The name Langley is said to derive from an old English description of ‘a long clearing’ and features in written records as far back as the 9th century. In 1085 William I’s Domesday bureaucrats recorded that the village comprised a church; land for four ploughs, including three acres of meadow; and enough woodland to sustain 25 pigs. Its population consisted of seven villagers with five smallholders and seven slaves. The whole lot was assessed at 60 shillings (£3).
   However, it did have a village sign which was erected by the parish council a long time before more high-profile villages had theirs. The sign is painted on shield-shaped metal, separated

horizontally into three parts. The top
part bears the village name in bold black lettering across a White Horse on a red background. The middle section is a symbolic illustration of the village consisting of trees and oasts, water to represent the Langley locks and St.Mary’s church, on a white background. The final triangular third bears a ring of friendship with the French fleur-delys and the English rose on a blue background, recalling the twinning with the French community of Bray-sur-Somme.
   In 1979 the parish council buried a steel casket beneath the playing field, intending it to be brought to light in 2400 AD to reveal mementoes of village life as it was then.