Cuffley is a village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

of Northaw and Cuffley, in the

Welwyn Hatfield The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district in southern Hertfordshire, England, governed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. It covers the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, along with numerous smaller settlemen ...

district of south-east Hertfordshire located between

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Waltha ...

and

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population wa ...

. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. and is part of

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It ...

parliamentary constituency.

History

The railway had an important impact on the development of the village. Cuffley was reached by the Great Northern Railway in 1910, as part of the plan to create the Hertford Loop Line, as a strategic alternative to the main line out of King's Cross to the north, by extending the line from Enfield Chase. The early history of Cuffley is recounted by one of its residents,

Molly Hughes Mary Vivian Hughes (2 October 1866 – May 1956), usually known as Molly Hughes and published under M. V. Hughes, was a British educator and author.'Miss M. Hughes: Pioneer women teacher', ''The Times'', 5 June 1956 Life The daughter of a London ...

, in her autobiographical book ''A London Family Between the Wars.'' On 3 September 1916 the German airship SL 11 was shot down and crashed in Cuffley during an aerial bombardment intended for London.First German Airship Shot Down
BBC - WW1 At Home, Nov 2014. Retrieved: 24/04/18 This incident is commemorated by a memorial on East Ridgeway to Lieutenant W. Leefe Robinson, the pilot who shot the airship down; he was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. There is also a model of the airship in the village hall. Contrary to many reports of the incident, the SL 11 airship was not a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, ...

but an army Schütte-Lanz airship. Regardless, the local football team is still nicknamed 'The Zeps' after this event. In 1939, the Scout Association purchased part of the Tolmers Park Estate that lies within the Parish of Cuffley. Tolmers Scout Camp was opened on Whit Saturday 1940 by

Lord Wigram Baron Wigram, of Clewer in the County of Berkshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for the soldier and court official Sir Clive Wigram, Private Secretary to King George V George V (George Frederick E ...

. Today, Tolmers hosts thousands of young people annually from all over the UK and across Europe; not only Scouts and Guides but schools and youth groups as well.

Transport

Cuffley is near to the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

and is part of the

London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, an ...

. Cuffley railway station provides a commuter service to

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, b ...

, Finsbury Park and King's Cross, services operated by Great Northern.

Facilities

Cuffley Primary School has occupied its present building since 1938 when it replaced the original Victorian school room. Preschool education for children aged 2 to 5 years old is available at the youth centre (Cuffley Community Centre Pre-School). St Andrew's

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

, built in 1965 on the site of the old school, replaced the 'tin church' built in 1911 next to the old

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

. The village also has a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

church, which in May 2011 changed its name to the Life Church and is associated with the Life Church at

. There is also St Martin de Porres

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Church.

Notable residents

Its most notable current resident is Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

, although this did not prevent locals from objecting vehemently to plans to build a "Express" store in the village replacing one of only two remaining village pubs.Daily Telegraph on-line 23 July 2007
/ref> Other famous residents include Premier League footballers Ledley King, Jermain Defoe,

Niko Kranjcar Niko may refer to: People The given name is sometimes a short form of Nikola, Nikolas, Nikolaos or others. * Nikō (1253–1314), Japanese Buddhist disciple of Nichiren * Niko (musician), American musician active from 2002 * NiKo (born 1997), B ...

, David Bentley, Kyle Walker and Armand Traoré; and also former Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan and Myleene Klass.

References

External links

Cuffley Online — Village Website
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England Welwyn Hatfield