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Willian, Hertfordshire

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 31.50.199.71 (talk) at 20:26, 24 November 2016 (Amended statement re clocks on tower as there are only two clock faces on the tower). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Willian
All Saints church, Willian
OS grid referenceTL225308
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY
Postcode districtSG6
Dialling code01462
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire

Willian is a small village in North Hertfordshire, with a population of approximately 326. Along with Norton and Old Letchworth, it is one of the original villages which the garden city of Letchworth Garden City (where the 2011 Census population was included) grew up around. Despite this, it retains a distinctive character. The village was referred to in the Domesday Book as "Wilie", and the name probably derives from a word meaning "willows".[1][2]

The village has two pubs, the Fox, which used to boast a bar with 16th century beams and low ceilings, now replaced by modern decor, and the Three Horseshoes, a Village Stores and Post Office and a large pond. The original parish church, All Saints', has a tower with clocks on two sides; two sides are blank, supposedly so that farm labourers would not be able to tell when to leave work. This continues to be an active parish church in the village. Its daughter church of St Paul's, Letchworth became a separate parish church in 1963.

References

  1. ^ Eilert Ekwall (1960). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. Oxford: OUP.
  2. ^ Stokes, H.G. (1948). "A Land of Woods and Water". English Place-Names. Edinburgh: B. T. Batsford Ltd. p. 8.