Therfield 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

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 ...

district 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. The village stands on a broad chalk ridge, about south-west of Royston. At its northern end, the parish includes the

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

of Therfield Heath, which adjoins the edge of Royston.

Toponymy

There are several possible origins for the name Therfield. It may derive from "þyrre field", meaning "dry open land" in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

. Alternatively, the "Ther" element may have derived from "furrow" or could be a theophoric reference to

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

History

There is evidence of prehistoric occupation in the area, particularly along the

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...

which forms the northern boundary of the parish. Five

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

s dating to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(c. 2000–700 BC) are clustered together on Therfield Heath. 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 records 52 households at Therfield, including a priest, suggesting that Therfield was a parish by then. Therfield at that time was owned by

Ramsey Abbey Ramsey Abbey was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolved in 1539. The site ...

, to the north. The manor of Therfield had been given to Ramsey Abbey in the early 11th century, and remained in its ownership until the dissolution of the abbey in 1539. The manor was then claimed by the crown, which subsequently granted it to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in London. Although there was a priest recorded at Therfield in the Domesday Book, the first definitive reference to a church at Therfield dates from 1178. The church, which is dedicated to St Mary, was rebuilt in the 14th century and again in 1878, re-using some material from the 14th century building. A depiction of the Stuart royal arms was retained from the earlier building. Francis Turner (1637–1700), was rector of Therfield from 1664; he went on to be

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, but was buried back at Therfield alongside his wife, Ann. North-west of the church, a

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

castle known as Tuthill was built in the mid-12th century. It seems likely that the castle was built around 1143–1144 following attacks on the area by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex, during the civil war of the

Anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

(1138 to 1153). The castle was coupled with a defensive enclosure surrounding the pre-existing village to the east of the castle. The castle did not last long, falling into disuse in the early 13th century. Archaeological excavation of the castle site was carried out in 1958, after which the site of the motte continued to be protected, but much of the bailey area was levelled in 1960.

Therfield Chapel

Therfield Chapel was established as a congregation of Protestant dissenters (the "Independents") in 1836. The current chapel building was built in 1854. For a time the chapel was known as Therfield Congregational Church, being affiliated to the

Congregational Union Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

. When in 1966 the Congregational Union was replaced by a body which espoused more liberal views, the chapel seceded and became affiliated first to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), and then to the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC).

Geography

The Nature Reserve of Therfield Heath lies a mile to the north of the village. From here on a clear day it is possible to see

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

, over to the north-east. The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to

Knettishall Heath Knettishall Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Knettishall in Suffolk, England. A larger area of 176 hectares is the Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Despite its n ...

in Suffolk. There is a village hall called the Fordham Memorial Hall on Church Lane. The village has one public house, the Fox and Duck, which overlooks the village green. The village also includes the Hay Green area to the south, which has another green. There are a number of farms in the rural parts of the parish, and the hamlet of Reed End is on the eastern boundary of the parish, separated from the neighbouring parish of Reed by the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

of Ermine Street (now the A10).

Governance

Therfield has three tiers of local government at

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 ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

level: Therfield 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 Therfield Chapel.

Administrative history

The parish of Therfield historically formed 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. The parish included the parts of the town of Royston which lay south of Icknield Way and west of

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

until 1540, when Royston (which had straddled five parishes) was made a separate parish. Therfield 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

and district councils. The part of the Royston Poor Law Union within Hertfordshire became Ashwell Rural District; despite the name, the rural district council was always based in Royston. Therfield ceded further territory to Royston in 1897 and 1935. 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

Population

At the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 588. The population had been 556 in 2011.

References

External links

History and pictures of Therfield. Hagg*r One Name Study ProjectHagger Genealogy Library
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire