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Coordinates: 51°49'52?N 0°12'54?W? / ?51.831, -0.215
Welwyn is a village in Hertfordshire, England.
Situated in the valley of the River Mimram, it was first settled in the Iron Age. The Belgae colonised the area in the 1st century BC, and later it was settled by the Romans. Many Roman artifacts have been found, and the remains of a Roman bath house may be visited. Much later, in the 17th century, as it lies on the old Great North Road, it became an important staging post and a number of Coaching inns remain as public houses. After the Great Northern Railway by-passed the village due to the objections of local landownders, Welwyn became less important. Having previously been seen as a town on par with Hatfield and Stevenage, it gradually was seen as a village. The 20th Century brought major expansion to the area, as estates to the south, west and north of the village were built up.
A Norman church was built on the site about 1190. The nave of the present church (St Mary's), was built in the 13th century, the chancel arch being the most obvious early structure. There are two medieval corbels at the east end of the south aisle. Patronage of the church passed through several hands until in 1549 it was sold to the Wilshere family, who lived at The Frythe until relatively recently.
Welwyn is not the same as Welwyn Garden City; it is an older settlement a mile north of Welwyn Garden City and completely separate.
[edit] Transport
Roman Road Stane Street ran through the village, and this path was later taken by the Great North Road, which later became the A1. Welwyn was noted for its congestion since the beginning of the 20th Century and in 1927 got what is claimed to be the first by-pass in Britain. The A1 was upgraded to motorway standards north of Welwyn in the 1960s and in 1973 the motorway was extended south past the village, by-passing the existing by-pass. Today the village is the point where the 6-lane motorway merges into 4-lanes and is the site of extensive traffic jams in the evening peak. A decade ago there were extensive plans to widen the whole road through the area to 8 lanes, and upgrade the existing junction to create a long one-way system running the length of the village. These plans were shelved, but recently plans to provide a climbing lane at least on the section north of the village have been discussed.
Bus transport is provided by Arriva and Centrebus, with some assistance from Herts County Council. Arriva's 300/301 Centraline service links Welwyn to the major nearby towns of Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead, as well as neighbouring villages Woolmer Green and Knebworth. The 301 additionally connects both the nearby hospitals in Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City, while the 300 provides a direct link to recreational areas such as Stanborough Lakes in Welwyn Garden City and Verulamium Roman town in St Albans. Buses run every 15 minutes Monday-Friday, every 20 minutes Saturday, and hourly on Sunday. Additional bi-hourly service 314 is provided by Centrebus, connecting Welwyn to Codicote and Hitchin.
Green Line Coaches 797 stops on the by-pass, providing an hourly direct link to areas of North London and the West End.
The nearest railway station is Welwyn North railway station in the nearby village of Digswell, about a mile east from the village. Trains are operated by First Capital Connect and run every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday south to London and north to Hitchin and Stevenage, with an hourly service to Letchworth and Cambridge, and to Peterborough. On Sundays an hourly service operates from London to Cambridge only. There is no bus link to the station, although buses do link to nearby Welwyn Garden City railway station.
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(Source: Wikipedia) |