Located between Harpenden and St Albans, Redbourn was recently recognised by Strutt & Parker and Country Life Magazine as one of the UK’s “best kept secrets” in the property market, alongside Romsey in Hampshire.
Located just a short way from busy St Albans, with its direct Thameslink services to Central London, the Hertfordshire village made the list thanks to its strong community feel and rich cricketing heritage.
Positioned as a quieter alternative to busier nearby towns such as Harpenden, Location, Location, Location star Phil Spencer once described it as one of the “cutest” villages he had ever seen.
With house prices averaging £554,928, the village offers relative value for those seeking rural living within easy commuting distance of London.
But this is far from the first time Redbourn has been singled out as one of the best places to live.
In April 2025, Garrington Property Finders ranked the village number one in its annual Best Places to Live Index for England and Wales, praising its rare blend of natural beauty, strong schools and overall quality of life.
The village also won at the national Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom awards, securing both a Gold medal and the coveted Best Small Town title, while repeatedly earning top honours in the Hertfordshire Village of the Year competition, including Overall and Western Area Winner titles in 2002.
Dating back to Saxon times, Redbourn is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and is made up of a mix of Medieval, Tudor and Victorian buildings, with one of the oldest being its Grade I St Mary’s Church dating back to 1100.
Sitting at the heart of the village is Redbourn Common, a vast green space that was once known simply as “The Heath.”
This is also where the village’s cricket club has been playing, with cricket being an integral part of the village since 1666, making it one of the oldest cricket clubs in England.
The village is home to more than 100 listed buildings, among them being Cumberland House, a grand Georgian property built in 1745 as a hunting lodge for the Duke of Cumberland, and The Red House, a handsome 18th-century home associated with the Bowes-Lyon family, ancestors of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Just beyond the centre lies Redbournbury Watermill and Bakery, a Grade II* listed working watermill first recorded in the Domesday Book, which underwent a major decade-long restoration in the 1990s.
The village is also home to a number of historic pubs like The Holly Bush at Church End, a timber-framed pub dating back to the 17th century, and The Saracens Head, which once served travellers during the coaching era.
The Redbourn Village Museum, housed in Silk Mill House overlooking the green, charts the area’s history from the Iron Age through to its industrial past, including straw plaiting, silk production, and the once-famous Brooke Bond tea factory.
Surrounded by gently rising countryside and the chalk stream River Ver, Redbourn is a favourite with walkers and cyclists.
Read more:
Discover the ‘absolute gem’ bakery with the most ‘incredible’ cakes in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ‘UK Town of Culture’ contender pictured in nostalgic 1990s snaps
The ‘chocolate box’ Hertfordshire village in running for prestigious award
The Ver Valley Walks provide a network of circular routes around the village, including paths leading to Redbournbury Mill. The long-distance Hertfordshire Way also passes through, offering sweeping views of the countryside.
Despite its tranquil setting, Redbourn remains well connected. Trains from London St Pancras reach Harpenden or St Albans in under half an hour, with local buses linking into the village. By car, it is around 25 minutes from Watford and under an hour from central London.
With its award-winning community spirit, deep historical roots, expansive Common, and easy commuter links, Redbourn may once have been a “best kept secret” — but it is increasingly becoming one of Hertfordshire’s most talked-about villages.
