onfirmed to that abbey by Edward the 

 4 hides and 1 virgate." The abbot 

 :lf held 3 hides and 1 virgate a ; the other 

 hide was held of him by Aluric Blac before the 

 Conquest. With regard to other lands Aluric was 

 the man of Archbishop Stigand, and his successor 

 Lanfranc made this an excuse for seizing Aluric's 

 hide in Datchworth, and was thus in possession of it 

 in io86. 7 Besides the 4J hides in Datchworth 

 originally belonging to Westminster there were 

 3 virgates, of which previous to the Conquest i\ vir- 

 gates were held by three sokemen of King Edwird," 

 and half a virgate by Alstan, a man of Alraar of 

 Benington. 9 In 1086 the z\ virgates were held by 

 two knights of Geoffrey de Bech » and the half 

 virgate by Robert of Peter de Valognes. 11 The* 

 portions are not heard of again, so presumably they 



MANORS 



which x 

 Confessor . 



bsorbed in the manor. 

 Datchworth remained in the 

 hands of the Abbots of West- 

 minster." When the abbey 



The overlordship of 



1 the 



t of 



a bishop in 1 540 Datchworth 

 was confirmed to the see. 13 

 The bishopric of Westminster 

 was abolished in 1556, but in 

 I 554 Datchworth was granted 

 by the queen to the Bishop of 

 London and h" 

 hold in free alms, 14 2 

 terest in the manor 

 to the see as late as 1693, when 

 the manor was still charged with 

 £3 to the bishop. 15 



The earliest recorded sub-tenant is Hugh de 

 Bocland, who was lord of the manor in 1191." His 

 daughter Hawise married William de Lanvalev, and 

 apparently received Datchworth as a marriage por- 

 tion, 17 for it does not seem to have passed to Hugh') 



«. Coin 



■wo 111/orJi 0/ St. Ifl 

 •rslud wlrirnviit. 



inual rent of 



. ij; 6 Geo. I, pt . vii, no. 

 < DugJile, Afen. i, 10 i. 

 1 Ibid. 194 ; Cot:. Chart, v 

 ' V.C.H. H„i,.i, in*. 



11 Feet of F. Herts. 4 Ri 



JW Aii H ii, 436 ; Chan. 

 jo Edw. IV, no. 77. 



" DugJale, Mm, I, 280; 



' c Feet of F. Herts. 4 Rit I, no. I. 



« Cart. Men. Sr. Join Bjpt. it Cddtttf 

 (Roxburgh^ Club), 201; ExarfUiX*- 

 Fin. (R«. Com.), L, 246. 



