Cuffley

Originally part of the parish of Northaw, the manor of Cuffley was recorded in the 13-century as Coffele. During the reign of Charles II of England in the 17th-century, the King's Well at Cuffley was renowned as spa and was frequented by wealthy people who were accommodated in a large tent supplied by the king. At the start of the 20th-century, Cuffley was still a small hamlet, consisting of just a few cottages and a room that served as both a school and a church.{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol2/pp234-245 |title='Parishes: Northaw', A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 2, pp. 357-360. |editor-last=Page |editor-first=William |editor-link=William Page (historian) |year=1908 |website=british-history.ac.uk |publisher=British History Online |access-date=20 January 2025}}

The railway had an important impact on the development of the village. Cuffley was reached by the Great Northern Railway in 1910, as part of the plan to create the Hertford Loop Line, as a strategic alternative to the main line out of King's Cross to the north, by extending the line from Enfield Chase.A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain (Vol. 5 The Eastern Counties), D I Gordon, David & Charles Ltd. 1977. {{ISBN|0-7153-4321-1}} (Pages 123-4)

The early history of Cuffley is recounted by one of its residents, Molly Hughes, in her autobiographical book A London Family Between the Wars.

On 3 September 1916 the German airship SL 11 was shot down and crashed in Cuffley during an aerial bombardment intended for London.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02b8qgg First German Airship Shot Down] BBC - WW1 At Home, Nov 2014. Retrieved: 24/04/18 This incident is commemorated by a memorial on East Ridgeway to Lieutenant W. Leefe Robinson, the pilot who shot the airship down; he was awarded the Victoria Cross.Rimell, Ray (1989). The Airship VC: the life of Captain William Leefe Robinson. Bourne End: Aston. {{ISBN|0946627533}}.

There is also a model of the airship in the village hall. Contrary to many reports of the incident, the SL 11 airship was not a Zeppelin but an army Schütte-Lanz airship. Regardless, the local football team is still nicknamed 'The Zeps' after this event.

In 1939, the Scout Association purchased part of the Tolmers Park Estate that lies within the Parish of Cuffley. Tolmers Scout Camp was opened on Whit Saturday 1940 by Lord Wigram.The Scout Magazine: June 1940 issue p.162 Today, Tolmers hosts thousands of young people annually from all over the UK and across Europe; not only Scouts and Guides but schools and youth groups as well.

Cuffley is near the M25 motorway and is part of the London commuter belt. Cuffley railway station provides a commuter service to Moorgate, Finsbury Park and King's Cross, services operated by Great Northern.

Cuffley Primary School has occupied its present building since 1938 when it replaced the original Victorian school room.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

Preschool education for children aged 2 to 5 years old is available at the youth centre (Cuffley Community Centre Pre-School).

St Andrew's Church of England parish church was built in 1965 on the site of the old school room facing the top of Station Road, replacing the "tin church" built in 1911 on Plough Hill opposite the village green. The present church was designed by Clifford Culpin and Partners and has a steep roof supported on A-shaped concrete beams. Inside there is a metal sculpture by Angela Connor and coloured glass by Alfred Fisher.{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Cherry |first2=Bridget |date=1977 |title=The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9nm4_WewXQC&pg=PA136 |location=New Haven CT |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=136–137 |isbn=978-0140710076 |access-date=20 January 2025}}

Cuffley Free Church was built in 1965–67 to the design of Cyril J. Greening. In May 2011 it changed its name to The Life Church and is affiliated to the Central Baptist Association.{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Life Church |url=https://churches.centralba.org.uk/church/cuffley/25086.htm |website=www.centralba.org.uk |location=High Wycombe |publisher=Central Baptist Association |access-date=20 January 2025}}

A Roman Catholic church dedicated to St Martin de Porres was built in 1963 in Church Close, and is a simple wooden building designed by Westmore and Partners.{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Cuffley – St Martin de Porres |url=https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/cuffley-st-martin-de-porres/ |website=taking-stock.org.uk |location=London |publisher=Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales |access-date=20 January 2024}}

Its most notable recent resident is Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco, although this did not prevent locals from objecting vehemently to plans to build an "Express" store in the village replacing one of only two remaining village pubs.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604135216/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2812724/Sir-Terrys-spot-of-bother-with-the-neighbours.html Daily Telegraph on-line 23 July 2007] Other famous residents include Premier League footballers Ledley King, Jermain Defoe, Niko Kranjcar, David Bentley, Kyle Walker and Armand Traoré; and also former Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} and Myleene Klass.{{cite news |author1=Chris Lennon |title=Spurs star on the move? |url=https://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/22293542.spurs-star-move/ |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=Welwyn Hatfield Times |date=29 June 2012}}

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• [http://www.cuffleyonline.co.uk Cuffley Online — Village Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124161209/http://cuffleyonline.co.uk/ |date=24 January 2012 }}

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Category:Villages in Hertfordshire

Category:Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England

Category:Welwyn Hatfield