A large village south of the Chiltern Hills and within a short drive of Hemel Hempstead, Watford and St Albans, there’s a lot to like about Kings Langley.
A popular carnival is held in the village each June (Covid restrictions permitting) and the Warner Bros. Studios is a major tourist attraction in neighbouring Leavesden.
Another of Kings Langley’s claims to fame is that Ovaltine was once manufactured here. The factory has now been converted into a housing development but its art deco façade remains.
The village was once home to a royal palace of the Plantagenet kings of England.
In 1276 the manor of Chilterne Langley was purchased by Queen Eleanor, wife of King Edward I. She built a hunting palace complete with its own deer park on a hill above the village, which was renamed Langley Regina in her honour before eventually becoming Kings Langley.
A Dominican priory was established too, although it fell into disrepair after King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries and little remains of it now. Sadly, the same goes for the palace and the church that accompanied the priory, although elements were reused in the village’s Church of All Saints.
All Saints is the tomb site of Edmund of Langley (1341-1402), the first Duke of York. The Langley part of the name means ‘long wood or clearing’.
The village has a library, a Premier Inn hotel and a range of other amenities, including a beauty salon, a physiotherapy centre and shops including a pet store, a branch of Boots and a Spar.
Popular places to eat in the village include Fred & Ginger Coffee, Oscar’s Pizza, Inspired Café Bar and Dalling & Co, a European café serving Spanish and British food with a wine bar and gluten-free options.
Pubs include The Rose & Crown and The Saracen’s Head – one of the oldest buildings in the village – which serves Tring beers and has a traditional British pub atmosphere.
The M25 passes just south of the village on a viaduct across the River Gade valley. North of junction 20 with the A41, a dual-carriageway bypasses Kings Langley and goes to Tring. The old route through the village is now classified as the A4251.
There is a train station in Kings Langley, which runs services to Tring and London Euston, Birmingham, Crewe and Milton Keynes Central. Apsley and Garston train stations are close by.
With pretty period homes at its centre and more modern properties around the village fringes, Kings Langley offers a range of accommodation options.
According to Rightmove, the average sale price for a home in the village over the last year was £609,167.
Properties currently on the market include a Grade II* listed six-bed period home on High street for £2,575,000, a three-bed semi on Avenue Approach for £750,000 (with a bonus hot tub, available by separate negotiation), and a three-bed flat in the Ovaltine building for offers in excess of £450,000.
Kings Langley Primary School takes 60 children each year and was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted at its last inspection. It has a full-time nursery and breakfast and after school clubs. The popular Kings Langley School (‘good’) serves girls and boys aged 11-18.
The private Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley closed its doors for good three years ago following issues with safeguarding and leadership.
Kings Langley has a football club, a cricket club and a sports complex in the form of Sportspace, which offers golf and swimming facilities and timetabled classes including yoga.
Phasels Wood Scout Camp and Activity Centre on Rucklers Lane, is popular with youth groups and opened in 1937.
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