Hexton, Hertfordshire
Historical Description
Hexton, a village and a parish in Herts. The village stands near Icknield Street, among hills, adjacent to Beds, 7 miles W by N from Hitchin station on the G.N.R. and M.R., and is a small hut ancient place, known at Domesday as Hegastanestone. Post town, Ampthill; money order and telegraph office, Shillington. The parish comprises 1485 acres; population, 167. The manor belonged to St Alban's Abbey, was given at the dissolution to Sir Richard Lee, passed to the Sadleirs, the Tavemers, and others, and belongs now to the family of Young. Hexton House is a stately mansion of some antiquity, and stands in a well-wooded park with beautiful views. A spot called Bury Stede, near the church, is supposed to have been occupied as a residence of the Saxon kings. A Danish camp, called Ravens-burgh Castle, is on a high hill three-quarters of a mile to the S. A battle was fought in the parish in 914 between the Saxons and the Danes. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St Albans; net value, £75. The church, which was rebuilt in 1824 with the exception of the tower, is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, and is one of the few remaining churches with the old-fashioned high pews. Hexworthy, a hamlet in Lidford parish, Devonshire.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Hertfordshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Hexton St. Faith | |
Hundred | Cashio | |
Liberty | St. Albans | |
Poor Law union | Hitchin |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Hexton
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Hexton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Hexton (St. Faith))
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hertfordshire is online.
Maps
Online maps of Hexton are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Hertfordshire newspapers online:
- Hertford Mercury and Reformer
- Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser
- Watford Observer
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hertfordshire, 1572 and 1634. Edited by Walter C. Metcalfe, F.S.A. is available on the Heraldry page.