Nestled in the strip between St Albans to the east and Hatfield to the west, lies the small villages of Tyttenhanger and Colney Heath. Now both considered suburbs of St Albans and Hatfield respectively, the wider parish is known under the name Colney Heath and includes Highfield, Hill End, Sleapsyhde, Smallford, Tyttenhanger and Colney Heath. Both areas have immense history - with Colney Heath’s history stretching back to Roman Britain! Nowadays, owing to the vast Tyttenhanger Park, Tyttenhanger is the more affluent of two - although property in Tyttenhanger is sparse compared to Colney Heath, which boasts a range of terraced and detached properties averaging at around £600,000.

St Albans and its surrounding areas have been a hub of human settlement stretching back to the Cetlic Catuvellauni tribe, whose capital (named Verlamion), was occupied following the Roman conquests of AD 43 and AD 87 and renamed Verulamium. It’s likely that Colney Heath was a coaching point along the Roman road stretching from St Albans, and its there that the village developed.

Tyttenhanger, however, is closer to St Albans although not much evidence of Roman occupation resides here. In fact, most of Tyttenhanger’s history comes from the Tyttenhanger Park - a grand mansion estate and gardens - which was first referenced in 1326 and built by Abott Richard. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, Henry VIII granted the manor to Nicholas Briscowe, then to Sir Henry Pope in 1547. Henry VIII even stayed at Tyttenhanger for a period following a bout of sickness. Although a medieval property, the original site was demolished and rebuilt in 1655 - which is what stands today!

Both Tyttenhanger and Colney Heath are small villages nestled between much larger urban areas. Therefore domestic and infrastructural development has often been slow to reach these areas - specifically surrounding Tyttenhanger Park. However, a huge mixed-use development is currently in the development stages just south of Colney Heath utilising a portion of the Tyttenhanger estate. Called Bowman’s Cross, this new urban and civic development is hoping to provide over 6,000 new homes to the area - with over 2,000 allocated as affordable housing!