St Paul's Walden is a village about 5 miles (8 km) south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. The civil parish of St Paul's Walden also includes the village of Whitwell and the hamlet of Bendish. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish was 1,293.[1]

St Paul's Walden
All Saints' Church, St Paul's Walden
St Paul's Walden is located in Hertfordshire
St Paul's Walden
St Paul's Walden
Location within Hertfordshire
Population1,293 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceTL193222
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHitchin
Postcode districtSG4
Dialling code01438
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire
51°53′09″N 0°16′01″W / 51.88580°N 0.26690°W / 51.88580; -0.26690

After the Reformation the manor belonged to St Paul's Cathedral; the name St Paul's Walden serves to distinguish the parish from King's Walden, although the Dean and Chapter sold their property in the 17th century.

Notable residents

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St Paul's Walden has two 18th-century mansions.

Stagenhoe

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Stagenhoe

Sir Arthur Sullivan rented the property in the 1880s around the time he composed The Mikado.[2]

St Paul's Walden Bury

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St Paul's Walden Bury is owned by the Bowes-Lyon family. Members include Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. While the details of her birth in 1900 are uncertain, the house is one of the locations that has been posited as her birthplace.[3] It is accepted that she was baptised in All Saints' church, St Paul's Walden.[4][3]

On 23 January 1923, the then Prince Albert, Duke of York, later to become King George VI, drove up to St Paul's Walden in his sports car, and proposed to Elizabeth in the woods at the Bury.[5]

Gardens

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The gardens of St Paul's Walden Bury are listed as grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.[6] They are occasionally opened to the public under the National Garden Scheme, a charity of which the Queen Mother was patron.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "St Paul's Walden Parish". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Stagenhoe" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "Welcome to the history of All Saints, St. Paul's Walden". St Paul's Walden Parish Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  4. ^ Whitelaw, Jeffrey W. (13 October 1988). Hidden Hertfordshire (First ed.). Countryside Books. ISBN 9781853060250.
  5. ^ Express, Britain. "Queen Mother Biography". Britain Express.
  6. ^ Historic England. "St Paul's Walden Bury (1000150)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  7. ^ "St Paul's Walden Bury". National Garden Scheme.
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