Wormley, Hertfordshire

Wormley
Wormley
 Wormley shown within Hertfordshire
Population less than 5,000
OS grid referenceTL322054
DistrictBroxbourne
Shire countyHertfordshire
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Broxbourne
Postcode district EN10
Dialling code 01992
Police Hertfordshire
Fire Hertfordshire
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentBroxbourne
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire

Coordinates: 51°43′N 0°01′W / 51.72°N 0.02°W

Wormley is a village in Hertfordshire, England. It is within the Borough of Broxbourne. The village is part of the census ward of Wormley and Turnford, which had a population of 8,146 at the 2001 census.[1]

Wormley is located east of the A10 road which links Cambridge to London, commonly known as the Great Cambridge Road.

Wormley is sandwiched between Broxbourne and Turnford with a high road of shops.

Wormley is located 2.8 mile south of Broxbourne, originally the planned site for the Lee Valley White Water Centre course which is now built in Waltham Cross, for use during the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The nearest rail station is Broxbourne which is a commuter town to London.

Wormley is close to the River Lea which runs from Luton towards Wheathampstead, then south towards London where it meets the River Thames. Wormley has Wormley playing fields where Wormley Rovers Football Club and Wormley Cricket Club are based. Wormley also has Top Field and Cozens Grove Local Nature Reserve.[2][3] David Bentley started his footballing career at Wormley Youth Football Club.

St Lawrence's Church forms part of the Parish of Broxbourne with Wormley and is a member of the New River Group Ministry.[4] Wormley Church of England Primary School was founded in 1864 and had 358 pupils in 2009.[5]

St Lawrence's Church dates back to the 12th century

In 2014, the area of Wormley and Turnford was awarded £1m from the Big Local Trust to invest in the community over the next 10 years. Completely resident volunteer led, it will enable locals to regenerate their community.[6]


History

The name is thought to derive from the Old English "snake-infested leah"; the last element could mean "clearing", or perhaps "woodland pasture".[7] Wormley was one of the manors which were granted by Harold Godwinson to the canons of Waltham Holy Cross. It was entered in the Domesday Book of 1085 as Wermelai,[8] with a total of 28 households.[9] Wormley remained under the control of the manastry until its dissolution in 1540 when it was granted to Sir Edward North.[10] The manor house called Wormleybury on the south side of Church Lane, was totally rebuilt in 1734 and remodelled in 1767 and 1782 by Robert Mylne for Sir Abraham Hume. It has a stone portico and steps, with an octagonal bell turret. There is interior decoration of 1779 by Robert Adam. It is a Grade I Listed building.[11]

The little Parish Church of St Lawrence has a nave and font dating from the 12th century. There are several brasses from the 15th century and a marble monument to the Purvy family dated 1617.[12]

Coal-tax post on a footpath in Wormley Wood.

There are two Coal-tax posts in Wormley and both are in unusual locations. One is in the middle of Wormley Wood and the other on the north side of a country lane at a point where it is hard to imagine any significant trade traffic passing by.[13] They were erected following the London Coal and Wine Duties Continuance Act 1861, and thanks to them, many of the bridges across the River Thames were paid for.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Census data
  2. ↑ "Top Field and Cozens Grove". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Map of Top Field and Cozens Grove". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.broxbournewithwormley.org.uk/
  5. ↑ http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/filedownloading/?id=928035&type=1&refer=0
  6. ↑ The Big Local Trust Retrieved 5 March 2015
  7. ↑ Rowe, Anne, and Williamson, Tom (2013) Hertfordshire: A Landscape History University of Hertfordshire Press, ISBN 978-1909291003 (Chapter 5)
  8. ↑ The Domesday Book Online - Hertfordshire
  9. ↑ Open Domesday - Wormley
  10. ↑ A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 3 (1912) (pp. 487-8)
  11. ↑ British Listed Buildings - Wormleybury, Broxbourne
  12. ↑ History of the County of Hertford pp. 489-490
  13. ↑ Bawtree, M. (1969) The City of London Coal Duties, printed in the London Archaeologist
  14. ↑ Johnson, W.B (1970) The Industrial Archaeology of Hertfordshire
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wormley, Hertfordshire.


External links