Little Chishill

Great Chishill is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great and Little Chishill, in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the county boundary with Hertfordshire and about 4 miles (6 km) east of Royston. In 1961 the parish had a population of 293. The 2011 Census recorded Great and Little Chishill's population as 678.The parish was part of Essex until 1895, when the county boundary was revised. On 26 January 1929 the parish was renamed from "Great Chishall" to "Great Chishill". On 1 April 1968 the parish was abolished to form "Great and Little Chishill".The highest point of the current administrative county of Cambridgeshire, 146 m (479 ft) above sea level, is about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) east of St Swithun's parish church. However, as Great Chishill was historically a part of Essex (having been moved in boundary changes in 1895), the historic county top of Cambridgeshire is about 13 miles (21 km) to the east of Great Chishill close to the village of Castle Camps where a point on the disused RAF airfield reaches a height of 128 metres (420 ft) above sea level (grid reference TL 63282 41881). The highest point of Essex, Chrishall Common and the triple point of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire are near each other about 1.2 miles (2 km) south of Great Chishill.

Barley is a village and civil parish in the district of North Hertfordshire, England. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 659, increasing to 662 at the 2011 Census. The place-name refers to a lea or meadow and not to the grain-producing plant. Coincidentally to the southwest lies the village of Reed. The Prime Meridian passes to the west of Barley, which is located on the Royston to Saffron Walden road, as well as the medieval London to Cambridge road.

Heydon is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish of Heydon was transferred from Essex to Cambridgeshire in 1894. The area of the parish is 862 hectares (2,130 acres). It is situated on one of the highest places in Cambridgeshire, with the nearby village of Great Chishill being the very highest. Heydon has the King William IV as its only pub. The village also has the Wood Green Animal Shelter Small Animals Rescue Home. And on the edge of Heydon it has its own golf course, Heydon Grange Golf Club, consisting of an 18-hole and 9-hole golf course with driving range. Holy Trinity church, in the centre of the village, was seriously damaged in a bombing raid in 1940. The south arcade was undamaged as was the chancel (which is from 1866) but the north aisle and the nave were entirely rebuilt. Holy Trinity is part of the parish of the Icknield Way together with the Chishills, Chrishall, Elmdon with Wenden Lofts and Strethall churches. The Anglo-Saxon earthwork Bran Ditch rises in Heydon and runs to Fowlmere. The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The Icknield Way Trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists, also passes close to the village.

Nuthampstead is a small village and civil parish in North East Hertfordshire located a few miles south of the town of Royston. In the 2001 census the parish had 139 residents, increasing to 142 at the 2011 Census.Nuthampstead was historically a hamlet in the parish of Barkway. The hamlet appointed its own overseer of the poor, and as such became an separate civil parish on 10 August 1866 under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866. Despite becoming a separate civil parish, it remains part of the ecclesiastical parish of Barkway. Nuthampstead was included in the Royston Poor Law Union from 1835. It formed part of the Ashwell Rural District from 1894 until 1935, when that district was absorbed into the Hitchin Rural District. Since 1974, Nuthampstead has been part of North Hertfordshire. Due to its small size, Nuthampstead has a parish meeting rather than a parish council.During the Second World War, RAF Nuthampstead, situated next to the village, was home initially to the 55th Fighter Group and subsequently the 398th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces. This latter unit, the base's primary occupant, flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers on missions over occupied Europe.Known as USAAF Station 131 during the war, and less formally as AAF Nuthampstead, the airfield was constructed by U.S. Army engineer battalions starting in 1942. The site was formerly Scales Park, which was planted with oak trees after the Battle of Trafalgar. These were cleared to make room for the runways, hangars, and other wartime facilities. Visitors to the site will find that the main runways have since been removed, with a grass runway and service roads only remaining to allow the airfield to be used by light aircraft. In 1968–71 the Commission on the Third London Airport (the "Roskill Commission") considered Nuthampstead as one of its four short-listed sites, along with Cublington, Foulness (later known as Maplin Sands) and Thurleigh.Barkway VOR is located at Nuthampstead Airfield.Areas of the former airfield have been converted into a shooting ground. Since 1992, when planning permission was granted, the ground has developed to enable it to hold major championships in four international shooting disciplines.The village has a pub/restaurant with bed and breakfast facilities, called The Woodman Inn. Outside The Woodman Inn is a large memorial stone dedicated to the 398th squadron, and a museum of the airfield's history.

For the historic house in Essex called Langley's, see Great Waltham. Langley is a village and civil parish near Clavering in the English county of Essex, seven miles west-south-west of Saffron Walden.

Anstey Castle was in the village of Anstey, Hertfordshire. It was a 12th-century stone motte and bailey fortress that, according to tradition, was founded by Eustace II, Count of Boulogne. It was either him, or one of his immediate progeny who established the first earthwork castle here. The castle had most probably been in existence for some time when the estate was acquired by Geoffrey de Mandeville, for he sought to strengthen his estate in the surrounding valley. It passed into the hands of the de Anstey family in the middle of the 12th century and was strengthened during the First Barons' War of 1215–1216 by Nicholas de Anstey, an opponent of King John, fighting for the barons. After the war ended de Anstey was commanded in 1218 to destroy the castle, with only those parts to remain that had been built before the war. The material from this demolition was supposed to be used in order to repair the nearby church, therefore the crest and shield from the castle feature in the church graffiti.After the death of de Anstey in 1225, the castle and the surrounding estate was seized by the king from his daughter who was a minor at that time. He tasked William Fitz Baldwin to acquire the estate and deliver it to Robert de Rokele, who shall keep it on behalf of the Bishop of Canterbury. the castle is mentioned as such in 1304, but by 1314, it is mentioned as merely a manor, not as a castle.Today, the remains of the castle include a large motte around 8.2 metres (27 ft) in height and measuring 75 by 65 metres (246 by 213 ft). A 10-metre (33 ft) ditch filled with water surrounds the motte, while the bailey to the north and the east is surrounded by a dry ditch. A large mound also remains on the site, which was excavated in 1902–1903 by R.T. Andrews and W. B Gerish but their findings about the age of the castle and when it was built were inconclusive.

Anstey is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Stevenage. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 338, reducing to 299 at the 2011 census.The name "Anstey" derives from the Old English ān (narrow, or one-way) and stīg (footpath).There are at least two books on the history of this village. The first is Anstey, a Hertfordshire Parish, written in 1929 by Rev Frank Ricardo Williams, MA, who was the rector from 1907 to 1928 (died 19 May 1937). The second is Anstey: Our True Surname Origin and Shared Medieval Ancestry by GM Anstey and TJ Anstey in which it is shown that all bearers of the surname 'Anstey' worldwide can trace their surname origin to Anstey in Hertfordshire. The Church of England parish church of Saint George is a cruciform building of flint with stone dressings. Its earliest parts are the chancel, transepts and crossing tower, all of which were built in the 12th century. The church was altered in the 13th century and the nave was rebuilt in the 14th century. The south porch and the top stage of the tower are 15th century. The church was restored in 1871–72 under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect William Butterfield. Repairs in 1907 were directed by the architect Arthur Blomfield. St George's is a Grade I listed building. The lychgate is a separate Grade II listed building, as it incorporates a lockup which was apparently used until the beginning of the 20th century.In his book 'England's Thousand best churches' (revised edition 2002), Simon Jenkins refers to a near-miss when a fully-loaded WW2 bomber nearly crashed into the church. This is reference to the crash of a Flying Fortress which crashed on take-off en route to Cologne: all ten crew were killed. Jenkins refers to the church as 'full of Norman mystery'. He pays particular interest to the church font, in which (and very unusually) four mermen are carved into the stone. Jenkins refers to the carvings as '...the rarest of pagan emblems'. A folk tale tells of a fiddler from Anstey named Blind George, who disappeared while exploring an underground passage. He is said to have entered the tunnel playing his fiddle, which could be heard above ground. He stopped suddenly, and screams were heard, and he was not seen again.The village has a pub, The Blind Fiddler, which used to be called The Chequers.

Chrishall (pronounced Chris hall) is a small village in the English county of Essex. It is located 12 miles (20 km) south of Cambridge and lies equidistant [6 miles (10 km)] between the two medieval market towns of Saffron Walden and Royston. Although in Essex, Chrishall lies close to its borders with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and has a 'Hertfordshire' postcode (SG8). The village was listed in the Domesday Book as Cristeshalla, or "nook of land dedicated to Christ". In 1422 (1 Henry VI), it appears in a record as "Cristeshale".The Icknield Way, a Neolithic track, passes through the parish. Chrishall's location is key to its character; as the village sits at the highest point in Essex, at 147 metres (482 ft) above sea level, road construction has avoided this high ground and therefore Chrishall is off the beaten track. Despite its relative isolation the village retains facilities such as a pre-school as well as a primary school. The village also boasts a sports field, a new playground, a church, a village hall and many clubs and societies as well as the Red Cow public house. Chrishall's population has remained largely unchanged over the last 170 years. In 1841 it totalled 518 and today about 450 people live in the village.Notable residents include the English composer, John Rutter.

Meesden is a village and civil parish of the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. Nearby settlements include Anstey and Brent Pelham. Meesden's Grade II* listed church is dedicated to St Mary.

Goffers Knoll is a prominent knoll on the Hertfordshire-Cambridgeshire border in the east of England, to the east of the town of Royston and south of Melbourn. It is formed from a spur of the chalk uplands to the west which go on to form the Chiltern Hills. The knoll, standing some 60m above sea level is clearly visible from the A505 road which runs to the south. Hidden within the copse of trees which surmounts the knoll is a bowl barrow which dates from the Bronze Age and is reported to be substantially intact. It is a scheduled ancient monument. The barrow is 21m in diameter and stands some 1.5m in height above ground level. In the absence of trees, the barrow would be a prominent landmark overlooking the ancient Icknield way (the current route of the A505) and the low-lying land towards Duxford and Cambridge. Excavcations of the barrow were carried out by RC Neville in the mid 19th Century and again around 1920.