Ardeley is a small village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in East Hertfordshire

East Hertfordshire

East Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council has offices in Bishop's Stortford and Hertford ....

, England

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The parish includes the hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of Cromer, as well as Wood End and Moor Green.

Ardeley is located about one and a half miles from Walkern

Walkern

Walkern is a village and civil parish in East Hertfordshire. It is located on the River Beane about two miles from Stevenage, and is noted as the home of Jane Wenham, who was in 1712 the last woman in England to be convicted of witchcraft...

. It has a primary school, a pub (The Jolly Waggoner), a grade one listed church, which dates from around the 13th century, a vicarage built in the 1700s and a CSA farm (Church Farm). The farm allows visitors to buy produce and feed the animals. The Church of Saint Lawrence is a Church of England church and the primary school, Ardeley St. Lawrence JMI, founded in 1835, is also a Church of England state funded school. Ardeley has an annual fete in which all profits go to the parish's church. The large international cleaning company, Hughes Gardner, are now based in the manor house.

Ardeley is a picturesque village, with neat thatched cottages beside the green, thatched village hall, duck pond and churchyard. It also has a children's play area near the school, at the end of school lane, five housing association/ex-council houses in "The Crescent", opposite the school and many church let cottages.

Famous inhabitants

A locally famous person from this village was Sir Henry Chauncy

Henry Chauncy

Sir Henry Chauncy Kt. was born in Ardeley, Hertfordshire and died at Yardley Bury , Hertfordshire. He was an English lawyer, educator and antiquarian...

 who wrote Antiquities of Hertfordshire and published it in 1700.

Charles Chauncy

Charles Chauncy

Charles Chauncy was an Anglo-American clergyman and educator.He was born at Yardleybury , Hertfordshire, England and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he later was a lecturer in Greek. After serving as a pastor in England at Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire , he emigrated to...

, third president of Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

, was born in Ardeley (then Yardeley) Bury on 5 November 1592.

External links

• Ardeley (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)