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General
Codicote is an attractive village close to Welwyn and the Mimram valleys. The village contains timber-framed and chequered brick houses with the eighteenth century Pond House and the half-timbered George and Dragon Inn being of special interest. Codicote Lodge was built in the eighteenth century and Codicote Bury in the seventeenth century. The church was mostly rebuilt in 1853 but still contains some thirteenth century detail. To the north of the village is the Node Dairy and Stud which was built in 1927. This has a circular design and is thatched, with a circular courtyard and a tower which is actually a silo.
The name Codicote derives from an Old English personal name plus ing and cot and means ‘cottages connected with Cuthere’. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the name appears as Codicute.
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Rose Cottage
Rose Cottage in Codicote is said to be haunted by ghostly dogs but no further details are available.
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Shepherd's Cottage
Shepherd’s Cottage in Codicote is said to be haunted but no further details are available.
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Sissevernes
A ghost is said to wander around the house that was the home of the Sissivernes. It is thought that the ghost, affectionately known as ‘Old Sissiverne’, was a family member who loved the place so much that he asked to be buried there.
The house lies on a hill to the east of the main road from Welwyn to Codicote and was accessed via Stratton’s Lane (off Rabley Heath Road) which wound up the hill. The strange name was derived from the Norman words sis meaning six and verne meaning an alder tree. Hence the house is the Six Alders. The house is a long low building built of red brick and contained a fireplace that was so big that ten people could sit under it. The original house was rebuilt in 1870 but the kitchen and fireplace were left unchanged.
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St Giles
The churchyard of St Giles in Codicote has at least three spirits haunting it. The first is the ghost of a child known as ‘Little Norah’ who has been seen searching the ground near the grave of John Gootheridge. In 1824 John’s corpse had been found lying near to his grave only a few days after he was buried. It seems that body snatchers had tried to take the corpse of the farmer but they must have been disturbed.
In the 1950s a number of witnesses said that they saw a shrouded female figure standing among the graves, as they passed the church she followed them down the road. Another figure wanders among the graves, a red-faced old woman with corkscrew curls.
The church itself has an unusual carving called ‘The Old Dog’. This is a fantastic creature consisting of the head of a monkey, the ears of a bat, the mane of a horse, the body of a dragon, the tail of a lion and the legs and hooves of a cow. No one knows why it is called ‘The Old Dog’ but you will have good luck if you pat him.
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To view images see:
Codicote Album
To view a report about St Giles see:
16-09-2005
Codicote, St Giles
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Whitwell Road
It is said that if you travel along the Whitwell Road just outside Codicote you may hear the sound of a woodman’s axe coming from the trees nearby. You could even hear the crash as the tree falls but one thing you won’t be able to do is find the tree. The noises can usually be heard on Christmas Eve night but they will stop as the sun rises.
The local historian W. B. Gerish heard the tale and this is what he was told:
‘If you care to rise before the sun and to stroll quietly towards Bendish and Breachwood Green, you will hear the phantom woodman at his work, but however quickly you enter the thicket or copse whence the sound proceeds, you will find no woodman there, nor timber to betray his recent presence.’
What makes the tale slightly confusing is that when you stroll along the Whitwell Road you are heading to Whitwell and not Bendish or Breachwood Green as they lie the other side of Whitwell. That notwithstanding the Whitwell road is bordered by woods over most of its length including Houseberry Wood, Bigg’s Grove, Luckswarren Wood and The Grove so which set of trees is it? The co-ordinates given below are for the first trees outside Codicote, The Grove.
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