Cuffley
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| Cuffley | |
|---|---|
| File:Church of St Andrew at Cuffley - geograph.org.uk - 35943.jpg Church of St Andrew, Cuffley | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Population | 4,295 [1] |
| OS grid reference | TL305035 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | POTTERS BAR |
| Postcode district | EN6 |
| Dialling code | 01707 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Cuffley is a village in the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley, in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east Hertfordshire located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people.[1] It is part of Hertsmere parliamentary constituency since the boundary review in 2023.[2] It used to be a part of Broxbourne parliamentary constituency.
History
[edit | edit source]Originally part of the parish of Northaw, the manor of Cuffley was recorded in the 13-century as Coffele. During the reign of Charles II of England in the 17th-century, the King's Well at Cuffley was renowned as spa and was frequented by wealthy people who were accommodated in a large tent supplied by the king. At the start of the 20th-century, Cuffley was still a small hamlet, consisting of just a few cottages and a room that served as both a school and a church.[3]
The railway had an important impact on the development of the village. Cuffley was reached by the Great Northern Railway in 1910, as part of the plan to create the Hertford Loop Line, as a strategic alternative to the main line out of King's Cross to the north, by extending the line from Enfield Chase.[4]
The early history of Cuffley is recounted by one of its residents, Molly Hughes, in her autobiographical book A London Family Between the Wars.
On 3 September 1916 the German airship SL 11 was shot down and crashed in Cuffley during an aerial bombardment intended for London.[5] This incident is commemorated by a memorial on East Ridgeway to Lieutenant W. Leefe Robinson, the pilot who shot the airship down; he was awarded the Victoria Cross.[6] There is also a model of the airship in the village hall. Contrary to many reports of the incident, the SL 11 airship was not a Zeppelin but an army Schütte-Lanz airship.[5] Regardless, the local football team is still nicknamed 'The Zeps' after this event.
In 1939, the Scout Association purchased part of the Tolmers Park Estate that lies within the Parish of Cuffley. Tolmers Scout Camp was opened on Whit Saturday 1940 by Lord Wigram.[7] Today, Tolmers hosts thousands of young people annually from all over the UK and across Europe; not only Scouts and Guides but schools and youth groups as well.
Transport
[edit | edit source]Cuffley is near the M25 motorway and is part of the London commuter belt. Cuffley railway station provides a commuter service to Moorgate, Finsbury Park and King's Cross, services operated by Great Northern.
Facilities
[edit | edit source]Schools
[edit | edit source]Cuffley Primary School has occupied its present building since 1938 when it replaced the original Victorian school room.[citation needed]
Preschool education for children aged 2 to 5 years old is available at the youth centre (Cuffley Community Centre Pre-School).
Churches
[edit | edit source]St Andrew's Church of England parish church was built in 1965 on the site of the old school room facing the top of Station Road, replacing the "tin church" built in 1911 on Plough Hill opposite the village green. The present church was designed by Clifford Culpin and Partners and has a steep roof supported on A-shaped concrete beams. Inside there is a metal sculpture by Angela Connor and coloured glass by Alfred Fisher.[8]
Cuffley Free Church was built in 1965–67 to the design of Cyril J. Greening.[8] In May 2011 it changed its name to The Life Church and is affiliated to the Central Baptist Association.[9]
A Roman Catholic church dedicated to St Martin de Porres was built in 1963 in Church Close, and is a simple wooden building designed by Westmore and Partners.[10]
Notable people
[edit | edit source]Its most notable recent resident is Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco, although this did not prevent locals from objecting vehemently to plans to build an "Express" store in the village replacing one of only two remaining village pubs.[11] Other famous residents include Premier League footballers Ledley King, Jermain Defoe, Niko Kranjcar, David Bentley, Kyle Walker and Armand Traoré; and also former Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan[citation needed] and Myleene Klass.[12] Paul Atkinson (1946–2004), pop guitarist in The Zombies
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b United Kingdom Census 2001 Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change?" commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain (Vol. 5 The Eastern Counties), D I Gordon, David & Charles Ltd. 1977. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (Pages 123-4)
- ^ a b First German Airship Shot Down BBC - WW1 At Home, Nov 2014. Retrieved: 24/04/18
- ^ Rimell, Ray (1989). The Airship VC: the life of Captain William Leefe Robinson. Bourne End: Aston. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
- ^ The Scout Magazine: June 1940 issue p.162
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Daily Telegraph on-line 23 July 2007
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
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