Therfield

There is evidence of prehistoric occupation in the area, particularly along the Icknield Way which forms the northern boundary of the parish. Five bowl barrows dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2000–700 BC) are clustered together on Therfield Heath. The Domesday Book of 1086 records 52 households at Therfield, including a priest, suggesting that Therfield was a parish by then. Therfield at that time was owned by Ramsey Abbey, 30 miles to the north. The manor of Therfield had been given to Ramsey Abbey in the early 11th century, and remained in its ownership until the dissolution of the abbey in 1539. The manor was then claimed by the crown, which subsequently granted it to St Paul's Cathedral in…

Therfield Chapel was established as a congregation of Protestant dissenters (the "Independents") in 1836. The current chapel building was built in 1854. For a time the chapel was known as Therfield Congregational Church, being affiliated to the Congregational Union. When in 1966 the Congregational Union was replaced by a body which espoused more liberal views, the chapel seceded and became affiliated first to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), and then to the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC).