Willian, Hertfordshire

Willian
All Saints church, Willian
Willian  Willian shown within Hertfordshire
OS grid reference	TL225308
District	North Hertfordshire
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY
Postcode district	SG6
Dialling code	01462
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	North East Hertfordshire
List of places UK England Hertfordshire

Coordinates: 51°57′38″N 0°13′17″W / 51.9606°N 0.2215°W

Willian is a small village in North Hertfordshire, with a population of approximately 326. Along with Norton and Old Letchworth, it is one of the original villages which the garden city of Letchworth Garden City grew up around. Despite this, it retains a distinctive character. The village was referred to in the Domesday Book as "Wilie", and the name probably derives from a word meaning "willows".^[1][2]

The village has two pubs, the Fox, which used to boast a bar with 16th century beams and low ceilings, now replaced by modern decor, and the Three Horseshoes, a Village Stores and Post Office and a large pond. The original parish church, All Saints', has a tower with clocks on three sides; the fourth side is blank, supposedly so that farm labourers would not be able to tell when to leave work. This continues to be an active parish church in the village. Its daughter church of St Paul's, Letchworth became a separate parish church in 1963.

Web address www.allsaintswillian.org.uk

References

1. Eilert Ekwall (1960). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. Oxford: OUP.
2. Stokes, H.G. (1948). "A Land of Woods and Water". English Place-Names. Edinburgh: B. T. Batsford Ltd. p. 8.