Welcome to the Barley Village Web
Site
This site has
information about various aspects of Barley life ranging from a brief
history of the village, to a list of the Parish Councillors and
information about the local Post Office and
shop.
View
the "Town House" page to arrange your party, wedding reception or
marriage at our licensed venue.
"Services" has most
(if not all) the clubs and societies in the village, plus information
about local services.
Map : AerialPhotos
There have been
settlements in the parish of Barley for, perhaps 3000 years, from the
Bronze Age dwellers who built a hill fort on the chalk hills near
Royston, through to Iron Age farmers on the north edge of the village
around 100 BC. The Romans left evidence of occupation and burials to
the west,but it was in Saxon times that the village acquired its name,
not from the crop widely grown in the area but corrupted over the years
from Beora's Ley,describing a Saxon Lord's clearing in woodland. In the
DomesdayBook it is recorded as Berlei.
Some of the
older houses can be identified on a map of the village compiled in
1593; The Priors (at Richmonds Garage) and Horseshoe Farm are mentioned
by name. The Cross Hill is a focus of Barley history, with the Fox and
Hounds pub and its sign spanning the road, moved from the High Street
when the original pub of that name burned down in 1950. The War
Memorial was built in 1919 and next to it is the Cageor Lock-up, built
in the 17th century to deter local criminals. At the Old Forge the King
family used to shoe horses and make fine wrought iron work and now it
is used for repairing veteran cars. Along the London Road is a
milestone set in the hedge, one of 16 put up in 1730 to record
distances to London and Cambridge.
However, Barley is far more than a collection of
historic buildings. It is a thriving community blessed with a fine
First School, the services of a shop, two pubs and two garages. Farms
and small businesses provide employment for some, whilst the good
communications attract commuters. The community spirit is reflected in
a variety of clubs and organisations, and the ability of the village to
raise funds for maintaining the old buildings, such as the Town House,
supporting the school and embarking on new schemes to benefit the
inhabitants, such as the provision of a children's area and sports
facilities in the Plaistow, two acres of land given to the people of
the village by King Edgar in the 10th century.
Village people
have provided some footnotes in history, notably two Archbishops of
Canterbury and the first English mayor of New York. Pioneering
scientists, including a recent Nobel Prize winner, have valued the
atmosphere of the village and it's surrounding countryside. It has
inspired artists, writers and musicians but whatever your role in life
it is the perfect place to live!
Author:
Geoffrey Wilkerson
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Small
'Satellite' type picture looking straight down
This is Barley from the air taken around the year 2000.
Click the image to expand it and press the 'Back' button to
return to this page.
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Large
'Light Aircraft' type picture.
This Button will take you to a HUGE aerial picture of the village. It
is nearly 200 Kbs and will take at
least 1 minute to download on most
computers!
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Top
 Click on a place of
interest for more details.
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I've recently taken over the
management of the web site from Ian Turner, if you have any comments,
questions about the web site, or additions you would like to see,
please contact me via email. Putting "Barley
Village Web Site" in the subject box and including your name and postal
address.
Some Friends of Barley have
asked to place an advert on this web site for themselves, their
services or their businesses. In principle, we are delighted to accept
adverts of interest to Friends of Barley. We will accept, free
of charge, information about amenities (e.g., the shop,
surgery, societies). That information must arrive to us as an
e-mail (so we do not have to re-type it). Please make an initial
contact first so that we can consider the principle. Please do NOT send
a huge advert including pictures, etc. as it will flood our e-mail
service until we have agreed the style of the advert. However, we must
make a small charge for adverts that are purely commercial as
this site costs the Parish Council time and ratepayer's
money!
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