Wigginton
Situated 2 miles from Tring it comes under the borough of Dacorum, and the local authority is centred in Hemel Hempstead. The estate agents information (if it can be believed) says that the village is the highest in the Chilterns, with parts of the village over 210 metres above sea level. Speaking from experience, I have crossed what appears to be a snow line on occasions in the winter.
Wigginton is a relatively small community which in Victorian days was known for straw plaiting. At the end of the nineteenth & beginning of the twentieth centuries a lot of land in the area still formed part of the Rothschild estate. The presence in the area of Muntjack deer & Glis-Glis ( edible door-mouse) can be traced back to the house of Rothschild. Now the village is mainly a commuter village with a large percentage of the occupants travelling some distance to work. Even so, it possesses a good community spirit, with a number of groups that help to maintain activities in village, and according to the local estate agents is very much a "highly desirable location".
One of the most notable local businesses is "Champneys" the world-renowned health resort (http://www.champneys.com) which is located on the edge of the village. Sadly, the village shop was forced to close on the retirement of the owners when no new shopkeeper could be located, but as a result the public transport has been improved, slightly. The village, which in olden days could boast of many public houses, has just one remaining now, The Greyhound on Chesham Road, & this, together with the School, Village Hall & Churches, form the focus of much of village social life.
Wigginton Parish Council.
News from the Parish Council. The Sports Field completed a change in ownership in 2001, from The Wigginton Poors Charity to the Parish Council, thereby safe-guarding the field for the use & benefit of the Village.
A new challenge facing the PC in 2004/5 is what to do with the building often referred by some as the Scout Hut. This was a second-hand building that was acquired & erected in the late 1970s at a time when the village hall was not in a very good state. Over the years however, the timber framed & timber clad building has suffered from vandalism & a lack of maintenance. Temporary planning permission was in place but the planning authority would only grant this until June 2004. A permanent solution involving either removal, renovation or replacement needs to be in place soon. A temporary reprieve has been granted until April 2005. A surveyor drew up plans with outline costings that total £70,000. The prospect of this sum applied to the Council tax almost certainly put people off of recommending that the council do the work. However, a new committee of dedicated individuals has been set up with the express purpose of identifying grants, raising funds & identifying uses & users of a refurbished/rebuilt building. It does not seem to make sense to have a sports field with no facilities such as toilets or changing rooms. The new Committee can be contacted at wigginton.pavilion@virgin.net. If you can help with ideas that would increase usage of this building please do not hesitate to contact the committee. The more users we can identify the better the business plan that can be put forward.
A motion to submit the plans for consideration was passed at the Parish Council meeting in April 2005.
The annual Parish meeting is in May.
Clerk to Wigginton Parish Council: Claire Crouchley can be emailed at claire@crouchleyp.freeserve.co.uk
It has just been confirmed that former WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World, Frank Bruno MBE will be openingh the Show on Saturday at 12 noon.
Wigginton Pre-School. In days of closures elsewhere, the village is fortunate to have an active pre-school playgroup. The pre-school is open Tuesday-Friday 9.20am until 11.50am during term times, plus a toddler group on Wednesdays from 10am until 11.30am. Details can be obtained from Becky Sawyer by email at wigg.preschool@btinternet.com.
Wigginton parchment craft group "Gemini" meet regularly. Details can be obtained from Jenny Eggleton at the Vicarage. They are held an exhibition at the School in May 2000 when the founder of Pergamano, Martha Ospina was a special guest for the day. You can also find details on Jenny's web site at http://members.tripod.co.uk/jenwren/.
Wigginton Players put on plays at the Village Hall usually in February and October, with a few other events and/or theatre visits during the year. If you are interested in joining please contact Barbara at begglesfield@hotmail.com or 01442-828539. If there is anyone who would like to become a member, just contact Barbara. We don't have a regular meeting day or evening, but details of the next production will soon be published.
Wigginton F.C. A football team has existed in the village on & off for the past 40 years & has always played on the Chesham Road pitch.
The latest incarnation of the team was started by local resident Toby Stuart-Jervis in 1990. The nineties saw a fair amount of success for the club, starting from the bottom division of the Berkhamsted Sunday Football League (B.S.F.L.) and rising to the heady heights of the second division. Several notable cup runs were recoded in the mid-nineties.
The teams most successful period came in the 2001/2 & 2002/3 seasons seeing the squad promoted from Division 3 to Division 1 in successive years.
With the help & generous sponsorship over the last 10 years of local businessman Ron Peterson from R&J Landscapes (London) Ltd, the team has now consolidated it's position as a well established club in division 1 of the B.S.F.L.
The team has always been well represented by both Wigginton & Tring based players & the future looks very healthy with the current squad boasting a number of excellent young players. Interest in the club has risen to the point where a reserve team is being considered for the 2005/6 season. They are managed by Rob Casey who can be contacted on 07793 236 038.
The current fixture list for the team is as follows:
Hardings Wood. Hardings wood
is a 5.8 hectare wood on the outskirts of the village of
Wigginton in Hertfordshire, England.
The Hardings Wood Trust was set up by a group of local residents
in early 2003 with the aim of securing the wood as a local
amenity and maintaining access to walk the footpaths for the
people of Wigginton and the surrounding areas. In April 2003,
thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery fund the
Trust was able to purchase the wood. More information can be
found at http://www.hardingswood.org.uk/.
Champneys Health Resort. Lord Thurso, the general manager of Champneys, kindly agreed to open the Village Show in June 2000. He resigned his post after the 2001 general election when he was elected as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Caithness & Sutherland & wanted to devote his time to his constituents. Champneys was bought by the Purdew Health Farms Group (who owned Henlow Grange and other health resorts) and in 2003 the group rebranded to be known as "Champneys Health Resorts". Stephen Purdew and his General manager, Grant Noble, have been very supportive of the Village Show for which we offer our thanks.
A major transformation is currently taking place at Champneys Tring.
The £12.5m development is divided into two stages and includes:
• A new 25 metre pool. Heated and Ozone treated
• Four modern Fitness Studios offering the latest in dynamic and holistic classes
• Brand new gymnasium that will offer a modern environment with the latest Technogym equipment
• Newly designed spa areas offering heat treatments
• A state of the art Thalassotherapy Pool, using hydrotheraphy jets to tone and stimulate your body
• Rasul Mud Chamber - using mud and steam to cleanse and detoxify
• Refurbishment of all bedrooms and treatment rooms
• Business Conference Centre
The Greyhound, Chesham Rd, Wigginton, HP23 6EH
The Greyhound is an independent, family run gastro pub, and the only pub in the village. Click on the photo to go to the Greyhounds's web-site.
It is attractively furnished and has a traditional bar, a relaxing lounge area with sofas and easy chairs and a stylish restaurant.
It is open for food every day except Mondays for bar meals, a la carte lunch and dinner. Monday nights are now curry nights at £6.75 for a curry & a drink.
The Greyhound is popular with walkers of the 'Ridgeway' as a good stop for a drink, a meal or as a convenient place to stay overnight.
There are three en-suite bedrooms, either double or twin, with a separate entrance.
Well behaved dogs are welcome.
There is a large car park to the side of the pub and a shady garden with tables and parasols.
Golfers have three nearby courses to choose from: Ashridge, Berkhamsted and Mentmore.
Room Prices:
Single Occupancy.....................................................£45.00
Double Occupancy...................................................£60.00
Family Room............................................................£70.00
All prices include VAT and continental breakfast.
For more information, to make a reservation or book for one of the events listed below please phone 01442 824631
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Andrew Burch for hand-made bespoke Kitchens, Bedrooms & Studies. A property up for sale recently boasted, as one its merits, that it had an Andrew Burch kitchen. Tel 01442 824823.
Smiths of Tring for travel & coaches
Blue Tack - a local band who have donated their services free to help raise funds for the Village Show. Find out more about them at their home page.
The Replay Band are another local band who use the Scout Hut to practice. You can find out more about them at http://www.replayband.co.uk/
A.G. Evans Ltd - scrap metal, new and second hand RSJ.s . Tel 01494 758388
Race Nights for Fun or Fundraising at www.race-night.co.uk.
If you are a Wigginton based business & would like your details to appear here then drop an email to the link below. A small donation to the Village Show funds is all that it costs.
Please send me mail telling me what you think about this page and how it might be improved. Also if you are based in the village, what you would like to see added including additions to the Village Diary. This is basically the first cut of the page & it will evolve over time and as it does it will hold more pictures & more detail of the village.
Email address squirecannon@btopenworld.com
Domain Name: www.wigginton-herts.org.uk - will route you to this page, even if I change ISP, using the URL forwarding services of www.freeparking.co.uk.
Dacorum Borough Council have a useful web site with a lot of information concerning the borough, including a brief description of Wigginton. Their logo will take you there.
A web site now exists to try to link up 28,000 of the smaller communities in the UK. WWW.UKvillages.co.uk. They have kindly put in a link to this web site under their local links section for the village.
