| Here are notes put together by Jane Pitman and
me in 1999 as our submission to the HertsWeb site's
Albury section, with my Catherine Wheel picture of, I think,
1975. Maybe all or some might be usable by
www.alburyvillage.org.uk --Edwin Ridout, 9/21/02 |
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Albury (not Aldbury) is about four miles west northwest of Bishops Stortford (see map). The village has a church (St Mary the Virgin), a pub (the Catherine Wheel), a village hall (with a new one planned), and 40 pupils in the original Albury School. |
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Long gone are both Catons general store and Nicholsons sub-post
office and travelling grocery. Several pubs have closed over the years, including the Fox,
the Labor-in-Vain, and the Royal Oak. The church and church yard remain very well kept up;
parish registers from 1558 are available in the county record office.Most people
leave the village during the day to go to work, but there is still a core of good people
who work hard for the village. Several parts of the village have their own names, such as Church End, Clapgate, Gravesend, and Patmore Heath. Many heath properties have wonderful views. This attractive little oasis is not well known, so the immediate area remains relatively unspoilt. Patmore Heath has been named a Special Site of Scientific Interest and given a very strict preservation order. Most of the properties have now been extended and there are few original old properties left. A tall windmill at the southeast corner of the heath burned down many years ago. Except for the keepers cottage, there is no employment on the heath. Albury has experienced little new residential development due to strict Rural Policies. However with the influence of Stanstead Airport (6 million passengers a year, with permission to go to l5 million), the whole of this part of East Herts is becoming more urbanised. There has been large scale development and more is planned on the west side of Bishop Stortford. Collaborative notes for hertsWEB by Jane Pitman and Edwin Ridout |
The Catherine Wheel, Gravesend, Albury