A History of Preston
in Hertfordshire
Four supporting reasons for the theory that there was a community at Wayley Green:
1) It is beside an old road which, today, is called Tatmore Hills Lane. This lane is a section of a road that leads north from St Pauls Walden and Stagenhoe to Hitchin. It immediately follows the stretch known as Dead Woman’s Lane. It is at the junction of another old lane which follows trhe boundaries of Hitchin and Ippollitts parishes.
2) Even today, there are two ponds in the vicinity.
3) The place-
4) The entry in Domesday for Welei states that there was, ‘woodland for 300 pigs’. Wayley Green today is 300 metres from Wain Wood. This wood may have been even nearer to Wayley Green in 1086.
Why did the vill/ manor of Welei disappear?
There is circumstantial evidence that Welei failed to survive the plague of 1348/9. The BBC documentary, Christina – a Medieval Woman established that the plague visited Codicote in 1348/9. Codicote is only eight kilometres from Wayley Green
Grover comments thus about the place-
Almost a thousand years ago, Welei was small community of around sixty souls near Preston.
It was tucked away just to the north of Sootfield Green and only a mile from Preston.
Welei was based on an ancient road known later as Wayley Green Road and, today, as
Tatmore Hills Lane. Here were about nineteen dwellings clustered around a Green beside
the forest which was Wain Wood. Local ponds provided a source of water. The inhabitants
worked 240 acres of arable land and woodland in which their pigs roamed. Welei was
self-
The middle of the fourteenth century came and Welei was in a desperate plight. Successive years saw raw winters and wet, cold summers. Harvests failed and families were on their knees. From the east, in 1348/9, came a new peril – plague! People sickened and quickly died. The few survivors at Welei buried the bodies of their family and friends in Wayley Close, a local field. Then, having nothing to keep them at home, they wandered off to make new beginnings in Hitchin and other villages.
Over centuries, their homes collapsed and Nature flexed her muscles to inexorably reclaim her land. Today, nothing visible remains of Welei. The ancient road is now a track. Two ponds stagnate nearby. The Green is a tangle of trees and undergrowth. But, lurking just beneath the surface of the flora and fauna are foundations of houses, abandoned artefacts and skeletons in unmarked graves.
Thus, a small community died with hardly a ripple and was lost forever. In the twenty-
This account may or may not be true. Welei did exist as described.
The plague did visit this area. However, was it the cause of the desertion of Welei?
This is the story of my research into more enthralling local history around Preston.
It may be fanciful; it may be true -
I, certainly, was unaware of the existence of Welei until a few weeks ago.
How this investigation began
Of Welei
So where was Welei? I decided to follow up the possibility that it was the place that later became Wayley Green. My reasons for doing so, were that Wayley Green was in Ippollitts parish (where other historians had placed Welei) and that it was close to Wain Wood (with which other scholars had associated Welei). I had planned a visit to Hertfordshire and my first project there, at 07.30 on 22 April 2010 (a beautiful frosty morning) was to walk from Preston to Wayley Green. On the Charlton road, I came to a junction at the northerly end of Dead Woman’s Lane and what my map showed as Tatmore Hills Lane. I was pleased to find that the latter was not only a wide track but also a public footpath which was not indicated on my map. I took several photographs of the area.
Woodclose
Wain
Wood
This is how I stumbled across a lost community: I have recently been investigating
the history of Preston from the Domesday survey of 1086 with a view to writing a
definitive article for this web-
When Domesday was complied, there were fifteen manors or administrative districts around Hitchin. They included the manors of Dinsley, Weston, Minsden, Charlton and so on. The size of these manors varied – Hitchin manor was approximately 840 acres while the manor of Ley Green (near Kings Walden) occupied only 15 acres.
It is almost certain that Preston existed at the time of Domesday because its name comes from an Old English word, ‘prestune’. This implies that the village predated the Norman Conquest and Domesday. The dilemma is: in which of the fifteen manors did Preston lie?
It was when investigating this that my attention was drawn to the manor of Welei
which some scholars suggest included Preston. Studying the works of seven twentieth-
The next day, I went to Herfordshire Archives and Local Studies. Among other planned activities, I wanted to read books and magazine articles about deserted medieval villages in the county. I found one reference only to Wayley Green but this was encouraging as the writer also related it to Welei in 1086 and gave an OS map reference.
When I returned home, I needed to do further research: what did the Temple Dinsley manorial records actually record about Wayley? Where were Wayley Green and its associated fields in the parish of Ippollitts? What might have contributed to their becoming deserted?
The Temple Dinsley manorial records mention the fields of Waley Wick and Waley Close. These were later amalgamated with another field called ‘Woodclose’. I found both Woodclose and Wayley Green in a document dated 1820 and they referred me to a map which provided the precise location of the green and field. Fortunately, I had taken photographs of this spot which are shown below.
I then found the reference that Nina Freebody had made to Wayley Close and everything
clicked into place. She had written that there was a legend that Dead Woman’s Lane
(which is well known to villagers because of on-
This reminded me of a documentary produced by the BBC: Christina – a Medieval Woman. It focussed on Codicot (which is about seven miles from Preston) and the effects of bad weather and plague that affected the village in 1348/9.
I linked this information with a comment made by a scholar who researched Hertfordshire
place-
Finally, when thinking of place-
So, summarising all this information, what may be tentatively concluded?
1) The ancient manor/vill of Welei is Wayden Green
2) Its location is Tatmore Hills Lane
3) Points (1) and (2) are not generally known.
4) Perhaps this community became deserted as the result of plague.
Wayley Green
The next day, I went to Herfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS). Along with
other planned activities, I wanted to read books and magazine articles about deserted
medieval villages in the county. I found one reference only to Wayley Green -
When I returned home, I needed to do further research: what did the Temple Dinsley manorial records actually say about Wayley? Where eactly were Wayley Green and its associated fields in the parish of Ippollitts? What might have contributed to their becoming deserted?
The Temple Dinsley manorial records mention the fields of Waley Wick and Waley Close (sic). These were later amalgamated with another field called ‘Woodclose’. I found both Woodclose and Wayley Green in a document dated 1820 and they referred me to a map which provided the precise location of the green and field.
I then found the reference that Nina Freebody had made to Wayley Close and everything clicked into place. She had written that there was a local legend that Dead Woman’s Lane was so called because plague victims were buried in nearby Wayley Close.
This reminded me of a rivetting documentary produced by the BBC: Christina – a Medieval Woman. It focussed on Codicote (which is about seven miles from Preston) and the effects of bad weather and plague that afflicted the village in 1348/9. (During the visit to HALS, I met Daphne Knott (star of the flat screen) who featured in Christina.)
I linked this information with a comment made by a scholar who researched Hertfordshire
place-
Historical references to Welei/Wayley Green
A possible reason Wayley Green was abandoned
Pagans at Welei?
Conclusions
Wentworth Huyshe :
1) Welei is mentioned immediately after Hitchin in Domesday. Hitchin and Preston are close, geographically.
2) In 1147, a document stated that the Templars were given, ‘Wedelee by name, which is a member of Hitchin’.
3) Thirty-
Huyshe argued, on the basis of this, that Welei, Wedelee and Preston are one and the same place (2). Reginald Hine agreed that Welei was Preston (4).
I offer these observations about the points above:
Re: 1) Other districts such as Ippollitts and Wellhead (which are also not mentioned in Domesday) are nearer to Hitchin than Preston. Against this, Clutterbuck (5) states that Ippollitts was originally part of the manor of Dinsley, and Dinsley was included in Domesday, before Ippollitts became an independent manor (Maidencroft) by 1374.
Re: 2) Wedelee, this ‘member of Hitchin (manor)’, was not mentioned sixty years
earlier in Domesday. Was this because it was noted as being within another manor?
However, Glover claims that Wedelee is Welei because, ‘the medial “d” in Wedelee
is a common Anglo-
There is an obvious objection to the theory that Welei is Wedelee: in Domesday, the manor of Welei consisted of two hides (approx. 240 acres); the area of Wedelee at fifteen librates (approx. 796 acres) was more than three times greater.
Victorian County History adds to the uncertainty by stating, ‘Welei is possibly (my italics) Wedelee in Preston, but both this and Welei cannot be identified with certainty’. It also states that Wedelee was ‘a name used elsewhere for Dinsley’ (7).
In Domesday Book – Hertfordshire, Welei is translated as Wain (8).
The Penguin Translation of The Domesday Book (9) lists Weyleye (sic) (ie Welei) as being ‘in Ippollitts’ (with no supporting explanation) and does not mention either Wedelee or Preston. (In the nineteenth century, a significant part of Preston lay within the parish of Ippollitts and was administered by Maidencroft (Ippollitts) manor.)
Further doubt about the location of Welei and Wedelee is cast by Evelyn Lord who suggests that both could be represented by the modern place name of Wellhead (which is close to Hitchin) (10).
Why are we so fascinated with discovering lost cities and civilisations? The Mayan and Inca civilisations have been explored and their cities and temples excavated and plundered. Atlantis is still being sought and numerous conflicting theories have been advanced about its location.
Perhaps we are intrigued that one minute there was a thriving community, the next minute, nothing, silence. They illustrate the transitory nature of human life – here today, gone tomorrow. We ‘are a mist appearing for a little while and then disappearing’.
We do not have to travel the world to seek lost settlements. Hertfordshire has dozens
of deserted villages. Two are already known around Preston – at Stagenhoe and the
hill-
I believe that I may have accidentally discovered a third deserted village only a mile from Preston. It comes with its own air of mystery and paganism, being possibly linked with heathen worship.
Our interest in lost civilizations
One suggestion put forward was that the manor of Welei was Preston. I rejected this
but not lightly -
Then, by chance, while I was examining a map of Hertfordshire dated 1822 (shown right),
I spotted the place-
I also remembered seeing ‘Wayley’ in documents from the manor of Temple Dinsley and Nina Freebody also mentioned ‘Wayley’ in her writings (Link: N Freebody). It was time to delve a little deeper.
An aerial view of Wayley Green, Woodclose, Tatmore Hills Lane and Wain Wood
The Charlton road. To the left is the end of Dead Woman’s Lane; to the right begins Tatmore Hills Lane
(Above) In the foreground is the field: Woodclose. On the left, in the mid-
(Above) Views of Wayley Green on the east side of Tatmore Hills Lane
Two ponds which are both situated to the west of Tatmore Hills Lane
Postscript
A few days after writing the above, the dust is beginning to settle. I have been in touch with various authorities and the consensus seems to be that Welei is not a ‘lost village’ (having been ‘found’ by Nina Freebody in 1986 and then carelessly ‘misplaced’ again) but it was the deserted site at Wayley Green!
These are two e-
Thanks for the copy of your article -
As for its disappearance, there could have been so many reasons for
this; and the Black Death is only one possibility. We are gradually realising that
medieval settlement (which in Hertfordshire was not nucleated) was never static.
Places grew, declined, and moved all over the landscape, all the time. And I have
doubts about the 'plague pit' story. As far as I know Black Death victims would always
have been buried in consecrated ground, in the parish churchyard, and 'plague pit'
legends usually turn out to be something else -
'In Preston parish the 'lost' Domesday vill site of WELEI has been positively identified
from documentary sources at TL 174260 by Mrs N Freebody. Fieldwork has confirmed
this with the finding of late Saxon and 12th century pottery, and medieval roof tile
at the site.'
Source <2> is in fact a note added to this by Mark Stevenson to the
effect that the NGR should be 173262. Medieval roof tile will be much later than
12th century, so this implies that there was at least a house here at a later date.
I don't know if anyone has had a look since.
This was encouraging news. It seems that once again I am plodding along in Nina Freebody’s
footsteps -
What I will comment on is the cause of the desertion of Welei. All historians make
the point that there were several possible reasons for people leaving a hamlet and
they are not limited to a particular time period. That being established, and thinking
of the local legend that victims of plague were buried in Wayley Close, I feel sure
that the plague did visit Wayley Green in 1348/9 -
To support the notion of the decimation of Welei by plague in the middle of the fourteenth
century, I turn again in more detail to when the place-
A detailed presentation of the theory of the location of Welei for archivists
It is assessed at 2 hides (240 acres). There is land for 7 ploughs. In demense is 1 hide and there are 2 ploughs and 8 villeins with five bordars have 4 ploughs and there can be a fifth. There are 2 cottars and 4 slaves. Pasture for the livestock of the vill(age) and woodland for 300 pigs. Earl Harold held this manor and it belongs to Hitchin as it did in the time of King Edward.
In 2002, Prof. Tom Williamson referred to ‘the vill(age) of Welei or Wilei which
comprised a large part of the later parish of Preston’. He included a map which showed
Welei as immediately south-
An accompanying map (shown right) placed Welei between Preston and Wain Wood but no reason was offered for its assigned location.
Conclusion: Historians are divided over the location of Welei and, as the twentieth century has passed, the identity of the manor which included Preston at Domesday has become further clouded rather than clarified.
A map dated 1822 (12) (right) shows Waylay Green (sic) as 1.3 kilometres north of
Preston and 300 metres from present-
There is a clear similarity between the place-
There are also references to Wayley Close and Wayley Wick in the manorial rolls of Temple Dinsley: ‘All those two closes or parcels of land called or by the name of Waley Wick and Waley Close containing by estimation four acres...afterwards enclosed with a certain freehold close of land...called Woodclose’(13). This land was owned by William Mellish in 1818.
This document indicates that the land mentioned was in the parish of Ippollitts as the nearby area of Hitchin parish was not enclosed. The boundary between Ippollitts and Hitchin parishes followed Tatmore Hills Lane with Ippollitts parish to the east. (The parish boundaries are shown as dotted lines on the 1822 map,right.)
Wayley Wick and Wayley Close are not mentioned in the Ippollitts enclosure document.
However, Woodclose (12 acres -
Mellish was also allotted Wayley Green. The enclosure document read, ‘To William Mellish Esq. a piece of land on Waylay Green with an ancient lane containing one acre, one rood and six perches bounded on the north west by Wayley Green road’. (Number 444 on the map). Note that it includes land to the west of the track.
Where was the manor of Welei?
444
442
Wayley Green Road
aka Tatmore Hills Lane
Above, views of Wayley Green to the west of the Tatmore Hills Lane
Conclusion
References
(1) How Heavy, How Much, How Long -
(2) The Knights Templar in Britain (p. 74,75) -
(3) The Royal Manor of Hitchin (p 73,74) -
(4) The History of Hitchin Vol 1 (p28) -
(5) History of Hertfordshire (p 46) -
(6) The Place-
(7) VCH -
(8) Domesday Book -
(9) Domesday Book -
(10) The Knights Templar in Britain (p 75) -
(11) The Origins of Hertfordshire (p 102-
(12) Map of Hertfordshire -
(13) Manorial Roll of Temple Dinsley -
(14) The Place-
(15) Re: Nina Freebody. See http://www.prestonherts.co.uk/page112.html#ninafreebody
(16) The Hicce -
Ippollitts enclosure map (1818) and reference book -
‘Just near, since it is always associated in early records with Preston and Dinsley, must have been the D(omesday) B(ook) manor of Welei, Wilei, later Wedelee 1147 (15th) Templars, Weyleye 13th Wymondley, 1320, 1342 Ipm, Weylegh, Veyleiedene 14th Hosp, Wyleye juxta Dynesle 1302 Ass. (14)
Finally, when thinking of these place-
So, summarising all this information, what may be tentatively concluded?
1) The ancient manor/vill of Welei is Wayley Green
2) Its location is off Tatmore Hills Lane at a convergence of tracks
3) Points (1) and (2) are not generally known by local people
4) Perhaps this place became deserted as the result of plague.
The purpose of this article is to:
1) identify the Domesday manor/village of Welei.
2) explain why it became deserted.
I am not a qualified researcher or historian – but, as will be shown, eminent antiquarians hold differing views about the subject under discussion. I have the advantage of local knowledge, having examined maps and documents, such as manorial rolls, over the last five years.
My research path began when I decided to write a history from Domesday of Preston,
near Hitchin for my website. Immediately, I found myself in a realm of uncertainty
-
Many authorities believe that Preston lay in the manor of Welei. The following is a translation of the Domesday Book entry for Welei:
At this point, the grants of land made to the Knights Templar following Domesday should be noted. Sometime before 1142, King Stephen gave the Templars land in the manor of Dinsley. In addition, from 1142 to 1149, Stephen gave more land in Dinsley to the Templars. As well as these grants, in 1147, Bernard Balliol gifted the Templars, ‘fifteen librates ( a librate = 52 acres (1); 15 librates = 796 acres) of my land...Wedelee by name which is a member of Hitchin; fields rough and smooth, streams with woodland.’(2)
The conflicting views of historians about the location of Welei
Thus, the last historical references to Welei that Grover discovered dated from the first half of the fourteenth century, the latest being 1342.
Further anecdotal evidence confirming this was written by Preston historian and academic, Nina Freebody, deceased. (For a resume of her qualifications, life and articles written by her, see references.(15)) In a newspaper article, she wrote, ‘Local legend says that plague victims were buried at Wayley Close, only a short distance from Dead Woman’s Lane.’
I have found only one textbook reference to Wayley Green and its significance. This was during a visit to Hertfordshire Archives and Record Office on 23 April 2010 (and after I had written a synopsis of this thesis).
Ian Friel wrote, ‘...Wayley Green (Welei 1086)...is not to be found on modern maps but is shown on Bryant’s map of Hertfordshire. OT reference: TL 175261’(16).
It was gratifying to find that someone else had made the same connection between Welei and Wayley Green – although Friel’s objective was to discuss the existence of pagan religious sites around Hitchin. He made no reference to the possibility of a small community here. However, I was emboldened by his corroboration to float this theory.
The main thrust of this article is to:
· Link the manor of Welei with Wayley Green
· Point out the manorial references to Wayley Close and Wayley Wick
· Note the absence of references to Wayley after the first half of the thirteenth century
· Associate the area with the plague as a reason for its becoming deserted.
I am unaware of a work which features any but the first of these observations.
Perhaps Welei/Wayley is a lost manor/ vill in Hertfordshire.