Willian, Hertfordshire
Historical Description
Willian, a village and a parish in Herts, 3 miles E of Hitchin, where there are stations on the G.N.R. and M.R. The village has a post and money order office under Hitchin; telegraph office, Graveley. Acreage, 1865; population of the civil parish, 212; of the ecclesiastical, 231. The manor, with most of the land, belongs to the Hancock family. Rox-ley House is a chief residence. The living is a rectory and vicarage in the diocese of St Albans; gross value, £500. The church is an ancient building of stone and flint in mixed styles, consisting of chancel, nave, S porch, and an embattled western tower. It contains some ancient tombs and memorials.
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 | Willian All Saints | |
Hundred | Broadwater | |
Poor Law union | Berkhampstead |
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 Willian
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Willian from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Willian (All Saints))
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hertfordshire is online.
Maps
Online maps of Willian 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.