In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Offley like this:
OFFLEY, Great Offley, or Offley, St. Leger, a village and a parish in Hitchin district, Herts. The village stands among chalk hills, 1¾ mile S S E of the boundary with Beds, and 3¾ W S W of Hitchin r. station; and has a post-office, of the name of Offley, under Luton. The parish contains also Little Offley, Welbury, Soot-field-Green, and part of Mangrove hamlet. ...
Acres, 5, 160. Real property, £7, 910. Pop., 1, 215. Houses, 258. The property is divided among a few. The manor belonged to King Offa; passed to the St. Legers, the Hoos, the Boleyns, the Spencers, and the Salusburys; and, with Offley Place, belongs now to Lady Salusbury. Welbury House is the seat of F. Gosling, Esq.; and Putteridge bury, of T. Sowerby, Esq. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £298.* Patron, Lady Salusbury. The church is ancient but good; has, on the S wall, an inscription recording that King Offa lived and was buried here; and contains monuments of the Spencers and others. There is a village school, supported by the Salusbury family.
Offley through time
Offley is now part of North Hertfordshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how North Hertfordshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Offley itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Offley in North Hertfordshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2970
Date accessed: 21st May 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Offley".