Timeline   

300,000 to 400,000 years ago

Wheathampstead Lake formed. Half a million years ago, the land around what is now Wheathampstead was under water. More

c. 8500-4000 BC

Mesolithic Age. In 1979, excavations in St Helen's churchyard found evidence of human activity in this period. More

c.100 BC

Belgic influence spread into south-east England through trade and incursions. Excavations in 1974 found Pre-Belgic and Belgic pottery on the site of the Wheathampstead bypass. More

54 BC

Roman incursion, led by Julius Caesar. It has been suggested, on the basis of limited evidence, that Cassivellaunus' battle with Julius Caesar may have taken place at Devil's Dyke. To see some contributions to this debate, click here.

43 AD

Roman invasion of Britain. While Verulamium was one of the largest Roman towns in Britain, a number of smaller settlements have been found in the Upper Lea valley. 

 Excavations at Turners Hall Farm have revealed a 1st/2nd century Roman                       villa and burials. More

5^th century

 Romans withdraw from Britain, leaving a lasting legacy. 

In 2012, a hoard of 159 Roman gold coins was found in Sandridge. More

Several Roman roads passed through the parish of Wheathampstead. More

c. 6^th / 7^th century

 Anglo-Saxons arrive. Traces of mid to late Anglo-Saxon burials have been found at St  Helen's, suggesting that there was a church on the site at least 1,000 years ago. More

A 7^th century bronze ewer was found in a gravel pit near Wheathampstead House in 1884. It is now in the British Museum. More

9^th century

Danes invade Britain.

886

Treaty between King Alfred the Great and Guthrum the Old establishes the Danelaw. Part of the boundary between the two territories followed the River Lea, including where it flows through Wheathampstead. More  

King Edward the Confessor grants land in "Hwaethamstede" to the Monastery and Convent of Westminster. The original document is held at HALS. For a description of this document and its contents, see 'The Settlement of Wheathampstead and Harpenden' WEA (1973), pages 1 to 10. There is a copy                  in Wheathampstead Library. More

See also White, V., (2012) Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire: Transfer of Ownership, 1060: A Saxon estate gifted to Westminster Monastery by King Edward. V.S.White. There is a copy in Wheathampstead Library.

 Wheathampsteadbury manor house, together with the church and the mill, formed the  core of the medieval community and gave us the basic layout of the centre of the  village today.

1086

Domesday Book.  Wheathampstead Manor is described as "Watamestede in the hold of the abbot of St.Peter's of Westminster". More

1150

c. 1230

Chancel of St Helen's Church built, replacing old apsidal chancel.

For an essay about the Saxo-Norman origins of the church, click here.

1290

St Helen's church tower built.

Late 13th century

 Old Rectory (King Edward Place) built. More

  Rectory manor established.

  For a list of rectors since the 13th century, click here.

1307

Earliest records of a house at Mackerye End. The present owners have given permission for their leaflet about the house to be reproduced here. 

1311  

The barons assemble in Wheathampstead during their rebellion against King Edward II caused by his favourite Piers Gaveston. More

1420

John of Wheathampstead becomes Abbot of St Albans for the first time. More

For details about the three papal bulls issued to him by Pope Martin V in 1423 and rediscovered in 2017, click here.

1429

The monasteries of St Albans and of Westminster agree on the position of the land boundary between them on Nomansland. More

1461

Second Battle of St Albans ends on Nomansland Common. More

After his defeat at the Battle of Oxford, King Charles I escapes in disguise and spends the night of 27 April in Wheathampstead, possibly at Lamer House.

1667

The people of Wheathampstead are infected by bubonic plague. They petitioned the justices for "favour and consideration" as charges for the poor were exceptionally high.

1722

James Marshall Foundation established. More

1814

 George Thomas Pretyman is appointed Rector of Wheathampstead-with-Harpenden.  More

1815

 National School opens on The Hill. More

1836

Poorhouse closes and is replaced by workhouse. More

To read more about the Wheathampstead Workhouse, click here.

1839

Wheathampstead Wesleyan Methodist Church built.  More 

1841

Wheathampstead Tithe Map and Schedule published. More 

 1843 

Charles Higby Lattimore of Place Farm proposes the motion in favour of free trade and the repeal of the Corn Laws at a meeting in Hertford addressed by his friend Richard Cobden. More

1859

Owen William Davys is appointed Rector of St Helen's, Wheathampstead, succeeding Canon Pretyman.      More

1859

 The parish of Wheathampstead-with-Harpenden is divided into two  separate parishes.

1860

Railway station opens.  More 

1862

New building for National School (ie St Helen's School) opens on 29 December. More

1865

Restoration of St Helen's Church by Rev. Canon Owen Davys and architect Edward Browning. To read Rev. Davys's account of the restoration, click here.

1875 

Gustard Wood School opens.

1876

Sewage works opens on The Meads. More

1876

Independent Chapel opens on Brewhouse Hill. More

1881

A 'terrific gale' on 14th October tears the lead off St Helen's church spire and blows down the bell-turret from the roof of the school. More

1884

A 7th century bronze ewer was found in a gravel pit near Wheathampstead House. It is now in the British Museum. More

1887

Folly Methodist Church opens on Lower Luton Road. To read a history of its first 100 years, click here.

1892

Mid-Herts Golf Club founded at Gustard Wood. For a short history of the Club, click here. For some brief notes, click here .

1895

Inaugural meeting of Wheathampstead Parish Council held on 2 January in National School (ie St Helen's School) on Brewhouse Hill. More

1910

St Peter's Church, Gustard Wood, opens. More

1920

  Village War Memorial erected. More and More

1928

Helmets Ltd moves from St Albans to Brewhouse Hill. For a history of the company, click here.

To view a short film about the company, made in 1953, click here.

1928

The Murphy Chemical Company buys Wheathampstead House and builds a new factory in the village. To read the sales brochure, click here.

For a history of the company from 1887 to 2018, including its time in           Wheathampstead, click here.

1929

Mains water connected.

1930 

Mains electricity connected.

1932

Sir Mortimer Wheeler's excavations at Devil's Dyke. More 

1932

 Gustard Wood School closes. The building is demolished and a house "Junipers" is built  on the site.

1932

The water-wheel of Wheathampstead Bridge Mill stops turning after nine hundred years of flour milling on this site.

1932

The foundation stone of the Women's Institute Mead Hall in East Lane is laid by Lady Beach Thomas.

1935

 New St Helen's Senior School opens on south side of Church Street, opposite Old  School. More

1937

Lord Brocket gives Devil's Dyke to the parish of Wheathampstead. The plaque was erected in the following year. For the debate about the origins of the Dyke, go to the Sources page on this website.

1938

Catholic Church in Marford Road opened by Cardinal Hinsley. More 

1944

On 26 June, the St Helen's School logbook records that "At 01.45 this morning a 'Flying Bomb' burst 60 yds west of Bury Farm House. Damage was caused but there were no casualties." For more information, click here.

1961

  Memorial Hall opens. More

1965

Railway station closes to passengers.

More (see 'In-depth description') and More

First intake of pupils to Wheathampstead School (secondary) in Butterfield Road. The new school was formally opened by HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in December 1967.

1971 

Town Farm demolished. More 

1971

Beech Hyde School opens 7 September. More

1978

Cory Wright Way bypass opens. For a report about the archaeological finds on     the route, click here

1988

Wheathampstead Secondary School (Butterfield Road) closed. 

1989

Murphy's sold Wheathampstead House and relocated their laboratories to Nottingham. For a history of the company from 1887 to 2018, including its time in Wheathampstead, click here.

2004

Folly Methodist Church closes and merges with the United Reformed Church on Brewhouse Hill to become the United Church. To read a history of its first 100 years, click here. For some memories of its final years, click here. The church was located where Chapel Mews stands today.

2010 to present

Station platform restored. More 

2012

Village Centre Heritage Trail opened. More

2013

Fire at The Swan. More

2014

Community orchard planted in The Meads. More

2016

Bury Green Garden restored. More

2017

Archaeologists digging in a field next to Common Lane in Batford find evidence of ditches, gullies and pits from the Neolithic and Late Iron Age, an enclosure from the Middle Iron Age, and four definite and ten probable graves dating from the Anglo-Saxon period. More  

2017

Grave of Abbot John of Wheathampstead is found at St Albans Cathedral. Click here for an article from 'Abbey News' February 2018. 

Click here for an article about how Abbot John's face was reconstructed.

Abbot John was reinterred at St Albans Cathedral in 2022. His remains now rest in the vault of his old friend Duke Humphrey of Gloucester. 

2019

Crinkle Crankle Garden opened. More

Community Library opened. More

2020

The people of Wheathampstead are struck by the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. To read about the impact on the village, click on More

2023

Redeveloped Memorial Hall opened. More