Aldenham, Hertfordshire Family History Guide

Aldenham is an Ancient Parish in the county of Hertfordshire.

Other places in the parish include: Theobald-Street, Letchmore Heath

Parish church: St. John the Baptist

Parish registers begin:

Parish registers: 1559
Bishop’s Transcripts: 1604

Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist.

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Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

Aldenham

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

ALDENHAM, a parish in Watford district, Herts; near the Colne river and the St. Albans railway, 3 miles NE of Watford. Post town, Watford. Acres, 5,840. Real property, £13,801. Pop., 1,769. Houses, 352. The hamlet of Theobald-Street is included. The property is divided. The chief residences are Aldenham Abbey and Aldenham Lodge.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £425. Patrons, the Trustees of P. Thelluson, Esq. The church is early English, of cemented flint stones, in very good condition. Radlet chapelry, formed in 1865, is a separate vicarage. Platt’s almshouses and free grammar school have an income of £1,141, and were founded in 1599, and rebuilt in 1825. Other charities, £24.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1851

Aldenham, an extensive parish in the hund. of Cashio, union of Watford, county of Hertford; 2½ miles from Watford station, on the London and Birmingham railroad.

Living, a vicarage in the archd. of Huntingdon and dio. of Lincoln; rated at £24; gross income £425. The church is an old building, composed of cemented flint-stones. Patrons, in 1835, the trustees of Peter Thellusson, Esq.

There are here six alms-houses and a free grammar-school, all of which were founded and endowed in 1599 by Richard Piatt, citizen and brewer of London. In this school are educated 50 children who are chosen from the poor of Aldenham, and the families of the freemen of the Brewers’ company London; and, failing these, from the neighbouring parishes. The income of these charities amounts to £1,032 2s. per annum; and the whole is under the direction of the master and wardens of the Brewers’ company. The master, who is elected by them, must be possessed of the degree of M. A. His salary is £200. There is also a National school.

The amount of other charities to the poor of this parish, is £17. Pop., including the hamlet of Theobald’s Street, in the hund. of Dacorum, in 1801, 1,103; in 1831, 1,494. Houses 278. Acres 5,830. A. P. £3,962. Poor rates, in 1837, £411.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1851.

Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850

Aldenham, 2¼ miles N.E. Watford. P. 1662

Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

ALDENHAM (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Watford, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban’s, county of Hertford, 2¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Watford; containing, with the hamlet of Theobald-Street, 1662 inhabitants.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £24, and in the gift of the Trustees of P. Thellusson, Esq.: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £778, and the vicarial for £110. The church is in the early English style, and contains some highly ornamented screen-work, the effigies of two females in stone, and an enriched font.

A free grammar school was founded and endowed in 1599, by Richard Platt, citizen of London, for sixty children, to be chosen from among the poor of Aldenham and the families of freemen of the Brewers’ Company, London. In consequence of a great improvement in the value of the property, the master and wardens of the company, who were constituted the governors, decided upon extending its benefits; and the present buildings, called the “Upper and Lower Schools,” were erected in 1825, the latter school being designed for the sons of farmers and labourers of Aldenham, on the national system. The same munificent benefactor endowed six almshouses.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

Letchmore Heath

Comprehensive Gazetter of England and Wales 1895

Letchmore Heath, a village in Aldenham parish, Herts, 3 miles ENE of Watford. It has a post and money order office under Elstree (R.S.O.); telegraph office, Radlett railway station.

Source: Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales; Brabner, John Henry Fryden; Volume: 4; William Mackenzie, London. 1895.