Barkway is a long-established 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the North Hertfordshire district of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

, England, about five miles south-east of

Royston Royston may refer to: Places Australia *Royston, Queensland, a rural locality Canada * Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet England *Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire * Royston, South Yorks ...

, 35 miles from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and 15 miles from the centre of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. The

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

passes a mile or so to the west of Barkway.

History

Reputedly listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Birchwig'', meaning Birch Way. Barkway has a number of 15th and 16th century properties, some with beautifully thatched roofs. Most properties are on or near the High Street, which is part of the old London to Cambridge coaching route. Barkway has had a village church for over 1000 years. The current flint and stone church, which is over 800 years old, has a full peal of 8 bells which are rung every week. The village has an infants' school, the Tally Ho pub, a recreation ground with children's play area and football pitch, a Golf Course, a Garage and a number of active social organisations. According to the 2001 census Barkway had a population of 656. Two major estates are adjacent to the north of the village: Cokenach, which has a long-established cricket club, and Newsells which is now a stud farm.

Governance

Barkway has three tiers of local government at parish, district and county level: Barkway Parish Council, North Hertfordshire District Council, and Hertfordshire County Council. Barkway 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

, and it was part of the hundred of Edwinstree. Barkway was included in the

Poor Law Union 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 level un ...

created

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and district councils. The parish of Barkway was included in

Ashwell Rural District Ashwell Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1935, covering an area in the north-east of the county. Evolution The district had its origins in the Royston Rural Sanitary District. This had been created u ...

from 28 December 1894, and Barkway Parish Council came into being on 31 December 1894, taking over the secular functions of the parish

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

. Despite the name, Ashwell Rural District Council was based in the town of

. 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 under ...

, which in turn was abolished in 1974, becoming part of North Hertfordshire.

Notable residents

* Sir Humphrey de Trafford, a prominent racehorse owner, resided at the Newsells Park Estate with his family from 1926 until his death in 1971. * Richard J. Evans, Regius Professor Emeritus of History at Cambridge.

References

External links

Barkway-Newsells village siteCokenach Cricket Club
* Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire District {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub

History

Governance

Notable residents

See also

References

External links