Brent Pelham 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 the

East Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire is one of ten Non-metropolitan district, local government districts in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and th ...

district, in the county of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England, and situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

. It is one of the three Pelhams, with

Stocking Pelham Stocking Pelham is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located on the border with Essex, around 6 miles (10 km) east of Buntingford. The village is one of the three Pelhams, alon ...

and Furneux Pelham. It shares a parish council with Meesden. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Mary the Virgin dates from the 14th century. It contains a tomb of earlier date, likely the 1200s, on which have been carved the name Piers Shonks and the date, 1086. By tradition, Shonks was a local lord who killed a dragon or, less commonly, a giant. The emblems of the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

– angel, eagle, lion, and bull – have been carved around a dragon's mouth. The church is part of a benefice with Anstey, Brent Pelham,

Hormead Hormead is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It comprises the villages of Great Hormead and Little Hormead and the hamlet (place), hamlet of Hare Street and lies in the East Hertfordshire district. Hare Street Ho ...

, Meesden and Wyddial. Near St Mary's church are ancient

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

which could accommodate up to three people. A derelict

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

survives in the village. There is a Royal Observer Corps observer post just outside the village, but it is now in a state of disrepair. It has an Orlit, which is rare for posts in this area.

References

External links

Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire District {{Hertfordshire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links