Despite popular belief, the name of Buntingford does not come from the bunting bird.[2] Instead, it probably originates from the Saxon chieftain or tribe Bunta and the local ford running over the River Rib.[3] Buntingford was the name of the ford and its surrounding areas, with Bunting being the name of a village located six miles to its north, which is translated from Old English as "place or people of Bunta".[4] The earliest forms of the name Buntingford are Buntas Ford and Buntingeford, both of which date back to 1185.[5][6] The modern form Buntingford dates back to 1255.[a] This roughly translates to "Ford of the people of Bunta".[5]
Buntingford was located traditionally within the parish of Layston – St Bartholomew's Church (Layston), previously derelict and now a house, lies about half a mile to the north-east of the town. St Peter's Church, formerly a relief chapel, is the Anglican church in Buntingford and is an almost unique brick building from the age of the 17th-century Puritans. St Richard's serves the Roman Catholic community. There is also a United Reformed Church in Baldock Road.
Queen Elizabeth I is claimed to have stayed at Buntingford in a building now called the Bell House Gallery, on a coach journey to Cambridge.[9] Just up the High Street, The Angel Inn, now a dental surgery, was a staging post for coaches travelling from London to Cambridge. The town has an annual firework display at The Bury, presented by Buntingford Town Football Club. The Prime Meridian passes to the east of Buntingford. The town has many Georgian and medieval buildings, such as Buntingford almshouses, Buntingford Manor House and the Red House. Buntingford was a stop-over on what was the main route between London and Cambridge, now the A10.
Hertfordshire has three-tier local government, meaning responsibilities for local government are split between county councils, district councils, and parish councils (including town councils). Buntingford is managed by Buntingford Town Council, East Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council. Buntingford is represented on the district council by Stan Bull and Jeff Jones of the Buntingford Conservatives,[17] the local branch of the Conservative Party founded in 2015.[18] Jones also represents Buntingford in the county council.[19] The district and county councils are headquartered in Hertford, while the town council is headquartered in Buntingford. The town council is based from Buntingford Manor House[20] and elects councillors every four years. The Town Clerk is currently Jill Jones and the Town Council Officer is currently Alexander Georgiou. Town Mayor Graham Waite was elected in 2018 and is serving with his deputy, Steve Bowman.[21][22]
Market day is Monday, and early closing Wednesday. The Buntingford Cougars (youth grassroots) Football Tournament is held every year at The Bury, drawing in teams from around the area. There is also a classic car show held in the town each year, on the first Saturday in September. The town has a number of public houses – The Fox and Duck, The Black Bulland The Crown. The 'World Sausage Tossing Championship' has taken place at The Countryman Inn, in Chipping near Buntingford, every August since 2014.[25]
Buntingford is home to various independent shops, restaurants and pubs mainly located in the town's high street. Buntingford has a Co-op food supermarket and a Sainsbury's Local. Just outside the town are two fuel stations one at each end of the bypass. One is operated by BP, the other by Esso that opened in 2022. The town was previously home to the Sainsbury's Anglia Distribution Centre, but this was vacated and eventually knocked down for housing in 2014. The site had previously been used as a Royal Army Ordnance Corpsmunitions factory, known locally as "the Dump".[27]Team BMR and Triple Eight Racing, two major UK auto racing teams, were based in the town.[28][29]
There is currently one middle school and two first schools, with a third opening in September 2023:
Layston Church of England First School is a mixed Church of England first school with voluntary controlled status, situated at The Causeway, Buntingford.[32] It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of St Albans[33] and was preceded by two schools: Buntingford National School for Boys and Adams' Memorial School for Girls & Infants, opening in 1845 and 1879 respectively.[31] Layston has had an Ofsted grading of outstanding since 2009[34] and has a pupil population of 149, with a capacity for 150.[32]
Millfield First and Nursery School is a mixed community first school with nursery education, situated at Monks Walk, Buntingford.[35] The school has had an Ofsted grading of outstanding since 2009[36] and has a pupil population of 341, with a capacity for 352.[35] Animals, including a dog, are included in the school's staff team.[37]
Buntingford First School (BFS) is a new mixed first school with academy status that was first planned to open on the grounds of Edwinstree C of E Middle School in September 2022, before moving to its own building at London Road, Buntingford, in Easter 2023.[38][39] It will now open in September 2023 in its own building.[40] The school is part of the Scholars Education Trust and is expected to be Hertfordshire's first net zero school.[41] It will have a pupil capacity of 300.[42]
Edwinstree Church of England Middle School is Buntingford's only middle school. It is a mixed Church of England voluntary controlled school situated at Norfolk Road, Buntingford, under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of St Albans.[43] Edwinstree has had an Ofsted grading of good since 2018, previously being graded as requiring improvement since 2016 and, before that, outstanding since 2008.[44] It has a pupil population of 477, with a capacity for 480.[43]
Buntingford currently has one upper school, Freman College (formerly Ward Freman School). The school is a mixed upper school and sixth form with academy status, situated at Bowling Green Lane, Buntingford, under the control of its own single-academy trust.[45] It was established in either 1970 or 1971[46][47] as an 11 to 16 comprehensive school,[48] replacing the Buntingford Secondary Modern School which was established between both world wars.[49][47] It was named after Bishop Seth Ward and Elizabeth Freman of the Freman family as both were benefactors of Buntingford's old grammar school that closed in 1900. Previously a foundation school, Freman converted to academy status in 2011, being one of the first schools to do so.[47] It has had an Ofsted grading of good since 2006[50][51] and has a student population of 961, with a capacity for 903.[45]
A grade II listed house situated at Layston Court 20, High Street, was formerly used as the building and master's house for Buntingford Grammar School until 1877.[52] Buntingford Grammar School was Buntingford's first secondary school,[53] having been built by its endower, Elizabeth Freman, between 1630 and 1633 for 25 schoolboys and a master. It was a two-storey building, with the attic being added at a later date sometime before 1830. The school was endowed again in 1684 by former pupil Seth Ward, who had become the Bishop of Salisbury, and Lady Jane Barkham.[52] After its disuse in 1877, the building was modified into a house. The Town Council took ownership of the rest of the school's site and have preserved it as a park.[54] The school itself survived elsewhere until 1900.[53]
^"Buntingford First School". Hertfordshire County Council. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^The Illustrated London News vol. 60, 1872, pg 258
^Alumni cantabrigienses; a biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900, entry "Harold Herbert Williams", University Press, Cambridge, 1922
