Kings Langley Conservation Areas

Starting the tour at the church which was consecrated probably about 1215, the year that Magna Carta was signed by King John. It contains the tomb of Edmund de Langley, moved from the Friary at its dissolution, and the tomb of Sir Ralph Verney. The pulpit and the screen are of particular note. 

Just across the road is an old malt house built by John Andrew Groome in 1826. When the brewery finished, it was 'Bought with the 6d and shillings of the villagers'. It was vested in the church for posterity. It was used by the village as a concert hall and proved to be excellent as the thickness of the wall kept the external noises out. During the Second World War it was used to show performances to raise money for the war effort. It is now a commercial property

The Rose and Crown public house is in the High Street and looks down Church Lane.

James Goodwin minted a 'halfe penny' token in 1668 with the "Rose & Crown" name on it because there was not much loose change around and shop keepers had to mint trade tokens for local use. 

Further down the High Street past the red brick wall and the alms houses is Village House which was a timber framed house before the brick front was added,

On the right hand side is a waggon way leading to the back of the house where the original bread ovens were found. From this house was sold bread to the village. 

It is often surprising what is found behind an innocent exterior. 

Across the High Street is the Saracen's Head public house, which is a timber framed building and one of the earliest in the village. there is a large car park behind the building. 

Opposite the Saracen's Head is Haverfield House on the corner of the High Street and Langley Hill (Le Courte Hill), which originally only went up to the Royal Palace but has now been extended to to Vicarage Lane and onwards to Chipperfield.    It is interesting to not that the roofs of the buildings in the High Street have been constructed at different periods over several hundred years and give a better indication of age than the rebuilt facade. 

From right to left next to the Saracens Head is the old Post Office building (partly shown), Dronken Lane and what was previously a petrol service station and before that a tailor's shop. On the far left was a branch of Lloyds Bank and beyond was that a National Provincial Bank. 

At the top of Langley Hill  (Le Courte Hill) is the Old Palace public house. Nothing of the Royal Palace remains above the ground. However the site was excavated by Davis Neal who managed to uncover much of the ground plan. The Friary next to the Palace, was always an important seat of learning. For over 40 years Miss Cross ran her Priory School on the site.

This line of cottages were timber framed and rather lower than the public house. The estate continued round the corner with more cottages, most of which have been replaced.

At the bottom of the Common is a row of cottages and at the extreme northern end, behind the trees, one of the houses was used as a laundry. There is a photograph in the archive of washer women scrubbing clothes hhand hanging them out on the common to dry.

At the southern end of the row is a cottage called Pound Cottage where the Common Ranger lived and across the road was the Pound where stray animals were kept until a fine was paid. The building has been extended and modernised but is the original building at heart.