Ardeley or Yardley, a parish in Herts, on the river Beane, 4 1/2 miles SW by W of Buntingford station on the Great Eastern railway. Post town, Stevenage; money order and telegraph office, Walkern. Acreage, 2424; population, 464. The manor was given by Athelstane to the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. Ardeley-Bury belonged once to the Cornwalls, then to the Chaunceys, and passed to the Murrays. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St Albans; value, £180 with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. The church was repaired in 1859. Ardeley-Bury is a chief residence. The hamlets of this parish include Cromer and Woodend, in each of which there is a small chapel of ease, and at the latter a Congregational chapel, Parkers Green, Moor Green, Munches Green, and Gardeners End, with portions of Hare Street and Luffenhall.
