Aldbury

Aldbury, situated on the edge of the Chilterns, is one of the most attractive villages in Hertfordshire. The heart of the village is its triangular green and duck pond. On the green are the old stocks and whipping post, no longer sheltered by an ancient elm tree, which became a victim of Dutch elm disease.

The timbered three hundred year old Manor House, with lattice windows, overlooks the pond. Close by is the Greyhound pub, a long low creeper-clad building.

Most of the village's cottages are timber-framed and date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the thatched roofs have been replaced by tiles, but some remain.

The backdrop to the village is the beech woods of Ashridge Park. They rise up to Moneybury Hill, where there is a massive Greek Doric column erected in 1832, as a monument to the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, the English canal builder.

Standing back from the village green is the Church of St. John the Baptist. It has a tall slender flint-faced tower. Parts of it date from the 13th century. The most impressive feature is the Pendley Chapel, containing late medieval stone effigies of Sir Robert Whittingham and his wife.