A History of Preston
in Hertfordshire
Parishes were not just about the tithes, upkeep and pastoral care of the local Church. From the time of the Tudors, parish officers were also responsible for the poor, the highways and petty law and order within its perimeter. Local inhabitants grazed their livestock on common land within their parish. Hence, precisely of what land a parish consisted became more and more important.
For example, a stranger might die within the parish boundary. The cost of his burial
was bourne by the parish. Now, if he perished near the parishes’ perimeter, then
it was a simple matter to heave the corpse into the next-
So, through the centuries (and without maps and with a largely illiterate populace),
how was the boundary of the parish remembered and its area of jurisdiction preserved?
This was no easy matter for rural parishes -
The boundaries were marked by immovable lines created by lanes, ditches and rivers. There were also large stones or boulders and trees which were recognised as being part of the margins.
At regular intervals, perhaps even annually, the parish priest and his officers, accompanied by local residents and children, would walk around their border to cement in several minds the knowledge of exactly where the parish ended and the neighbouring parish began. Perhaps the priest would intone a Psalm or a blessing when the markers were found. The children might beat the pivotal stones or trees with birch or willow boughs or might themselves be beaten or bumped on the markers as an extremely personal aide memoire This was known alliteratively as ‘beating the bounds’ or ‘perambulating the parish’. The exercise could take days to complete.
Even today, perambulation is quite lawful -
Preston and perambulating the parish
Until recently, the only reference to beating the bounds around Preston was discovered in Reginald Hine’s ‘History of Stagenhoe. He commented, ‘The acreage and boundaries of Earns Field Wood were certified by George Wright of Preston Hill (Farm) who declared himself “well acquainted with the tenure and position of the said wood from the fact of my having acted as Overseer and having in exercise of my duties in that capacity beaten the bounds of the parish as an annual custom”.
However, a document has come to light which describes in detail the walking of the
Hitchin parish boundary in 1801. This is reproduced below -
A few comments about the description of the perambulation: a number of trees are
mentioned as landmarks, including one that no longer existed; apparently the route
took the procession straight through two mills, which the officers had the right
to so do; property inhabited by my ancestors is mentioned as part of the border -
Perambulation of Hitchin Parish taken 21 – 23 May 1801
Church wardens: Thomas Paternoster, Thomas Topham and Michael Dear.
Overseers: Thomas Crawley, William Button and Joseph Darton.
Beginning at the south corner of Hitchin Priory Park, the lane there being called
Chappel Lane End, leaving Madencroft Kiln (sic) on the left....keeping down the lane
to the first turning, then turn to the left up Broad Lane....keeping then to Wellhead
Lane....turned to the right down the lane to the bottom of the hill....turned to
the right along the bottom of ridge field....on an elm tree, keeping forward to the
corner of another ridge field....on an elm tree, then bearing right across a field
of sward at the time called Mill Pond Close....at the upper corner against the stile,
turned to the left along Mr Collison’s ridge field to the corner of Hollingsworth’s
Garden....on an elm tree, inclosing (ie including) the whole of the garden and down
Fields Orchard....on an elm tree, went between that house and the corner of Hollingsworth
House on which....turned to the right along a lane leading to the park (leaving out
a cottage on the knoll but taking part of the garden....cross the road leading from
Charlton to Madencroft Kiln inclosing a part of the garden at the bath to the footpath
going into the park....inclosing the whole of Sluts Green....on a maple pollard,
to the left up the river to the mill going through the arch taking the back water
from thence up the stream to Bradden’s orchard and close....on an ash pollard at
the corner going into the Offley road, the river then being the boundary to Wellhead,
cross the river at the road leading to Tatmore Hill and keep it to the corner of
a barn belonging to Mr Richard Oakley....then turn to the right across the garden
belonging to Wellhead Farm into a field called Eight Acres and keeping straight into
an ash pollard, on which......cross Antonys Close (in the occupation of Mr John Brown)
to a gate at the bottom of a lane leading to Hillgrove Field....from thence bearing
to the right up Hillgrove Field and up to the balk (ie an unploughed piece of land)
in Kingwood Hill to the south-
..then kept the lane leading to Preston to a cottage belonging to Mr John Gootheridge in the occupation of John Craft, leaving the cottage on the left hand....and bearing straight to the south corner of an orchard belonging to John Princept Esq. occupied by John Brown keeping that ‘til you come to the corner of a Sward Field of Mr Gootheridge, turn to the right through the hedge....inclosing the whole of John Princept’s land to Pains Field ....then went direct across Pains Field to the rails at the corner of Long Mead....inclosing the whole of Long Mead to an oak tree about 6 or 8 poles from the corner of Pains Field Wood ....from thence inclining to the right through the hedge into Long Mead and crossing the same to the spot where willow pollard formerly stood....keeping in a direct line about 2 or 3 poles to the right of the gate at the corner going into the lane (that
A
B
C
Chequers Lane
D
E
F
G
St Albans
Highway
H
I
J
Back Lane
To Kings
Walden
Dead Womans
Lane
Castle Farm
then kept the lane to Tatmore Green....kept the lane to Wayley Green and Sutfield Green....then turn to the left A and inclose the whole of Mr Hinde’s Further Brade (a field so called) into a lane formerly called South Lane ....continued that lane through a pond B to the gate of a close (ie field) called (blank) and turned to the right inclosing the Castle, alias Hunsdon House C, coming straight to the cannon bank...
.....then turn to the left down the lane (that being the boundary) to the Chequers
signpost.... D turn to the left down the road leading to Hitchin as far as the
first cottage....turning to the right E into a field called The Park belonging to
Temple Dinsley inclosing the same to the corner of the old malting, inclosing the
same to an oak pollard, the corner of Dove House Close....from thence to the north-
....then kept the lane leading to Preston to a cottage belonging to Mr John Gootheridge
in the occupation of John Craft, leaving the cottage on the left hand....and bearing
straight to the south corner of an orchard belonging to John Princept Esq. occupied
by John Brown keeping that ‘til you come to the corner of a Sward Field of Mr Gootheridge,
turn to the right through the hedge....inclosing the whole of John Princept’s land
to Pains Field... H .then went direct across Pains Field to the rails at the corner
of Long Mead....inclosing the whole of Long Mead to an oak tree about 6 or 8 poles
from the corner of Pains Field Wood I....from thence inclining to the right through
the hedge into Long Mead and crossing the same to the spot where willow pollard
formerly stood....keeping in a direct line about 2 or 3 poles to the right of the
gate at the corner going into the lane (that being the spot where a cottage formerly
stood), through the hedge into a field called Stockings....going in a kind of angle
to the west corner of the same field....through the hedge to the bottom of Dead Woman’s
Lane J – the lane so called being the boundary to Sutfield Green as far as the gate
going into Twelve Acres Sutfield belonging to Offley Holes Farm....there, turn to
the left and keep the road-