Field system

In the late 19th century the historian Frederic Seebohm, who lived in Hitchin, studied the layout of local villages, including Wymondley's field system. In publications such as The English Village Community (1883), he looked at continuity between Roman and English villages. Seebohm was aware that there was a Roman road east of Wymondley, passing through Graveley on the way to Baldock. He was also aware of research that had been done on the work of Roman land surveyors (known as gromatici) elsewhere in the Roman Empire. As well as aligning roads, Roman land surveyors were involved in organising field boundaries.

Seebohm argued that Wymondley's open field system, as recorded on detailed manorial maps, incorporated old boundaries and in particular fossilised Roman boundaries. He suggested that the dimensions of the fields to the west of the Roman road reflect the use of an ancient unit of measurement called the jugerum.^[3] Assuming the validity of this analysis, which according to Michael Wood has been confirmed at least in part by later scholars,^[3]one implication is that there was continuity in the way the land was managed before and after the Anglo-Saxon settlement of this part of Hertfordshire. Toponyms also supply some evidence for continuity, for example the village of Wallington near Baldock appears to have been named by the Anglo-Saxons after its Romano-British population.

Ruins

There are two scheduled monuments in the parish:

• Wymondley Roman Villa. The remains are situated near Ninesprings in the valley of the River Purwell. It has been partly excavated.^[7]
• Great Wymondley Castle. The earthworks of a motte-and-bailey castle and associated manorial enclosure 20m east of St Mary's Church.^[8]

Extant buildings

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is Grade I listed.^[9] It has a Norman nave and chancel, the latter being an apse built of small rounded stones.^[10]

Delamere House is an elegant Elizabethan building. There are also a number of thatched cottages, including a row of terraced cottages each named after one of King Henry VIII's wives.