Kings Langley (England)

Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is sited 23.5 miles (37.8 kilometres) north-west of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills; it now forms part of the London commuter belt. The village is divided between two local government districts by the River Gade with the larger western portion in the Borough of Dacorum and smaller part, to the east of the river, in Three Rivers District. It was the location of Kings Langley Palace and the associated King's Langley Priory, of which few traces survive. It is situated 2 mi (3 km) south of Hemel Hempstead and 2 mi (3 km) north of Watford. The manor is first mentioned in surviving records as æt Langalege (Old English æt Langeleage) in a Saxon charter dated 1042–1049. It appears as Langelai in the Domesday Book (1086) and as Langel' Regis (“Langley of the King”) in 1254. The name means “long wood or clearing”. From the 11th to the 14th centuries the settlement is often recorded as “Chilterns Langley” to distinguish it from Abbots Langley; with increased royal involvement it is attested by 1346 as “Kyngeslangley” and by 1428 as “Langele Regis”.