Aston is a village andcivil parish in theEast Hertfordshire district ofHertfordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 844, increasing to 871 at the 2011 Census.[1] Located on a ridge betweenStevenage and theBeane Valley, Aston is a 10 minutes drive from theA1(M).
A mile north of Aston liesAston End, a hamlet which has strong social and geophysical ties with the village. The hamlet ofHooks Cross straddles theA602, Stevenage toHertford road on the boundary of Aston andDatchworth.Aston has many clubs, societies and interest groups[citation needed], hosting a successful[citation needed] annual school fete.During the reign ofEdward the Confessor (1024–66), themanor of "Estone" was held by threevassals ofStigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. Their names are not known but some land is recorded as that of Wulf the Dane.
By the time theDomesday Book was completed (1086), the small community of Estone, now Aston, was made up of about 25 families and included a priest. A church was probably on the site of the presentAston St Mary's.
King William I gave 185 manors, including that of Estone, to his half-brotherOdo, Bishop of Bayeux. Odo's deceptions, and his ambition to become Pope, so offended the King that he was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. His treasures and estates, including Estone, reverted to the Crown
The manor, now in Royal possession, was presented by KingHenry I in dower to his second wife, 18 year-old Adelicia, upon their marriage in 1121. In that same year Henry founded theAbbey at Reading. After the king died in 1135, the Dowager Queen visited Reading Abbey on the first anniversary of her husband's death and bestowed on the abbot and monks of the monastery the gift of "Easton" Manor.[2]
Easton, so named at this time, remained under monastic control for 300 years until theDissolution (1536–39), whenKing Henry VIII proclaimed himself supreme head of the Church. The Abbot of Reading, along with two of his clerks, was publicly murdered for refusing to surrender the Abbey. Distributing the spoils amongst his courtiers, Henry gave the manor of "Aston", for the tenth part of a Knight's fee, and a rent of 17 shillings and 11 pence, to the local favourite Sir Philip Boteler, Sheriff of Hertford.
Sir Philip ruled atWoodhall in the contiguous parish ofWatton. To establish himself on his new territory, he chose the site of a ruined building, probably of monastic origin and, using some of the structure and stone from the ruin, he built the manor house which is now known asAston Bury.
During World War II,Aston House, opposite the church, was occupied by theSpecial Operations Executive, engaged in the design, testing and production of explosives and secret weapons for use in sabotage operations and guerrilla warfare.[3] Afterwards occupied by the Stevenage Development Corporation it was subsequently demolished in the 1950s.
The parish church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II* listed building.[4] It was rebuilt about 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.[5]
51°53′17″N0°9′6″W / 51.88806°N 0.15167°W /51.88806; -0.15167