Abbots Langley

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.701
longitude= -0.416
official_name= Abbots Langley
population=
shire_district= Three Rivers
shire_county = Hertfordshire
region= East of England
constituency_westminster= Watford
post_town= ABBOTS LANGLEY
postcode_district = WD5
postcode_area= WD
dial_code= 01923
os_grid_reference= TL095015

Abbots Langley is a large village in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was formerly part of the Watford Rural District. Since 1974 has been included in the Three Rivers district.

History

This village has had a long history of successful human habitation.The first traces of human habitation in the area were recorded by renowned archaeologist Sir John Evans (1823 – 1908).cite book
last= Hastie
first= Scott
title= Abbots Langley—A Hertfordshire Village.
origyear= 1993
publisher= Abbots Langley Parish Council
location= Abbots Langley
isbn= 0952092905] The village sits on a saucer of clay covered by a layer of gravel, and as a result water supply has never been a problem; records show that in earlier times water could be drawn from a well just 20ft deep.

In 1045 the Saxon thegn Ethelwine 'the black' granted the upper part of Langlai to St Albans Abbey as Langlai Abbatis, the remainder being the king's Langlai. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 the village was inhabited by 19 families.cite book
last= Clark
first= Clive W.
title= Abbots Langley Then 1760–1960
origyear= 1997
publisher= Clive W. Clark
location= 143 Sussex Way, Cockfosters, Herts, EN4 0BG
isbn= 0-953-14730-4]

The area was split into four manors, Abbots Langley, Langleybury, Chambersbury, and Hyde.The Manor of Abbots Langley was bequeathed by Francis Combe in his will of 1641 to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and Trinity College, Oxford jointly.The manors of Langleybury and Chambersbury passed through the Ibgrave and Child families, and in 1711 were conveyed to Sir Robert Raymond then Solicitor General later Attorney General and Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. On the death of his son without issue in 1756 the manors passed to the Filmer family.The Manor of Hyde passed to Edward Strong in 1714, through his daughter to Sir John Strange, and then to the possession of F.M. Nares & Co until the mid-nineteenth century.

Kitters Green developed as a separate hamlet by Manor House. The land between Kitters Green and Abbots Langley was bought from the estate of Sarah Smith by the British Land Company in 1866. It laid out plots for development along Adrian, Breakspear, Garden and Popes roads. The development of these plots led to the merger of the two settlements and the loss of Kitters Green's separate identity.

The recent Katherine Place development has brought in some high class retailers to the centre and was sold for £2.93 million in December 2005. To the south of the village are Leavesden Film Studios, on the former Rolls-Royce airfield, where scenes from movies including Goldeneye, Sleepy Hollow and the Harry Potter series have been filmed.

Nicholas Breakspear, Pope Adrian IV

Abbots Langley village includes a number of roads named after its famous son (Adrian, Breakspear, Pope), and at one time included activities of the Brakspear brewery.

port

Cricket

* [http://www.abbotscc.co.uk/ Abbots Langley Cricket Club]
* [http://www.langleyburycc.co.uk/ Langleybury Cricket Club]

Football

A number of teams play locally: [cite web
url= http://www.thefa.com/GrassrootsNew/Player/Postings/2000/03/FindAClub.htm
title= TheFA.com - Find a Club
accessdate= 2008-05-23]
*Ecocall F.C. in the [http://www.olympianleague.co.uk/ Olympian Sunday Football League]
*Evergreen (Sunday) in the Watford Sunday Football League
*Evergreen Youth in the West Herts Youth League and Watford Friendly League
*Everett Rovers (Saturday) in the Arlon Printers West Herts Saturday League
* [http://www.abbotsyouthfootballclub.co.uk Abbots Youth] in the West Herts Youth League and Watford Friendly League
* [http://www.bedmondfootballclub.co.uk/ Bedmond FC] in the Herts Senior County League, Watford Friendly League and [http://www.midherts.co.uk/ Mid Herts Rural Minors League]
*Langleybury Cricket Club (WHL) in the Arlon Printers West Herts Saturday League
*Langleybury Cricket Club (WOSL) in the Watford Sunday Football League

Notable people

*Manuel Almunia, Professional footballer. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article817076.ece Almunia is real ghoulkeeper] ]
*Nick Blinko, artist and singer/songwriter/guitarist of Rudimentary Peni.
*Pope Adrian IV (c1100-1159), born in Abbots Langley as Nicholas Breakspear.
*Chris Brooks Afternoon DJ at Capital Radio London, grew up in Abbots Langley.
*Joe Lane, former professional footballer.
*Bradley Walsh, entertainer.

ee also

*Bedmond
*Hunton Bridge
*Langleybury

References

External links

* [http://www.abbotslangley-pc.gov.uk Abbots Langley Parish Council]