Ickleford

Coordinates: 51°58′13″N 0°17′01″W / 51.97036°N 0.28368°W / 51.97036; -0.28368

Ickleford is a large village situated on the northern outskirts of Hitchin in North Hertfordshire in England. It lies on the west bank of the River Hiz and to the east of the main A600 road. It was partly in Bedfordshire until the Bedfordshire portion of the civil parish was transferred to Hertfordshire by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844.

Etymology

Its name is derived from it being a ford, that is a way to cross a river, along the Icknield Way. Thus Ick + Ford. Another village, Ickford, shares the same etymology.

Notable buildings

St Katharine's church, set amid cedar trees, has a 12th-century Norman nave and blocked north doorway with beautifully carved zigzag arches, and a south aisle and chapel added by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1859. The east window has some fine stained glass of 1860. It is the burial-place of Henry Boswell, "King of the Gypsies", who died in 1760, at the advanced age of 90; the remains of his wife and granddaughter are likewise interred here.