Graveley, Hertfordshire

Graveley is a village and civil parish about four miles east of Hitchin and two miles north of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England. The population of the parish in the 2011 census was 487.^[1][2] A milestone in the village states that it is 33 miles from London.^[3]

Graveley
St Mary's Church, Graveley
Graveley Location within Hertfordshire
Population	487 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	TL232278
Civil parish	Graveley
District	North Hertfordshire
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Hitchin
Postcode district	SG4
Dialling code	01438
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Hitchin and Harpenden
List of places UK England Hertfordshire 51.93563°N 0.21054°W / 51.93563; -0.21054

History

Graveley is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was granted by William the Conqueror to Goisbert of Beauvais. The village is built on a Roman road, which developed into a section of the Great North Road.^[4] The village was by-passed by the A1 (M) motorway in the 1960s.

Parish boundaries

St Ethelreda's Church, Chesfield

The parish absorbed the site of a lost settlement, Chesfield (or Chivesfield), about a mile to the east of Graveley; little remains there apart from the ruined walls of its 14th-century church, a farm and a couple of cottages.^[4] Graveley and Chesfield had been separate parishes but were united in 1445.^[5]

In 1953 the southern part of Graveley parish, including Corey's Mill and the future site of the Lister Hospital, was transferred to become part of Stevenage Urban District.^[6]

In 2011 Graveley parish ceded some of its territory to become the new civil parish of Great Ashby.^[7]

Architecture

The medieval church is of flint construction.

The chequered brick facade of the George and Dragon

There are a number of attractive cottages and houses, including The George and Dragon pub, which has an 18th-century facade,^[8] and The Wagon & Horses.^[9] At one time there were four pubs, but two have now closed down.

External links

• Graveley Village website

References

1. "Graveley Parish". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
2. The population is reported on the boundary of Graveley parish after the civil parish of Great Ashby was separated from it, despite the census having been taken four days before that change came into effect.
3. "Milestone opposite number nine".
4. "Graveley village" (PDF).
5. Chauncy, Henry (1700). The historical antiquities of Hertfordshire, Volume 2. London. p. 124. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
6. Ministry of Housing and Local Government Order No. 3452. The County of Hertford (Stevenage Urban District and Hertford and Hitchin Rural Districts) Confirmation Order, 1953, effective 1 April 1953
7. Great Ashby Community Council, Accessed 19 May 2012
8. "George and Dragon".
9. "Waggon and Horses Public House, Graveley, Hertfordshire".