Walkern
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Walkern (Derived from 'Walkerne') is a village and civil parish in East Hertfordshire. It is located on the River Beane about two miles from Stevenage, and is noted as the home of Jane Wenham, convicted for witchcraft in 1712. The village has several shops including a Londis, a voluntarily run charity shop for the church, a recently constructed Jolie that features homestyle products, a drum shop, petrol station, a Christmas shop on the North side of the village and a public gallery near the White Lion public house. Other pubs include the Robin Hood and the Yew Tree that is also a Chinese cuisine. The little village also features a primary school, doctors surgery, recreation ground and a range of seasonal clubs; according to the time of year there is cricket, football and many other clubs running. These function out of the 'Social Club' towards the end of the village near the War Memorial and opposite an old mill.
Legend has it that the site for Walkern was chosen by the Devil himself, who nightly moved building materials intended for a church from nearby Boxbury. The Devil's cries of "Walk on, walk on!" are reputed to be the basis of the village's name.
The River Beane crosses the village street of Church End in a ford, which is overlooked by the medieval thatch-roofed cottage of Bridgefoot Farm. St Mary's Church (i.e. St Mary the Virgin), the oldest Hertfordshire village church, whose foundations date back to Anglo-Saxon time (the building of it commenced 1042, 24 years before the Norman Conquest in 1066), looms over the scenery.
