Aldbury

infobox UK place
country = England
static_

static_image_caption=The stocks and pond at the centre of the village
latitude= 51.79
longitude=-00.60
official_name =Aldbury
population =
shire_district=
shire_county= Hertfordshire
region= East of England
constituency_westminster=
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= SP9612

Aldbury is a village in Hertfordshire, England, near the borders of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, in a valley close to Ashridge Park. The nearest town is Tring; Tring railway station, 1 mile west, is in the parish of Aldbury. Uphill from the village are the Bridgewater monument and the Ashridge estate.

Aldbury is a village of the Old English type. In the centre is a green and pond; close by stand stocks and whipping-post, in excellent preservation, a primary school and the Church of Saint John the Baptist is of Early English style. The church was restored in 1867, and is notable for the Verney Chapel, separated from the nave by a screen of stone. It contains a monument to Sir Robert Whittingham, who was slain at the battle of Tewkesbury. The church also contains memorials of the Hides and Harcourts, families who left charities to the poor of the parish. In the days of Edward the Confessor the manor of Aldeberie was held by Alwin, the king’s thegn. The ascent of the wooded slope towards the Bridgewater Monument is one of the most beautiful districts in the county.

Aldbury is a popular location for films and television. Among television series filmed in the village are:

* several episodes of the sixties TV series, "The Avengers," including the complete episode Murdersville;
* the initial advertisements for the National Lottery - despite the fact that the shop was unable to sell tickets at the time; and
* the "Shillingbury Tales" series, filmed in 1980. The church, churchyard/graveyard and path to the primary school as well as the Greyhound pub also featured in a Dave Allen sketch (the race to the funeral between two funeral parties).

Films that have had scenes set in Aldbury include:
* "The Dirty Dozen" 1967
* "" 2004
* and the last production by Gainsborough Pictures, "Jassy" of 1947.

Aldbury has around 800 inhabitants, a small shop and two pubs: the Greyhound and the Valiant Trooper, both run by the same licensee. The Greyhound has featured in the movie 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' (including a scene involving fox hunting cut from the cinema release but on the DVD) and "Inspector Morse", the TV detective series.

The largest house is Stocks House which was the country home of Victor Lownes and the rural base of Playboy UK; and before that home of Mary Augusta Ward, the author of "Clinton Magna" whose character Bessie Costrell lived in Aldbury. A troop of "Morris men" is based here and perform outside the Greyhound.

Aldbury Parish Council is the local administrative body and covers Aldbury village itself and the hamlet at Tring Station - in Saxon times, Aldbury lay in Dacorum, one of the "Hundreds" of Hertfordshire and in 1973, the Dacorum Borough of Hertfordshire was created with Aldbury in it.

References

* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18252 Hertfordshire] , by Herbert W Tompkins, 2nd Edition, 1922, from Project Gutenberg
*
* [http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/aldbury.htm Hertfordshire Genealogy]
* [http://www.aldbury.herts.sch.uk/ Aldbury Primary School]
* [http://www.tring.gov.uk/info/aldbury.htm Tring Council web site]
* [http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Aldbury,%20Hertfordshire,%20England,%20UK&&heading=18;with+locations+including;Aldbury,%20Hertfordshire,%20England,%20UK Aldbury locations] , from Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.aldburymorris.co.uk/ Aldbury Morris Men]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kLTbvjqF6Y Dave Allen Funeral Sketch hosted on YouTube]