Wyddial

Summary

Wyddial is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located around a mile and a half north-east of Buntingford (OS grid reference TL 373 317), and lies due north of Greenwich on the Prime Meridian.

Wyddial
St Giles' Church, Wyddial
Wyddial is located in Hertfordshire
Wyddial
Wyddial
Location within Hertfordshire
OS grid referenceTL 373 317
Civil parish
  • Wyddial
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBuntingford
Postcode districtSG9
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire
51°57′N 0°00′E / 51.950°N 0.000°E / 51.950; 0.000

The place name is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Widihale, and means 'willow nook'.[1]

The parish church of St Giles dates from the 14th century when the nave was built. The tower and chancel date from the 15th century. In 1859 the nave was restored and the chancel and south porch rebuilt by Baillie & Co.[2]

Wyddial Hall from the churchyard.

Wyddial Hall is a Grade II* listed building, which was originally built in the early 16th century. The hall is situated just north of the church and has access via the churchyard. In 1733 it was remodelled after a damaging fire for Francis Goulston. By 1780 it had been acquired by John Thomas Ellis, MP for Lostwithiel, who made alterations, and later changes were made by Charles Heaton-Ellis.[3] Admiral Edward Heaton-Ellis, who fought in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, was born at Wyddial. The Hall was used as accommodation for the Women's Land Army during the 1939-45 war. Sir Charles Heaton Ellis sold the surrounding farmland to the Hodge family in the 1930s. On his death in 1946 the Hall was bought by William and Christina Gibson, then in 1964 by Mrs Jennifer Boyd-Carpenter, the ecclesiastical embroiderer, and her husband Michael, a member of the Stock Exchange. The house was sold in 1995 to Michael Hatchard, an international lawyer.

See also edit

The Hundred Parishes

References edit

  1. ^ Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.540.
  2. ^ British Listed Building - Church of St Giles Wyddial
  3. ^ British Listed Buildings - Wyddial Hall

External links edit

  Media related to Wyddial at Wikimedia Commons

51°57′N 0°00′E / 51.950°N 0.000°E / 51.950; 0.000