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ASTON VILLAGE
I wrote this piece in 1990 for a publication called Monumental Inscriptions produced by the Stevenage group of the Hertfordshire
Family & Population History Society.
I have updated the information where applicable.
Aston is a small village standing on a hill 31 miles north of London. The parish is bounded by Stevenage New Town on the
west and north sides, a boundary that is constantly being overrun by urban sprawl. Walkern parish is in the north east. Benington
in the east and Datchworth and Watton-at-Stone in the south.
During the reign of Edward the Confessor the manor was the freehold of three men. Their names are not known but they were
vassals of Stigend, Archbishop of Canterbury.
At the time of the compilation of the Domesday Book (1086) some 25 families lived in 'Estone' as it was then named. This
small community included a Priest which indicates the presence of a church. Not the present building but it would almost certainly
have been on the same site.
King William II gave much land including the Manor of Estone to his ruthlessly ambitious half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux.
Odo's deceptions and aspiration to become Pope so offended the King that he sentenced him to perpetual imprisonment.
His treasure and estates including Estone reverted to the crown.The manor remained in Royal possession until 1121 when
Kind Henry I presented the land in dower on his second wife eighteen year old Adeliza. In 1135 the King died. On the first
anniversary of his death the Dowager Queen visited Reading Abbey which had been founded by Henry in 1121. There she bestowed
the gift of 'Easton' Manor and other possessions upon the Abbot and Monks of the Monastery of Reading.
Easton was under monastic control until the Dissolution. (1536-39) when King Henry VIII proclaimed himself Supreme Head
of the Church. The Abbot of Reading and two of his clerks were publicly brutally murdered for refusing to surrender the Abbey.
Henry distributed his spoils among his courtiers. The local favourite to receive the Manor of 'Aston' was the Sheriff
of Hertford, Sir Philip Boteler- 'For the tenth part of a Knights fee and rent of 17/11d' (89.5p). Boteler ruled at Woodhall
in the contiguous parish of Watton. To establish himself in his new territory he built himself a manor house. He chose the
site of a ruined building probably of ecclesiastical origin, the Reading monks maybe? Some of the former building's structure
and stone was incorporated in the new house called Aston Bury.
ASTON BURY
Sir Philip Boteler commenced the building of the Bury in 1540 but died five years later leaving the work unfinished. It
was his great-great grandson. Sir Robert Boteler who completed the task, installing two magnificent oak staircases in the
process. Some two hundred years later the Bury passed from the Boteler family to Sir Thomas Rumbold.
From then on this beautiful mansion has had many owners.
It was lovingly restored to its former glory in 1908 by a wealthy new owner, Vernon Malcolmson. He died in 1948 and his
son sold it to Paul Petrocokino, a leading Memberof Moral Re-Armament (MRA). This organisation used the house and the barn
to make a film called 'Happy Deathday' and it took over the Westminster Theatre for an annuual pantomime to publicize its
religious beliefs. Paul refused to sell the house to a famous'Pop-Star'but was happy when the Hertfordshire County Council
acquired it and began converting the house to a teacher training centre in 1973. The cost became so great that the plan was
abandoned.
In 1989 the Grade 1 Listed building was converted into eleven luxury modern apartments followed by the ancient barn into
two dwellings and the kitchen garden becoming a housing estate. Paul also ensured that Aston Bury wood was protected under
the care of the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
THE CHURCH
The Church was rebuilt about the year of 1230. One detail surviving from that period is the double headed piscina in the
south wall of the chancel. The tower was added between 1390 and 1420 and the north aisle and vestry about 1856. The building
has undergone many changes to its structure through the passing centuries. A serious fire gutted the tower in 1958 destroying
the remaining 15th century stained glass and the ancient bells.
The Lych gate was erected to the memory of Rev. George Oddie. His father was also a Rector at Aston. Gregor House and
the Dene were their respective rectories. St. Mary's Aston is within the diocese of St. Albans.
In the churchyard many gravestones have been vandalized others have suffered the ravages of time. One such wooden cross
marking the grave of a victim of a second world war air-raid will disintegrate in a year or two, so it is gratifying to know
that all the inscriptions have been recorded in this publication. Unfortunately two six inch thick 18th century ledger stones
were cut in half and removed from the chancel floor. The incised halves are now in the churchyard to the north of the tower.
They record the deaths of Dame Francis Clarges and Elizabeth Butler.
THE SCHOOL
Aston Parish provided a schoolroom for the children of the poor well before the Education Act of 1870. At the time of
the Act a second classroom was added. Eighteen years later a Parish Room was built onto the Church School to honour Queen
Victoria's Jubilee and provide a community meeting place. All was demolished in 1966 and the site redeveloped. A new St. Mary's
School opened in 1964 and occupies a larger piece of glebe land to the north east of the former location. This building has
since been extended to provide a larger assembly hall and a library.
ASTON HOUSE
The beautiful Coach House and surviving garden walls are the only visible signs remaining of a once prominent 17th century
house and estate situated opposite the church. The house was demolished by Stevenage Development Corporation in 1961 after
serving as its headquarters from the outset of building the New Town.
During World War II the whole site was requisitioned by the War Office. The house became the officers mess of a top
secret unit of SOE (Special Operations Executive) engaged in the design, production and testing of weapons and explosives
for use in guerrilla warfare and sabotage operations. The redeveloped area was named Yeoman's Drive after the last family
to reside there in the 1930's.
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org
THE FORGE
Aston's 'Smithy' is over a 150 years old. It was originally much smaller than we see it today having been extended twice.
Mr Robert Wright and his sons Will and Bert became well known in the district for their high class workmanship. The building
was tastefully converted to a drawing office in 1970. The brick built furnace is still in place.
The drawing office closed and the forge is now part of Vine Cottage.
THE WHEELWRIGHTS
Thes Sixteenth century Wisteria Cottage, (opposite the Pig and Whistle) is probably the most historically valuable cottage
in the parish. Its interior is of unusual construction having access space around the central chimney. The bread oven is
still intact. Some ancient wall paintings were discovered during renovation in two of the bedrooms. William Harmer moved
from Weston around 1842 to start a wheelwrights business at this cottage.
THE PUBLIC HOUSES
In the early 1900's Aston Parish was served by six public houses. At Aston End 'The Crown' flourished until closure in
1987. The building remains but is boarded up, empty and silent. The Crown reopened and is now a thriving pub and restaurant.The
'Live and Let Live' was a beautiful sixteenth century cottage until demolition in 1959. Fortunately 'The Fox' a cottage of
the same period has survived but is no longer a pub. In Aston village the 'Rose and Crown'suffered modernisation around 1927
when the massive chimney and inglenook fireplace were removed and the front wall projected forward to provide more interior
space. regrettably it closed in 2004. Plans for development of the site have been rejected.'The Beehive'became a village general
store and the an antiques shop but reverted once more to a private dwelling.
'The Pig and Whistle' formerly 'The Boot' was enlarged and the facade totally changed in 1956. It is still in business.
HISTORIC COTTAGES
Cottages that have withstood time and have not suffered unduly by modernization are Beehive Cottage, late 16th early 17th
century. Waterbridge is extremely attractive. Elizabethan Cottage is a delightful thatched structure though sadly it has
been severed from Aston End by the New Town's Gresley Way. Glebe Cottage late 16th early 17th century and 41 Benington Road
an early 17th century are attractive but extended.
It would be an asset to acquire a cottage as a village museum. In the meantime I have donated many items to Stevenage
Museum on a permanent loan agreement. Is collection includes major Roman and other finds that have occurred within the parish.
Des Turner (January 1990) Amended 2019
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS
The Monumental Inscriptions of Aston were first recorded by Mr W.B.Gerish prior to the First World War. In 1988 the Stevenage
branch of the Hertfordshire Family & Population History Society visited the churchyard and recorded all the information
available and published a most useful book; 'ASTON HERTFORDSHIRE- MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS OF ST. MARY, ASTON' Compiled by
Jean Laidlaw.
The main listing is of inscriptions transcribed in 1988 followed by a list of inscriptions made by Gerish but not found
in 1988. A list of people buried in the churchyard between 1885 and circa 1934 with no inscriptions is also included. These
names are taken from a plan of graves kept at the church. The burial registers are held by County Hall, Hertford and provide
further information.
A special word of thanks should go to Mrs J. Bandy, Mrs R. Dulley, Mrs J. Gate, Mrs B. Palmer Mrs V. Palmer and Mrs P.
Skeggs who worked so hard transcribing and plotting the graveyard. Jean Laidlaw.
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