Hexton, Hertfordshire

Description
Hexton, a village and a parish in Herts. The village stands near Icknield Street, among hills, adjacent to Beds, 7 miles W by N from Hitchin station on the G.N.R. and M.R., and is a small hut ancient place, known at Domesday as Hegastanestone. Post town, Ampthill; money order and telegraph office, Shillington. The parish comprises 1485 acres; population, 167. The manor belonged to St Alban's Abbey, was given at the dissolution to Sir Richard Lee, passed to the Sadleirs, the Tavemers, and others, and belongs now to the family of Young. Hexton House is a stately mansion of some antiquity, and stands in a well-wooded park with beautiful views. A spot called Bury Stede, near the church, is supposed to have been occupied as a residence of the Saxon kings. A Danish camp, called Ravens-burgh Castle, is on a high hill three-quarters of a mile to the S. A battle was fought in the parish in 914 between the Saxons and the Danes. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St Albans; net value, £75. The church, which was rebuilt in 1824 with the exception of the tower, is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, and is one of the few remaining churches with the old-fashioned high pews. Hexworthy, a hamlet in Lidford parish, Devonshire.