St Michael, Hertfordshire
St Michael is a civil parish in the St Albans district in Hertfordshire, England. The parish is named after but no longer includes St Michael's [Church, St Albans|St Michael's Church] in St Albans. Historically the parish covered part of the city and the rural hinterland to the north-west of it. The parish was split in 1894 with the part outside the city becoming St Michael Rural, which was renamed St Michael in 1974. The main settlement in the modern parish is Childwickbury. The population in 2021 was 498.
History
St Michael was an ancient parish. The parish church was St Michael's Church in St Albans, one of three historic parish churches founded in Saxon times on the main roads leading into the town. Part of the parish was within the municipal borough of St Albans until 1894, when it was split to create St Michael Urban covering the parts within the borough and St Michael Rural outside. St Michael Rural became part of St Albans Rural District.Parts of St Michael Rural were transferred to the borough of St Albans in 1913 and 1935.
On 1 April 1974 the parish of St Michael Rural was split, with the small part within the designated area for the New Town of Hemel Hempstead going to the unparished area in Dacorum and the remainder becoming the parish of St Michael in the St Albans district.
Geography
It comprises a wholly rural area to the west of St Albans and is bounded on its western side by Hemel Hempstead. The parish is bisected by the M1 motorway.Settlement is dispersed across a number of small and isolated hamlets:
- Appspond
- Breakspears
- Bushwood
- Childwickbury
- Gorhambury
- Potters Crouch