Bygrave

The Church of St Margaret of Antioch is the Anglican parish church for the village of Bygrave in Hertfordshire. Dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, the church has been a Grade II* listed building since 1968 and comes under the Diocese of St Albans.The site of the church dates from at least Saxon times with two phases of Saxon construction from the 8th to 10th centuries. Some Romano-British pottery, pre-dating the present church by several centuries, was found under the north nave wall during excavations in 1993 indicating a much earlier settlement on this site. Pevsner states that the bricks in the East angles of the nave are Roman. The walls are clunch with brick and flint rubble and are plastered. The chancel measures 25 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 6 in., the nave 31 ft. by 20 ft. 6 in., and the south porch 6 ft. by 5 ft., with all dimensions being measured internally. The nave is the earliest part of the church, and belongs to the 12th century, the chancel to the latter part of the 14th century, and the west turret to the 15th century, at which time windows were altered and the rood stair was built. On the south side of the chancel is a 14th-century moulded and arched piscina, and on the north side is an arched niche for a tomb. The church has carvings of the ancient game of nine men's morris on the frames of the chancel windows. There are fragments of wall paintings on the West and North chancel walls that date from the 14th century. The nave has a window in each of its north, south and west walls consisting of two cinquefoiled lights under square heads. The glass is modern and includes a stained glass Millennium Window of 2001 by Michael Lassen. The north doorway has been blocked while the south doorway is of the 12th century, but has been considerably restored. The south porch dates to the 18th century. The small semi-octagonal turret against the west wall on the south side of the west window gives access to the bell, which is dated 1718.The octagonal baptismal font is 15th century and stands on a square base. The sides of the basin have rectangular sunk panels, carved with the instruments of the Passion of Christ while round the stem are displayed angels holding shields. The font's wooden cover is Gothic of about the 18th century. The rood screen dates to the 15th century and has a carving of the Royal Arms on the cornice dating to the end of the 17th century. The altar and communion rails also date to the 17th century. The church has some 15th-century bench ends with poppy heads together with some plain old seating. A few fragments of 15th-century glass have been set in the nave windows.The pulpit is Victorian but incorporates panels dating to the 15th century, while fixed to it is a 17th-century wrought-iron hour-glass stand. By the west wall of the churchyard is an old stone coffin without a lid.A notable rector here was George Coke who went on to be the Bishop of Hereford.The Church is open at weekends only and the key is available from the churchwardens.

Arbury Banks is a hill fort southwest of Ashwell, Hertfordshire, England. It was probably first constructed during the late Bronze Age, 1000-700 BC. Standing at 90 m (300 ft) above sea level, it is one of a line of six similar hill forts along the northern Chilterns that includes Wilbury Hill Camp southwest of Letchworth. Excavations in the 1850s traced Arbury Banks' horseshoe-shaped ramparts and identified two opposed north-north-west and south-south-east entrances. Evidence was also discovered for several enclosures or buildings inside the fort. Arbury Banks has been suggested as a possible location for the Battle of Watling Street, where a small Roman force destroyed the army of Boudica.The site is a scheduled monument.Ordnance Survey grid reference: TL261387

Newnham is a small village and civil parish near Ashwell in the North Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It shares a grouped parish council with neighbouring Caldecote, called Caldecote and Newnham Parish Council, although the two remain separate civil parishes.The parish church is St Vincent's and features several medieval wall murals. The solicitor and historian Reginald Hine (1883-1949) was born in Newnham Hall. Statistics are not available for Newnham alone for the 2011 Census. Due to the small population of the parish and its neighbours, statistics are presented jointly for the three parishes of Caldecote, Newnham and Radwell, in order to protect individuals' privacy. The combined population of these three parishes was 209.

Ashwell is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire situated 4 miles (6 km) north-east of Baldock.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Ashwell, in the English county of Hertfordshire, is the Anglican parish church for the village. It comes under the Diocese of St Albans and is one of the largest village churches in the county. The Church is part of a wider benefice, together with St Nicholas', Hinxworth and St Vincent's, Newnham, and the Rector of all three parishes is Reverend Christine Campbell, who was licensed to the parishes in September 2021. As a village church in the heart of the community, St Mary’s exists "to welcome everyone and share the love and life of Christ with all, through our worship, teaching and life together, now and into the future".The church dates almost entirely from the 14th century and is renowned for its ornate tower which stands at 176 feet (54 m) and which is crowned by an octagonal lantern with a leaded flèche or spire. The church also contains some medieval graffiti carved on its walls which highlights the plight of survivors of the bubonic plague pandemic known as the Black Death. The church has been Grade I listed since 1968.Today St Mary's is a popular venue for music concerts and festivals, including the Ashwell Music Festival.

Ashwell Springs is a 0.3-hectare (0.74-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ashwell in Hertfordshire, England. The local planning authority is North Hertfordshire District Council.The site consists of a series of freshwater springs, which form a source for the River Cam. Due to the low temperatures of the spring pools, they provide a habitat for cold water, invertebrate animals, some of which are rare. The site is particularly important for flatworms, including Crenobia alpina and the Polycelis felina. The pools are surrounded by grassland which provide shade for the water.There is access from the High Street and by a footpath from Hodwell.

Baldock railway station serves the historic market town of Baldock in Hertfordshire, England. It is on the Cambridge Line, 36 miles 47 chains (58.9 km) north of London King's Cross, and is located on the outskirts of Baldock on Station Road.

The Church of St Vincent in Newnham in Hertfordshire is a 12th-century Anglican parish church and a Grade II* listed building, having gained that status in 1968. The church is named for Saint Vincent and is under the Diocese of St Albans; it is noted for the Newnham Murals which were uncovered in 1963.

Ashwell Quarry and Quarry Springs is a three hectare nature reserve managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust near Ashwell in Hertfordshire. Ashwell Quarry is owned by a local farmer, and Quarry Springs by Hertfordshire County Council. It is a Regionally Important Geological Site.The quarry may date to Roman times and its Totternhoe stone was probably used to build Ashwell's fourteenth-century church. In the nineteenth century it was grazed by sheep, adding the nutrients required for wild flowers which need soils which are dry and chalky. In 1970 it became a nature reserve. Plants include pyramidal orchid, clustered bellflower and glaucous sedge, and there are rare mosses in shaded hollows. Quarry Springs has rare wildlife such as flatworms which need water which is clean and at a constant temperature around 10 degrees Celsius.A permit is required from the local warden of the Wildlife Trust for entry to Ashwell Quarry, which is a mile west of Ashwell, on the Hinxworth Road opposite Loves Lane. Quarry Springs is on the opposite side of the road to the quarry.

Ashwell Bury, at Ashwell in Hertfordshire, England, is an early 19th-century house of white brick, perhaps originally built before 1836 for Edward George Fordham (1782–1868); altered c. 1860 for Edward King Fordham (1810–99), who extended the family landholding; and then further remodelled in 1922–1926, chiefly inside, by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Phyllis Fordham, who had grown up at Henlow Grange. The house is of two storeys and five bays, but the central bay is wide, with a triple sash window above the front door. Lutyens replaced the cornice with eaves but retained the existing slate roof and chimneystacks, inserted new sash windows and covered the brick with a white cement. His most notable addition is the new staircase hall, which gives the house an effective focus and a touch of grandeur. It was fitted into a square rear courtyard and has an octagonal lantern and glazed internal windows on three sides of the first floor with mirror glass on the fourth. The lowest steps of the stair fill the full width of the well, before narrowing to the width of the second and third flights. Two other rooms have Lutyens chimneypieces.

Ashwell War Memorial is a war memorial cross in the village of Ashwell in North Hertfordshire, England. The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1922, one of 15 war crosses designed by Lutyens to similar designs erected between 1920 and 1925. It is a Grade II listed building. A parish war memorial committee was formed in Ashwell in 1919, chaired by a local brewer Wolverley Attwood Fordham. The committee requested design proposals from the architects Sir Reginald Blomfield, and Sir Edwin Lutyens, and from a local building firm, Tappers, before deciding to commission a cross designed by Lutyens. The memorial was constructed built by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts, who also built Lutyens' Cenotaph in Whitehall, at a cost of £557, including a fee of nearly £43 for Lutyens. The memorial is located on the east side of Ashwell village, to the west side of the junction of Lucas Lane and Station Road. It comprises a tapering Portland stone war cross, standing on a square plinth and podium, on a circular stone base of only two steps rather than the usual three, surrounded by grass. The memorial is raised above the road junction by a stone retaining wall with a flight of six steps. The cross bears several inscriptions: to the front "IN HONOUR OF THE MEN OF / ASHWELL WHO FOUGHT IN THE / GREAT WAR AND IN LOVING / MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL / OUR GLORIOUS DEAD" then some names then the inscription "THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE". The south side bears the date "1914" and more names, and the north side bears the date "1919" and yet more names. Further names were inscribed on the podium later to record the war dead from the Second World War. It bears 42 names in all. The memorial was unveiled on 4 December 1921 by the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Thomas Brand, 3rd Viscount Hampden. It became a Grade II listed building in November 1984.

The Weston Hills Tunnel is a 230m twin road tunnel under the Weston Hills near Baldock in Hertfordshire. It was constructed as part of the A505 Baldock bypass. A public inquiry was held in 1995, and in 2002 the government granted permission to build the road. Construction started in April 2004 and the bypass and tunnels opened on 16 March 2006 The bypass as a whole, including the tunnel, cost £43 million.The tunnel itself was constructed using a cut and cover method, during which the hill was cut away and the concrete tunnel structure then put in place. The hillside was then re-filled in over the top - see Bypass Construction Gallery. The purpose of the tunnel at this position is to reduce the gradient of the road, and to preserve the visual line of the hills and provide crossing points for wildlife such as deer. The chalk cuttings for the tunnel have become a haven for butterflies which are native to the area.