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Hinxworth is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in
North Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston ...
, England. It sits just off the Great North Road between Baldock and
Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...
. It has a
village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...
, a park, a
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
, a small
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
, a
bus stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...
and a post box. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 326.


History and geography

The name of the village has variously been recorded as Haingesteworde, Hainsteworde, Hamsteworde (in the 11th century); Hingslewurd (12th century); Hengsteworth, Hyngstrigge, Heynceworth (13th century); Hangteworth, Hynxworth (14th century); Hyggextworth, Hyngxtworth (15th century); and Henxworth (16th century). The parish of Hinxworth is in the extreme north of the county on the border with
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
. It lies low, the ground nowhere rising more than above mean sea level. The ancient track called The Ridgeway crosses the low land to the east of the parish, running parallel with the River Rhee, which forms the north-east boundary. The area of the parish is , most of which is arable land, the remainder woodland and pasture. The soil is
loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
and blue
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
, the subsoil varies. The chief crops are
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
, field
beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...
and
oilseed rape Rapeseed (''Brassica napus'' subsp. ''napus''), also known as rape and oilseed rape and canola, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturall ...
. Coprolites have been dug in the parish and are still to be found. An Act authorizing enclosure of the common fields was passed in 1802 and the award was made in 1806. The nearest railway stations are Baldock, to the south and Ashwell to the southeast, both on the Hitchin and Cambridge branch of the Great Northern Railway. The Great North Road skirts the parish on the west and forms its southwest boundary. Not far from this road, on the borders of Hinxworth and Caldecote, Roman remains were discovered in about 1720 by workmen who were digging there for gravel with which to repair the road. These included several human bodies,
urns An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...
, paterae and other objects, with a Danish or Dutch coin. In 1810 a further find of great interest was made in the parish of two rare Greek coins or medals, one of
Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...
King of
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, and the other of
Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...
King of
Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...
ia, both very well preserved. Near the River Rhee in the north of the parish and not far from the camp at Arbury Banks or Harboro, and near the Ridgeway, a hoard of more than 500 Roman coins was discovered. Near them were found other Roman remains. The village of Hinxworth lies a mile and a half to the east of the Roman road, with which it is connected by roads leading northwest and southwest, the former continuing to Ashwell. The 14th century St Nicholas' church and former rectory stand on the southeast of the angle formed by the road to Ashwell and that leading southwest to the Roman road, and the village lies a little to the northwest of the church. The Three Horseshoes public house on High Street has its origins in a 15th century hall house. At the beginning of the 18th century, it had only thirty-five houses, of which three were
almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable organization, charitable public housing, housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the povert ...
. Hinxworth is home to 'Hinxworth Archers', one of the few
Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...
clubs in the area. The
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
Hinxworth Place is about half a mile southwest of the village. Hinxworth's
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
is in the form of a clock tower on the High Street.


Governance

Hinxworth has three tiers of local government at parish, district and county level: Hinxworth Parish Council, North Hertfordshire District Council, and
Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...
. The parish council meets at the village hall on Francis Road. Hinxworth is an
ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, and it was part of the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of Odsey. Hinxworth was included in the Royston
Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...
from 1835. The
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
created
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
and district councils. Hinxworth was included in Ashwell Rural District from 28 December 1894. Despite the name, Ashwell Rural District Council was based in the town of Royston. Hinxworth's population at the time was below threshold to be given a parish council, and so it had a
parish meeting A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...
to take over the secular functions of the parish
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
. A parish council was established by 1939. Ashwell Rural District was abolished in 1935, becoming part of
Hitchin Rural District Hitchin Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north of the county. Evolution The district had its origins in the Hitchin Rural Sanitary District. This had been created unde ...
, which in turn was abolished in 1974, becoming part of
North Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston ...
.


Population

At the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 326. The population had been 313 in 2011.


Notable residents

The author Monica Dickens lived in a cottage in the village for four years from 1947 to 1951. Here she wrote her
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s ''Flowers on the Grass'' (1949) and '' My Turn to Make the Tea'' (1951), the latter based on her experiences as a
reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
working on the ''Hertfordshire Express'' in
Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...
. While in Hinxworth she was the Treasurer of the annual Ashwell Horse Show and President of the Hinxworth Cricket Club, having bought maroon blazers for all the team, the
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...
and the Club Secretary. The notable 16/17th century land owner Sir Thomas Golding of Poslingford, Suffolk also owned lands at Hinxworth. The sculptor
John W. Mills John William Mills (4 March 1933 – 24 October 2023) was an English sculptor. He studied at Hammersmith School of Art, 1947–54, and at the Royal College of Art, 1956–60. He was a resident at Digswell Arts Trust, Digswell House 1962–66, ...
lived in Hinxworth from the 1960s until his death in 2023.


Notes


External links


Hinxworth and Edworth Village Hall WebsiteHinxworth Parish CouncilHinxworth Archers websiteHinxworth Bus ServiceAshwell & Morden Train TimetableBaldock Train Timetable
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire District