Aspenden Village and civil parish is in East Hertfordshire and situated just to the south of Buntingford.

Aspenden has had many variants of its spelling over the years; documented Absesdene in the Domesday Book back in 1086 through Apsedene, Apseden(e), Aspeden(e), Aspedane, Aspyden and Aspynden up to 1698 which saw the first modern spelling of Aspenden. However spelt the name means Aspen-tree valley.

Aspenden is a peaceful village, lying just south of Buntingford along a single track road. Alongside the road through the village is a stream bed, often dry, and the properties on that side are accessed by crossing small bridges. The houses are of a wide variety and styles and periods, with several from the 15th and 16th centuries evidencing thatch and pargetting.

Little is known about the origin of the beautiful village green that sits at the entrance to the village. It was common knowledge it was common land and was used for grazing cattle. After a new law in the late 1960s common land was required to be registered. The Parish Council researched the origin of the green and after an enquiry at Shire Hall the two-acre site became the property of the Parish Council.

Cricket has always been played on the green since this time with some notable achievements and continues to be an Aspenden ‘institution’.

Both the Silver Jubilee celebrations of George V and Queen Mary in 1953 and for Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 took place on the Village Green.

The children’s slide, swings and roundabout were provided by funds from the village, County Council and the Playing Fields Association in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The equipment saw 30 years’ service before some of it needed replacing. The original roundabout still revolves superbly and is much treasured by many in the village.

The original cricket pavilion built in 1910 was replaced with a more substantial construction in the late 1960s with the addition of a verandah at a later stage.

Originally built as a private house in the 17th century and set in the centre of the village, The Fox has been the only public house in Aspenden since the First World War. A traditional English pub with a large beer garden, open fire in the winter, quality cask ales, delicious home-cooked food and an annual beer festival. https://www.thefoxaspenden.com/

Aspenden was the birth place of Seth Ward (1617-89), a mathematician, astronomer, bishop and one of the foundling members of the Royal Society. In 1684 he erected and endowed the hospital in nearby Buntingford, a building that today serves as an almshouse.

Aspenden Parish Council have been steadily working on making improvements within the village.

In May 2021 two new wooden clad litter bins were installed on the Village Green along with a new lockable noticeboard that replaced the badly rotten wooden one that was installed in 2000.

February 2022 saw the work on the refurbishment and upgrading of the Children’s playground completed. Four new pieces of equipment, new safety surfacing and a linking path for each piece of equipment and a fully refurbished much treasured roundabout has breathed new life into the playground.

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee a lilac tree has been planted on the Village Green which was funded by the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative. It is being tended by Councillor Poulton’s young family to ensure it survives the summer hot weather. Councillor Chambers is organising a plaque to be sited alongside the tree.

Two new benches have been installed; one to honour the memory of Cyril Berry, a resident of Aspenden and long-standing member of Aspenden Parish Council the other a will bequest from the late Maxie Franklin who requested a bench in memory of the Paxton family.

Most recently the entrance to the village has been given a facelift with the installation of two new village gateway signs. Following an accident when the original Aspenden signage was knocked down and damaged the Parish Council felt it appropriate to take the opportunity to erect some new entrance signs making it more apparent you were entering a village environment. The Parish Council would like to thank County Councillor Jeff Jones for his input in realising this project.

St Mary’s Church and Aspenden Parish Council jointly hosted an Afternoon Tea with Children’s Games on the afternoon of Monday 8^th May 2023 to commemorate and celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. The event was well attended, much tea was drunk and cakes consumed and the children enjoyed playing the games set up inside and outside the church.

Aspenden D-Day 80th Anniversary Commemoration Thursday 6th June 2024

Residents of Aspenden gathered at St Mary’s Church Aspenden for the D-Day 80^th Anniversary Commemoration on the evening of 6^th June 2024, an event hosted jointly by St Mary’s Church and Aspenden Parish Council.

Bell Ringers, ‘Daniel’s Thursday Band’ from Hertfordshire & Essex rang the church bells for an hour prior to the start of the formal service led by the Reverend Kirsty Wainwright.

The Ode to the Fallen & the Kohima Epitaph was read by Richard Dennis and followed by 2 minutes silence.

Squadron Leader Stephen Parlor read The International Tribute and laid a wreath at the War Memorial.

The Lamp Light of Peace was lit by Parish Council Chair Cllr Richard Blackburn.

The Commemoration was concluded with the singing of the National Anthem.