Ayot St Lawrence

Ayot St Lawrence is a small village in Hertfordshire. It lies between Harpenden and Welwyn Garden City. It is mainly known as the home of George Bernard Shaw from 1906 until his death in 1950. For a time it was also known as the home of England's only silk farm, housed at the Georgian Ayot House, but that has moved to Dorset.

Understand
'Ayot' may means a 'gap' or an 'island'. When it rains heavily over the winter and the single-track approach roads flood, it still maintains that feeling. The village has one ancient pub, two churches and about 150 people. For a time it has provided a home for Douglas Fairbanks and golfer Nick Faldo but it is mainly visited because of the home of Shaw.

Get in
Travelling by car from London, leave the A1(M) motorway at Welwyn (this lies to the north of Welwyn Garden City) and head west on the country roads.