Everything about Norton Hertfordshire totally explained
Norton is a small
village in
Hertfordshire, one of the three original villages which were absorbed into
Letchworth Garden City, the other two being
Willian and Old Letchworth. There was a village on the site in
Anglo-Saxon times, some of the remains of which lie beneath a field beside the church. However, the history of the village goes back even further than that
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).
History of Norton
Recent archaeological excavations at Norton have revealed evidence of human activity in the area going back to about 3000
BC. People from the
Neolithic,
Bronze and
Iron Ages lived in the area, to be followed by the
Romans and then by the Anglo-Saxons. It was during this latter period that the first written evidence about Norton appeared. A charter relating to Norton dating from 1007
AD is the earliest document to survive. Norton appeared in the
Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed in the lands belonging to the Abbots of
St Albans. The records of the manorial courts, which date from 1244 AD, give an extensive overview of the life of Norton's villagers during the
medieval period. Following the
Dissolution of
St Albans Abbey in 1539 the manor of Norton passed into private hands, but its manorial courts continued to record the activities of its villagers until 1916
The village church is dedicated to
St Nicholas, and has eight light
bells hung for
change ringing; since the construction in the same
parish of the much larger St George's church in the town, St Nicholas's has become a
chapel of ease.
'Gypsy' Smith
Polly and Cornelius Smith, the parents of
Rodney "Gypsy" Smith, the famous international evangelist, are buried in the churchyard at Norton. Cornelius Smith was also a well-known evangelist, often preaching the
Gospel with his two brothers. 'Gypsy' Smith maintained contact with Norton, visiting his parents grave as often as he could. In 1934, the Letchworth Methodist Circuit decided that a new church was needed in Norton Village. It was thought appropriate to dedicate the new building in memory of 'Gypsy' Smith's parents, and Smith raised a large sum of money for the building himself, with donations being sent from the
UK and the
United States.
The new chapel was opened by Smith's daughter Zillah and her husband Mr J T Lean in 1934 as
Norton Methodist Mission, and it was given a distinctive caravan-shaped
pulpit. Later, 'Gypsy' Smith himself and his brother Ezekiel conducted evangelical meetings at the church, one of the very rare occasions when the two brothers appeared on the same platform. The building is still in use today as the
North Avenue Methodist Church.
Schools
The village's primary school, named after the church, was founded in
1873; a nearby secondary school, Norton School, founded in
1906, served the village and the area around it but was closed in 2002 with the school and its playing fields being developed for housing.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Norton Hertfordshire'.
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