HERITAGE TRAIL HERITAGE OLD TOWN HERITAGE TRAIL TOWN OLD

Roman Villa (site of)

(site of) Roman Villa

GADEBRIDGE P CAR PARK

BURY MILL P CAR PARK

1 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD HEMEL

18 2 Welcome to Historical 17

3 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD THE OLD TOWN The small of Hemel Hempstead in south west grew up around its magnificent 12th century 16 Norman church. The original Market Street became the High Street, with its diverse shops and other businesses over the OLD TOWN P CAR PARK following eight centuries, leaving a wealth of clues to its past. From the departure of the Roman armies to the coming of the Second World War, this mile long length of road was the focus of most life in the Gade Valley. Stretching along the western facing hillside above the river, its line was crossed to the north 4 by pilgrim ways between Ashridge and other religious ; to the south, it was bounded by the route to ; further south, by the main road. 13 The Charter given to the town in 1539 by Henry VIII set the scene for the years to come. The growing community had Church, 6 14 15 Chapels, Markets, Town Hall, Iron Works and a Fire Station. Its numerous inns and alehouses were not just places of 5 refreshment, but were used by all manner of local organisations. Public meetings, civic dinners, entertainments, lodgings and 11 12 7 9 8 even a of Correction (or jail) - all took place in those same buildings over the years. Its inhabitants were equally varied – many were shopkeepers or tradesmen, but there were clergy, doctors, teachers, bank Quaker Meeting managers and solicitors amongst them. Strawplaiters and House 19 farm labourers were often to be found, many living in squalid conditions squeezed into the courtyards behind the main shop Piccotts10 min End walk Cottages to fronts. The existing alleyways and carriage or wagon entrances testify to this rich mix of humanity. 20 As the centre of local life, it has now been somewhat overshadowed by the New Town with its modern shops and civic buildings. However, its charm undeniably remains and this HEM L HEMP L HEMP L HEMP L HEMP L HEMP L HEMP L HEMP HEM HEM EL HEMPS HEM HEM HEM HEM HEM HEM HEM EL HEMPS EL HEMPS EL PST E ST E ST E ST E ST E ST E ST E ST EL PST EL PST M TE EL PST EL PST EL PST EL PST EL PST EL PST EL PST M TE M TE EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA E AD EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA EM EA E A E A H D H D H D H D H D H D H D H D D D H D D D D D D D H D H D H H H H H H H H H

trail leaflet will, it is hoped, encourage exploration of the town’s

long history. Contrary to popular belief, Hemel Hempstead is

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L IL L L L L L L L L L L L D I D I D I D I D I D I D I D I D IL D IL D D IL D IL D IL D IL D IL D IL D IL D I D I A A A A A A A A A A T A A A A A A A A A A T R T R T R T R T R T R T R T R T R T R O TR T R T R T R T R T R T R T R TO R TO R O T O T O T O T O T O T O T O T O T O T 13W E 14O T O T O T O T O T 19O T O T T T W E W E W E W E W E W E W E 10W E 11W E 12W E N G W E 15W E 16W E W E 18W E W E 20W E W E W E N G N G N G N G N G N G N G N G N G N G HERITA N G N G N G 17N G N G N G N G N G N G 3 HERITA 4 HERITA 5 HERITA 6 HERITA 7 HERITA 8 HERITA 9 HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA HERITA 1 HERITA 2 HERITA an Old Town with a heritage to be proud of – may you find it so. THE BURY OLD FIRE 4 - 8 7 HIGH THE ROSE & THE CRANSTONE’S THE OLDE THE QUAKER 81 HIGH OAK 48 - 50 HIGH ST MARY’S OLD TOWN ST MARY’S CHARTER CHARTER THE 132 PICCOTTS STATION QUEENSWAY 10 STREET CROWN WHITE HART SHOP KING’S ARMS OLD BELL MEETING STREET HOUSE STREET CLOSE HALL CHURCH GARDENS TOWER MARCHMONT END HOUSE ARMS

www.dacorumlooknofurther.co.uk in association with HEMEL HEMPSTEAD OLD TOWN HERITAGE TRAIL OLD TOWN HERITAGE TRAIL 4 7 HIGH STREET Grade II 8 THE OLDE KING’S ARMS Grade II 13 48 -50 HIGH STREET Grade II 16 ST MARY’S CHURCH Grade II 18 CHARTER TOWER Grade II*/Schedued Monument The Old Town Conservation No 7 is an imposing, Splendid new The building of this Henry VIII granted a elaborately decorated civic buildings, magnificent Norman Royal Charter to the Area of Hemel Hempstead building sited in a designed by church began in 1140 town in 1539, giving it the status of a Bailiwick commanding position George Low to and took 40 years complement the with a weekly market, a has a charm all of its own and at the bottom of the to complete. The Town Hall, were octagonal spire is Court of Piepowder and High Street; It was many interesting stories to erected here in said to be one of the an annual fair. The King previously Lloyd’s tell. Here are a selection of the 1888 and known highest in Western was regally entertained Bank until closure in as the ‘New Europe and the tower by his auditor, John Waterhouse, when visiting the town. most important buildings, the 1997. Prior to that, Promenade’. The contains a fine ring The porch is a remnant of the second Bury, built by Richard it was the Bucks & Hemel Hempstead of eight bells. There Combe sometime between 1557 and 1595, and therefore majority of which are Grade II Oxon. Bank until Mechanics’ are many beautiful could never have been the place where Henry, (who died Listed, together with a short closure in1926. The terracotta and structure was Institute was the stained glass in 1547), gave his important Charter to the town. Elizabeth built by the firm of William Sear and is noticeable for its occupant of the windows, as well as I’s Charter of 1572 helped the High Street to develop with a upper rooms from extract on their history and the ornamental scrollwork, carried out by Italian masons. It 11 81 HIGH STREET Grade II Basket Shop, staying within the family until the early 1960s, memorials to local Market House and other market buildings. when the business transferred to village. The 1908 – 1919, with a library, reading, billiards and games has now been converted into private and An alehouse in the early 1600s, it had stabling for 36 dignitaries, and old Quaker poet, J. H. Salter, (best known for his witty poem rooms. No. 48 was once the Public Library but is currently people who once lived in them. offices. horses at the time of the English Civil War. The archway gravestones can be seen around the churchyard walls; The Ends of West Hertfordshire), was a family member. home to Community Action , which aims to provide the graveyard was closed for burials in 1879. was the entrance to the ‘New Plait Market Yard’ from 1832 support and develop services for local volunteers, in A short walk or drive along the High Street to the north A glance across the street allows a view of a decorative until, by the early 20th century, the once thriving market brings you to the picturesque hamlet of Piccotts End. Its 1 THE BURY Grade II* partnership with Dacorum Council. If you look carefully, you may find examples of feature above an old wooden door, previously the entrance for straw plait declined. The many alleyways add to the buildings are full of character and are well worth a detour. The long history WEST SIDE OF THE HIGH STREET Hertfordshire pudding-stone set into the walls or Roman to the National Westminster Bank. The High Street had distinctive charm of the area and the Georgian frontages of the fortified often hide Tudor timber- framed buildings. tiles taken from the villa that stood in Gadebridge at the manor house or always been the centre of local commerce until the New bottom of Galley Hill. The villa was first excavated by Town took over that rôle. A beer-house called The Dolphin 14 ST MARY’S CLOSE 19 THE MARCHMONT ARMS Grade II* ‘Bury’ stretches At the side of the pub is a rare open balcony from which David S. Neal in 1963-8 and again in 2000, arousing This small back to feudal was previously on this site – just one of the many vanished the crowds may have been entertained on market days. much interest. It was found that a large bathing pool Windmills Crompton, a square served and early Tudor pubs from the High Street’s long history. Other features to look for in the High Street are drainpipes formed part of the later development of this site in c. London haberdasher, as an open times. The and rainwater hoppers, some of which are dated (often A.D.325, exceeded only by the Great Bath in Aquae Sulis was wealthy enough air-market in ‘Burimelne’ after renovation). Which is the oldest date you can find? (Bath). to live in this house This was the site of The Sun, a much frequented public the 19th-20th or mill was THE ROSE & CROWN Grade II which his wife, Elizabeth 5 house in the 17th century. It was rebuilt in the next century centuries. recorded in The graceful white Grade II Listed bridge over the river Partridge inherited For nearly 500 years The with accommodation for travellers, who stabled their horses The main Ashridge Gade was constructed for Sir Astley Paston Cooper, from her family. He was Rose and Crown has been in the present day Sun Square. An Artisans’ Benefit Society, commodities Monastery’s 9 THE OLD BELL Grade II giving better access to his country seat in Gadebridge, elected as a Feoffe of a drinking establishedment. providing a type of health insurance for the working man, of the weekly foundation charter of 1289 and was in existence until Originally long before the Road was planned. the in Once known simply as ‘The was founded here in 1775. market were about 1962. There have been at least three properties registered Once again, local iron founder, Joseph Cranstone, was 1757 and was involved corn, wool and known as the Bury; the first two were bound up with the Crown’, it is one of the four once again involved. Prior to 1840, the only carriageway with the Sparrows Herne Turnpike Trust, which regulated as The Bell cattle, Hemel Waterhouse and Combe families. Between 1557 and earliest inns that survive EAST SIDE OF THE HIGH STREET had been through a ford. the main London road. One of their two daughters married in 1603, this Hempstead 1595, Richard Combe built a splendid 14-roomed house in name today, although At the car park entrance stands an iron plough, made by the last Earl of Marchmont, hence the name of the property. has always These picturesque shops, some dating from the early 18th being one of GADEBRIDGE PARK AND where the Charter Gardens now stand. altered from its appearance James Davis who came to Hemel Hempstead in 1841 After his death in 1794, the house became part of the been the century, have attracted businesses such as antique dealers, the chief corn in 1523. It was in existence and set up his iron foundry to make and repair agricultural THE Gadebridge estate and was the Dower House for the largest inn art shops and restaurants, over the years. Scores of local machinery in the Marlowes. It became well-known and growing areas In c.1790, William Ginger, a local attorney, pulled down when Henry VIII visited his Paston Coopers; it is now a pleasant family restaurant. in the High traders have had shops along the High Street, including in the county. A new Corn Exchange was needed by the late Gadebridge Park, now a public open space with a bowling the old manor and built instead the pleasant, Georgian respected over a wide area during the next 100 years, auditor, John Waterhouse, Bean the outfitters, Brackett the booksellers, Chennells the 1880s and both the Lamb Inn and the Butchers’ Shambles green, skate-board park and a children’s playground, was property whose façade we can admire today. The Grover Street, under the name of Boxmoor Ironworks. The firm employed a at the Bury. According to an grocers, Keen the butchers, Mason the printers and there were pulled down to make room for both this and a market. once part of the manorial lands of Hemel Hempstead. The family, bankers and solicitors, lived there in the early with its large, skilled workforce and their A12 ploughs were reputed 20 132 PICCOTTS END Grade I inventory of 1725, the building was extensive with seven were even Boots the chemist and Woolworth’s stores. Can The square has seen many ceremonial events, such as the Bury formed part of the estate and in 1811 Gadebridge 19th century and it continued as a private residence until stabling for to be second to none. In its latter days the business was The area is especially bedrooms. There was also a brew house and both beer you spot the old Home and Colonial sign at No. 35? parade celebrating ’s Charter that conferred House, previously a 17th century farm, became the acquired by the New Towns Commission. Today, the 54 horses known locally as ‘Davis and Bailey’, until Joe Bailey’s death notable for the row of and wine cellars. The meadows behind the inn were Borough status on the town in 1898. country home of renowned surgeon Sir Astley Paston Register Office is ideally located here and it is a popular and its own in 1949. It is hoped that the historic plough can be re-sited Grade I Listed 15th where the cattle markets and fairs were held. (The town nearer to its former home one day. Cooper, who was given his title after successfully choice for wedding ceremonies; it is also the site for the blacksmith. century cottages in The Close was formerly part of St Mary’s churchyard and removing a tumour from the head of George IV. The proposed Dacorum Museum & Art Gallery. was granted an annual ‘Statty’ or Statute Fair in Henry which a surprising The market Borough Council bought the parklands from the Paston- VIII’s Charter.) The landlord allowed access to the Baptists’ 12 OAK HOUSE Grade II The adjacent lamp/water pump is a Grade II Listed feature, some tombs were found in 2013 underneath the then car discovery was made bell, re-cast in 1652, is now in the care of the Dacorum Cooper Estate in 1952. In WW1, the Park was used as Meeting House when it was established in 1731. erected by public subscription in 1848. An earlier, similar park, during the High Street public realm improvements in 1953. For centuries, Heritage Trust. The inn has played host to many important a base camp for the Royal Artillery and the open spaces structure is outside Boxmoor Hall, celebrating the 300th scheme. Pre-Reformation 2 OLD FIRE STATION civil meetings over the years. It was extended onto the were also the scene of community events in peacetime. anniversary of the printing of the English Bible in 1535. Both paintings had lain This attractive The Park is still a popular venue for fairs, carnivals and street in 1725 and the original window can still be seen were supplied by the iron founder, Joseph Cranstone, who hidden under a sheet of coarse linen on the wall of No. mock-Tudor 6 THE WHITE HART Grade II also founded the town’s first Gas Works in Bury Mill End in other major events. inside; look for one of the exterior windows that was 15 OLD TOWN HALL Grade II 132, until found by Arthur Lindley, the owner. The murals building in This ancient inn on 1835. bricked-in to avoid paying window tax in the 1790s. Also, include impressive scenes of the , Christ Queensway The river Gade is an internationally rare chalk stream, the western side of it contains some unusual French wallpaper and many in Majesty, and several saints with their emblems, arranged (previously known Continue the walk ‘below the railings’, a most attractive retaining a natural aspect for much of its length, except the street carries the other features. Whether a supposed ‘secret passage’ to St like a screen with icons. It is a most unusual secular setting as Broadway/ section of the High Street, known locally as ‘the Dip’, with where it was ‘canalised’ to supply water to Bury Mill. name of the emblem of Mary’s Church ever existed is a matter of local conjecture. for such images and it is thought the cottages were a Queen Street) its houses set at a lower level and dating back in part to the Watercress still grows wild here, a major industry in the Richard II, who spent hostel for pilgrims on their journey to visit the holy relics was opened in 15th century. In No. 80 can be seen an example of ‘wattle locality in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Look for the much of his youth at at Ashridge Monastery. There are also Elizabethan wall 1906 as the town’s and daub’ walling, made by covering woven hazel branches original stone blocks, first used as railway sleepers for the the Royal Palace in decorations in the adjoining cottage. fire station. It 10 QUAKER MEETING HOUSE Grade II with a mixture of clay and straw. Nos. 76-78 were formerly London and Birmingham Railway which came to Boxmoor housed the Hemel . It is an one property called The Brewers’ Arms. The pub closed in in 1837. Paston Cooper strongly opposed Robert January 1827 saw the opening of the first cottage hospital at Hempstead Volunteer Fire Brigade’s first steamer fire imposing timber and 1959, after becoming a common lodging house patronised Stephenson’s “preposterous scheme” for the railway to An archway these premises, “for the gratuitous relief of the necessitous engine, known as ‘Mabel’. The brigade, reputed to have brick building dating by tramps and labourers who could get a bed for 4d a night, traverse the Gade valley and dissect his Gadebridge leads to St poor”. Sir Astley Paston Cooper played a leading part in its been one of the oldest in the country, was started in 1845, from c.1655. There are several ghost stories associated an alternative to the Workhouse in nearby Queen Street. estate; now the Leighton Buzzard Road does exactly that! Mary’s Road, foundation. So much history deserves to be recognised and when the pumps were all hand operated. You may see old with The White Hart; one concerns a young man who killed This scenic area has featured in films and TV productions, where the it is hoped that one day the unique wall paintings will be on insurance ‘firemarks’ on some of the High Street buildings. a recruiting sergeant after being tricked into taking the e.g. ‘Pie in the Sky’. A Market House stood on this site for centuries, with a Court Society of Salter’s basket shop was on the opposite corner of Cherry Grade II more permanent public display. is The modern fire station is on the opposite side of the road. Room above, where the Bailiff was elected from the 12 17 CHARTER GARDENS ‘King’s shilling’ in the bottom of a beer glass. It is said that Friends, or Bounce to the Oak, which property was mentioned as a trying to raise funds for this purpose. The former police station on the at the bottom Look for the round metal discs displayed on the walls of members of the Jury every St Andrew’s Day (30 November). the officer’s ghost still haunts the premises. Quakers, built private homestead as long ago as the 1523 Rental. It was of Warners End Road has been converted into apartments. many of the oldest houses, including Nos. 86-88. These Butchers’ Shambles were added on the north side and the their Meeting a licensed premises named ‘Oak’ by the end of the 16th were commissioned by the Box Moor Trust in 1833 and Women’s Market House to the south, where dairy produce House in century and formed part of the lands given by Elizabeth I produced by iron founder, Joseph Cranstone. These ‘Right had been sold since Tudor times. was sold. The Old Town The overall aspect of the High 1718. The to the Earl of Leicester. It became the Royal Oak in 1660, of Pasture Plaques’ entitled the householders to tickets Hall Arts Centre is a thriving venue today since Henry VIII’s 4 - 8 QUEENSWAY Grade II & Grade II* CRANSTONE’S SHOP Grade II 3 7 owner of The commemorating the restoration of Charles II to the throne. for grazing their animals on the Moors and this right is time. Street has not changed a great deal The historic No. 25 was formerly Bell had sold By 1664, it was appointed as a ‘House of Correction’ for continued to this day. It only applied to the 800 houses Hemel Hempstead an ironmongery them this plot vagabonds and miscreants under the Poor Laws. However, within the Area of Benefit built before the 1809 Box Moor When it fell into total disrepair, a new Town Hall was built in from the late 19th century, except Mechanics’ business, established of land for by the end of the 17th century, the building was used as an Act of Parliament; the Trust itself dates back to 1594. When 1851-2, funds being partly supplied by the Surplus from the for the numbers of people who then Institute held its by a Quaker, Joseph about £26 and ordinary jail. The inmates included deserters from the armed a house is demolished, the plaque, or ‘share iron’, is usually Box Moor Trust. It was designed by George Low and built inaugural meeting Cranstone (senior), it provided services and fathers of illegitimate children – anyone, in returned to the Trust. in the Jacobean style of brick with stone from Totternhoe thronged the pavements, especially on 26 March 1839. in 1798. His son, space for a burial ground as well as meeting rooms. Many fact, who might have become a burden on the parish rates. quarries. The open colonnades were filled in to make a on market days. The recent one- Lectures were also named Joseph, original gravestones can still be found in what is now a In 1838, it was used as a beer-house and offered cheap No. 60 is a splendid late 16th or early 17th century building Corn Exchange in 1857. It was extended in 1861 to include initially held in the started an iron foundry peaceful garden. accommodation in the former cells. It has now returned to which is thought to have originally been a medieval a Reading Room and a Vestry below. The elaborate iron way system and renovation of the Town Hall and a at the rear, which being a private house. hall house. The town was divided into three divisions gates, cast in Coalbrookdale, were installed by William library was soon was expanded in turn Austin’s Place was once the site of the old Plait Market, with constables for each (Towne, High Street side and Henry Cranstone (Joseph’s son) when he was High Bailiff in The original Bury was protected by the river Gade, a street will, it is believed, help to provided, an early precursor of the modern Library Service. by his son, William where finished lengths of plait (an important local cottage Cherry Bounce is a reminder of the days when cherry Boxhamsted side) appointed at the Court Leet of the Manor. 1872. much wider and more meandering stream in the past. attract people to visit the individual The Institute bought the premises of the Old House, then Henry. Joseph (junior) industry) were sold to be made up into hats in and orchards grew profusely in the district. The street was also The Halsey family bought the Manor in 1815. The Charter Gardens were probably part of the site of the No. 1 High Street, in 1919 as a social club, after its use in was very active in the . known as Cherry Hill Lane and, for a short time, as Cross The Council moved in 1966 to the Civic Centre in Marlowes, first and second manor houses; the old red brick walls are shops and hostelries, as well as the WW1 as an army billet. Most of the grounds were sold in affairs of the town, becoming its Bailiff in 1839, Chairman Street. The word ‘Bounce’ referred to a piece of land; today, Townend was a public house called The Red Lion from the High Street Association having been formed two years a reminder of those former times. The gardens are now Old Town Hall Arts Centre and St the 1930s, but The Hemel Hempstead Institute and Club of the Box Moor Trust for over 30 years and founder of The Anglican St Mary’s Church dominated most people’s ‘Cherry Bounce’ is the name for an alcoholic drink! 1841 until the end of the 19th century. The many ‘ends’ before to try to keep the historic area alive. maintained by and a memorial still own the whole building. The Club occupies the upper the Volunteer Fire Brigade. The business survived as the lives, but there were always strong pockets of Dissenters surrounding the town denote clearances and small to the WW2 Burma Star Association can be found Mary’s Church. floors and rear of the listed Grade 2* building, with ‘The Hemel Hempstead Engineering Co. and moved to Cupid in the town. In 1836, the Congregationalists met in a small James Cross built his butcher’s shop at No.109 in 1838. settlements made in early times, such as Bourne End, The walk continues under the former Assembly Rooms of amongst the colourful flower beds. There is also a Garden Greek’ restaurant at the front on the ground floor. Green when the New Town was built. chapel with some burial ground in Chapel Street. Forty years later, it became William Salter’s Upholstery and and Pouchen End. the Town Hall, where the path leads to St Mary’s Church. of Remembrance for Babies. Enjoy your visit!