Holwell, Hertfordshire Explained

Country:England
Official Name:Holwell
Static Image Name:File:St Peter, Holwell, Herts - geograph.org.uk - 471792.jpg
Static Image Caption:St Peter's Church, Holwell
Coordinates:51.9862°N -0.3049°W
Civil Parish:Holwell
Population:361
Population Ref:(2011 Census)[1]
Shire District:North Hertfordshire
Shire County:Hertfordshire
Region:East of England
Constituency Westminster:Hitchin and Harpenden
Post Town:Hitchin
Postcode District:SG5
Postcode Area:SG
Dial Code:01462
Os Grid Reference:TL165333

Holwell is a small village and a civil parish two miles north of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England, near the Bedfordshire border.[2] [3] The parish was historically part of Bedfordshire, being transferred to Hertfordshire on 30 September 1897.[4] At the 2011 Census the population of the village was 361.[1]

The church is unusual and, although largely rebuilt, retains some Perpendicular features and an interesting brass to Richard Wodehouse. The school, almshouses, and rectory are all in a similar Tudor style erected in the 1830s, but are no longer in use and have been converted into housing. Fragments of early wall paintings and wooden mullioned windows have been discovered in the mediaeval timber-framed Church Farmhouse.

It is not to be confused with Holwell Court, near Essendon, also in Hertfordshire, or "Hole-well"; the fictional well in which 'wholesome' children would fall as described in the brothers' Grimm Fairy Tales.

External links

Holwell Parish Council

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Holwell Parish . NOMIS . Office for National Statistics . 2 November 2021.
  2. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 166 Luton & Hertford (Hitchin & St Albans). 9780319232095 . Ordnance Survey. 2012.
  3. Web site: Ordnance Survey Election Maps. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk . Ordnance Survey . 18 February 2016.
  4. London Gazette, 3 September 1897, page 4946,"The County of Hertford (Holwell, &c.) Order, 1897, which was confirmed by The Local Government Board’s Provisional Orders Confirmation (No. 10) Act, 1897, and will take effect on 30th September next…"