Everything about Kings Langley totally explained
» This article is about Kings Langley in Hertfordshire England. For other places, see Kings Langley (disambiguation).
Kings Langley is an historic
English village 21 miles north west of central
London on the southern edge of the
Chiltern Hills and now part of the
London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of
Dacorum and the east is in the
Three Rivers district, both in the county of
Hertfordshire,
England. It was once the location of a Royal palace of the
Plantagenet kings of England. The 12th century parish church of All Saints houses the tomb of the first
Duke of York.
It is 2 miles south of
Hemel Hempstead and 2 miles north of
Watford.
History
A Roman villa has been excavated just south of the village.
The village originated in Saxon times when it was probably part of the lands of the Abbey of St Albans, although actual records have been lost. At the Norman conquest the manor was given to William's half brother Robert, Count of Mortain who let it to one Ralf. It is around the manor that the present village developed as a
linear village lying on the old road from London to Berkhampstead and the Midlands of England.
Around 1276 the manor was purchased by
Queen Eleanor and a palace and deer park built on the hill above the village. This gave the village the
epithet "Kings". For a time during the
Black Death it was the seat of government. A
priory was founded next to the palace and remains of this can still be seen.
The eighteenth century
Sparrows Herne turnpike road (later the
A41 trunk road) traversed the Chilterns via the valley of the
River Gade and ran down the village high street. The sixteenth century Saracens Head public house is a
coaching inn which flourished in this period.
The
Grand Union canal dating from 1797 and the 1838
London and Birmingham Railway which later became the
West Coast Main Line, (the main railway line from
London to the north west) pass just east of the village at
Kings Langley railway station. There are many businesses located near the station in home park industrial estate which has a newly built West Herts college specialising in engineering and construction.
Twentieth century housing developments have led to the village spreading out on either side of the main road. The A41 has now been diverted west of the village leaving the high street to local traffic for the first time in centuries.
The London orbital
motorway, the
M25, passes just south of the village (Junction 20) on an imposing viaduct across the River Gade valley.
Kings Langley was the home of the makers of
Ovaltine and the imposing factory facade is now all that's left and still stands alongside the railway line among a new housing development. The Ovaltine factory itself has recently been converted into a series of flats and duplexes.
The former Ovaltine Egg Farm was converted into energy efficient offices. It incorporates a highly visible
wind turbine alongside the M25.
Kings Langley is home to a
Waldorf School, the
Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley. This is built on the ground of the old palace, of which, only a small basement part of a pillar remains to be seen. There is also a small display cabinet of finds from the palace period in the school entrance foyer.
is the local
comprehensive school, situated on Love Lane in the south west of the village.
Mentions in literature
Sport
Football
Kings Langley F.C. currently play in Division Two of the
Spartan South Midlands League.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kings Langley'.
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