Ayot St Lawrence is a small English village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, two miles (three kilometres) west of Welwyn.[1] There are several other Ayots in the area, including Ayot Green and Ayot St Peter, where the census population of Ayot St Lawrence was included in 2011.
| Ayot St Lawrence | |
|---|---|
 Ayot St. Lawrence village centre | |
  Ayot St Lawrence Location within Hertfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | TL195165 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WELWYN |
| Postcode district | AL6 |
| Dialling code | 01438 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Heritage
editGeorge Bernard Shaw lived in the village, at Shaw's Corner, from 1906 until his death in 1950; his ashes are scattered there.[2][3] The house is open to the public as a National Trust property.[4]
Other residents of the village included Shaw's friend, neighbour and bibliographer Stephen Winsten (1893–1991) and his wife, the artist Clare Winsten (1894–1989).
During the 1950s, the silk-maker Zoe Dyke (1896–1975) moved her business to Ayot House.[5] The historical novelist, biographer and children's writer Carola Oman, Lady Lenanton (1897–1978) lived at Bride Hall with her husband. She died there on 11 June 1978.[6]
Amenities
editThe village has a timber-framed public house, The Brocket Arms, which may date back to the early 16th century.[7] It also offers meals and accommodation.[8]
The village has two churches:
- Old St Lawrence Church, in the centre of the village, was partially demolished in 1775, because it was obstructing the view from Sir Lionel Lyde's new home.[9]
Field Marshal Frederick Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (1865–1946), a British Army officer and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, is buried in the churchyard.[10]
- New St Lawrence Church was designed in a neo-classical style by Nicholas Revett[11] and features a Palladian-style frontage with Doric columns.
References
edit- ^ AA Book of British Villages. Drive Publications Limited. 1980. p. 44. ISBN 9780340254875.
- ^ "Shaw's Corner". Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ "Open house at Shaw's Corner". The Welwyn and Hatfield Times. 6 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 August 2005. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ "Ayot Saint Lawrence". Hertfordshire Genealogy. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ John Martin, "Dyke, (Millicent) Zoë, Lady Dyke (1896–1975)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 accessed 12 July 2017
- ^ Bostridge, Mark (4 October 2007). "Oman, Carola Mary Anima [married name Carola Mary Anima Lenanton, Lady Lenanton". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71516. Retrieved 10 April 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "The Brocket Arms, Ayot St Lawrence". Mysterious Britain. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ "The Brocket Arms". Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "Van Gogh walked here". St Albans & Harpenden Review. 4 February 2002. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ "Ayot (St Lawrence) Old Churchyard". Commonwealth War Graves Commission.CWGC casualty record.
- ^ "Parishes – Ayot St. Lawrence or Great Ayot". British History Online. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
Gallery
edit-
Shaw's Corner -
Ruins of the old Church
External links
edit
- Ayot [St Lawrence] in the Domesday Book