Bengeo


Bengeo is a suburb of Hertford, in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. Bengeo lies on the north bank of the River Beane, which separates it from the rest of Hertford.
Bengeo was historically a separate village and parish. As well as the village itself, the parish also included rural areas to the north, including the hamlets of Tonwell and Chapmore End. In 1892, the borough boundaries of Hertford were extended across the Beane to include the southern part of Bengeo parish, including the village, which area was becoming increasingly urbanised. In 1894, the civil parish of Bengeo was split, with the part outside the borough becoming a separate parish called Bengeo Rural.
Bengeo itself now forms part of the civil parish of Hertford and is also classed as part of the Hertford built up area. It gives its name to the Hertford Bengeo ward, which also includes areas south of the Beane.

Toponymy

Bengeo is on a rise between the River Beane and River Rib overlooking Hartham Common. Its toponym is derived from an Old English name meaning spur or ridge over the River Beane. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Belingehou. It evolved through forms including Beneggho and Beningho in the 13th century, Bengeho in the 15th century and Benjow in the 16th century before reaching its current form.

History

Bengeo was an ancient parish in the Hertford Hundred of Hertfordshire.
In the Domesday Book of 1086 there were nine estates or manors listed at the vill of Belingehou, which between them included 96 households. A priest is mentioned in the Domesday Book, suggesting Bengeo was a parish by that time. Its historic parish church, dedicated to St Leonard, dates from the early 12th century.
In 1892, the borough boundaries of Hertford were extended in several directions. To the north of the town, the area added to the borough included the southern part of Bengeo parish, including the old village around St Leonard's Church and the more suburban areas which had been growing up around Port Hill, Molewood Road and Bengeo Street.
Two years later, the Local Government Act 1894 directed that civil parishes could no longer straddle borough boundaries, and so the civil parish of Bengeo was split into a Bengeo Rural parish covering the areas outside the borough boundary, and a Bengeo Urban parish covering the areas within the borough. Bengeo Urban was short-lived as a parish; in 1900 all the parishes within the borough of Hertford were united into a Hertford parish matching the borough. At the 1891 census, the civil parish of Bengeo had a population of 2,586.

Geography and amenities

Bengeo is classed as part of the Hertford built up area by the Office for National Statistics. Apart from on its south side where it adjoins the rest of Hertford, in other directions Bengeo is mostly surrounded by countryside. Informally Bengeo consists of Upper and Lower Bengeo; Upper Bengeo is the area at the top of Port Hill leading out of Hertford town centre, while Lower Bengeo is the area on the side of the hill and centred on Byde Street. On an approximate north–south trajectory Bengeo is bisected by the B158, known as Port Hill as it leaves Hertford and climbs the hill to Upper Bengeo and then as Bengeo Street as it continues through, and then out of, Bengeo to the north. Leaving Port Hill to the east runs The Warren, an ancient footpath along the edge of the River Beane and Hartham Common leading to the ancient church of St Leonard.
Bengeo has various amenities including a post office, local shops, several public houses, two veterinary practices, a number of sports teams, two churches and a Plymouth Brethren Meeting Room. There are two State primary schools, Mill Mead Primary School in Port Vale in Lower Bengeo close to Hertford and, at the opposite end of Bengeo on the north end of The Avenue, Bengeo Primary School; on the east side is Duncombe School, an independent preparatory school.

Notable buildings

The former parish church of St Leonard, Bengeo, is a 12th-century Norman building and the oldest building in Hertford. It was the parish church of Bengeo until 1855, when it was succeeded by the new Holy Trinity parish church designed by Benjamin Ferrey. St. Leonard's is still used for regular Sunday services in summer months, as well as hosting exhibitions and concerts.
Close to St Leonard's Church along St Leonard's Road are three of Hertford's oldest houses, Revels Hall, built in the mid sixteenth century, Bengeo Old House, formerly the vicarage, built in the late sixteenth century and Bengeo Hall, built in the late seventeenth century and home to landscape painter Joshua Gosselin. All are Grade II* listed buildings.
On the west side of Bengeo are two further Grade II listed buildings, The Old Pest House and Little Molewood. The former, on the corner of Byde Street and Fanshawe Street, was built in 1763 as a smallpox isolation hospital; the latter, situated on The Avenue, is an arts and crafts style house, built in 1904 for the Graveson family of Hertford by the architects Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin, who were the architects and planners of Letchworth Garden City.
The prominent concrete water tower on The Drive was built in 1929 and opened in 1930 to boost the water supply to new housing which could no longer be adequately accommodated by the then existing pumping station and water tower on Tower Street. The Drive was developed after the construction of the tower. Today it has an array of aerials on the top, providing inter alia a local television relay from Crystal Palace transmitting station.

Notable people