Kimpton, Hertfordshire

Kimpton is a village, situated between the Mimram and Lea Valleys, about six miles south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It is approximately four miles from Harpenden and Luton.

The parish contains the settlements of Kimpton (population 1396), Blackmore End (population 811) and Peters Green (population 84). [Population figures are taken from [http://www.hertsdirect.org/yrccouncil/hcc/env/factsfigs/population/census/cenresults/cenpopsett/ Hertfordshire County Council: Population and household counts for Hertfordshire settlements - 2001 census] .] It also includes isolated farmhouses reached by narrow, high-banked, winding roads. Part of Peters Green is sometimes called "Perry Green", but in Hertfordshire there is another Perry Green near Much Hadham.

Parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Kimpton has a spacious flint-built parish church in the unusual transitional style between Norman and Early English. The Dacre Chapel has a fine Perpendicular screen, and the remains of early wall paintings in the chancel show St Christopher and the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy.

Kimpton village

The village lies along the valley of a dried-up river bed and is about one mile long. Some of the houses on the High Street date back to the 16th century, but most are 19th and early 20th century. Behind the High Street are two large housing estates built in the 1970s.

The village has a reputation for its strong community spirit with over 50 clubs and organisations meeting regularly and helping to support the village as a whole. Every year at the beginning of May, many of these groups set up a stall on the Recreation Ground as part of the annual local fundraiser, the May Festival - an event run over three days featuring an art exhibition, craft market, stalls, arena entertainments, six mile sponsored run, walk with clues to solve, village concert, quiz, cream teas with jazz band.

The village school is a thriving primary and nursery school with over 150 children.

The Kimpton Flood

In February 2001, Kimpton was hit by flooding due to an unprecedented amount of rainfall. The dried up river Kym, which was now a vital road, emerged again and followed its natural course from Netherfield Springs, through Kimpton and joined the Mimram at Kimpton Mill. The situation became fairly serious on the 24th when business owners from the Industrial Estate on Claggy road and also residents at risk hired pumps and called the Fire Brigade to try to deal with the 1 metre deep water flow. The total cost of the damage caused by the flood was approximately £500,000. There is evidence suggesting that this is not the only flood to occur in the history of the village. There was a BBC news report on the situation.

References

External links

* [http://www.kimpton.org.uk/ Kimpton Village Website]
* [http://www.kimptonscouts.org.uk/ Kimpton Scouts Website]