K /M

HE RTFORDSH I RE T H E L I T T L E G U I D E S

l th s leather s . d . net. P ott 8 vo , c o , 3 . , 3 6

O AN OLLE E S . C ! C G O N W ALL . . S a m o n . O F RD D ITS R . By A L l l W lls M . . I s t t A u r te B B u r . B . e I a . C . o e y J , ll d by l

New . l u s tr ated by E . H .

B AN . Bar Y. S in F ou r th E d ztw n. RITT By g u s tr ate is s G o u ld . Ill d by M CA AN I TS OL ie . MBRIDGE D C J. Wyll

L B . H am ilt o n EGES . y A o m s o I us tr ate Th n . am er t . p ll d by S U RRE Y. By F . H . L b w E . . Ne . u s t E H N w H Ill tr a e d by . . e .

’ S HAKE S P EARE S C O U N TRY . O . E lla . I l C . G b R M E . By y B B . C . in e y A W dl , C . B u ter . l u s tr ated by B . o l I s E H . A. u tr ate . M . ll d by

N ew . S ec o nd E d I tzo n .

N . eo r e C inc h KE T By G g l ,

N . B Y F . G . S . us WESTM I STE R ABBE y Ill tr ate d by F .

. I u s G . E . r o u t ec k B e . T b ll D . dfo r d

t D . B e fo r . tr a ed by F . d d

U K N A . B E . B C I GH M SHIRE y S . S U G . B r a n t ! . B . a SSE y F b , u s tr at . R o s c o e . Ill e d by F A ustr ate E . . M . I . ll d by H f B e o r . D . d d New .

O . . . TH E MA L V ERN C OU N TR Y. HERTF RDSHIRE By H W

o m k i n s . I u s tr ate B . C . . in e D . S c . p d By A W dl , , T ll by

. New . E . F . R. S . u s tr ate b E Ill d y . H

. New . H ’ S AU L A AL . T . P S C THEDR By

H ir h. u s r t u G . . B c t a e NO RFO LK . By W . A . D tt . Ill d

k . C . Bo u t r . Beatr i c e c o c Ill u s tr ated by B . l e by Al

r an t . I u s T E E N L A K . G . B a tr ate H G ISH L ES By F . b ll d by

E . . New . Cloth leather s . 6d . net. H , , 4

IN PRE PARATI ON

'

S O P . . i D Y . . C . C o x . k HR SHIRE By J A N c ERB SHIRE By J ,

lin . LL. D . u s tr at C . Ill e d by J. W all .

A P . C . C o x E N L C U M SHIR . J , G ISH AR C HITE T RE . By H E By LL. D . . . tk i s u s F O A n o n . Ill

B . . D u tt t th S U OL K . r ate d by e A utho r . FF y W A . TH E N ORTH RIDIN G OF YORK

B E . o r r is . SH IR . y J. ! O . G O F RDSHIRE By F . . E M

B r a ant . I s u tr at G . Br b ll ed by BER KSHIRE . By F . a

E . . New ant . H . b

HE RTFORD SH I RE

By H E RBE RT W T M PK I NS . O

I llustr ated éy E D M U ND H NE W .

ear t ho m e o v in er t or s hir e H y , ly , l g H f d — C H ARLE s LAM B

L O N D O N M E T U E N O H 81 C .

E ssex St Str and 36 . M D C CC C I I I

PRE FACE

I N the follo wing pages I have endeavo ured to give a brief descripti o n o fHertfordshire on the

’

o f . . lines Mr . F G Brabant s book in this

e / series . Th general features Of the county are briefly described in the Introduction , in sections approximately co rresponding to the

o o f secti ns the volume on Sussex . I have

to o I n thought it wise, however, c mpress the tr o du c tio n o within the briefest limits, in rder

fo r that, in the Gazetteer, I might have space more adequate treatment than wo uld otherwise have been possible . I have visited a large pro porti o n o f the

o o f t wns, villages and hamlets Hertfordshire ,

so o and have, far as possible, written fr m

o personal observati n .

t o o o o I desire thank Mr . J hn H pkins n ,

fo r etc . , his kindness in writing

o n Climate B otan . . the sections and y Mr A E .

fo r Gibbs, his permission to PRE FACE

o f o his make use several miscellanies fr m pen ,

o f and Mr . Alfred Bentley New Barnet for his co urtesy in placing so me photo graphs from

o f . his co llection at the disposal Mr . New

V U LA ER M ,

S OU TH E N a v S E A,

1903 .

viii

L I ST OF I L L USTRATI O N S

P AGE RAILROA D M AP OF H ERTS Fr ont Geezer

' ' Fr nt s z e TH E BBE H H ST . B e z e e A Y C URC , AL ANS p

By kind permission o f the Gra

ho to n e o E n field C . . p ,

’ B ISHOP S STORTFORD

s From a pho tograph by Me srs .

C o . . Frith , Ltd

BROXBOURN E

HATFI E L D H OU SE

Fro m a pho to graph by Messrs .

8c Valentine Sons, Ltd .

. ’ K G E D RAwI NC - H AT IN JAM S S ROOM ,

F I E L D HOU SE

o From a phot graph by Messrs .

8c Valenti ne Sons, Ltd .

H E M EL H EMPST EA D

I TE RTPORD LI ST OF ILLUSTRATION S

H ITCH IN

o o Fr m a phot graph by Messrs .

8c C c . Frith , Ltd .

KN EBWORTH PARK

’ BACON s MONUM E NT

o Fr m a photograph by Messrs .

8c C o . Frith , Ltd .

’ RU INS OF BACON S HOUSE

From a photograph by Messrs .

8c o C . . Frith , Ltd

’ B H E ST . AL AN S S RIN

By kind permission o fthe Gra

ho o ne o E n fi l t C . e d p , . ST EV ENAG E CHURCH

From a photograph by Messrs .

8c Co . . Frith , Ltd WALTHAM CROSS

M AP OF H ERTFORD SH IRE INTRODUCTI ON

E AN D D E I . SITUATION , EXT NT BOU N ARI S

E RTFORDSH I RE o r , Herts, is a E county in the S . of England . On d o n W the S . it is bounded by Mi dlesex ; the S. . W by Buckinghamshire ; on the N . . by Bedford

’ o n shire on the N . by Cambridgeshire ; the

E . by Essex . Its extreme measurement from W due E . to . , say from Little Hyde Hall to 8 S Puttenham , is about 3 miles ; from N . to . , ’ from Mobb s Hole at the top o fAshwell o f Commo n to a point just S . Totteridge 0 6 Green , about 3 miles ; but a longer line , 3 ’ miles in length , may be drawn from Mobb s W Hole to Troy Farm in the S . Its boundaries are very irregular the neighbourhood o fLong Marston is almost surrounded by Buckingham o f Shire and Bedfordshire, that Hinxworth by

Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire , and that of e Barnet by Middlesex . Its xtreme points are ° ' 2 N . Lat . 5 5 (N ) ° 0 E . Long . ° ’ 0 W W . Long . 45 ( . ) ° 6 ’ 1 N . S . Lat . 5 3 ( ) a o 6 Its rea is acres r 26 square miles . HE RTFORDSHI RE

o f It is one the smallest counties i n England , the still smaller counties being Rutland ,

Middlesex, Huntingdon , Bedford and Mon mouth . Hertfordshire is one o fthe six home counties .

H E E I I . P YSICAL F ATUR S

Hertfordshire , being an inland county, is naturally devoid o fmany charms to be found

- s in those counties which have a sea coa t . But o f it has beauties its own , being particularly varied and undulating . I ts scenery is pleasantly diversified by many woods, which however are o f mostly but small extent, by swelling corn fi elds , and by several small and winding streams . There is much rich loam in the many little

- valley bottoms traversed by these streams, and other l o ams o finferior quality are found in abundance o n the higher levels of the arable districts . The soil in many parts, owing to l the preponderance of chalk, is special y adapted a t o the cultivation o fwheat . Its trees h ve o elicited the admirati n of many, particularly its o o f o s aks and elms, which col ssal pecimens are o o found here and there thr ughout the c unty , o f and its beeches, which the beautiful woods o n the Chiltern Slopes and elsewhere i n the

W . are largely composed . The hornbeam is alm o st restricted to Essex and Hertfordshire . The woods o fHertfordshire form indeed its sw eetest attraction in the eyes Of many . The Radlett W heatham districts of Rickmansworth, , p Br eac hw o o d o o stead and Green , am ng thers,

2 PH YSICAL FEATURES

o f are dotted with coppices ideal loveliness, and larger woods such as Batch Wood near St . Albans and Br ic k et Wood near Watford are carpeted with flowers in their season , interspersed with glades, and haunted by jays and doves , by ring

. z lets and brimstones Ha el woods abound , and “ parties o fvillage children busily a- nutting in the autumn are one o fthe commonest sights

o f . the county It abounds, too , in quiet park o f like spots which are the delight artists, and contains many villages and hamlets picturesquely situated upon slopes and embowered among trees . A large proportion of the birds known to English Observers are found in the county o r either regularly as chance visitors, and will be treated more fully in a separate section .

- The many narrow, winding , flower scented lanes are one of the Chief beauties of Hertford shire . The eastern part of the county, though , to on the whole, less Charming the eye than the in rest, contains some fine manor houses and ter estin l g o d parish Churches . Its most beauti W ful part is unquestionably the . , near the Buckinghamshire border ; its greatest historic interest centres around St . Albans , with its wonderful o ld abbey church now largely restored ; Berkhampstead , Hertford , Hatfield and Hitchin . The county contains rather less than the average o fwaste o r common land the stretches o fheath used fo r grazing purposes only aggregating acres . Among the finest panoramic views may be mentioned H E RTFORDSHI RE

( I ) From the hill near Boxmoor Station . 2 o f ( ) From the village Wigginton , looking

8 .

( 3) From the high - road between Graveley and Baldock .

(4) From Windmill H ill , Hitchin , looking

W .

There were medicinal waters at Barnet,

Northaw, Hemel Hempstead and Welwyn , but these are now disused . Many other details touching physiographical characteristics are mentioned as occasion arises in the Alphabetical z f Ga etteer which ollows this Introduction . The Geology of Hertfordshire must be here summarised in few words . The predominant a formations are the Cret ceous and the Tertiary .

' a lt w hic h E E . G u CR TAC OUS Ignoring the , barely touches the county , this formation con o f — sists chiefly Chalk marl , Lower, Middle and

Upper Chalk . A series of Chalk Downs, an o f extension the Chiltern Hills, stretches, S roughly peaking , from Tring to Royston , forming by far the most prominent natural feature of Hertfordshire . The oldest rocks are W in the N . . Tae C aalé M ar l is superimposed upon the

Gault and Upper Greensand beds, which are confined to the western portion of the county .

Its upper layer passes into a sandy limestone , known as Totternhoe stone, which has furnished C materials for many hurches in the shire . Ash well , Pirton and Tring may be named as neigh u r h s bo o o d where this stratum may be traced .

4.

HE RTFORDSH I RE tain fossils so distinct from those o fthe Upper Chalk that an immense interval must have elapsed before those Tertiary deposits were in turn laid down . Tne oc n For m ion — Tn n B ds E e e at . a et e The , — of light coloured sands, present in some other in parts of the London Basin , notably Kent, are wanting in Hertfordshire . There are , however, some widespread deposits of loamy sands which may possibly be rearranged material from the Thanet Beds . The lowest Eocene deposits in the county Readin Beds are the g . These rest directly upon the Ch alk and have an average thickness

2 . of, say, 5 feet They may be traced E . to W . br ic k fi elds S . from the near Hertford to Hatfield Park ; thence to the kilns on Wat ford Heath and at Bushey ; they may also be r l traced from Watford to H a efi e d Park . These l to beds contain flints , usual y found close the

Chalk, and consist chiefly of mottled clays,

- sands, and pebble beds . Fossils are but rarely found . From the Woolwich and Reading Beds come those conglomerate masses of flint pebbles commonly called Hertfordshire plant -padding stone . These have usually a silicious matrix and were often used by the Romans and others for

- making querns for corn grinding . It is, perhaps, n o t impertinent to mention here the Opinion of geologists that during the E ocene Per iod a con sider able portion o fthe land usually spoken of as S . E . England was covered by the ocean . Resting upon the Reading Beds we find 6 PHY SICAL FEATURE S

h - London Cla t at well known stratum called the y, which is of bluish hue when dug at any con side able o f r depth . It is found in some the same W oolwie/z Readin Beds districts as the and g , and E fro m Hertford and Watford it extends to N . . ' W ec i el S. r e8 t v and . p y until it leaves Hertford shire Its direction may be approximately o f traced by a series of hills, none which are of any great height . — T/ze D r z . I n fi Hertfordshire , as elsewhere , the strata who se names are so familiar to geologists do not form the existing surface of

’ Fo r o f o the ground . the origin this we g back to a comparatively recent period , when disintegration was busily working upon the solid rocks , and glaciers were moving south dam wards, leaving Stones and much loose in their wake . Rivers, some of which , as in the

Harpenden valley , have long ceased to run , o separated the flints fr m the chalk , forming a gravel which is found in quantities at Harpenden ,

Wheathampstead and St . Albans, and is, indeed , - no present in all valley bottoms, even where no w river runs . Gravel , together with clays , sand , and alluvial loams, forms, for the most part, the actual surface of the county . Tae Riv er s o f Hertfordshire are many , if we include several so small as hardly to deserve

- the name . They are the Ash , Beane , Bul H iz bourne, Chess, Colne , Gade , , Ivel , Lea , Pur well Maran , , Quin , Rhee, Rib, Stort and

Ver . I T/ze Asa . rises near Little Hadham, and, H E RTFO RD SH I RE

o f passing the village Widford , joins the Lea at Stanstead . Tn 2 . e Beane Co t , rising in the parish of t er ed , runs to Walkern , where it passes close to the church , and flows from thence past

~ Aston and Watton , and into the Lea at Hert o f rd . T/z alb n . e B oar e 3 rises in the parish of Tring,

N . E W passes . of Berkhampstead and S. . of Hemel Hempstead and unites with the Gade at Two Waters . Tee c an 4. enters the co unty from Buck in hamshir e g at Sarratt M ill , and flowing past

Loudwater joins the Gade at Rickmansworth . The Valley o fthe C hess is o n e o fthe prettiest districts in the shire . ’ Tne olne lea s . S 5 C rises near p Hyde , is crossed by the main road from Barnet to St . Albans at o London Colney, and by the main r ad from

Edgware to St . Albans at Colney Street . Thence it passes between Bushey Hall and Bushey Lodge, fo flows through Wat rd to Rickmansworth where, uniting with the Gade and Chess, it enters ’ Middlesex near Stocker s Farm . 6 Té . e Gade rises near Little Gaddesden , skirts o n Hemel Hempstead Church the W . side , and ’ passing King s Langley and Hunton Bridge, flows through C assio bur y Park and joins the

Chess and Colne at Rickmansworth . W o f Tae Hiz S. . 7 . , rising at Well Head, ' Pu r well Hitchin , crosses that town , joins the at

Grove Mill and leaves the county at Cadwell . 8 Tlze Jo el . rises near Baldock, flows to 8 PH YSICAL FEATURE S

Radwell Mill and shortly afterwards enters

Bedfordshire . Toe Lea 9 . is the largest river in Hertford I t shire . rises near Leagrave (in Bedfordshire) W to and flows through the county from N . .

S . E .. Entering Hertfordshire at H ide Mill , it

flows past Wheathampstead, Hatfield, Hertford,

Ware, and , leaving the county near Waltham

Abbey, enters the Thames at Blackwall . Its 0 entire length is about 5 miles . The waterway known as the Lea and Star t Nav igation is navigable ’ to Bishop s Stortford . 10 The M ar an o r M i nzr anz . , , rises in the ’ o f parish King s Walden , skirts Whitwell on

N . the , running parallel with the village street, and passing through Welwyn and near Tewi n enters the Lea at Hertingfordbury . l l Tae Far well o r Pir all . , , rises in the parish o fI o llits o f pp and passing W . Great Wymondley Pur w ell H iz runs to Mill , and joins the at Grove

Mill . 1 2 Tae uin . Q rises in the neighbourhood of W u inbur yddial , and passing Q y, unites with the Rib at Braughing . Tne ne I R e . o f 3 . , rising a little E Ashwell , has but a few miles to flo w before it enters

Cambridgeshire . I Tae Rio 4. rises at Corney Bury, flows E . f of Bunting ord , thence turning W . it flows Adam and E o e under the bridge at the , runs to Westmill , Standon and Thundridge, finally uniting with the Lea at Hertford . 1 l e Star t 5. enters Hertfordshire from Essex 9 H E RTFORDSHIRE at n a poi t near Cannon Wood Mill , and after ’ passing through Bishop s Stortford forms the o o f fo r extreme E . b undary the county some distance before quitting it near Cheshunt . Tae Ver 16 . a rises near Flamste d, crossed _is N W o f by the Dunstable Road , . . Redbourn , then recrossed by it . It then skirts St . Albans on the S . and joins the Colne near Park

Street . In addition to the cutting o fthe Lea and Star t Nav i ation o g already menti ned, there are other artificial waterways Tne Aylesoary Canal (a branch of the Grand Junction Canal) cro sses the extreme

o f . western neck the county, from S of Putten G u bblec o te ham to S . of . Tne Gr and yanetion C anal is largely utilised o f by barges traversing the W . Hertfordshire . o It is conspicu us at Rickmansworth , Boxmoor, and Berkhampstead it enters Bedfordshire near

Marsworth Reservoir . Tae New Riv er was constructed by Sir Hugh M ddelto n in 160 - 1 y , a London goldsmith , 9 3, and is largely fed by Springs at Chadwell near

Hertford . Its course in Hertfordshire is mostly

close to and parallel with that of the Lea . The New River caused the financial ruin o f its projector ; one o fits Shares is n o w worth

a . large fortune The whole story of this undertaking is very interesting ; but as the New River was cut in order to bring water to London that story belongs to a volume on

Middlesex .

I o CLIMATE

E III . CLIMAT

The chief elements o fclimate are tempera ture and rainfall . A general idea of the mean

' f o f f temperature and rain all Hert ordshire , both monthly and annual , may be gained from an ’ inspection of Bartholomew s Atlas ofM eteor ology From that work it appears that t he mean annual temperature of the county, t o — if reduced sea level (that is , the theoretical ° mean for its positi o n) would be 50 or a little above it , but that the actual mean varies from ° ° ° 46 o n the Chiltern H ills t o 48 - 50 in the rest and much the greater part of Hertford shire ; also that the mean annual rainfall is e 2 0 a betw en 5 and 3 inches , the l tter amount only being approached towards the Chilterns . Thus altitude is seen to have a great effect on e o f both th se elements climate . Hertfordshire is hilly thou gh not mountain ous, a great extent of its surface being consider

- ably elevated above sea level , with a general s o uth - easterly inclination it has a dry soil is well watered with numerous rivers of clear water — — already enumerated c hiefly derived from springs in the Chalk is well but n o t to o densely wooded and its atmosphere is not contaminated by manufacturing towns . It thus maintains the reputation fo r salubrity which it gained more than three centuries ago, our earliest county o n salu t ar ie historian , Norden , remarking the nature o fthe aire I I H E RTFO RDSH I R E

Observations taken at the following meteor ological stations during the twelve years 18 8 7 to 1 89 8 have been printed annually in the Tr ans actions o tae Her t or dsair e Natur al Histoi Societ f f y y, and a brief summary o fsome of the chief results will here be given . ° ' Ro ston o 2 2 y (London R ad) : lat . 5 34 ° ' ” W 0 1 8 . 0 1 N . , long . . alt 3 feet observer,

So c . the late Hale Wortham, F . R . Met . ° ’ B t nz ste d 0 er aa p a (Rosebank) : lat . 45 4 o° ’ ” N 0 0 00 . ; long . 3 3 3 W . alt . 4 feet ; M aw le observer , Edward y, ° ’ ' Al ns 1 - St l a : . . (The Grange) lat 5 45 9 ° ' " W 80 . . 0 2 0 . . N long 7 ; alt 3 feet observer,

John Hopkinson , ° B nnin o B 1 e gt n ( ennington House) : lat . 5 ’ " ° ' ” W N . 0 2 0 . . 0 53 45 . ; long 7 ; alt 4 7 feet ; observer, Rev . Dr . Parker, F ° ' ' New B rne W : 1 8 a t (Gas orks) lat . 5 3 5 ° ' " -W 2 N . 0 10 1 . 1 2 f o b ; long . 5 ; alt . eet ; server, T . H . Martin , 1 T m — . e per atur e The mean temperature of o b Hertfordshire , as deduced from the above ser v at io ns , is I t has varied from ° 18 8 0 2 1 8 8 in 7 to 5 in 9 . The mean daily range is It was the least in 8 8 8 8 1 1 . , and the greatest in 9 3 The mean temperature o fthe seasons is as follows Spring summer autumn winter The warmest month is J uly, with a mean temperature of the coldest ° o f 6 1 is January, with a mean 3 August is very little colder than July . In these two

1 2

H E RTFORDSHI RE

and nearly six hours and a half in May . An apparent discrepancy between this and the pre ceding section is due to a bright day often v ice s n d following a cloudy morning and e . ind — W . 5. The prevailing direction of the

wind , as recorded at Berkhampstead , St . Albans

S W - o n e and Bennington , is from . . (sixty days

- tw o in the year) to W . (sixty days) , and the x f to N E ne t most requent winds are N . . . and

8 - . (each about thirty seven days) . The least f - fiv e . . o requent are S E (twenty days) . Ab ut

- forty four days in the year are recorded as calm . 6 Rain all — t o . f Twelve years is much o short a period to give a trustworthy mean for such a

variable element of climate as rainfall , and five stations are much too few to deduce an average fo r from Hertfordshire . The average rainfall at a varying number o fstations fo r the sixty years 1 840 to 1 89 9 (from o ne station in the first decade of this period to twenty stations in 26 1 the last decade) was 5 inches . In the 1 8 f driest year ( 54) inches ell , and in the 1 8 2 wettest ( 5 ) inches . Spring has

inches , summer autumn and winter 1 59 . The driest months are February and M o f A r il arch , each with a mean inch p 6 a 1 . is but very little wetter , h ving 9 The a d wettest month is October, with inches , n the next is November with The mean o f o f o f number days rain in the year, that is

o n a . days which at le st inch fell, for the ‘ 8 - 6 1 0 1 . thirty years 7 9 9 , was 7 Autumn and w inter have each about six more wet days than I 4 FLORA AN D FAUNA spring and summer The rainfall is greatly ff o f a ected by the form the ground , the southern and western hills attracting the rain , which S W chiefly comes from the . . , so greatly that with a mean annual fall o fabo ut 2 6 inches there is a difference of 3S inches between that o fthe

- river basin of the Colne o n the W . and that of - E f o f o n . the river basin the Lea the , the ormer 2 having 2 8 inches and the latter 45. The small portion o fthe river - basin o fthe Great Ouse which is within o u r area has rather less rain than the average for the county .

R AN D IV . FLO A FAU NA

I n o B r itannica . C ele . his y , H C Watson divided Britain into eighteen bo tanical pro vinces o fwhich the Thames and the Ouse f E o S . occupy the whole the of England . The greater part of Hertfordshire is in the Thames province and a small portion in the o f N . is in that the Ouse . ’ Flor a o Her oi dsnii e I n Pryor s f tf , published by the Hertfordshire Natural History Society i n 1 8 8 to fo r in 7, which should be referred full fo o u o f rmation the botany the county, these botanical provinces are again divided into dis tr ic ts the 1 2 , Ouse into ( ) Cam , ( ) Ivel and the e Thames into ( 3) Thame , (4) Coln , ( 5) Brent, (6) L ea ; both the larger provinces and the smaller districts thus being founded o n the o r natural divisions of a country, drainage areas catchment basins . l 5 H E RTFORDSH’ I R’E

In the follo wing brief notes a few o fthe rarer or more interesting flowering plants o f

each district are enumerated . 1 Tae C am — r . This is the most northe n

district . It is almost entirely on the Chalk and few is very bare of trees . The plants which

are restricted to it are very rare . A meadow ’ Tli alictr unz ac uinianum rue , 7 g , and the cat s foot (d ntennar ia dioica) occur only on Royston an d Ther fi eld Heaths Alisnza r anunculoides and Potanzogeton color atus only o n Ashwell Common and of the great burnet (P oteri um ofi cinale) the sole record is that o fa plant gathered near 1 0 Ashwell in 84 . — W 2 . Tae I v el S. . o f , This district is that o f the Cam , and the Chalk Downs of that

district are continued through it . Its rarer M elani r uin ar o ense plants are py , which occurs o f Snz r niunz only in one spot S . Ashwell ; y olusatr unz , which has been found near Baldock Silene conica and Pirton and , which was found 1 8 near Hitchin i n 7 5. The white helleborine ' C e /zalantaei a al/ens o Or e/its ( p p ) , the dwarf rchis ( ustulata Her miniunz mon ) , and the musk orchis ( or cais o n ) occur the Chalk Downs . Tue Tuanze —A o - 3 . . very small t ngue like r o tu sio n o f o f p the extreme W . the county , i n Tw o which are the Tring Reservoirs . of the t o T aa an usti species confined the district, yp g olia Potamo eton Fr iesii - f and g , are water plants which occur only in these reservoirs o r in the

canals which they supply . A rare poplar, Po ulus canescens W ilsto ne es p , grows by the r er

I 6 FLORA AND FAUNA

- Acer as anté r o o fior a voir, and the man orchis ( p p )

o n terraces cut in the Chalk near Tring .

bc C olne —v A T . 4. large district, comprising almost the whole of the western portion o fthe D e/ataxis tenue lia Silene nutans county . i fi , , and Hier aciunz nzur or unz grow only on o ld walls in o u r St . Albans . Colney Heath is only habitat fo r L t/zr unz fi sso oliurn a very rare loosestrife , y y pyf , Teesdalia nudicaulis and also for , while there is ' ne o difler en t but o other l cality, a one in each fo r o f Radiola linoides Cent case, four its plants, , unculus minimus C ascata e itfi nzum Potanzo , p y , and ti olius - flo Anemon getan acu f . The pasque w er ( e pulsatilla) grows abundantly o n the Chalk Slopes

near Aldbury . The rarer orchids o fthe district bo - M alaxis aludosa are the g orchis ( p ) , the narrow - leaved helleborine ( Cepbalantfier a ensi olia Haoenar ia bi olia j ) , and the butterfly orchis ( f ) . Tae B r ent — 5. . The smallest district, a r o tu sio n o f o n p the county in the S . entirely

the London Clay , and chiefly interesting owing to the presence o fTotteridge Green and its

ponds . In these ponds grow the great Spear wort (Ranunculus ling ua) and the sweet - flag Acor ns caluni as n o t ( ) , the former, however , being - D amasonium stellatunz indigenous . The star fruit ( ) f Cé eno ormerly grew on Totteridge Green , and

odium I laucuin p g at Totteridge , but neither has

lately been seen . 6 Tfie Led — . The largest district, compris o f ing the whole the E . of the county . The Londo n rocket (Sisynzbr iuin ir io) occurs only in the old towns ofHertford and Ware the true 8 I 7 HE RTFORDSHI RE oxlip (Pr imula elatior ) near the head o fthe River - Or oaancé e ca’ i ulea Stort ; a very rare broom rape, , at Hoddesdon , where it is parasitic on the milfoil and an almost equally rare bedstraw, Golinaz an licani o n o f g , an old wall Brocket ' T71 liunz loiner atunz Park . A rare trefoil , fi g , is known only at E asn eye near Ware and Hat field Park is o ur only locality for the water soldier (Str atiotes aloides) except where it has evidently been planted . Two species, usually o f P ol onunz dunzetor um rare occurrence , yg and A er d s ica- nenta f p , are frequent in the district . The indigenous flowering plants o f Hert fo r dshir e 8 6 number 9 3 species, 79 being Dico t ledo n s 2 1 y and 4 Monocotyledons . If to

1 . these be added 9 9 aliens , etc , the total number o fspecies recorded is brought up to The flora is essentially of a southern type, the northern species being few in number . t o Owing the dry soil , xerophiles largely prevail

over hygrophiles . T/ze Fer ns and their allies the horsetails and c lu bm o sses are not well represented, both the soil and the air o fthe county being t o o dr y fo r

them . Another cause for the present scarcity of ferns is the proximity o fHertfordshire to

London , for they have been uprooted and

- taken there for sale in cart loads . We have

- o f - twenty four species ferns and fern allies, but ne n o t o really rare . The principal varieties dr iunz o ul ar e v ar multi duni Atfi Scolo en . are p g , fi y l in r iata lix aemina v ar . conuex unz Po odiu fi f , and yp t nz E uisetuin silo aticunz o ul ar e . ser r a u . g , var o is

1 8 FLORA AND FAUNA

o ur rarest horsetail and o u r only clubmoss is tn cl o atunz Lycopodiu a . Tfie M osses are much better represented i 1 . than the ferns , 7 5species hav ng been recorded The bo g - mosses are represented by six species

S /ia nunz inter mediunz cus idatunz suésecundu nz p g , p , , T t dis acuti oliu/n s uar r osunz c nzéi oliunz . e r a f , g , and y f p ’ ellucida p occurs in Sherrard s Park Wood , and o ic u ni nz Seli r ia P lytr aunz r ger u in H itch Wood . ge pusilla has been found in an old chalk - pit in i olia S. auc Brocket Park, and p f on chalk nodules ain in the Tunnel Woods near Watford . C lo us r i or nze py p py f occurs in Berry Grove Wood , ’

C . exuosus Aldenham , and fl in Dawley s Wood ,

Tewin . Of t/ze Liv er wor ts (Hepatica’ ) forty - four species are known t o occur and the Stoneworts ( Céar acea’ ) are represented by seven species o fC/zar a Tol ella two , two of yp , and three of

Tde Al a’ g have been pretty fully investigated , D iatonzaced 2 2 especially the , of the 5 species a 1 6 of Alg e known to occur in the county , 5 belonging to that interesting family of micro o f scopic plants . As an Illustration their minute si z e it may be mentioned that a single drop of water from the saucer of a flower - pot at

Hertford , mounted as a microscopic slide, was found to contain separate frustules o f Acbnantfies suosessilis , and it was estimated that these occupied only one twenty - fifth part o f /ni oc c s the drop . Both species of C fi/a d oc u (the o ld r oto occ s- n l nie' is P c u u i is C . l C . l a a genus ) , p and I 9 H ERTFORDSH IRE

occur ; and the pretty Volo ox glooator has ft c

quently been found . té e Liebens Of much less is known , only

- sixty seven species having been recorded . The

’ most noteworthy are C aliciunz [ melanopé a unu found o n fir - trees in Br ic k et Wood ; Peltiger a

ol dact la o n - in p y y , moss covered ground Oxhey Lecanor a filo ina Woods, Watford ; p g , in the Tunnel Per tusar ia loouli er a Woods, Watford and g fi , on trees in the same woods and also in Br ic ket AS o f Wood . woods in the vicinity Hertford and o fWatford only have been searched fo r o u r lichens, list ought to be largely increased

by investigation in other parts o fthe c ounty . Of tfie Fungi o u r chief knowledge is derived from lists o fspecies collected at Fungus Forays of the Hertfordshire Natural H istory Society z and from records of the Myceto oa by Mr . r e James Saunders . The number of species fi ft corded for the county is 7 3 5, of which y m xies eight are y Of the Hymenomycetes,

o r - mushroom like fungi , some very noteworthy o f finds have been made , nearly all at Forays

the county society . They include two Species o iz A ar icus Nolania ni r i es new to Britain , . , g ( ) g p , A found in Aldenham Woods, Watford , and g .

H é olonza v iolacea- ater G o r ham bur ( yp ) , i n y Park ,

St . Albans (by the present writer) . Hertford shire has also furnished the second British A Le iota liode nzus records for g . ( p ) g r (Broxbourne ' A Le tonia euocfir ous Woods), g . ( p ) (Ashridge ’ Ps ta r l ar us A . a e la at Woods) , g ( y ) (Sherrard s Park , n Paxillus Alexandr i Welwy ) , and (Hatfield

20

H E RTFORDSH I RE

Loxia cur o ir ostr a Tador na crossbill ( ) , Sheldrake ( ’ cor nuta Lor nuia tr oile ) , Guillemot ( ) , Pallas sand S r r fia tes ar adoxus M anti grouse ( y p p ) , rock thrush ( cola saxatilis Ruticilla tit s ) , black redstart ( y ) , Silv ia andata o Dartford warbler ( ) , grassh pper Locustella nce o ia Am elis warbler ( ) , waxwing ( p ar r ulus Linota at/ir osti i s g ) , twite ( fl ), hen harrier C ir cus c aneus z B uteo o ul ar is ( y ) , buz ard ( g ) , red Totanus calidr is Totanus shank ( ) , greenshank ( canescens M er u us alle ) and the little auk ( g l ) . The lapwing is thought to be increasing in numbers the writer frequently o bserved con sider able flocks during his recent rambles in the county . Finches are perhaps as numerous o o f in Hertfordshire as in . any ther county equal size the large flocks o fhen c haflin c hes that haunt the farmyards in winter being quite o ldfi nc h a notable feature . The g , it is to be

' bec o min sc ar c er o feared, is rapidly g as are als the jay, the woodcock and other birds much more numerous a few years back . Field fares and redwings visit the county in great m o ne nu bers from the N . during the winter ; morning in the winter o f18 86 the writer saw fi eldfar es many thousands of pass over St . Albans from the direction of Luton The redwing, being largely insectivorous, is often picked up dead in the fields when the frost is unusually severe and food proportionally diffi cult to obtain . The presence o fmany woods and small streams attracts a good proportion of the smaller English migrants ; the nightingale and the cuckoo are

2 2 POPULATION

o . heard almost throughout the c unty Moorhens , coots and dabchicks are abundant ; the reed sparrow is heard only in a few districts . Titmice, o - great, blue and l ng tailed , are well distributed .

V . POPULATION

Co mparatively little peculiar to the county is

known of the early inhabitants o fHertfordshire . They seem from the earliest times to have been scattered over the county in many small groups ,

rather than to have concentrated at a few centres . h o Singularly enough, t is almost uniform dispersi n a of popul tion is still largely maintained , for ,

unlike so many other counties, Hertfordshire

has not within its borders a single large town . i Th . e . . e larger among them , , Watford, St Albans, ’ f H itchin , Hertford and Bishop s Stort ord, are no t collectively equal in populati o n to even

such towns as Bolton , Halifax or Croydon . to Another feature to be noted is that, owing ’ o the county s proximity to Lond n , it is now the

home of persons of many nations and tongues , and only in the smaller villages between the railroads are there left any traits o flocal Charac o r l nec es ter pecu iarities of idiom . It is hardly sary to say that this conglomeration o fpeoples

is common to all the home counties , though f mostly so, as I venture to think, in Hert ordshire

and Surrey . The Essex peasant is still strongly ff f di erentiated rom his neighbours . o f Grose, writing towards the end the

eighteenth century, stated that the population 2 3 HERTFORDSHIRE o fHertfordshire was They must have been well dispersed , for he tells us that the county contained at that peri o d 9 49 villages ; “ by the word village, however, he seems to o mean any separate c mmunity, including small hamlets . Some interesting figures are to be ’ found in Tymms s C ompendium oftbe History of t/ie Home C ir cuit 18 2 1 . He States that in the o c unty contained inhabitants, com prising families and liv in g ' in houses . Of these families no fewer than were engaged in agriculture . From the same source I quote the following figures relating to the year 18 2 1

us s I nha itan ts . H o e . b H e m el H em pstead W atfo rd 9 40 H itc hin 9 1 5 a St . Alb ns 7 35 C heshu nt 847 H ertfo rd 656

In 1 8 8 1 the population o fthe county was i n 1 89 1 it had increased by about one - eleventh to at which time the 16 1 county contained parishes . o f o o f In the days William I . the wh le the possessions and estates o fHertfordshire belonged to the King and forty - four persons w ho shared o o his favour, am ngst whom may be menti ned o f o f the Archbishop Canterbury, the B ishops n Londo , Winchester, Chester, Bayeux and Liseux o f , and the Abbots Westminster, Ely,

St . Albans, Charteris and Ramsey . o To g as far back as the Heptarchy, we find 2 4 COM MUNICATIONS

the land mostly owned by Mercians, East Saxons and by the Kings ofKent , and thus there gradually sprang up that “ Middle English ” population which fo r so long formed a large proportion o f o f the inhabitants Hertfordshire , Middlesex H o w and Essex . thoroughly such persons separated into small communities and settled down in every part of the county may be asc er tained by the many buries found at a little — distance from the town o r village Redbourn

- - bury, Ardeley bury , Bayford bury , Langley

- bury, Harpenden bury, etc .

VI . COMMUN ICATIONS

1 Roads — o f . . Hertfordshire , as one the - o home counties , is crossed by many fine r ads W N E . . N from the . , E and . . , as they gradually — converge to wards their common goal London . Among them may be mentioned the Old North o Road, from Royston thr ugh Buntingford and Ware t o Waltham Cross ; the Great North

Road from Baldock through Stevenage , Welwyn and Hatfield to Barnet and the Dunstable

Road through Market Street , Redbourn and

- St . Albans, which meets the last mentioned 1 road at Barnet . We may contrast these roads at the present day with the rough paths infested

1 There has been m uc h dispute as to the exac t trend “ o fthe Great N o rth Ro ad After c arefu l inq u iry I ie c c be l ve that the abo ve paragraph states the c as e o rre tly . M u c h m isunderstanding has do u btle ss arisen by c o m o u i th f nd ng e Old with the Great N o rth Ro ad . 2 5 H ERTFORDSH IRE with robbers existing in the days when the country between Barnet and St . Albans was o little better than a continu us, tangled forest ; o r even with the same roads in the days when Evelyn and Pepys frequently rode along them — and found them exceedingly bad . The cyclist wishing to ride northwards through ' Hertfordshire has comparatively st ifl hills to ' at mount Elstree , High Barnet, Ridge, near

t St . . Sou h Mimms, and at Albans He should also beware o fthe descent into W heat hamp o f stead , the dip between Bushey and Watford , and of the gritty roadways i n the neighbourhood o f of Baldock . Most the roads are well kept, particularly since they have been cared fo r by ’ the County Council , and the traveller s book at the inn usually contains fewer anathemas touch ing the state of the highways than in some other counties which might be named . Railwa s - u so y . Few co nties in England are well served with railroad communications the

London and North Western , Midland , Great Northern and Great Eastern running well across its face . Tfie London and Nor tfi [Wester n enters the W N . o 4 . county , mile of Pinner, and has stati ns ’ on its main route at Bushey , Watford , King s

Langley, Boxmoor, Berkhampstead and Tring .

It crosses the Bedfordshire border near Ivinghoe . From Watford it has a branch to Rickmans Br ic k e t W worth and to ood, Park Street and

St . Albans ; it has also a station at Marston t o Gate , on its branch line Aylesbury .

2 6 COMMUNICATI ON S

Tfie M idland enters the county during its passage through the Elstree tunnel and runs nearly due N having stations at Elstree , Rad lett, St . Albans and Harpenden . It has also a branch with stations at Hemel Hempstead and

Redbourn . Té e Gr eat Nor tder n main line crosses a small tongue o fthe county upon which it has Stations at Oakleigh Park and New Barnet . I t then traverses the Hadley Wood district o fMiddle sex , entering Hertfordshire again at Warren

Gate, and has stations at Hatfield, Welwyn ,

Knebworth , Stevenage and H itchin . From Hatfield it has three branches ( 1) to Sm allfo r d 2 and St . Albans ( ) to Ayot, Wheathampstead and Harpenden ( 3) to Cole Green , Herting o r db r f u y and Hertford . At Hitchin it has a branch to Baldock, Ashwell and Royston . T/ze Gr eat E aster n enters the county at E Waltham Cross and skirts the whole of the S . quarter, running on Essex soil from near the

Rye House almost to Sawbridgeworth . I t has stations in Hertfordshire at Waltham Cross ,

Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Sawbridgeworth and ’ Bishop s Stortford . It enters Essex again near - o the last named station . It has als important 1 to branches, ( ) from Broxbourne Rye House, ’ 2 St . Margaret s, Ware, and Hertford ( ) from ’ M ar d c k . o St Margaret s to , Widford , H adham ,

Standon , Braughing , West Mill and Bunting ford .

In addition , the Metropolitan Railway has he W t S. an extension which crosses . extremity 2 7 H E RTFORDSHI RE o f o the c unty, having stations at Rickmans ' worth and Chorley Wo o d . The Great Northern Railway has a branch from Fins n bury Park to High Barnet, with a statio at

Totteridge .

D VI I . I N USTRI E S

1 A r icultur — a . g e Charl Lamb used no mere haphazard expression when he wro te of “ ” Hertfordshire as that fi ne corn county . 18 Twenty years ago the county contained 3 39 , 7 o f c o n acres under arable cultivation , which sider ably more than half were utilised for corn and the proportion thus used is still much 18 larger than might be supposed . (In 9 7 it amounted to about acres . ) At the same period there were about acres fo r under wheat alone this grain , of which a large white variety is much cultivated, the b county has long een famous . To this cir c u mst an c e the village o fWheathampstead is fo r indebted its name . Barley and oats are also staple crops . The first Swede turnips ever produced in England were grown on a farm near Berkhampstead . Watercress is ex tensiv el y cultivated , enormous quantities being sent into London from St . Albans, Hemel

Hempstead , Berkhampstead , Welwyn and many other districts : Much manure is brought t o f the arms from the London stables , and by its aid large second crops of vegetables are fr e quently obtained . Clover , turnips and tares

2 8

H E RTFORDSHI RE

Hitchin , Hatfield , Tring, Berkhampstead, and other places . c B r ick Fields ( ) are worked at Watford ,

St . Albans , Hemel Hempstead , Broxbourne, ’ Bishop s Stortford , Hitchin and elsewhere . (d) B r us/zes o fmany kinds are manufactured at St . Albans and Berkhampstead . e Hur dles ( ) are made at Barkway, Croxley Br eac hw o o d Green, Green , Chorley Wood ,

Albury, and at one or two other places . I r on Foundr ies (f) are at Hertford , Ippollitts,

Royston , Colne Valley (Watford) , Hitchin and Puckeridge . ’ P a er (g ) p is made at Croxley Mills, King s

Langley , and Nash Mills . (é ) Silt is made at the large mill o n the

River Ver, St . Albans, and at Redbourn .

i Pdoto r a fiic lates a er . ( ) g p p , p p , etc , are made at Watford, Boreham Wood and Barnet . Lav ender Water (j) is made at Hitchin , from lavender grown in fields close by . Gr av el abounds i n many districts, and pits are extensively worked at Rickmansworth ,

Hertford , Heath , Wheathampstead , Watford and Harpenden .

windmills . l There are at Cromer , A bury , ’ G o fl s h Oak , Anstey , Arkley, Muc Hadham , Water Weston , Tring and Bushey Heath . mills t o o are numerous to Specify, there being several o n many of the small r i vers named in

Section II .

30 H I STORY

VI I I . HISTORY

Hertfordshire was formerly a part o fMercia and o fEssex . Its Share in what is usually “ called H istory can hardly be called great ; but many interesting details of its story are o fC hau n c recorded in the histories y, Salmon ,

C u ssan s . Clutterbuck, and Among smaller works the following will be found useful ’ ’ Cobb s Ber tfiampstead ; Gibbs Histor ical Recor ds ’ o Alaans St Aloans Aébe St . of . ; Nicholson s y f ; ’ Hitcfiin and Nei béoui uood B one Bishop s g , and yg

Her tfor drfiir e by various writers . The story of Hertfordshire may be said to commence with the sack of the great Roman o fVer ulamium o f city by the followers Boadicea, f I c en A o e . D Queen the ( . Our knowledge of the event is largely drawn from Tacitus, and

Dion Cassius , who give revolting details of the o f t torture the inhabitan s by the Britons . The i c A c r a . D martyrdom of St . Alban ( . the Synod o fVerulam the second destruction of that city by the Saxons towards the end o f the sixth century and the siege of Hertford 8 6 f by the Danes in 9 , when Al red the Great grounded their vessels by cutting the river banks , are some o fthe more prominent episodes o f

- I pre Conquest times . William . , entering the county from the direction of Wallingford , met the Saxon nobles in council at Berkhampstead immediately before his coronation at West minster . The castles of Hertford and Berk 3 1 HERTFORDSHI RE hampstead were captured by the revolted barons . There was a dangerous insurrection of the o f peasantry in the days Richard I I . Three important battles were fought in Hertfordshire , o f 1 during the Wars the Roses : ( ) At St . Albans ’ 2 r d B 1 2 o n on 3 ( ) May, 455 ( ) Bernard s

. 1 1 6 1 Heath , St Albans, 7th February, 4 , ( 3) 1 1 1 near Chipping Barnet, 4th April , 47 ; these battles are mentioned more fully in the Sections on St . Albans and Barnet . The residence o fthe Princess Elizabeth at Ashridge Park and her subsequent captivity at Hatfield up to the time of her accessi o n ( 1 558) may be here mentioned , but the more casual visits of monarchs are referred to as occasion requires . The co unty was not the scene o fany consider able engagement during the great Rebellion ; but the Parliamentary tr00ps are held r espo n i sible for much eccles astical sacrilege at St .

Albans, H itchin and elsewhere, and it was from

Theobalds that Charles I . set out to meet his 16 2 16 army in 4 . In 47 , when a prisoner in o f f the care Cornet Joyce , he was taken rom Leighton Buz zard to Baldock and from thence to Royston The march of Cromwell from o Cambridge to St . Albans towards the end f the war is recorded rather too literally o n the o f interior several churches . Of importance in history was the Rye House Plot ( 168 a carefully laid but abortive scheme t o murder Charles I I . and James, Duke of York , 3 2 ANTIQUITIES

w o n their way to London fro m N e mar ket . (See R e o s y H u e . )

E IX . ANTIQU ITI S The antiquities of Hertfordshire have been carefully studied and well repay the labour that few has been besto wed upon them . A words under several heads will suffi ce to Show that the o ne subject is a large . ' 1 P r efiistor ic - Paleolitmc —in . . man whom we o f are all —so interested, but whom we know so little must have dwelt in Hertfordshire fo r lo a ng period , a period to be measured by centuries rather than by years . Perhaps, how “ ” ever, the word dwelt is hardly appropriate here for doubtless, for the most part, the rude flint - shaper and skin - clad hunter roamed at rand o m over this tract o fland wherever necessity t o o f led him . It is usual speak him as a trog lo d te o r - o f y , cave dweller, but the caves Hert fo r dshir e wer e are, and probably few, and his life in such a district would therefore be more than usually nomadic . As is often the case , we find traces o fhim in the river- valleys more l o f frequently than e sewhere, and it is in beds o f clay, conjectured to be lacustrine origin, that we find those rudely shapen flint nodules which fo r served him tools . Such implements have been found in the Valley o fthe Gade by Sir K B G. John Evans, . in more central neigh bo u r ho o ds S by Mr . Worthington G . mith ; d an axes n . d s o e e many , k ives, etc , were i c v r d 3 3 HE RTFORDSHI RE

only a few years ago near H itchin . Implements o fthe Neolitaic Age are naturally more numerous and form in themselves an interesting study in

o f - the evolution manual skill . Flint axe heads, wonderfully polished , have been found at ’ Albury, Abbot s Langley, Panshanger and Ware ; Chipped flints o f m o re fragmentary character have been found near St . Albans and elsewhere ; flint arrow - heads were discovered 0 at Tring Grove nearly 1 5 years ago . The great number o f natural flints found in the county make it very difli c u lt to recognise these ae h arch ological treasures, many of whic must thus escape detection and be destroyed . Some details of the discovery o fPrehistoric imple ments are given in the Gaz etteer . - man — o f 2 . P r e Ro . The earliest inhabitants “ Hertfordshire in times more o r less historic o f ft e were Celtic blood these , a er a settlem nt of considerable duration , were driven out by C assii o r Belgic invaders, of whom the , C at eu c hlan i to o n e o f , seem have been the

u . u most powerf l tribes The Cass , who shared at least a part o fthe district with the Trino ban tes — , were numerous and war like when C msar C assiv el invaded Britain ; their chief, lau nu s to , is believed have lived near what is now St . Albans . He was chosen as leader by ff to the British, and o ered stout resistance the

Romans, but was driven back and his capital — wherever it was stormed and captured . Earth works, supposed to have been erected by these

r e- o n ll e t o P R man i habitants, sti r main a Hext n , 34 ANTIQUITIES

Ashwell , Great Wymondley , Tingley Wood , and elsewhere , but are rapidly disappearing in the general obliteration of ancient landmarks .

- t o o n Ber kham Grymes dyke, still be traced p stead Common , is the most famous but many others are marked in a map prepared by Sir

John Evans . Some of these are hardly more than conjectural Sites a few will be mentioned o f in the Gazetteer . Bronze Celts many kinds F o f . . S. A are in the possession Mr W . Ransom , . u mber lo some of these were found at C w Green . Relics o fthe Bronze Age in the county include two bracelets o fgold found at Little Amwell o r a and many narrow hatchets, p lstaves, from the n eighbourhood o fHitchin . To the Late Celtic Period belong the im - z perfect iron sword blade, in a bron e Sheath , discovered at Bourne End and no w in the

British Museum also the two bronze helmets, o ne from the neighbourhood of H itchin , and one from Tring . At Hitchin , too, was dis covered some pottery of the same period . man — Ro . 3 . Hertfordshire formed a part of — the Flavia C a sar iensis o fthe Romans the district E . of the Severn and N . of the Thames . Most important of their stations was the muni c i i o f o f p u m at Verulamium (W . St . Albans) which some fragments of wall yet remain in the neighbourhood of the River Ver and the o f Verulam Woods ; here , too , is the Site the only Roman theatre known i n Britain (o f am /zitaeatr es p there are many remains) . There a h G were lso stations at C eshunt ( easter) , at 3 5 H ERTFORDSHI RE

Braughing (ad Fines) , at Berkhampstead D u r o c o br iv is i l . ( ) , at Ashwell , Wi bury Hill , etc ; there was a cemetery at Sarratt a sepulchre at

Royston . Roman villas have been unearthed Pu r w ell at Mill , Abbots Langley and Boxmoor .

The Roman coins found in the county would, if brought together , form an exceedingly valu able collection . They have been found in considerable numbers at St . Albans , Ware ,

Hoddesdon , Hitchin , Willian , Ashwell , Calde lac ess l cote, Boxmoor, and many other p Smal minimi bronze coins, known as , have been recently found at St . Albans, and are now in t e the city museum . They date from after h year 345, when the earliest Specimens of this t ype were struck , and are conjectured to be copies of coins issued under Constantius I I . ( 3 37 - 6 1) and Julian the Apostate ( 36 1 “ On the obverse is the Imperial Head o n the reverse a soldier striking with his Spear at a o n man horseback . The coins, however, are assigned by at least o n e numismatist to a later date . They may have issued from a Romano at British mint Verulamium . The famous Watling Street entered the county at Elstree and crossed it by way o fSt . Albans and Red bourn to Dunstable (Beds) the I c k n ield W N . . Way ran through Ickleford, Baldock and Royston Akeman Street passed through Wat a ford, Berkh mpstead and Tring ; Ermine Street , r entering Hertfo dshire at Waltham , passed through Ware and Braughing to Royston . Saxon —A fe n n 4. w fragme tary remai s at 36

H ERTFORDSHIRE

A bronze brooch , discovered at Boxmoor, has been assigned to the latest period of true ” - r e Anglo Saxon art . A gold ornament, sembling an armlet, was found at the Village of is Park Street, near St . Albans ; it thought to

A 00 - 1000 D . . date from . 7 C /zur caes — 5. . These will be separately men

tio n ed . in due order, especially St Albans

Abbey, the unique meeting ground of all Styles ; but a few sentences touching the pre dom inant periods may be permissible here Nor man work is found in many places

‘ Anstey, Bengeo, Barley, East Barnet, Graveley,

Hemel Hempstead , Little Hormead , and Ickle o f o ford are largely this period , and N rman features are mingled with later work at Abbots

Langley, Baldock, Weston , Great Munden,

Great Wymondley, Knebworth, Redbourn , Sar ratt, and the churches of SS . Michael and Stephen at St . Albans . There are Norman fonts at Brox ’ e bourn , Bishop s Stortford (found beneath the 1 86 flooring in 9 ) Anstey, Buckland , Harpenden ,

Great Wymondley and Standon . E ar l E n lis/z y g churches are at Ashwell , Brent ur neau x Pelham, Digswell , F Pelham , Great

Munden (Norman doorway), Knebworth , Roys o f ton, Stevenage and Wheathampstead . Some e t these , .g . , Digswell and Knebwor h, are pleas an tly situated and others contain features o f n great interest, but o the whole they can hardly boast of much architectural beauty . D ecor ated churches are rarely found witho ut str u c prominent transitional features, the purest 38 CELEBRATED MEN

tures dating from that period being those at

Flamstead , Hatfield, North Mimms, Standon , W and are . Early Decorated portions are notice able among Norman surroundings at Hemel

Hempstead , and among Early English at Wheathampstead ; Late Decorated is found

with Perpendicular at Hitchin . Standon is the lam stead only W . porch in the county . F and Wheathampstead are the only churches in the

county that have retained their original vestries ,

N . of the chancel . P erpendicular churches are fairly numerous in Hertfordshire ; Almost purely Perpendicular ’ u struct res are those at Bishop s Stortford ,

Bennington, Broxbourne, Clothall , Hunsdon , ’ King s Langley, Sandon , St . Peters (St . Albans) ,

Tring and Watford . Churches later than Perpendicular cannot be mentioned as anti i ies q u t . A characteristic feature of Hertfordshire churches— rare elsewhere— is the narrow tapering lec e f a, or leaded Spire a feature almost wholly is I absent is the apse, which , believe , present o only at Bengeo , Great Wym ndley, and Amwell .

E E B E D M E N X . C L RAT

C o mparatively few really famous men have

been born in Hertfordshire , but very many o r have resided in the county , have at least been associated with it su fli c iently to j ustify

’ o f the mention their names here . — 1 . M en o L tter s f e . Chaucer was clerk of 39 H E RTFO RDSH I RE the works at Berkhampstead Castle in the time

o f . Richard II Matthew Paris, the chronicler, lived and wrote in the great Benedictine monas l M au n dev ille ter . y at St A bans Sir John , once “ ” called the father of English prose, was, to according his own narrative, born at St .

Albans and , if we may trust an old inscription , 1 was buried in the abbey ; Dr . Cotton , the poet, lived and died in the same town , where the poet Cowper lodged with him at the “ ” I nsano r m Collegium u . Bacon lived at G o r ham bu r y and was buried in the neigh in f bo ur g church o St . Michael . Bulwer

Lytton lived and wrote at Knebworth, where he was visited by Forster, Dickens and others . George Chapman translated much o fHomer o at Hitchin , and is believed to have been b rn o f Ni at in that town . Young, the author the g Taou /zts g , was for many years Rector of Welwyn so n his was visited there by Boswell and Dr .

Johnson . Macaulay was at school at Aspenden .

John Scott, the Quaker poet, lived at Amwell

Lee, the dramatist, was born at Hatfield . Skelton probably stayed at Ashridge just be fore the Dissolution o fthe Monasteries ; Sir

Thomas More lived awhile at Gobions, North

Mimms . Cowper was born at Berkhampstead . The county has been immortalised by Walton and Lamb in writings known to all . 2 D iv ines — . . Bunyan laboured and preached

1 As mo eade ar e a a e it is no w to sa the ea st r rs w r , , y l st , gr av ely q uestio ne d whether Sir Jo hn M aundev ille was mo r an a nam ever e th e. 40 CE LEB RATED M EN much in Hitchi n and its neighbo urhood Baxter preached at Sarratt and elsewhere, and lived awhile at Totteridge Isaac Watts lived fo r many years at The o balds near Cheshunt Philip

o . . Doddridge was at sch ol at St Albans Fox, our nal in his y , mentions visiting Hitchin , Bal o dock and other places . Tillots n was a curate at Cheshunt Ken was born at Little Berk hampstead Nathaniel Field , a man of pro i o di o u s I . g learning, chaplain to James , was b rn at Hemel Hempstead . William Penn , whom many considered a divine indeed, l ived with his beautiful wife at Basing House, Rickmansworth

Godwin was an Independent minister at Ware .

Ridley and Bonner were much in the county . o f Fleetwood, afterwards Bishop Worcester, was Rector o fAnstey Cudworth was Vicar o fAsh well Warham was Rector o fBarley Horsley o f t w o was Rector Thorley . The Sherlocks, respectively Master o fthe Temple and Bishop l o f Ther fi e d . London , were Rectors of Light foot, the Great Hebraist, was Rector of Great

Munden . To classify other celebrities connected with the co unty would require almost as many head Bessam er o ings as names . Henry was b rn at Charlto n near H itchin Cardinal Wolsey lived at Delamere House, Great Wymondley ; the mu n ifi c ent So mers lived at North Mimms Br eaks ear e Nicholas p , who became Pope Adrian o IV . , was born at Abb ts Langley Piers Gave Ston was much at Berkhampstead and was buried ’ in the priory church at King s Langley ; Sir 4I H ERTFORDSH IRE

o R bert Cecil , first Earl of Salisbury, lived at Theobalds and is buried at Hatfield ; Lords Melbourne and Palmerston lived much at

Brocket Hall , where the latter died Sir Ralph

Sadleir, statesman and ambassador to Scotland, who is said to have rallied the English at

Pinkie, lived at Standon and is buried in the church . Many noble o r illustrious families have t e o f sided in Hertfordshire . Some the owners of old man o rs are mentioned in the Gaz etteer ; but a few prominent families may be here o f named . The Cecils have been Lords Hat to field since James I . gave the manor the first Earl o fSalisbury in exchange for that at Theo balds The Cowpers have resided at Panshanger since the erection of their castellated mans i on in the Park a century ago by the fifth earl . The

Egertons, Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater, lived o n e o f at Ashridge them , Francis, third duke , is known in history as “ the father of British ” r o i nland navigation , and another was the p ises jec to r ofthe famous B r idgewater Tr eat . The C a ells p , Earls of Essex, have owned the beauti ful estate at C assio bu r y Park since the father of the first earl obtained it by marriage during t the reign of Charles I . Lord Walter Ro hschild has an estate at Tring ; Lord E bur y is the owner o fMoor Park ; Lord Lytton Still owns the grand o ld house of the great novelist at

0 a o . Knebworth, founded nearly 3 5 years g The Earl o fCavan has a h o use at W heathamp stead ; Viscount Hampton at Kimpton H OO ; 42 CE LEBRATED M E N

’ o L rd Glamis at St . Paul s Walden Bury ; the o f o f Earl Clarendon (Lord Lieut . Herts) at the Grove, Leavesden Lord Grimthorpe at St . G o r ham bu r Albans . y, near St . Albans, was o f recently the seat Lord Grimston .

43

H ERTFORDSHI RE

Note ( 1) the monument to Lord Chief Justice 1 2 2 Raymond , died , 7 3 ( ) the brasses in nave to

. 160 Thos Cogdell and his two wives, 7, and to a H o r w o de 1 8 R lph and family, 47 . Late in the o f reign Henry VI II . the Vicarage was rated at

per annum . An inscription in the chancel , Chau n c l copied in y, reads Here ieth Robert z Nevil and Eli abeth his wife, which Robert deceased the 2 8th o fApril in the year of our 1 Lord God 47 5. This World is but a Vanity, ” t o to Day a man , Morrow none . Prince Charles held a Court at Abbots Langley during the Reign of James I . B ° o f h AL U RY (3d miles E . Braug ing Station) is a village near the river Ash . The Church , dedicated to St . Mary, dates from the fourteenth century it was recently restored . There was an earlier structure so far back as the days o f o Stephen , in whose reign Robert de Sigill gave E ldeoer ei ff the profits of the church at to Geo ery, ’ first Treasurer of St . Paul s Church , London . th 1 8 An interesting will , dated 4 November, 5 9 , Bic ker d records that Marmaduke y, Vicar of Alde bu r o f y, gave an acre land in the neigh bo ur ho o d to provide a sum fo r distribution n among the poor o every Good Friday . I n the Chancel the mutilated e flig ies o fa man and woman are said to represent Sir Walter de la

Lee and his Wife . Sir Walter sat in nine Par — liam en ts in the interests o f the county at

Westminster, Northampton and Cambridge, and ff e was Sheri of H rts and Essex . He died luui H ll o f . A a during the reign Richard I I y , 46 ALBURY— ALDB URY

o o ld cl se by, is a fine mansion , where the “ ” Reli eo u s g , Just and Charitable Sir Edward o f Atkins, Knight, and Baron the Exchequer, 166 died in 9 . The village is usually a quiet spot , with little business, but it is pleasantly situated ; the proximity o fthe river and some scattered cottages and farms enhance its at tr ac iv n ss t e e . Albu ry E n d is a small hamlet about 1 mile W S o f . . . Albury 1 D B 1 - f AL U RY ( 2 mile E . rom Tring Station) is a village on the Buckinghamshire border, nestled in a beautiful valley close to Ashridge ' “ ” I t the o f Park (av ) . is Clinton Magna Bessie C ostr ell o o f , and the auth r that story , Stock s Mrs . Humphrey Ward , lives at , a few ’ minutes walk from the village . On the Tring side Aldbury is sheltered by swelling fields and to the E . beech woods cover the hillside, ” c whi h is topped by the Aldbury Monument, a granite column about 100 feet high erected t o h o f the memory of Francis, t ird Duke Bridge water, whose labours and enterprise for the extension of canals earned for him the w e ll known title “ the father of inland navigation AS a village o fthe Old E nglish type Aldbury e has p rhaps no equal in the county . I n the centre is the green and pond , under the shadow o fan enormous elm close by stand the stocks - and whipping post, recently in excellent pre o f servation . The Church St . John the Baptist E E 1 is . . ; it was restored in 867 . Visitors sho uld notice the o ld sundial on a pedestal in H E RTFORDSH I RE the l h churchyard , and the Verney Chape , w ich s e o f is separated from the nave by a cr en stone , and contains a monument to Sir Robert who o f Whittingham , was slain at the battle b o Tewkes ury . The church also c ntains memo o f f who rials the Hides and Harcourts, amilies f o o f le t several charities to the p or the parish . In the days of Edward the Confessor the manor ’ o fAldeaer r ie o ne was held by Alwin , the king s The o f thane . ascen t the wooded Slope towards the Bridgewater monument takes the visitor through o ne o fthe most beautiful districts in s the county, and a noble prospect stretche before him as he looks back through the beeches towards the village in the valley beneath . m W D E S. AL N HAM ( 2 iles . from Radlett

M R leasantl . sit uate Station . . ) is a village p y d o f near the river Colne, reached by way Berry o f Grove at the W . end the village The churchyard is locally famous fo r the tombs o fa man and woman named Hutchinson , which , singularly enough, have been riven apart and almost destroyed by three sycamore trees about f o ld o . a century . The Church St John the o Baptist is largely Perp . with earlier porti ns, fo r and is worth a visit, i f only the oaken nave 1 80 roof, believed to date from about 4 , and for the o f 0 font Purbeck marble, probably 7 5 years o ld o f o . An object greater interest i n s me eyes i is the fine parish chest, formed from one mass ve o f o ak l l piece near y ten feet in ength , and furnished with iron clamps and hinges o fgreat size ; there are few finer o ld pari sh chests i n 48 — ALDE NH AM m G REAT AMWELL

1 England . Note also ( ) the triple sedilia in 2 1 0 chancel ( ) the many brasses dating from 45 , several o fwhich are to the Cary family ; ( 3) two palimpsest brasses in the vestry, one of which bears a portion o fa mutilated inscription to o ne o f w ho Long, an alderman London , died 1 8 8 2 in 1 536 . The church was restored in by fi ld F S A Aldenaam H us Blo m e . . . o e Sir A . W . , , f the seat of Lord Aldenham, dates rom the days a of Ch rles II . , and stands in a park of about

300 acres . Alden ham Abbe w y , once kno n as Wall

Hall , stands close to the parish church ; it is o ld about a century , and belongs to the Stuart

family . E F a r 1 N . Aldw ic k m is mile . from Marston

Gate Station , ’ llen s r een 2 W A NZ . G , a hamlet miles

from Sawbridgeworth , contains little of interest . lm /z ebu r H o f A s o y ( z mile W . Stevenage ’ Station , is about fifteen minutes walk o fM insden Gau el from the ruins p (av ) . E 1 W f S. o AM W LL is a tiny hamlet mile . N G . . R Wheathampstead Station , . E E I AM W LL , GR AT , a parish and village a

. f E . o S. mile Ware Station, is very

prettily situated near the New River, and is known by name to many who have never visited fo r f the neighbourhood, the village is requently mentioned in the essays and letters o fCharles

Lamb . The church stands on a wooded Slope

near by are the village stocks, the tiny island upon which stands a monument to Sir Hugh 49 H ERTFORDSH IRE

M ddelto n y , the projector of the New River , and the Stone bearing some lines written by h Jo n Scott, the Quaker . The grotto constructed by the poet may still be seen near the railway station at Ware . The church is an architectural conglomeration, with several stained windows, one o fwhich was contributed by the children of the parish as an Easter offering nearly fifty 8 6 . 1 6 years ago The structure was restored in . ] o ne There is a piscina in the chance , and in the S . wall of the nave ; there are also two “ ” hagioscopes . The chancel arch, writes “ o - o Canon Benham , seems to me Angl Sax n , ” and the chancel is a most curi o us apse . o f Thomas Warner, a friend Shakespeare , and

Isaac Reed, a Shakespearian commentator, were o b th buried here . Am w ell E nd N W , once at the . . extremity o f the parish of Great Amwell , is now a part o f v Ware (a ) . Am w ell Little ' t 1 W abo u S. . , ( a mile from

Great Amwell), was formerly a liberty in o f t t the parish All Sain s, Hertford ; i has fo rmed a separate civil and ecclesiastical parish 1 8 6 o f Since 4. The Church Holy Trinity is E E 1 86 . . in style ; it was erected in 3 . The district is now usually called Hertford Heath .

An interesting, pleasant ramble may be enjoyed o by walking from Hertf rd to Little Amwell , to o r v ice v er sa Great Amwell , and thence Ware, . S E : N E o AN T Y (about 41 miles . . fr m Bunting o o f f rd Station , has a cruciform church

: . n mixed styles the nave is Dec , the tra septs SO AMWELL E N D —ARCH E R ’ S G RE EN

E H . . . . , the S porch Perp The tower rests upon fo ur N o rman arches ; the font also is 18 1 Norman . The church was restored in 7 many features o f architectural interest being e fli wisely retained . The recumbent gy in the to o f recess in S . transept is thought be that Anest ie Richard de , who founded the church in D omes the fourteenth century . We learn from day B oot that at the time o fthe Great Survey “ ” i e. there was pannage ( . acorn woods) at Anestie ff su icient to feed fifty hogs, and that the manor was worth fourteen pounds a year . There was once a castle here, built soon after the

Conquest, the site of which is supposed to be marked by the remains of a moat still to be Anste Hall traced in the grounds of y . The

- churchyard is entered by a covered lich gate . A l b tr eet N W e S . pp y is a hamlet 3 miles . o 2 from Cheshunt Station , and ab ut W miles N . . from the village . S E E D I AP L Y N (about f mile S . from

M . R. 1 Hemel Hempstead Station , , and amile

S E . o from B xmoor Station, is an ecclesiastical parish near the river Gade . The church , dedicated to St . Mary, was built in E . 18 1 Dec . style in 7 , and is well furnished and o f decorated . One the prettiest prospects in the ’ o f neighbourhood is that fr m Abbot s Hill , a ine private residence , flanked by woods . The Gade Bulbo u n W r e . and Rivers uni te , a little N . from Two Water s v . the village , at a place called (a ) ’ Ar c /zer s r een o n G is the river Maran, about 5 E 1 t a mile S . from Tewin Church and 2 mile 51 HE RTFORDSHIRE

W . . G N . . R N from Cole Green Station , . It

P ansaan er P ar /t adjoins g (av ) . A D E E W 6 S. R L Y, otherwise Yardley ( miles . from Buntingford Station , is a village and parish in a purely agricultural district . It is famous through its connection with the Chau n c a A y f mily, who resided at rdeley Bury for many generations one of them , Sir Henry Chau n c y, was the author ofa well known history o f Hertfordshire . The family monument is o f outside the church of St . Lawrence, some ex isting portions of which date from the thirteenth o f century . The roofs nave and aisles are notice fo r able the angels which they bear, of Tudor t o o character visitors Should observe , , the early Ar dele B u r window in the restored chancel . y y, a o f r C hau n c Was in the d ys Sir Hen y y, an Eli z abethan manor - house dating from about 1 80 the year 5 , surrounded by a moat it was 1 8 1 - 20 almost entirely rebuilt of brick in 5 ,

a n . when it bec me a castellated, imposing mansio The manor o fE r deley was owned by a succession o fSaxon kings until Athelstan bestowed it upon the church of St . Paul , London , as recorded ’ in Du gdale s M onasticon Anglicanum ; it was of the Dean and Chapter that the Chau n c ys rented

a . their est te . The river Beane rises near here A stroll around Ardeley and Ardeley Bury leads the .visitor into some of the quietest spots to be o n th found in the county . The windmill e hill above Cromer, near by , is useful as a land mark when threading the many winding lanes in the neighbo urhood . 52

H E RTFORDSHIRE

house contains some fine pictures, including, in ’ addition to works by modern masters, Rubens ” ’ Death of Hippolytus, Lu in i s Holy Family ’ “ ” ae and Titian s Three C sars . In the chapel Sw nstede is a fine brass to John y , Prebendary

o f 1 . Lincoln , 39 5 I t was brought here from

Edlesboro ugh Church . A S H W E L L is a village of considerable size on 22 the Cambridgeshire border . The village is 2 W N G . . R N . . . miles from Ashwell Station , The is parish is very ancient, and believed to have been the site o fa British settlement and o fa

Roman Station . The former theory is considered S W proved by the existing entrenchments, . . from the village, called Arbury Banks ; the latter theory is supported by the fact that very many

R oman relics , especially coins , have been dis covered in the neighbourhood . That it was formerly a place of importance has been men t io ned in the Introductio n (Section it was a town in Norman times, and held four o f fairs each year . The Rhee, a tributary the o Cam , rises in this village, at a Sp t surrounded by ash trees , and to this fact the parish is thought w e o . to its name . When Mr . H Rider Haggard was at Ashwell recently he was unable to say much fo r its agri cultural prosperity and outlook ’ but in Chau n c y s day the district produced

all sorts of excellent Grain , especially Barley, which has greatly encouraged the trade of ” Malting in this Bo r r o u gh The same writer mentions the stone quarry , from which he tells us that several neighbouring churches had been 54 ASHWELL—ASPEN DEN

o f . built or repaired . The Church St Mary the

E E . Virgin is mostly . and is conspicuous for - 1 6 its spire topped western tower, 7 feet high , being equal to the length of the church . Note

( 1) the large ambry i n the S . aisle, once the

- lady chapel , where is also a fragmentary reredos ( 2) the curious inscriptions on the inner Side o f o o ne o f the t wer walls, mostly undecipherable, which refers to the plague that attacked the town in the fourteenth century ( 3) the really 16 2 fine oaken pulpit, dating from the year 7 . There was formerly a small monastic house in

t o . the town , a cell Westminster Abbey From the village it is an open , breezy walk N . to

S E . t o Ashwell Common or Ashwell Field , between the village and the station . A S PE N D E N ( 1 mile S W from Buntingford

Station , may be reached from the Old N o rth Road by turning to the left before n o . entering Bu tingf rd It is a small , quiet, unimportant village but much of it is pic tur esque and interesting . Readers will remember h that Macaulay was at sc ool here, and that it was o f the birthplace Seth Ward , mathematician o f and bishop , a contemporary and antagonist str u c Thomas H o bbes . The church is a flint — a o ture, congl meration ofmany styles . Notable features are the Easter sepulchre in the N . wall o f chancel , the Norman window close to it, the piscina, ambry and credence table, discovered o f during the rest ratio n o the church by Sir A . W Blo mfi l . e d 18 in 7 3 . There are also memorial o f windows to members the Lushington family , 55 H E RTFORDSH I RE

alt ar and an tomb, under a canopy of marble , ” l ffr to Sir Robert C y o d (d . who built u 1 00 the ch rch porch in 5 , and to his wife effi ie Eliz abeth . The tomb bears brass g s of these worthies, which were once in the Church of St . Michael , Cornhill , but were brought to o f Aspenden at the time of the fire London . S The aisle ( . ) was built by Sir Ralph Jocelyn o f in 147 8 . This Sir Ralph was lord the manor ; he is remem bered in history for his

. adv en sally against Thomas Nevill , when that turer attempted to rescue Henry VI . from the o f Tower . He was twice Lord Mayor London ( 1464 and He died in 147 8 and was buried at Sawbridgeworth . E S z N . A TON ( é miles . from Knebworth

Station , has an ancient church restored E 1 8 8 . E . o f in 3 There is . work in parts nave and chancel , but other portions are largely Perp . , especially the tower, which is embattled . The alabaster reredos and several memorial windows are worth notice ; n o r should visitors overlook the brass at the foot o fthe chancel steps to one

John Kent, his wife and ten children . This worthy died i n 1 59 2 ; he was a servant of

z . Edward VI . , Mary and Eli abeth The village

W . is scattered upon a hill a little . from the river Beane , and dates from Saxon times . The manor was once owned by three men under the protection o fArchbishop Stigand ; afterwards by the Abbot of Reading . It fell to the Crown k so at the Dissolution , li e many other properties . As to n B u ry is a fine manor house o fred 56 — ASTON AYOT ST . LAWRENCE

t a . a brick, about mile S from the vill ge , formerly the property o fthe Boteler family . The pro o ne spect from the N . windows is a noble , the district being varied and undulating . E nd h 1 N W As to n . . , a amlet mile from A ston , may be reached from Stevenage Station , o f about 2 % miles . There is little here interest, but the neighbourhood is very pleasant and largely agricultural . A tr o e H amlet s p mile E . from Puttenham) is midway between the village of Long Marston an d the Aylesbury Canal . It is close to the

Bucks border . As tw ic k F ar m 2 N W is miles . . from Hat G N R fi eld Station , . . . Attim o r e H all I S W is t mile . . from G N R Welwyn Station , . . . Au br e am S W y C p (3 mile . . from Redbourn) is co njectured to be the Site of an early British encampment . ’ Au s lag e E nd lies in the parish of King s a d W lden , i n a purely agricultural istrict . A o t r een y G is about 5 mile S E . from and f ’ o v . in the parish Ayot St . Peter s (a ) S T L E E z E N . . AYOT . AW R N C ( é miles from Wheathampstead Station and about the same N W f distance . . rom Ayot Station , has a new and an old church . The former is in Rev et t Ayot Park , and was designed by in a 1 E aster n classical style . Note ( ) the portico , with colonnade on either Side ( 2 ) the memori al to Sir Lionel Lyte, Bart . (d . and to the o f architect the church (d . The earlier 57 H E RTFORDSHI RE

o fthe structure, still in ruins near the middle o f village , was Dec . an early period, with o several singular features ; the tower, h wever , “ W was Perp . The indows have been ’ ado r n d with curious Pictures, in stained and o painted Glass, beyond many ther Churches . The village has at different times been styled Aio t l Eye , , Great A ot, and Ayot St . Lawrence , and was a parcel o fthe property o fHaro ld A ot House Godwin . y , standing in a beautiful 200 park of acres, was once the property and residence of Sir William Parr, brother to

Catherine Parr, Queen of Henry VI I I . A room in an older building in the rear o fthe t o l present mansion was once, according ocal

o f . tradition , the prison Catherine Parr There are shoes at Ayot House which belonged to

Anne Boleyn and a hat of Henry VIII . ’ T P E E o . S AYOT S T R (a mile N . from Ay t

Station , lies in a pretty district watered by the rivers Maran and Lea . The village is small , but has a commodious Parish Room , con taining a small library . There was a mill here o f o f in the time the Great Survey, the rent which was three shillings and 2 00 eels from the “ - mill pool per annum . A church, bearing a ” o n short spire erected upon the tower, stood ’ the hill - t o p in Chau nc y s day ; in 17 51 an octagonal structure of red brick was built by the rector (Dr . Freeman) some distance from the 1 86 2 village . This church was demolished in and a new o ne built upon its Site ; i n 1 874 this was in turn destroyed by lightning, and in 58 R’ S — AYOT ST . PETE BALDOCK

o f E E 187 5 the present church St . Peter, . . in style , was erected much nearer to the village . o It c ntains a very fine pulpit, carved by Miss o f Bonham , Norwood , upon which the figures l o fSS . Alban and He en are conspicuous among others . There are several memorial windows, o ne o f to tastefully designed , which , the memory

o f . o Mrs I . A . Robins n , was designed by the architect (J . P . Seddon) . A delightful stroll may be taken from the village , westwards to o r o r Wheathampstead Lamer Park, northwards o to Codicote r Kimpton . Nightingales are plentiful in the neighbourhood ; the numerous ff thickets, dense and secluded, a ording excellent shelter to this shy songster . B aa ill f o o s H is mile W . rom Br xb urne

Station , G . E . R . ’ B abb s G r een (nearly midway between Mar dock and Widford Station , is a small hamlet . ’ B ak er s r o v e 1 S W o G is b mile . . fr m Steven R G . N . . age Station , BAL DOC K , a small town in the northern o f extremity the county , lies between the Chalk hills at the juncti o n o fthe Great North Road I c k n ield and the Ro man Way . The malti ng industry is still busily pursued , although the town is n o t so exclusively devoted to it as formerly . Very fine barley was grown in the o f district before the reign Elizabeth , and the o f horse fairs, which there are several annually , o are well attended . The t wnship was founded b y the Knights Templars, in whose time there 59 HE RTFORDSH IRE stood a Laz ar - house a littl e eastwards from the town . The church , dating from the fourteenth o f century, is large, and considerable archi al t ec tu r interest . The chancel and adjoining chapels are Perp . and contain sedilia and piscin ae ; the nave has eight bays and a lofty

- c o - clerestory . The rood screen is extensive with the width of the ~ ent ir e church ; t he octagonal font is o fgreat antiquity (probably no t less than 7 0 0 years) ; there are several tw o o f o f brasses , which are of the early part 1 the fifteenth century . Note also ( ) the de faced slab , with Lombardic inscription to Ar ent hem 2 - Reynaud de g , ( ) the piscina like recess in the N . chapel , ( 3) the Dec . pillars and o arches of nave, (4) the fine old chest near r od screen (N . chapel) Baldock has been the recipient of many bequests ; existing charities o f are in the name Roe, Wynne , Pryor, Cooch , a Cl rkson , Smith , Parker, and a few others, the whole aggregating a considerable annual sum . The Wynne Almshouses are in the spacious

H igh Street, where are also the fine town hall

- 18 6 . and fire station , erected in 9 7 Some side streets between the church and station are noticeable for the variety o fcottage architecture which they display . B K E AR WAY (4 miles S . from Royston w as o station , a village of some imp rt o n ance in the old coaching days , for it is the main road from Ware to Cambridge . It was 1 2 partly burnt in 59 . There are many quaint o n e o r tw o houses in the neighbourhood, and

60

HE RTFORDSH IRE rector o f the parish and author o fSynopsis P ismi ap (d . Some interesting data fo r a bo ok o n the an t iq u it ies o fBarley are preserved in the pre Reformation Parish Hutch I may menti o n “ the towne h o use tyme out o f mynde ’ used and employed for the keeping o fmaidos ” “ ” “ Pla sto e o r marriages, and the y common playin ge place for the younge people and o ther “ inhabitants o fthe said towne This to wne house may still be seen near the church . B r / o a ley c r oft E nd is S E . fr m Furneaux

Pelham (av ) . It almost adjoins that village . BAR E E S N T, A T mile from Oakleigh

Park Station , is surrounded by Mid dlesex W except to the N . . where it adjoins ' o ld New Barnet . The village is situated at o f o the meeting the roads fr m H igh Barnet, l o f E n fie d . Southgate and . The Church St Mary the Virgin is very interesting it stands o n - to the hill p, at a sharp bend in the road, about a mile S . from the village . It is said t o have been founded about the year 1 100 by a r o xi an abbot of St . Albans if this date is pp mately correct this abbot must have been Richard ’ d Au ben o r y de Albini , who ruled the great 10 1 1 1 monastery from 9 7 to 9 , and in whose day the whole manor (including Chipping or o f High Barnet) belonged to the Abbey St .

Albans . The structure is Early Norman , with o f o a western tower brick, through the l wer portion of which the church is entered . The o N . wall is pro bably the m st ancient church

6 2 BARLEYC ROFT END— H IGH BARNET

wall in this part of the county . There is a

- lich gate at the N . entrance to the churchyard . A son of B ishop Burnet, the historian , was

o . once rect r here, and is buried in the church Tradition states that Thomson the poet was tutor to the son o fLord Binning when that nobleman lived at the old Manor House , the site o fwhich is now a part o fthe rectory o garden . Near the church, too , st od once a h o use i n which Lady Arabella Stuart was c o n Hom Belmont e . . fined . (C A Hanbury, Esq . ,

D . L . , marks the site where stood Mount o f Pleasant, once the property the Belted Will

Howard , Warden of the Western Marches, ” referred to i n the Lay o fthe Last Minstrel Little Gr ow o n , a house Cat Hill (Mrs . Stern) , stands where stood formerly the house of the

o Fan shaw e . wid w of Sir Richard , Bart , Ambas o f sador to Spain in the reign Charles I . The whole neighbourhood is varied and undulating the eastern extremity o fthe parish touched the " confines o fE n field Chace until late in the eighteenth century . BAR E “ N T, H IG H (formerly Chipping Barnet from the market granted by Henry

o f . II . to the Abbots St Albans, which was

o n - to held every Monday) , stands the hill p W 1 1 N . about miles . from London , and 9

S E . o . . miles fr m St Albans As stated above , the manor belonged to the Abbots of St . Albans, and Chau nc y tells a story in this connection I o o 1 8 Edw . which is w rth repeating Ann , . , o f a t h the Abbot St . Albans (Roger de Norton , 4 6 3 H E RTFORDSH IRE

Abbot) impleaded several Persons for prostrating his Ditch and burning his Hedges and Fences Bar net T k er in o ne i n the Night at ; Richard y g , o f the Defendants, said, that because the Abbot enclosed his Pasture with Hedge and Ditch , so that he and the Tenants there , could not have their common , as their Ancestors were wont to have , they did lay open the same . The Abbot answered that they ought not to have Common there but ’ twas found by the Jury that the Tenants ought to have Common and Judgment was given against the said Richard Tic ker ing only for that he burnt the

Hedge . Other squabbles between abbot and peasant are referred to i n this book, in the section on St . Albans . The Parish Church of o f St . John the Baptist stands at the junction E n fiel d . the roads from London , and St Albans .

It has known many changes . A church stood 1 2 0 upon the spot so long ago as 5 , to which a separated tower was added about a t century later . The body of his structure was almost wholly replaced by a new building, to reaching and i ncluding the tower, near the end of the abbacy o fJohn de la Moote ( 1 39 6 The present church is the result of the restoration and enl argement under the

. Bu tt er fi eld 1 8 direction of Mr W . , in 7 5 it is of flint and worked stone, partly Dec . and partly Perp . The old tower was lowered sufficiently to form a portion o fthe nave and a new embattled tower was built, now a con s i fo r p c u o u s landmark many miles round . The 64 HIGH BARNET

present N . aisle is entirely new . The nave is o f clerestoried , with eight bays ; most the a windows are of stained gl ss . The Ravens

f . cro t mortuary chapel , adjoining the S transept , contains many monuments, the most conspicuous being the altar - tomb and recumbent effi gy in marble to Thomas Ravenscroft (d . which was formerly in the chancel . Other memorials 16 80 are to James Ravenscroft (d . ) who founded and endowed the almshouses in Wood Street ’ ' erw H of ztal near by , called y p , and to John I Ravenscroft (d . Note ( ) the beauti fully carved font screen , pinnacled and crock etted 2 the ; ( ) pulpit , adorned with carved figures of men famous in English Church o f history ( 3) the four ancient ledgers stone , two in the chapel and two in the tower - base o f ment, all inscribed to members the Ravens croft family . The church was formerly a

- — chapel o fease to that at East Barnet . A 5 8 . Roman Catholic church , dedicated to a Mary the Immacul te and Gregory the Great, : 1 8 0 stands i n Union Street it was built in 5 . On Barnet Common there was formerly a medicinal spring known widely as “ Barnet Wells ” its chalybeate waters are referred to ’ D iar Tne in Pepys y, and more fully praised in Peefi et D iur nal! ( 16 52) and Té e Bar net We]! Water These waters were in such o f repute that one John Owen , an alderman 1 London , provided £ to be spent y early in keeping the well in fit condition . Barnet

Fair , which is held annually early in September, 65 H ERTFO RDSH IRE is attended by cattle dealers from all parts o f

England and Scotland , and by showmen and adven turers o fall kinds . It is certainly one of the most famous horse fairs in the country . The ordinary cattle market is held each

Wednesday . B E T —Of B T E OF . AT L ARN this engagement , ac so familiar by name, very little is known l 1 c u r ate . 1 y Early in the spring of 47 , Edward o f IV . , assisted in his schemes by the Duke

Burgundy, quitted Flanders , whither he had fled when the Earl o fWarwick landed in the S . of England with reinforcements from ff Louis X L ; touched , after a di icult passage, at Cromer, where he heard of the resistance organised by Warwick, and finally landed at v ns r h Ra e pu g on the Humber . Having been joined by further followers at Nottingham he entered London on Holy Thursday, the Lan c ians ff astr o ering little resistance . Warwick collected his forces, and the two armies met o n Easter Sunday o n Gladmo r e Common or ledsm u ir W o f G N . . Heath , to the what is now Hadley Wood . The engagement was fi v e o r desperately contested for six hours, with such varying success that some accounts relate how messengers rode to London during the day with the news that Edward was losing the battle . This, as it proved , was not the hau n c o ld case . C y repeats the tradition that - fi eld a fog gathered over the battle , that the Lancastrians slew o ne another in the mist and o f o n to o f c n usi , and that this led the death 66 BATTLE OF BARNET— N EW BARNET

“ Warwick . It is supposed that the King Maker ” fell close to the spot now marked by Hadley High Stone This obel isk was erected a little distance o ffin 1740 but was rem oved to n o w u nearer what is tho ght the right position .

Montacute, brother to Warwick , was slain at the same spot . B R E T NE W A N , , is a residential extension o f High and East Barnet, being situated between “ ” o f the two . Indeed , the whole Barnet is now almost merged into o n e ; there being houses or shops almost from Hadley H igh Stone to a little S , from Cat H ill . The Station Road is a wide pleasant thoroughfare stretching to from New Barnet Station , the main road from London to High Barnet . The whole district is excellent ground for the student of modern domestic architecture, the examples of diverse schools and styles being endless . The stretch of valley between the railway and High n o w Barnet, largely built upon , is a new civil parish called Barnet Vale . On a gentle slope ’ o ff in the centre, Potter s Road , stands the new

Church of St . Mark , in which services have still been held for about four years , but which is L anrdown incomplete . y , an ecclesiastical district 1 86 founded in 9 , is scattered over high ground S W . . from the station ; it is almost wholly comprised o fdetached residences and is c o n sider ed exceedingly healthy . There is here a good view, overlooking the stretch of hill and dale towards Cockfosters , New Southgate, and the Alexandra Palace . The Church o fthe 67 H E RTFORDSHIRE

1 8 6 Holy Trinity, erected in 4, is Dec . and

contains fine lancet windows to W . C . M .

Plowden , killed in Abyssinia . There are N . and S . porches , good of their kind, and the apsidal chan cel is well designed . B a r/ w ic k F o r d is on the river Rib , about 2 W a % miles N . . from Hadh m and 3 miles W S. . . . . from Standon Stations, G E R ’ B ass ett s G r een ( 1 mile S E . from Walkern Church) is a small hamlet between Walkern

Hall and Walkern Bury . There is no railway fo station nearer than 5miles, Bunting rd ,

and Stevenage, being each about that

distance . B a tc k w o r th is a hamlet close to Rickmans N W worth Station , at the . . o f n extremity Moor Park (a ) . hw r th H eath 1 E B atc o 1 ; S . , 1 mile from

Rickmansworth , is on the Middlesex border . B ailey s r een G (2 mile from Radlett Church , W R M . 1 S. . . and mile from the station , ) is in

a pretty district, but contains little more than a

few scattered cottages and farms . W B F D . AY OR ( 3 miles S. from Hertford) is a

parish and village on rising ground , near the E E . river Lea . It has a cruciform church , . in a o f - design , with f cings Kentish rag stone, erected

18 0 - 1 by W . R . Baker, Esq . , in 7 . In the chancel are seven fine lancet windows o fstaine d 1 glass . Note also ( ) altar tomb and marble 2 effi gy t o Sir George Knighton (d . ( ) tw o r o n e palimpsest b asses , bearing a figure in half- armour and the other a figure in plate 68

HE RTFORDSHI RE

BE N GE O (2 mile N . from Hertford) is a village between the rivers Beane and Rib ;

Ware Park is close by (N E ) It may n o w . be l . o d called a suburb of Hertford The church , dedicated to St . Leonard, is Early Norman ; there are very few churches o folder foundation in Hertfordshire . It was restored at several 1 8 8 1 8 times between 4and 9 3 . The bell in the wooden cote bears date 16 36 a small Norman arch divides the nave from the chancel there are lancets and a Perp . window in the apse .

The monuments are mostly to local gentry .

Eric, seventh Baron Reay, is buried in the tiny churchyard The new church , erected on the o f 1 8 . hillside in 55, is Kentish rag There are

- m terra cotta panels by Ti worth in the reredos .

The walk from Bengeo to Hertford , past the

- i sandy warren hills, so beautifully clad w th fir, larch, etc . , with the Lea winding through the low meadows on the left, is one of the finest in the county . B E NG E O (Rural) was formerly a part o fthe same parish as the above . Near by, at Chap more End, is the Hertford County Reformatory fo r boys . ’ B ennett s E nd is the name of two small e t hamlets, one near Leverstock Green (g ) and the other near Hemel Hempstead (ye ) . E K neb BE I N . N N NGTON (45 miles . from worth Station , was once the residence n o f Mercian ki gs . The village and neigh

“ bo u r ho o d are picturesque ; the roads from

Walkern, Hertford and Knebworth meet where 7 0 BENGEO— B ERK HA M PSTEAD

a tiny triangular green is shaded by fine elms . 1 The river Beane is mile to the W . The church is at the S . end of the village ; it dates from the fourteenth century . The nave is wide, with clerestory ; the narrow chancel

o n . has a chapel the N . side The tower is embattled , and contains a ring of eight bells . o f o ak There are triple sedilia, and stalls carved in the chancel ; what was once a holy water 1 stoup is in the porch . Note also ( ) the oaken

- 2 rood screen , surmounted by a large cross ; ( ) the memorial to the Cmsar family ( 1 6 2 2 ( 3) the (supposed) tomb o fSir John de Ben stede a baron who sat in Parliament in

o f . the time Edward II , as we learn from ’ D al s M onar tieon u gd e ; (4) carved oak reredos . Near the churchyard a large house of red brick o n o f Ben stedes stands the site of the castle the , in ruins when Chau nc y wrote two centuries Ber t u lf o f back . , King the Mercians, held a 0 B nnin en council here in 8 5 . e gt Par k ( 1 1 o n e mile E . ) is of three deer parks in Hertford ’ in D onzema B ook shire which figured y . B E RK HAM P STE A D (Great) an inter esting town in the W . of the county, is o n r Bu lbo ur ne situated the little rive , and is chiefly famous as the birthplace o f William w ho o n 2 6th Cowper, was born in the rectory

1 1 . November, 7 3 The Grammar School was

. 1 founded by Dr John Incent in 541 . The o f castle, which there are still ruins close to the dates from before the Domesday

Survey . Visitors must no t expect to find a 7 1 H E RTFORDSHI RE

l s C ar isbro k e o r L cast e here uch as those at ewes . o f The ruins , although considerable extent, are o f fragmentary , and little more than the plan this stronghold can now be traced . The moats are W t o N . double the . , but triple elsewhere .

Henry I I . held a court here ; and the castle o f was at times the residence many monarchs , particularly Edward I I I The Black Prince ’ was a visitor here during his father s reign .

. o f The Church of St . Peter, on the N side the High Street, is by local authorities claimed to be larger than any parish church in the county, saving only St . Albans Abbey ; but ’ this distinction is also claimed for St . Mary s, o f H itchin . The original structure was great

- antiquity, dating from pre Norman times but it was wholly rebuilt early in the reign o f l o n Henry I II . There are chantry chape s “ o either side feach transept ; that called St . ’ ” f 1 John s Chantry dates rom about 3 50 . Among many other features of interest note ( 1) fine groined roof of northern chantries ; ( 2 ) lancet windows in the chancel , containing four h t een t . century glass ; ( 3) the E window, a memorial to the poet Cowper ; (4) tablet to ’ Ann Cowper, the poet s mother ; ( 5) brass to 6 John Raven , Esquire to the Black Prince ( ) t o altar tomb John Sayer, head cook to Charles o 8 I I . ; ( 7) mosaic rered s ; ( ) altar tomb and 1 6 e ffigies of Richard Torrington (d . 3 5 ) and t he Margaret his wife, in N . transept . During restoration of this transept in 1 8 8 1 a portion o f an ancient arch was discovered . 7 2 B E RK HAM PSTEAD —BETLOW

The Grand Junction Canal is close to the Bu lbo u r n e river , and partly for this reason many small industries are pursued in the town ,

' o f such as the making straw plait, scoops and

- o f . shovels various sorts, army tent pegs, etc The present rectory is on a small hill near the o f church , to the S . the H igh Street it stands on the site of the former house, in which o ld — Cowper was born , and the well house , “ ’ st ill . called Cowper s Well , may be seen There is a good library in the Mechanics ’ fo r Institute . The almshouses, six widows, 168 1 were founded in , by the John Sayer e mention d above . The Kings of Mercia are known to have resided and held courts here ; King W hithr ed summoned a council to meet ’ B r é e nzr t at 6 at e g e in 9 7 . BE S E D LI E RKHAM P T A , TTL ( 3 miles S . from

Cole Green Station , has a stone church erected early in the seventeenth century . It has a wooden belfry and spire . The building

18 6 - o f was restored in 5 7 , but contains little architectural or historical interest . There are, o a h wever, several memorials, notably the alt r o f the table in memory Bishop Ken , born in

6 . E 1 N . parish in 37 . On a hill from the church stands the tall red - brick observatory erected by

1 8- John Stratton in 7 9 , in order, as it is said , that from its summit he might watch his ships in the Thames . The tower has been called “ ’ Stratto n s Folly ’ B r d ea h e nar s H t . . (See St . Albans ) B etlo w is a lordship of Long Marston 7 3 HE RTFORDSH I RE

BI S H O P ’ S STO RTF O RD is in ' the ex f . o o n treme E the county and the Essex border .

It is an ancient town , deriving its name from o ve r ‘ t he the ford river Stort, and from the fact

. t o that William I gave the town Maurice, o f a o Bishop London . It is f mous fr its Grammar

School , at which the late Cecil Rhodes, a native o f o fW a te the town, was educated . The site y I more Castle, built by William . , is on a mound H o c k er il lo w near the road to , where a , wide

- flint wall is partly surrounded by a moat . The W indhill church of St . Michael on is Perp . it 8 was restored in 1 59 . There was a former church o n the same site the present structure

1 2 0 - 0 dates from say 4 4 . The nave has six bays the tower is pinnacled and has a ring of ’ Cha n c s ten fine bells . u y book has an int eresting “ h G lds paragraph about this churc . Three y and a Chantry were founded in this church ;

G ld . G ld the y of St Mary the y of St . Michael G ld o f and the y St . John Baptist ; to which , 6 c v z . 1 S er e i An 47 , Elizabeth py gave Legacies, , t o the d l 1 . . two former 3 s 4 a piece, to the ast 03 4 . These Saints had their altars, and St . o n Michael his Tabernacle, which much Cost had been bestowed but ‘ the Chantry was h founded in the time of Ric ard III . and the

Settlement thereof cost much Money . Chancel and nave are separated by a screen of carved o ak the font (Norman) was discovered during the restoration o ft he church there is a piscina in the S . aisle . The clerestory was added and the cha n cel restored in 18 84 ; on the chancel 74 ' BISHO P S STOR’I ‘ FORD

H E RTFO RDSH I RE ofa Roman encampment and villa are show n a on inquiry at a spot near the vill ge . ’ an s r en E fr o -m B o wm G e (i mile N . . London 2 o Smallfo r d Colney and miles S . fr m Station , is a tiny hamlet near the river Colne

he . an d t . k high road from Barnet to St Albans W B 1 S. OXM OOR is a village about 1 mile . a from Hemel Hempste d . The Grand Junction

Canal flows between the village and the town .

From the station , a motor car plies to and from Hemel Hempstead . Many Roman remains have been found i n the neigh bo u r ho o d a tw o , p rticularly some remains of an d a o f Roman villas , m ny coins the period of 1 8 Diocletian . The church , erected in 74, is

E E . . . in design , and was planned by Mr

Norman Shaw . It has N . and S . aisles and porches . There was an earlier structure on the n same site . Private residences are increasi g so rapidly that the place is now almost a suburb of Hemel H empstead . ’ B oy do n s H ill adjoins the village of Alden ham . 1 B r a bnr E nd g y ( 12i mile E . from Knebworth o n Station , is a hamlet the Great North

Road . B RAM F I E L D OR BRAI N I’ ‘ F I E LD ( 3% miles W N . . from Hertford Station , is a E a E . . parish and Vill ge . The church is , stand ing on the si te of an earlier edifice the present 1 8 0 tower and spire were built in 4 , and the 18 0 church itself restored in 7 . We learn from Matthew of Westminster that Thomas aBecket 76 BOW M AN W BRE AC H W OOD G REEN held the living here as his first charge a pond near the church is called Becket ’ s Pond ” W n o w ueen Hoo Hall N . . Q , from the village , is a farmhouse , but was formerly an Elizabethan residence , and gave the title to a romance partly written by Sir Walter Scott . The neighbour h ood is pleasant , and a pretty stroll may be

N E . . taken either . to Wood Hall Park or S to

Panshanger Park . W B r andley H ill is 1 mile N . . from Aston . W BRAU G H I N G has a st ation mile S. . from the town , on the Buntingford Branch of G . E . R . “ an Br ac hin es It is ancient parish , the g of

D omerelo B oo/e . y , and was a Roman station The church and few streets of which the village consists are very picturesquely scattered o n the S W . . slope of a hill overlooking the river Quin , at t he intersection o fthe Roman Ermine Street ’ and the road from Bishop s Stortford to Baldock .

There was formerly a market each week , dating o f from the reign Stephen also an annual fair , abolished a few years ago . The church , close

- to the hand bridge over the river , is largely

Perp . , and contains a few brasses , none of which are important . It has been partially restored on several occasions during the last sixty years , and some o fthe modern workm anship is very 1 o ak good . Note ( ) open tracery in carved screen ; ( 2 ) o ak pulpit ; ( 3) finely carved font of Caen stone ; (4) old font outside , near the ’ C oeM am r tee e I tower . At p ( i mile E . from the church) was once an Augustinian priory . B r e hw o o d r een ac N . E G (about 3s miles . 7 7 H E RTFORDSHI RE

1 from Luton Hoo Station , and mile S . from King ’ s Walden Church) is a village on high ground rather more than a mile from the

Bedfordshire border . Pretty walks may be t o S W taken S . E . Bendish or . . to Chiltern

Green . BRE N T P E LH AM ( 1 mile from Essex border f an and 5 miles E . from Bunting ord) is i nterest be ing village, formerly called Burnt Pelham cause, as tradition states, both village and church were destroyed by fire during the reign of

Henry I . Traces of the fire existed in the days of Norden (oi/ m 1 548 The church — near which the old sto cks may still be seen is E E so fr e . . , with the embattled western tower quent in Herts . It is locally famous for a tomb

- i n the N . wall , said to mark the resting place o fo n e Sho n k es Piers , a serpent slayer who lived i n the time of William I . The tomb bears some h allegorical figures , whic have been the subject P el/mnz Hall of diverse interpretations . (E . E . “ a E s B rclay, q ) , a slight but well contrived ” M an n o r House in this , near the Church , was 16 2 0 built i n by one Edward Newport . It was o r l er s once owned by the Floyers F y , a family to whose memory there are several memorials in the church . B r ic k endo n is now partly included in the o f borough Hertford . There are some imposing residences in the neighbourhood . BRI C K E T W OO D is almost exactly midway between St . Albans and Watford ; it consists of some cottages scattered aro und an extensive 7 8

BRO! BOUR N E C H URC H BRENT PE LHAM— B ROXBOURN E

wood and common , crossed by “ The station is 5 mile from the wood , which is much frequented by picnic parties, school fo r treats, etc . The district is good ground the

field botanist and entomologist . N W B r o adfi eld ( 2 amiles . . from Bunting a o n ford) is hamlet near Cottered , the hill N . h from that village . The all was once a much Chau n c larger structure (engraved in y, vol . i . ) 1 8 8 2 it was in part rebuilt i n , but still retains a portion believed to date from the fifteenth century . B r o adw ater is a haml et at the meeting of the roads from Stevenage, Hatfield and Hertford . The nearest station is Knebworth ( I i mile B r a er ha o dw a 1 . B k m y ( 5: mile S . E from p

- o f- stead) has a Dec . chapel ease to the parish 1 8 church . It was erected in 54. A short o f walk takes one to the ruined chapel St . Mary a M gdalen on the Bucks border . B o m le 1 r % . . y ( mile S E from Standon Station ,

is a small hamlet . B r min r W o o G een S . (2 mile . from Stevenage

Station , is a hamlet near the railway and

mile from the Six Hills . (See Stevenage . ) B B E ROX OU RN , a large village near the river

Lea and New River, is a favourite fishing resort . The church stands o n high ground overlooking

- the mill leat it is a fine Perp . structure, dating ft from early in the fi eenth century . The N .

- chancel chapel was built by Sir William Say , “ in honor a ye Tr enete the yere o four Lord 1 2 2 t e God 5 his tomb is in h chancel . The 79 H E RTFORDSHI RE church was restored in 1 8 57 ; the roof is of

fine oak panelling the font , on eight pillars, is t o probably Early Norman . There are brasses a priest holding a chalice (cir ca 1470) to another r cir ca 1 10 priest in obes ( 5 ) to Sir John Borrell ,

. 1 2 1 mace bearer to Henry VI I I . (d 5 ) to Sir

John Say (d . and his wife (d . Note also ( 1) holy water stoup n ear door 2 fii i ( ) marble e g es of Sir Henry Cock (d . and his wife and family ( 3) shield o farms i n centre of nave, with verses in English , bearing a 16 0 d te 3 . From the church a very picturesque walk may be taken through the village, to “ ’ ” o r Hoddesdon , by way of Admiral s Walk, beside the Lea past the grounds of the Crown

B r o bou a - x r ne nr . Hotel . y (H T . Smith Bosanquet, W . 1 . Esq , J P . ) is i n the beautiful park , mile , and is a large imposing mansion in Jacobean style . In Church Fields and on the London

- Road are large rose nurseries , producing an o f immense number roses yearly . The neigh bo u r ho o d is one of the most pleasant in the county . B K D U C LAN ( 3 miles N . from Buntingford , E E on the Royston Road) has an . . church , Bo k lan d 1 8 built by N icholas de e in 34 . The a o f . piscin at the E . end the S aisle marks the

- site of what was formerly the lady chapel . The font is very possibly anterior to the Conquest it is a roughly hewn mass of Barnack stone . o f The low window in the S . wall the chancel o u t n s is was opened duri g some renovation , and tho ught to have been connected with a con

80

H E RTFORDSHIRE

d . 2 1 E dw . . I II , when that King did grant one

Market every Week, and one Fair every Year in

Buntingford, to Elizabeth de Burgo and her 6d ” o f . Heirs, reserving the Yearly Rent At o f o ld the N . end High Street is the pound . ar n B ur f o ld C ey y (i mile N . ) is a fine manor house . Little of historic importance is to be gleaned in the town , but a ramble from end to end is interesting by reason o fthe many quaint inns and cottages, of all ages and styles, which meet the eye at every turn . B u r nham r een I s I G a hamlet i mile N . E . from Welwyn Station , G . N . R . B u r r een 1 y G ( 5 mile W . from Chestnut

Station , is a small hamlet near Theo bald ’ s Park also B u r r een z i . y G , a hamlet miles W from ’ Bishop s Stortford . u r H ill and B u r M ill B y y . (See Hemel

Hempstead . ) l B u r tee e . y S (See Hexton . ) u h B ar r w I B s o is i mile N . from Walling t o n o n , Metley Hill , midway between the I c k n ield village and the Way . B S E U H Y is a large village, now practically

o f . the S . E . suburb Watford The station is in the hollow between the village itself and High Street , Watford cyclists must be careful o f the descent towards that town . Near the centre of the village is a small green and pond , and here stands the partly

o f } ames . r ebu ilt 1 8 1 Dec . church St J , in 7 by E E . Sir Gilbert Scott . The . window, triple

8 2 B URNHAM GRE EN— BYG RAVE a M ar o r i l ncet , is to the memory of Edwards j

1 8 . a banks of the Hall (d . 79 ) and his wife Sil s fo r Titus, whose name is remembered his sup posed authorship o f the notorious pamphlet K illin noe M ur der g , was born at Bushey and buried i n this church there is a headstone to his daughter in the graveyard ; S B E E 1 . U H Y H ATH ( mile S . E from the above) is on the Middlesex border . It is now 1 8 8 an ecclesiastical district, formed in 9 ; the E E church , an . . brick structure , dates from 1 8 8 18 8 2 3 the porches were added in . The district is very healthy . B u s he Little y , , is E . from Bushey Heath, which it almost j oins . B u s he M ill o n 2 y is the river Colne, mile

N . E . from Watford Junction . B u tc h r r e een . y G . (See Hertford ) B E 1 E YGRAV ( % mile N . . from Baldock o f Station , has a small church built clunch from the Ashwell pits near by . It dates 1 2 0 I f from perhaps 3 . Note ( ) octagonal ont (about 1420 ( 2 ) slab o n floor to a former

‘ rector, a Huguenot (d . and ( 3) the piscina in chancel . Close by, at the Manor

. o f c o n House, are the remains some moats str u-c ted five centuries ago by the resident knight,

Sir John Thornbury, because of the many marauders that infested the neighbourhood . The place was once a market - town ; the

. market, granted by Henry III . , was held each

Monday . The village lies on high ground , a ’ n i l I c k e d . few minutes walk N . from the Way 8 3 HERTFORDSHIRE

ALD E I’ ‘ C C O E . . o (about 3 miles N . N E fr m o f Baldock Station , has a Perp . church rubble, containing a few memorials, a very

finely canopied holy water stoup, and a font

1 80 . dating from , say, 4 ald f C ic o t H ill is 1 mile E . rom Bushey M iddlesex bo r der Heath , on the .

S I OB U RY P . CAS ARK . (See Watford ) Catlip is a hamlet near Chorley Wood M e t . R Station , . ’ ' h ndler s r ss 2 W C a C o ( % miles S. . from ’ King s Langley Station , is a small hamlet . h E nd 2 C apm o r e is 5 miles N . from Hert ford . hels in C . g is near the river Rib , 3 miles N from Ware . her r r e n 1 W e S. C y G ( mile . from West

Mill Station , is a small hamlet . ’ E S T Anti uities C H H U N , according to Grose s q , D ur olitunz the of Antoninus , is a large parish which contains much of interest . Its ancient C easter C est r ehu n t names, Cestre, , , leave little 1 doubt that it was a Roman station . At Roman im Urn Inn , near the station , is an urn bedded in the wall ; it was discovered close by o f some years ago, and is probably Roman manu

1 C hau nc y writes : This Vill in o ld R ec o r ds was c a e d C es tr ehu nt o m C a u m in La i ic ll , fr str the t n , wh h m i in all P o babi i im o o m c as e e ec ed gh , l y , p l t r ' t rt s e t r t h ere by the R o m ans ; and the Saxo ns im itating t he nam e o u c o r u m i o m e c e c a it , th gh r ptly ght fr h n ll C estr ehu nt 84

H E RTFORDSHI RE

o f Tr ev ec c a Countess Huntingdon , at , near

Talgarth, S . Wales, and removed to Cheshunt

f . t o o o f a ter her death Close by, , is the site

Pengelly House , once the home of Richard

Cromwell . Cheshunt Park ( 1 mile N . ) is full of memories of the Cromwells and the Russells .

The Great House, near Church Gate, was one o fthe many residences o f Cardinal Wolsey

A part Of the walls still stand (or did, quite recently), but the moat has been filled up .

H E S S . C , river . (See Introduction ) ’ hev er ell s r een W C G ( I % mile N . . from N W Flamstead, and about 4miles . . from Red R M . a bourn Station , . ) is small hamlet and green adjoining Beechwood Park . hildw ic k r e n C G e is 1 mile S . from Har

2 . . penden Common , and 1 miles N from St

Albans . ’ E E D 2 C H IPP RF I L ( % miles W . from King s c c Langley Station , was made an c lesiast ic al 1 8 6 parish in 3 . The small church E E 1 8 on the common , . . in style , was built i n 37 , o f and has since been enlarged . It is little interest . There is a good lich gate at the

N . entrance to the churchyard . Several small ’ winding lanes lead to King s Langley ; the neighbourhood is pleasant and varied . hi in 2 C pp g ( miles N . from Buntingford) is a small village o n the Royston Road . hi v es l E e cl o r h s N . C fi ( C e fi elcl ) is 2 miles .

G . N . R from Stevenage Station , . It is locally a fo i f mous r its ru ned church . One John W kin s y was rector here as early as 1 3 2 3 . The 86 CH ESS —CLOTHALL

windows were partly destroyed i n 1642 . Some ’ interesting memorials were extant i n Chau n c y s day, and are mentioned in the second volume of his Antiquities . D W E W O 2 N . C H ORL Y O , a village % miles . from Rickmansworth , has a station on the

et R. . M . near the Amersham Road The church , 1 8 E . E . in style , dates from 45, but was largely

1 8 0 . rebuilt in 7 William Penn , the Quaker,

was married here . There are many pretty o f walks through the Valley the Chess, which a flows between the village and S rratt (an ) . Chu r c h E n d is a small hamlet in the p arish of Albury , 3 miles E . from Braughing Station ,

G . E . R . Cla ate o n pg , a hamlet the river Ash , is close

to Church E nd . n d 1 Clay E ( 5 mile S . E . from Walkern) — — is about equidistant 5 miles from Stevenage

o r Westmill Stations . Cl ay H ill is on the high road between

- Bushey and Bushey Heath (on ) .

2 . C LOTHALL ( amiles S . E from Baldock) has o n an interesting church , chiefly Perp . , a gentle

hill . There is a good brass in the chancel to V n ter John y , first rector of the church (d . o ne o f and to John Wright, Master

Trinity College , Cambridge , also rector here f . O (d . On the S the church is a small c a Dec . hantry ch pel . Note also a sixteenth century brass to the wife and sixteen children o fWilliam Br am fi eld o fClothall The Saxons

are said to have called the spot Cley Hall , 8 7 HE RTFORDSHIR E

l because it stood on a hill of clay . Clothal t o Bury is a little the E . Co c k er nho e G r een 2 S W is 5 miles . . from Offle 2 3 E N . . y, and 5 miles from Luton Station

(Beds) . Coc hham s tead 2 N E Br au h p ( miles . . from g ing Station , is near Albury Hall . D I E N W f ' C O C OT ( 3 miles . . rom Welwyn

Station , is a large village on the Wel

- a wyn Hitchin Road , with pleasant heath a little

W . The Church of St . Giles is an ancient E E 1 8 structure , . . , restored in 53 it stands in a

field mile N . from the village . The S . chapel 1 1 2 dates from 3 . The embattled W . tower is a fine structure . There are several memorial windows, comparatively modern .

O E E E o G N . R. C L G R N has a stati n on the . branch line from Hatfield to Hertford . From the station little is to be seen except the ’ Cowper s Arms and a few cottages . ’ m an n f le s r ee I . Co G ( t mile S . E rom Wheathampstead Station is prettily situated near the Devil s Dyke and Brocket

Hall . John Bunyan sometimes preached in a

- cottage here ; a large chimney stack , bearing an inscription , still marks the spot , unless quite recently removed . ’ Co llier s E nd o n is on high ground , the Old 2 S W North Road , miles . . from Standon Station ,

G . E . R . It is a very typical English hamlet . E C OLN , river . (See Introduction . ) L E Sm allfo r d C O N Y H E ATH ( 1 mile S . from

Station , is an ecclesiastical parish . The 8 8

H E RTFORDSHIRE

’ m er ae I Cr o [ f . y ( i mile S from Ayot Station , ’ consists of a farmhouse, the Chequer s

Inn , and a few old and picturesque cottages . f The nearest church is i mile S . E . at the corner o fBrocket Hall Park . r o x l r een E C e N . y G (2 mile . from Rick man sw o r th) is an ecclesiastical parish near the river Chess . The church, built thirty years E E ago, is late . . in style and has some good memorial windows . C uflley is a small hamlet about midway between Cheshunt and Potter’ s Bar (Middlesex)

Stations, but a little N . from the straight line . ’ ff r a The Church of St . J ames at Go s Oak (e ) is 1 mile E . u m b r w en W C e lo G r e is 4 miles N . . from

Buntingford . C u r r an ts B o tto m o n , the Bucks border , is close to Chorley Wood Station , Met . R . D ane E nd o r , Munden Street, is 4 miles S W . . from Standon Station , G . E . R . The nearest church (5 mile N . ) is at Little Munden . D an e E nd , 4 miles S . from Royston , is close to the Old North Road . There are a few cottages and two farms . D as s ells o n is a hamlet the Old North Road ,

1 . . . mile E . from Westmill Station , G E R The little river Quin flows close by . K neb DAT C H WORT H ( I i? mile S . E . from worth Station, has a church with some fo r Norman portions . Its spire is conspicuous

' he miles round . T larger portion is , however,

Dec . Note ( 1) some good stained glass windows 9 0 CROME R HYDE— DIGSWELL

0 in chancel ; ( 2 ) chal ice dated 16 3 . The

18 - 0 church was restored i n 69 7 . The place is ' ve ry ancien t ; w e read that four hides of land at D ecesoyr t/z were granted by an early Saxon king to the Monastery of St . Peter at West minster, and that in the reign of Edward I II .

o . Th mas de la Mere, Abbot of St Albans , transferred the patronage o fthis church to the king . d 5 f D ean E n 5 . ( ; mile S rom Redbourn Station ,

R. . M . ) is a small hamlet i r e E n d D elan o is 5 mile E . from Flamstead and near the high road to Dunstable . The a 2 5“ nearest railway st tion is Redbourn , miles

S . E . D i s well o n the g , a village river Maran , is

W G . N . R. S. . mile from Welwyn Station ,

Loo king E . the visitor will notice the Great — Northern Viaduct over the Maran V alley a a truly magnificent structure o f forty rches . i u The church , beaut f lly situated on the hill , E E i n . . It contains a large but much mutilated Per ien t o f brass to John , Master the Horse to a Joan of N varre and Esquire to Richard IL ,

Henry IV . and Henry V . This interesting inscription being much defaced I will transcribe “ Chau n c ac et Per ien t from y Hic j Johannes , r Ric har di Sec u ndi A miger pro corpore Regis ,

‘ et Pen er ar ius e t ejusdem Regis , Armiger . Regis et Henrici Quarti , Armiger etiam Regis Henrici et E u itu m a filiae Quinti Magister q Johann , Nav ar r et Re im a —et Regis , g Angli e qui obiit Johanna uxor eju s quondam c apit alis D o m ic illa 9 1 HE RTFORDSHIRE

- 2 D o m a . 1 1 qu e obiit 4 Aprilis Anno 4 5. 1 Per ien t of Note also brasses ( ) to John , son the 2 r above (d . ( ) William Robe t, auditor 1 8 of the diocese of Winchester (d . 4 4) ( 3) to cir ca a civilian , his wife, and ten children ( o f (4) to Thomas Hoore, a mercer

London , his wife, and twelve children . The 1 8 2 church was restored in 7 . D i s w ell W ater g is a hamlet mile E . from

Digswell Church, and close to Welwyn Station . n W D o w n G r ee is 5mile W . from heatham p

G . N . R stead Station, . ’ D r iv er s E nd 2 , a hamlet miles W . from o n S W Knebworth Station , is the . . confines of Knebworth Park . One mile S . is o f the village Codicote . The neighbourhood is very pleasant . D u cts w ell , a few cottages on the Grand N W Junction Canal , is a mile . . from North

2 N W - f church village , and miles . . rom Berk hampstead Station , E n E as t d 1 . r ( mile S . E f om Cole Green

Station , is between Panshanger Park and the River Lea . There is also a hamlet of o n the same name the Essex border, about 5

E . . . N . . fi miles om Braughi ng Station , G E R E S 1 N W A TWI C K ( mile . . from Burnt Mill

Station , is a parish near the Essex border, on the river Stort . The church , rebuilt 8 E 1 E . . i n 7 3, is in . style It is locally famous for its recumbent statue of a knight in chain o n armour, resting a raised slab ; the legs are n o r but crossed . There is neither date name 9 2

HE RTFORDSHI RE the Roman city Sulloniacre occupied (appr o xi mately) the site on which Elstree stands, and Norden lent his authority to this hypothesis ; but there is little doubt that Brockley Hill near Edgware m o re closely corresponds in position with the city mentioned in the I tiner ary o f

Antoninus .

E in r een 1 . . pp g G , a hamlet mile S E from ' N o f Little Berkhampstead, is at the . end ns o r ne Pu b Park . The nearest station is Cole W Green nearly 4 miles N . . E S S E N D ON is a pretty village o n rising ground 2 overlooking the Valley of the Lea, miles S . from Cole Green Station . The church , stand 18 8 ing in the park, was rebuilt in 3 ; it was probably founded as early as the twelfth century .

It is now of flint, dressed with ancaster stone . Note ( 1) alabaster monument to William Priestly 2 f o f (d . ( ) brass and e figy William o f Tooke, auditor the Court of Wards and 1 8 8 o Liveries (d . 5 ) ( 3) shields from the t mb o f o f Henry Courtenay, son Henry, Marquess o f 1 0 Exeter (4) chalice bearing date 57 , given to the church by Eli z abeth Reynes 5) Basker ville Bible presented by the First Marquess o f a u S lisb ry . During restoration several slabs to

- the Tooke family ( 16 3 5 55) were discovered . ’ P E ssenaon Place . . (Baron Dimsdale, J ) is a fine ’ house in a park o f 100 acres ; and B eawell

is . . Par . (C J Monk, Esq ) should be visited, by special permission , to view the Belvedere ’ o ne o f Collection , including Murillo s many Assumptions 9 4 EPPING GRE EN— FLAM STEAD BURY

E x nells , near the river Ash , is a small hamlet

E . . . N . 2 . miles from Hadham Station , G E R harn all 1 N E a F an H is mile . . from W re . ’ F i her s een t W s G r (i mile N . . from Steven a age) is small hamlet . F lam ad z W f s te ( it miles N . . rom Redbourn

M . R. o n Station , ) lies high ground near the river Ver . The name is a corruption of Ver lam stead f , the river having ormerly been called “ ” Ver lam the . The church is in the centre o f the village it is a large Dec . structure dating from the fourteenth century ; the nave is o f The six bays, with fine octagonal pillars . - 1 tower is ver y large and massive . Note ( ) l sc 1na I n o f p W . wall vestry, once a chapel ; ( 2 ) piscina in chancel ; ( 3) finely carved o ak f f chancel screen , dating rom fi teenth century but resto red in 1 89 3 ; (4) mutilated altar c r o c k etted tomb in nave , carved and , but bearing no inscription , it is probably not later than

1 00- 2 0 4 ; ( 5) marble monument, with Ionic l o f co umns, to Thomas Saunders Beechwood ; 6 Ou de b o f ( ) brass to John y, rector the 1 1 ffi o church (d . 4 4) (7) e gy in armour t Sir K t fo r Bartholomew Fouke, . , many y ears

Master o fthe Household to Queen . Elizabeth

. B eechwood P ar t be (d At , so called cause o fthe many fine beeches in the neigh bo u r ho o d , was once a Benedictine Nunnery . o The walk fr m Flamstead to Great Gaddesden , o f o 6 by way Beechw od Park (about miles), is very picturesque» F lams tead B u r 1 y is mile W . from Red 9 5 H ERTFORDSHI R E

M . R bourn Station , . , and midway between the ’ N . end of the village and a spot called Heaven s

Gate . d E nd 1 1 W F lam s tea N . ( 5 mile . from Ches hunt Station , is a considerable hamlet . d n W F lau n e . f (4 miles S. rom Boxmoor

o ! o n Stati n , is a village and parish I the Bucks border, with the river Chess i mile

S . The present church is modern , and local folk claim that it is the first built by the late fw . e Sir Gilbert Scott The font, and a tiles, o h fo etc . , were br ught ere r m the old church at Flaunden Bottom near Chenies, some ruins f Chau n c o which still remain . y tells us that Flaunden belonged to the manor o f Hemel

Hempstead , that it was granted to one Thomas a Fl unden , who built a small church in the valley near the river (Chess) with a small tower ffi of timber at the W . end . Spiritual o ces were performed by a curate supplied from Hemel o Hempstead, who served Bovingd n and Flaunden by turns as duty required . ll W F o The 1 N . . y , (a small hamlet mile o fr m Wheathampstead Station , is passed r M c k e on the way to Harpenden o a r y End . f Batfo r d o n A little arther W . is Mill the river

Lea . F r iths den F r ies clen h 2 (or ) , a amlet miles

N E . f . rom Great Berkhampstead , stands in a f to the beauti ul district, with Ashridge Park W N . . The nearest church is at the pretty a f n o n N . E vill ge Nettlede (o ) mile . H igh E v esde n Park Road , Wood, Marigold Wood , 9 6

H ERTFORDSH IRE was l o rd o fthe manor in the reign of Edward Fur neaux Pelham I . Close to the church is Hall E s z (Felix Calvert, q , a fine Eli a bethan mansion whose owners suffered several misfortunes during the civil wars . W D D E S D E E T N . . GA N , GR A ( 3 miles from

Hemel Hempstead), is a village on the river Gade at the foot of the hill that leads to

Nettleden . The church is close to the river C ock and B ottle side, and immediately behind the “ o f I nn. It is an ancient structure Roman E E bricks and flint ( N ) , believed to date from , 8 2 1 2 0 1 6 . say, 9 ; the tower was rebuilt in a to There are many memori ls the Halsey family, o f Gaddesden Place but few others any interest . , fu E o f in a beauti l park mile . , is the seat T . P F . Halsey, Esq . , J. . It was built from designs 1 by Wyatt, in 7 74, in an Italian style . D D E S D E LI E f T . o GA N , TL (4 miles N r m

Berkhampstead Station , is a straggling village on the confines o fAshridge Park Pretty cottages and tastefully planned the gardens meet eye everywhere . The church i s Perp . and contains many monuments to the : 1 Egerton family , Earls of Bridgewater ( ) Sir 16 2 John Egerton , Kt . (d . 49 ) ( ) Lady Frances, 16 Countess of Bridgewater (d . 3 5) ( 3) John , o f Viscount Brackley, Lord the Privy Council

(d . (4) Elizabeth , Countess Of Bridge “ ” a o f water , transcendently virtuous lady ’ ’ beauty so u npar allel d that tis as much beyond o sur asseth the art of the m st elegant pen , as it p the skill o fseveral o fthe most exquisite pencils 9 8 GREAT GADDESDEN— GI BRALTE R

n t to describe and o disparage it (d . 6 ( 5) Ann , Lady Egerton (d . ( )

o f . Francis, third Duke Bridgewater (d The latter was styled the Father o f British Inland Navigation ; and the tall column near I Ashridge Park , % mile W . from the church , 18 2 was erected to his memory in 3 . Gaddesden G r een is practically one with f a the above , the marble cross and ount in to the 1 8 88 memory o fLady Marian Alford (d . ) being between the village and the Green . Gaddesden f o f 2 . . Hoe is miles E . rom the S end the Green ddes den Ro w ' G a ( 3 miles N . from Hemel M R Hempstead Station , . . ) is a straggling hamlet equidistant (about 2 miles) from Flam stead and Great Gaddesden .

D E . . GA , river (See Introduction ) H l ’ Gallo w s il mile S . from King s n Langley Statio , is a hamlet . ’ The Booksellers Provident Retreat is here . It is also the name o fa hill between Hertford and o n the Ware, which stands Joint Isolation

Hospital fo r the tw o towns .

Gannoc k G r een is 2 5 miles S . from Ash R G . N . . well Station , The nearest church is

G anno c k . at Sandon . Farm is mile E ’ Gar dener s E nd ( 3% miles W . from Bunt in fo d o f g r ) is a hamlet in the parish Ardeley . W ar to n S . Br ic k et G s is I i mile . from n Wood Statio , ibr alter o n r Oad f G , the rom Harpenden to o Lut n , is on the Bedfordshire border, close to H o o R G . N . . Luton Park and Station , 9 9 H E RTFORDSHI RE

S 2 u GI L TON ( miles N . from B rnt Hill 2 f Station (Essex) and about miles S . E . rom Chau nc Widford village) is a scattered parish . y says it was probably waste ground at the time o f the Conquest, as there is no mention of i t in sda B ook D ome y . The church was very prob ff M a n av ille ably erected by Geo rey de g , who was Earl of Essex and Lord o fthe Manor o f Sabr iesw o r d (Sawbridgeworth) during the reign E E . . . o n of Stephen . It is and stands the hill about i mile N . from the Park . There is a

fine double piscina i n the chancel , and some heraldic glass in the windows, showing the o f E astfi e ld E n a n e coats Astley , Bassett, and g y . The monuments to the Gore family are numerous amongst those buried i n the church 1 16 w as are ( ) Sir John Gore , Kt . (d . 59 ) he f o f and twice sheri f the county, a member Of ’ Cromwell s second Protectorate Parliament ( 2 ) f Dame Dorothy Gore (Kempe) , second wi e to 16 the foregoing (d . 45) ( 3) Dame Persis, wife 66 . 1 to Sir Humphrey Gore , Kt . (d 5) (4) in

churchyard , John , eldest son of the said Sir

' a fi ne Humphrey (d . The Feathers , Old inn (cir ca still stands in this village an excellent photograph of it was reproduced in m ounti s a i Gilston the H o e C e M ag z ne (Oct . P ar t n o t u , beautiful but very extensive , sho ld

be visited ; for the mansion (E . S . Bowlby , P o f Esq . , M . A . , J. . , etc . ) stands near the site New Place o f , successively the home the hau n c s Plu m e s C r . y , Gores and The house was beau tified o enlarged and by Sir Humphrey G re ,

I OO

H ERTFORDSHI RE

tion . The manor of Graveley is of great antiquity ; it was given by William I . to o f William , Earl Ewe . Graveley is perhaps “ ’ ” fo r Saxon the Reeve s land , and Norden thinks the place took its name from a Reeve of

- the county in pre Norman times . Near the village a beacon was employed “ once upon a ” time to give warning o f the appr oach o f f enemies . One mile N . rom the church is ’ “ o f Jack s H ill , once the haunt a robber, Jack ’ ’ 0 legs, the hero of many a legend known in o the district . His grave is shown in West n ’ 2 churchyard , miles E . from Jack s Hill . n cl ' N E f G r av es e ( 35 miles . . rom Braughing

Station , is a hamlet on the road from

Little Hadham to Furneaux Pelham . Albury church is 1 mile S . G r een E nd o f is the name three hamlets , 1 ( ) in the parish of Little Munden , about 4 2 miles W . from Standon Station ; ( ) in the N W . f parish of Sandon , about 4 miles . rom Buntingford Station (both stations ( 3)

5 mile N . from Boxmoor Station , r een tr — o f G S eet . There are two hamlets N W I 2 . . this name in Herts, ( ) % miles from ’ E Bishop s Stortford ; ( 2 ) I E mile N . . from Boreham Wood Station T E r een e I N . G y is t mile . from Hadham

Station , G . E . R . ’ r u b s B ar n 2 G ( miles S . E . from Welwyn o f f Station , consists a armhouse and several co ttages on Open breezy ground between

Hatfield and Tewin .

10 2 GRAVE SEN D—HADHAM

’ G r u b s Lane is near the outskirts o fHatfield

Park, 3 miles S . E . from the town . bbl o t W f u ec N . G ( 3 miles . rom Tring) is near the Aylesbury Canal . The Tring reser v o ir s o n , famous for the rare waterfowl shot those waters on many occasions , are a little to the S . t f G u s ar ci W oo d ( 1 mile N . rom Wheat hampstead Station may be visi ted fo r o f its golf links, which there are few in the county . HA D HAM (GR E AT o r M U C H) is an ancient village and parish near the river Ash . The I S W station , is i mile . . We read that the Manor was given by King Edgar to o f the Bishops London , several of whom have Old resided at the manor house . Katherine, mother of Henry VI . and wife Of Owen Tudor, o f gave birth to a son here , known as Edmund

Hadham . The church of St . Andrew, near the

E . E 1 00 river, is . , dating from about 3 . It has been much altered and restored . The very fine S . porch is thought to be the work of Bishop Kemp

1 . ( 459 the massive , embattled W tower is probably by Bishop Br aybr o k e (cir ca Note ( I ) flo r iated cross and inscription to Simon 1 1 Flambard, Rector of Hadham Magna in 3 3 , 2 t o o n e and chaplain to Edward III . ( ) brass 1 2 u Alban , also rector here (d . 37 ) ( 3) mon ment to in chancel Judith Aylmer, widow of John 16 1 8 Aylmer, Bishop of London (d . ) (4) four teent h- century glass in E . window, a memorial to Thomas Randolph , a recent rector ; ( 5) 10 3 H ERTFORDSH I RE three brasses in nave to members o fthe N ewc e family ( 1 579 - 16 10) (6) fine oak chancel ae The o ld screen (7) two piscin in chancel . o r 1 00 House, Palace, dated from about 4 . M oor Par k Close to the village lies , which readers o r tourists must n o t confound with n Moor Park, Rickmansworth (o ) . The present mansion dates from about 17 80 its predecessor was an Elizabethan structure, once the property o f Sir John Gore, Kt . (see Gilston), and previ o u sl o f y Sir Garratt Harvey , in whose day “ Archbishop Usher was a guest at M o o re ”

P r n 1 . . er Gr ee Place At y , mile E from Had

- f- E E a o . ham Station , is chapel ease, in . style , 8 Hadham C r oss erected in 1 53 . is be autifully f situated in the valley, S . rom the village and partly hidden among trees . H adham F o d r ( 3 miles E . from Standon o n the 1 Station , is river Ash, mile S W . . from D H LI T E H A AM ( TL ) formerly Hadham Parva . The parish enjoys considerable hi sto ric import ance through its connection with the Cape] f f o . r amily, Earls Essex The p esent earl owns o large pr perties in the neighbourhood , and has the title of Baron o fHadham . The church stands between the village and the river, and is f fo r . o o widely known its fine S p rch timber, which it possibly owes to the pro ximity o f c o m Essex, in which county such porches are ar a i el p t v y common . The building is mostly E E late t welfth . . , probably century, but the cir ca tower , embattled and pinnacled , is Perp . ( 104

H E RTFORDSHI RE

o f the li brary, containing some good portraits f o n e o f ormer masters , which, Canon Bradby , H er k o m er was painted by . ’ H all s r en E f G e (4miles N . . rom Stevenage) 1 is on the hillside, mile S . E . from Weston church . A little farther S . note the fine view over Cromer and Cottered, with windmill f to the le t . H amm o nd S tr eet is between Cheshunt

Common and Flamstead End . The nearest 2 Station is Cheshunt, 5 miles S . E . ’ ' H amm o nd s E n d o n o f , the outskirts Ro tham stead Park, is i n the centre of the M R pleasant varied scenery between the . . and

- the St . Albans Dunstable road . The nearest I S W station is Redbourn , i m ile . . H ands icl e ( Upp er and Lo w er ) is the name o f " h two hamlets in Lemsford parish, bot near

Brocket Hall Park . Hatfield (about 3 miles S . )

G N R. is the nearest station , . . — HAR E S TR E E T There are two places in the county beari ng this name ( 1) a small hamlet partly i n Ardeley and partly i n Cottered parish ; ( 2 ) a large vill age on the Cambridge 2 Road, miles E . from Buntingford . The village has several quaint old cottages, and is by no means unpicturesque but it contains little ff of historic importance . It a ords, however, a good centre from which to visit several old and interesting churches (described elsewhere in these pages) ; Layston , Wyddial , Anstey, and Great and Little Hormead being all within a short walk .

106 HALL’ S G RE EN— HARPENDEN

E . H ar m er G r een (5 mile N . from Welwyn f Station) is a small hamlet N . rom the Maran

Valley . HARP E N D E N is well worth a visit and may 2 be easily reached from St . Pancras ( 4 miles) , ’ o r from King s Cross by changing at Hatfield . o r Visitors wishing to inspect the church , to ramble through the large village , beautifully situated at the N . end of Harpenden Common , should be careful not to choose the day of the annual races , the Friday before Epsom week . The church was rebuilt (except the tower) in i 8 1 86 2 . . 1 , in E Dec style ; pr or to 59 the old structure had been a chapel o fease t o Wheat hampstead ( 3 miles E ”) It probably dated from 0 t m say 1 14 ( e p . Stephen) and was originally cruciform and late Norman . The first tower is believed to have been destroyed by fire about

1 0 f . 47 , a ter which the present W tower was a built . Many alterations were m de during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ; the original Norman clerestory, in particular, being o ne o f 1 superseded by Low Perp . Note ( ) Norman font ; ( 2 ) brass to William C r essye 1 8 Esq . (d . 55 ) and Grace (Johnson) his wife (d . An n abu ll ( 3) brass to William (d . hau n c in and Isabella his wife . C y quotes an sc r I t I On o ne 1 6 2 p to William Seabrooke (d . 4 ) and Joanna his wife, which is of some interest from the fact that the name o fSeabrooke is t o - I n o f common day this part Herts ; (4) E . window of stained Munich glass ( 5) window t o in N . transept the family of the late Sir J . 10 7 H E RTFO RDSHI RE

ham stead Rothamst ad B o fRo t . e 1 l . Lawes ( mi e o f formerly the seat the above , is in a 1 0 finely wooded park . Erected about 47 , it ff has been almost rebuilt at di erent times . From the grand entrance , under the clock tower, there is a fine view looking S . There is an annual Flower Show in the park . Harpenden W Ro thamstead 1 . Bury is mile N . from , on the river Ver . H atc hing G r een is a hamlet o n Harpenden W f M 1 S. . . R Common , mile rom the station , . HATF I E LD may be visited by fast train ’ f G . N . R. 1 rom King s Cross, ( 7 miles) , the station

o f . being opposite the W . gates the park The older parts o fthe town lie on the western slope o fa hill close to the railway at the t o p stand o f o ld the church and portions the palace , beyond which , in the park , stands the fine o f o f mansion the Cecils . The town is great antiquity ; the Saxon Kings, who called it H eathfi eld Hez lle o f D omesda B ook (the fi y ) , owned the manor until it was given by Edgar ft to the monks o fEly . A er Ely had been

I . converted into a bishopric by Henry , the bishops made Hatfield o n e of their several residences, which gave rise to its former name ’ o f Bishop s Hatfield . Their palace became a o f royal home during the reign Henry VII I . , and was at o n e time occupied by his children z Edward, Mary and El i abeth . It was to this old palace that Eliz abeth was brought from the Tower soon after her removal from Ashridge ; whilst here she was in the custody o f Sir

10 8

HATCH ING G REEN - HATFI ELD

Thomas Pope , who treated her with kindness o not always shown even to royal pris ners . The story o fher reception o fthe news that she was o f Queen , her first Council , held here in the o f palace , and her subsequent journey to London ,

has been too often narrated to need repetition . f Immediately a ter her death James I . paid a

visit to Theobalds Park, and had an interview o f with Sir Robert Cecil , a younger son Lord

Burleigh , whom he presently created first Earl o f o f Salisbury . The exchange by the King his manor of H atfield for that o fTheobalds has been mentioned in the Introduction (Section fo r X) . The King promised to build Sir Robert a new house at Hatfield the work was o u t carried on a magnificent scale , and was 16 1 1 u completed sometime in . The new ho se f stood a little E . rom the old palace . To this house James paid an early visit one o fits most “ ’ stately apartments is called King J ames s Room H atfi eld H o u s e is still a fine example o fear ly To Jacobean architecture . be appreciated it must certainly be seen any adequate account o f r its architecture , its histo y and its treasures

would fill such a volume as this . I n shape it is 2 80 0 a parallelogram , about feet long by 7 feet

wide , with two wings on the S . front . The centre between the tw o wings is Italian Renais

sance in style ; the central tower, pierced by

o f z . the great gate, being rich Eli abethan design On the face o fthe third storey o fthe tower are

the armorial bearings of the Earl o fSalisbury . 109 H E RTFORDSHI RE

tw o This S . front and the wings enclose o n three sides a quadrangle about 1 30 feet wide 100 o u t by feet deep , beautifully laid with

flower beds and lawns . The extremities of o f each wing take the shape square , three storeyed 2 0 towers, surmounted by cupolas feet high .

Between the wings runs a basement arcade , of o n o n eight arches Doric pilasters , four each o f side the gateway below the armorial beari ngs . The entire floor above the arcade is occupied 160 2 0 by the long gallery , feet by feet , and

16 . o f feet high . At the W end this gallery is ’ the library, at the E . end is King James s Room . n o t so The aspect o fthe house from the N . is imposing ; but there is a n o ble view over the grounds from the N . terrace , and the central clock tower is a conspicuous object from the most distant spots i n the park . The library , ’ Z Of graced by ucchero s portrait Robert, Earl o f o ne o f Salisbury , contains the most valuable collections of M SS . in the country , but the State Papers have recently been lodged in a room o f o f o f greater security . A few the treasures these t w o rooms may be mentioned ( 1) more than autograph letters of the early “ Cecils ; ( 2 ) the Diary o f the great Lo rd Burleigh ( 3) the forty - tw o articles o fEdward

VI . with his autograph attached (4) a vellum o f M S . with miniature Henry VII . ; ( 5) the Norfolk correspondence (6) the Council Book o f Mary Tudor ( 7) early M S . of the Chronicle o f o f 8 William Malmesbury ( ) autograph M S . by Ascham . I I O

’ K N A AW N - OO A L O I G J MES S DR I G R M , H TFIE D H USE HATFIELD H OUSE

’ K ing yanzes s Ro o m has three fine oriel windows and is profusely decorated . The great

- o f 1 2 chimney piece marble mosaic , feet wide , is supported on black Doric columns , and sur mounted by a statue i n bron z e o fJames . Note

- the costly candelabra and gilt framed furniture . The G r an d S tai r c ase is hung with portraits n of many Cecils , by Lely, Vandyck , K eller,

Reynolds and other masters . Note the huge dimensions o f the carved balustrade ; the strange rustic figures portrayed thereon ; and the lions grasping shields bearing heraldic devices . There are five landings . Among other apartments the following should 1 The Cha el be visited ( ) p , with its fine Flemish windows representing scriptural stories, marble

- 2 Winter altar piece, and open stalls ; ( ) the m Dinin Roo o u t . g , looking upon the N terrace , about 30 feet square this room contains many ’ valuable pictures, including Wilkie s Duke of ’ Wellington , Van Somer s James I . and Charles ’

I . Gr eat , and Kneller s Peter the Great ; ( 3) Ban uetin Hall Summer D inin Room q g ; (4) g , near the foot o fthe great staircase ; the bust o f

Burleigh, in white marble, is above the door ; ” Ar mour 5) the y, full of treasures rich and rare , o f o f suits armour, relics the Spanish Armada , various arms, etc . Other pictures in various

1 . parts of the ho use include ( ) William III , 2 and Lady Ranelagh , by Kneller ; ( ) half length o fElizabeth with jewelled head - dress and grotesquely embroidered gown ; Mildred o f Coke, mother the first earl Thomas Cecil ,

I I I H E RTFORDSH IRE

Earl of Exeter : all by Z ucchero ( 3) fine - o f whole length Mary , first Marchioness of a S lisbury , by Reynolds .

The Park is the largest in the county , being about 9 miles in circumference it is undulating and beautifully wooded . There are some ’ o ak superb avenues . Of Queen Elizabeth s , E N . . f from the N . terrace, little is le t saving o f a portion trunk, railed round but the Lion n Oak, betwee the house and the great W . gates, still puts forth leaves in its season . The maze c io se to the house is only less famous than that at Hampton Court . E theldr eda The Church of St . is cruciform .

o ne o f . largely Dec . and the largest in the county a A Norm n arch in the S . transept is thought to o f be a portion the original structure . It was completely restored , indeed almost rebuilt, i n 8 2 a 10 2 2 0 1 7 . The n ve is feet by feet ; the 0 2 0 chancel about 4 feet by feet . There are f N . and S . porches ; the ormer looks almost directly upon the great gate - house o fthe old palace . The most important among many features o finterest is the ali bu r h l o f S s C a e . y p , N side chancel , from which it is divided by an arcade o fthree arches ' r an ite c o lu mns e u on Ionic g . The whole is closed by beautifully designed iron gates , the

o f . work, probably , an unknown I talian Note the marble wainscotting, and the finely conceived and executed allegorical paintings and mosaics

o n f. o n walls and roo At the E . side, a slab o fblack marble supported by fo ur k neeling

I I Z

HE RTFORDSH IRE and the river Lea flows past the h o use fro m W S E . N . . to . The present edifice was designed fo r by Paine Sir Matthew Lamb . Bart . , whose son , Sir Peniston Lamb, Bart . , became Viscount 1 8 0 Melbourne in 7 . By this nobleman the

Prince Regent was sometimes entertained here , and here, as stated in the Introduction, Lord 1 86 - Palmerston died in 5. The drawing room and grand staircase have always been admired , and but , as a whole , the house is large stately E rather than beautiful . lizabeth is said t o have visited here before she became Queen , and in o ak the park, as at Hatfield , an is shown as the one under which she loved to sit . From the Hall the most charming walks may be taken in

e . any direction .g , through the park S . E . to S W Lemsford Mill , or . . to Cromer Hyde, W E o r N . . . N . . to Water End , to Ayot Green More charming still is the ramble— permis sion should be requested— beside the winding Lea towards Old Marford and W heathamp stead . H at eld H de 1 N E fi y ( 2mile . . from Hatfield) is a hamlet in a pretty district, with the river

Lea and Hatfield Park a little S . H au ltw ic k l ies 3 miles W . from the Old o North Road ; it is a hamlet 1 mile N . fr m Br au h Little Munden . The nearest station is g

. . i s . ing, G . E R (about 3% m les pa sing the S ’ o f side Hamel s Park . H ea v ens ate 2 g ( miles W . from Redbourn M R s o f Station , . . ) con ists a few cottages in the o f o f centre a district small hamlets . The walk 1 14

H E RTFO RDSH I RE

o Hemel Hempstead, according to N rden , o wed its name (H eanham sted) to the high - f f . . o hemp land on the E side the town O fa, o f Hemel K ing the Mercians, gave six houses at hamstecle o f to the Abbey St . Albans ; but the remainder of the will remained in the hands o f Saxon Kings until it was given to Earl Moreton D omesda B ook by William I . The entry in y is in this case unusually interesting ; the pro perty held by Earl Moreton is thus described Earl Moreton held H amelhamst ede in Tr eu n g a 10 hundred , it was r ted for hides there are two Frenchmen born , with thirteen Bordars, o f there are eight Servants, and four Mills seven and thirty Shillings and four Pence Rent by the Year, and three hundred Eels wanting

five and twenty, Meadow four Carucates, o f fo r Common Pasture the Cattle , and two o ne Shillings Rent by the Year, Wood to feed thousand and two hundred Hogs in the whole value it is worth two and twenty Pounds, when he received it five and twenty Pounds, and Rent in the time of King Edward (the C o n fesso r o f ) . Two were Brethren , Men Earl ”

m an no r . Lewin , they held this From Priory

Hill , W . from the church, a fine view may be obtained Ofthe town below and the c o r n fields B ur M ill o n beyond . y is the river Gade , at ’ ’ Gaaeshr ia e Par t o n the foot of the hill . g is ’ the left as you pass from H igh Street to Pic c o tt s End ; the House is o n a beautifully wooded slope , W . from the Gade ; it is the residence P o f . Sir Astley Paston Paston Cooper , Bart . , J. ,

1 16

HERTFORD

H ERTFORDSH I RE

at n o w o f or near what is the town Ware . u o f Presently , in the co rse their many foraging excursions , they sailed farther up the river towards Hertford , stripped the people in the town and . burnt down many houses . They afterwards established a garrison near the town . Alfred brought his army down to the river side the following year and made a careful survey o f the Danish fort and o f the character and o f position their ships . He is said to have passed from place to place in a boat, drawn by a horse, and to have carefully ascertained the

' o f ff depth the water at di erent points . The precise nature o fhis subsequent Operations is not well known , but he is said to have diverted

‘ the course Of the river, to have erected a dam a d (Shass) at Blackwall , n by these means to have grounded the Danish fleet . The Danes held a treaty , and eventually withdrew i nto Cambridgeshire and Gloucestersh i re the Lo n ’ doners came down t o the scene of Alfred s ingenuity and destroyed or appropriated the

Danish ships .

Of the castle, built by Edward the Elder in 0 9 5, there still remain several large fragments of an embattled wall , partly Norman , and a postern gate . Of its history only a few leading a e n facts can be mentioned here . Willi m I . trusted it to the keeping of P eter de Valo ignes it was besieged by Louis the Dauphin , and capitulated on the Feast of St . Nicholas in 1 2 16 d it was grante , together with the town , to John of Gaunt , Earl of Richmond , in whose

1 1 8 H E RTFO RD time Kings John o fFrance and David of Scot a land were prisoners within its walls, and fter the Earl had been created Duke of Lancaster he held a court in the castle for three weeks . It o f was the last prison house Isabella , widow of

Edward I I . Henry IV . gave the castle to his f o f wife Joan Henry V . to his wi e Katherine f France ; and Henry VI . to his wi e Margaret o f Anj o u . Elizabeth and James I . are both I o n said to have visited this castle . Charles . , r d o f 3 May, in the sixth year his reign , trans f W erred it to illiam Earl of Salisbury . It was seized by the Parliament during the Great

Rebellion .

The Roman Catholic Church in St . John o n o r o f Street stands near the site the Old Priory, founded during the reign of William I . by Ralph Limesy and by him conveyed to the

o f . Abbot St Albans, who placed here six

Benedictine monks under Ralph, who became their first prior . The Priory was dissolved in

- the twenty sixth year of Henry VII I . but the 16 2 church was rebuilt by Thomas Willis in 9 . “ It was demo lisht by o rder of the Bishop o f Lincoln towards the end of the seventeenth o f o n century . The church All Saints, high o ground E . fr m the town , was destroyed by fire 18 1 in 9 , when almost everything perished . I t o f was immediately rebuilt as a Perp . structure

1 8 . Runcorn stone, and consecrated in 9 5 I n o f the main , the plan the old church has been followed , but the aisles are longer than formerly o f note the fine clerestoried nave five bays , and 1 19 H E RTFORDSH IRE

l . o d hexagonal N porch . The building con tain ed to K t monuments Sir John Harrison , . , 1 o f 166 Farmer Customs to Charles I . (d . 9 ) ; N ew m ar c h o f to Isabel , maid honour to Isabella, o f daughter of Charles VI . France and second a wife to Richard I I . ; and to Joh nnes Prest, “ o f porter (janitor) to Katherine , wife Henry n V . The two latter mo uments were removed 2 00 more than years ago . the beautiful _Note chestnut trees in the avenue near the church, and the many quaint epitaphs on the tombstones o f in the extensive graveyard . The Church St . Andrew is modern ; it occupies the site of an older Perp . edifice, originally founded before the Conquest . Close by in the market place is the Shire Hall , a large brick building of questionable shape erected towards the close of the eighteenth century . Malting , brewing and general trade in corn and its products form the larger part of the i ndustries of Hertford . Bet ween this town and Ware is the spot where Cromwell put a summary period to the insur rection o fthe Levellers by sho o ting a ring a le der named Arnald . H er t o r d H a h e t . f . (See Amwell , Little ) H E RTI NG F OR D B U RY m ay be visited from I Hertford , the station being i mile S W . . The village is pleasantly situated on the

1 This Sir Jo hn H arris o n erec ted the fi ne bric k m ansio n in a P a k S E m H e o d o nc e the o e o f B . . o lls r , fr rtf r , pr p rty C a e To n en d c e a o f a e e I I H is Se S e to G o . h rl s w s , r t ry t t rg id o bu i o u r a m o u e at Bu tc e G een o n a o w w lt f l sh s s h ry r , l g g dec a ed y .

1 2 0

H ERTFORDSHI RE

e set it in the chapel . Little space can be spar d for excerpts in this volume, but the details which Taverner brought together are so in t er esting that I transcribe a part of them from a copy i n my possession Near unto the Roman military Way called I c k n ild o r I k enild— Street, which passeth by this Parish upon a very high Hill is to be seen a warlike Fort of great Strength, and ancient

Works, which seemeth to have been a Summer standing Camp o fthe Romans And near i t o n

W a t in - the Top of another Hill called y g Hill , a

Hillock was raised up , such as the Romans were wont to rear for Souldiers slain , wherein many ’ c all d Bones have been found . The Saxons Rav en sbu r h this Fort g , from a City i n Ger Of many, whereof the Duke Saxony beareth the

Title of Lord at this Day . And this Town , ’ c all d o f which the Britai ns perhaps Hesk Reed, which doth abound much in this Place ; the ’ Saz o n s c all d H ec k st an es- Tune , that is the o f Town Reed and Stones, if not rather Hock

- o f stanes Tune, that is, the Town Mire and fo r o ld Stones , Englishmen , call deep Mire , Hocks : Or may be from Grates set in Rivers ’ c all d or Waters before Floodgates , which are Hecks ; neither is it unlikely but that the fo r Danes made some Use of this Fort, a Parcel o f Ground near thereunto is called Dane C o n Furlong to this Day . Some of these ec tu r es j may be true, but this is certain , that ff M er tian s O a, a Saxon King, of the about 79 5,

founded the Monastery of St . Albans, in

1 2 2 H EXTON

o f Memory St . Alban , and that Sexi an honour able and devout Dane (as it is in the Chartulary 10 0 t o of the Abby) about Anno Dom . 3 , gave the said M onastery the Town o fH ec k stan e

Tune , and the Abbot of St . Albans held this M an n o r in the time o f King William the

Conqueror . “ This Vill at that time did lie in the Half o f hundred Hiz, and from that time during the e 10 Spac of 5 Years , the Abbots of St . Albans ’ w all ere Lords of the Mannors now c d Hexton . They were also Patrons of this Church (dedi c ated to St . Faith , which Saint had her Statue erected over a Fountain near this Church Yard , ll’ ’ c a d . f St Faith s Well) for John de Hert ord, 2 d the 3 Abbot, did appropriate this Church of H exsto n esto n to the said Monastery . The Cellarers o fwhich Monastery kept the Court

Leet and the Court Baron , and received the Rents of the D em easn es and Customary Tenants of this M an n o r ; and the Sacrists had the dis o f o f posing the Profits the Rectory . “ The said Fort, which the common People Rav en sbo r o u h call g Castle, is cast up i n the o f Form an Oval , and containeth sixteen Acres , o n e Of o Rood , and fifteen Poles Gr und , and is naturally strengthened with mighty deep and very steep Combs, which the inhabitants call

Lyn . “ The Town o fHexton is seated at the Fo o t o f the Mountains, whence issue many Springs o f Water ; the Mountains are a continued ” Rock of Stone . i s, H E RTFORDSHIRE

I H S S H G C RO ( 3 miles N . from Ware) is a village and parish on the Old North Road . It has a modern Dec . church of grey stone , con

o - taining several go d stained glass windows, but o f Youn shur little architectural interest . g y, a beautiful but small park, S . from the village , has

- a fine Georgian residence (C . B . Giles Puller, E s q ) . The little river Rib skirts the park on the S . side There is a small hamlet of the W same name I t mile S. . From Radlett Station

H ig h S tr eet is a small hamlet on the Cam bridge Road , near the river Quin . Braughing

Station is I i mile S . i h c h 2 o H g Wy ( miles N . from Harl w E E Station , Essex) has an . . church, built in 1 8 6 1 the marble reredos , finely worked, was 18 1 fo r added in 7 . The trade in malt is large so small a place . H i hle H ill 1 S W g y ( mile . . from Ashwell o n Station, is the Cambridgeshire border . H amstew o r de H INXWORTH , formerly and w r H e nx o th . (4miles N from Baldock) , is close to the Bedfordshire border . The parish is very o f ancient . The church St . Nicholas was erected 1 00 o n about 4 the site of an earlier structure . o f It is a mixture several styles, partly restored 8 8 1 1 i n 1 . Note ( ) two canopied Perp . niches o f in S . E . angle nave , where was formerly the ’ - 2 t o a lady chapel ( ) brass John Lambard, ’ o f master the Mercers Company (d . and o ak Anne his wife ( 3) roof in chancel , added 12 4

HIT CHIN H IGH CROSS—H ITCHIN

- i n 189 2 ; (4) rood stairs . William I . divided will the between three Normans, Peter de Valo i nes H ar dw in g , de Scalers, and William o f Earl Ewe, who owned much other property in Hertfordshire . The vill was subsequently o n e be divided into two manors, of which C an t ilu e longed to William de p , a Steward and

Councillor to Ki ng John , and the other , during o f the reign Henry VII . , to John Lambard mentioned above . This manor was called Pu lter Old no w Hinxzoor th Place and the house ( ,

5 mile S . from the village) was once inhabited by some Cistercian monks o fthe Monastery of i w ell P pe (Northants) . Note the clunch walls and mullioned windows, i n one of which , designed Of in stained glass, are the armorial bearings Tw o three former owners . hundred years ago

o f - fiv e the village consisted thirty dwellings , three of which were almshouses . o f H ITC H I N is an ancient town , full ’

2 G . N . R. interest, 3 miles N . from King s Cross, H it c he It was formerly called , very probably H iz from the little river , which rises at Well W 1 S. . Head, about 5 mile from the centre of the town . Roman coins and pottery , and even prehistoric implements h ave been found in great quantities in the neighbourhood, and there are T o f . . he traces a prehistoric lake bed , to the S E P r ior ff y, immediately S . (F . A . Delme Radcli e , E s o f q , occupies the site a Carmelite monastery and Conventual church founded in o f the reign Edward I I . and the B iggin Alms houses, close to the church , still preserve some 1 2 5 H E RTFORDSHI RE o f o ld o f the fabric the Gilbertine Nunnery, o f founded in the reign Edward I II . The

o f . . Church St Mary (formerly St Andrew) , j ust — Off . o f i s the N . E corner the market place, thought to be the largest parish church in the fo r county , the other claimant that honour being St . Peters, Great Berkhampstead . The whole structure is embattled . The square W . tower is of unusual size, but low in proportion . o ld Entering by the fine S . porch we notice the niches for statues, none of which remain , and the groined roof, badly battered and marred — — by as is supposed the zealous iconoclasts o f ’ Cromwell s army . Opposite, over the N . porch , o f hangs a painting the Adoration of the Magi ,

' believed to be by Rubens ; it was formerly over the communion table . The church has been restored at intervals since 1 8 58 but the

- fine Perp . aisle roofs still remain . The font, of Ketton stone , is ancient, and formerly had statues of the twelve Apostles in niches these, however, have been mutilated almost beyond recognition ; the beautiful o ak canopy is new . Note the effigy in stone lying in the recess o f

. a to the first window of the N isle, believed o f o f be that Bernard de Baliol , founder the Preceptory of Knights Templars at Temple Dinsley ( 3 miles and the mosaics o fthe reredos, representing the Last Supper, Christ and the woman of Samaria, Moses striking the rock, and other subjects from Scripture . The o f o ak screens carved , between the aisles and chancel aisles, are among the finest in the

1 2 6

HE RTFORDSHIRE

Between the town and the station , o f stands a modern church red brick, dressed with Bath stone, E . Dec . in style . There are o ak good stalls and a sedile in the chancel . H itc hin was noted during the sixteenth cent u ry fo r its trade in wood and malt . There were o ne — H iz at time tan yards beside the , and the buckle - makers o fBuc kler sbur y gave that street its name The malting- yards occupied much o f the ground on both sides of Bancroft . The making of lavender water in the town is t e ferred to in the Introduction . ’ H O C K E RI L o f is now the E . suburb Bishop s

Stortford, the bridge over the Stort, near the

n . Old Black Lion, connecting it with the tow

It has a modern Gothic church The E . ex tr emity o fH o c k er il is almost on the border line between Hertfordshire and Essex .

H O D D E S DON ( 1% mile N . from Brox bourne Station , is an ancient market o n town , lying high ground among beautifully diversified surroundings . It is known, at least by to The C om lete An ler name , all readers of p g ; but o ld o the Thatched House, to which Izaak Walt n o f often resorted , has long been a thing the past . The Bull Inn still remains where it stood in the time of Prior, whose allusion to it in his D own Hall is invariably quoted in local hand books :

I n o an o ld inn did i e u i a e o t th s q p g r ll , ’ a to n t e c a H o d do n the i n o fthe B u At w h y ll s , S g ll, N ea a n m i an u r n a di ide the i a r y ph w th th t v s h ghw y , And into a pu ddle t hro ws m o ther o ftea

1 2 8 ’ H OCK E RI I r - HOOK S CROSS

The sto ne figure to which Prior refers is no t o s o f longer be een . At the S . end the High o n w Street, the right when entering the to n from Rawdon House Broxbourne, stands , an embattled o f Jacobean mansion red brick, built by Sir 16 2 2 Marmaduke Rawdon in . It was restored 1 8 in 7 7, and the stucco with which i t was

o . formerly c ated was removed A tower, with cupola roof, is at the rear of the house , which is now a convent for Augustinian nuns .

f . o . The Church St Catherine, close to the o f o ld site the Thatched House, but W . from o f the opposite side the High Street , dates from 1 2 1 8 8 8 7 3 ; the tower was added in . It is a o f — large building red brick, in mixed styles, with small windows o fstained glass in the chancel . It is not interesting . lles m o r E nd 2 H o e ( miles W . from Redbourn

M R . Station , . . ) is a small hamlet H OLW E LL is a village and parish transferred B from edfordshire to Hertfordshire in 189 7 . I N E It is about E mile . . from Pirton

n a M . R. 2 the e rest station is Henlow, , miles f . o r e N The Church St . Peter, very much stored, was originally Perp . It still retains its f twel th century stoup, and a very curious old a br ss to Robert Wodehouse, a priest ' with figures o f two wodehocoses (wild forest a i men) and Of a ch l ce and paten . ’ H o o k s Cr o ss 2 ( miles E . from Knebworth

Station , is a hamlet on the main road F o mor e Hall from Hertford to Stevenage . r g stands in a small park mil e E it is a 1 2 9 HE RTFORDSHIRE

large modern mansi o n o fred brick and stone

facings . The grounds are very picturesque, and

are divided by the river Beane . E D E T 2 1 o H ORM A , GR A ( 3 miles E . fr m f Buntingford) , has a restored fi teenth century 1 00 - 2 0 church , perhaps 4 , containing a brass t o Delaw o o d 16 a benefactor, one William ( 9 4)

" - l o to Co . and a mural m nument Lieut . Stables, t o killed at Waterl o o . The village is close the fl river Quin , which ows between the church o n and Hare Street the Cambridge Road . m a Littl H o r e d e . , (5 mile S from the l E E above) , has a quaint ittle Norman and . . church o n the hill crest overlooking Hare

Street . Leaving the Cambridge Road at the o f S . end that village , and crossing the river o f Quin , the rounded arch the Norman doorway n o f o the N . side the nave catches the eye as we

approach the village . The doo r itself is partly ' o f wrought iron work, seventeenth century ; an ’ engraving o fit is i n C u ssans History ofHer t or dshir e o f . There is excellently preserved w rk

in the Norman nave . It has been surmised that H o r mede o ne will was formerly , that it was f 1 100 two divided soon a ter , and the churches

built o n the hill less than 5 mile apart . Ralph Bau iar d o f o g and Eustace, Earl Boul gne, to gether held the manor o f H o r mede at the time

of the Great Survey , and the names Hormead f Magna and Hormead Parva are o later origin . H o r s e S ho es Smallfo r d (2; a mile N . from

' s o f Station , is a hamlet in the pari h

Co lney Heath . 1 30

HE RTFORDSHI RE

having two Sons and two Daughters ended this t o transitory Life , in an assured Hope rise again

in Christ . In the chancel windows are some o f o f white roses, and a badge the House York

note also the canopies i n these windows , and f o . the figures Apostles in the W . window On o f the N . wall nave is a fine brass to James

Gray, showing a man shooting at deer with a crossbow this Gray was gamekeeper for thirty fi v e H unsdon House years at . Bishop Ridley

preached from the pulpit on several occasions . H u ns do n H o u se stands between the church o f and Gilston Park . During the reign Edward “ Oldhall h IV . , Sir John built ere a fair House o fa after the mode Castle which building, ’ a tis s id , cost This would be an

enormous sum of money in those days . The original structure had a high tower an d large

courtyard . Henry VI II . made the house a t o palace , and in so doing appears have almost rebuilt it it is kno wn that his children were o f often here , as the King had a high opin ion a Hertfordshire air . Queen Eli z beth gave the

K t . estate to Sir Henry Cary, , her cousin , and “ created him Baron Hunsdon . The palace

was surrounded by a moat, crossed by two bridges ; the grand entrance and lofty clock the tower, outhouses and grounds are elabor ’ C hau nc s Histo ately depicted in a print i n y ry. The pr esen t ' ho u se was erected at the beginning o f o n this century, partly a fresh site, but some o f o f portions what was the W . extremity the Tw o old palace are built into the E . wing . 1 3 2 HUNSDON HOUSE—ICKLE FORD

fine Jacobean chimney - pieces still remain ; o f o ld but little else is left the Tudor home , and the moat has been levelled . The present house, however, is an imposing, even noble structure of red brick , and its position , backed by the grand Old elms in the park , is very

N E . picturesque . . stood Hunsdon Lodge, the hunting lodge o fQueen Eli z abeth . H U N TON BRI D G E is a pleasant little village o f at the meeting the roads from Watford , ’ King s Langley, and St . Albans , on the Grand ’ Junction Canal . The nearest station is King s I Langley t mile N . There is a good modern inn and many pretty cottages , and folk in search o frest and quiet might journey farther and find less suitable retirement . The nearest church is at Lan gleybu r y E D I CKL FOR , formerly Ickleton , is a village I c k n ield on the Roman Way, which at this spot H iz fords the little river hence its name . It

2 . is miles N from Hitchin . The church was restored in 1 860 ; but portions of the ancient f abric have been carefully retained , and a small chapel added to the chancel . The tower o f is Norman , as are also part the nave arcade and the S . doorway . The chancel arch , pointed , — is finely carved the stairs t o the rood loft still m re ain ; there is a piscina in the chancel . N o te brass t o Thomas Somer and his wife ‘ cir ca ( S . from the church is l chle/or cl H ouse , in a small park , until recently the resi dence of Commander H . C . Dudley Ryder, R N . . o f It is not historic i nterest . 1 3 3 HE RTFORDSH I RE

I I S o r o litts 2 S . E I PPOLL TT St . pp ( miles . ' H i o lit s from H itchin) was formerly called pp , E alet s o r o f pp Pallets, according to the taste o w e the speaker . It was thought by Norden to H i o lit s w ho its name to pp , a supposed Saint, f was very skilful in the treatment o horses . After the Saint ’ s death a shrine was placed to t o his honour in the parish church, and this shrine near the high altar divers persons brought their ailing steeds to be healed by the attendant f o f priest with the help o relics the Saint . The relics were o fefficacy commensurate with the ’ gifts o fthose who desired the Saint s blessing ! “ ” o n e The horses , says writer, were brought o u t o f the North Street , through the North o f Gate, and the North Door the Church, which was boarded o n purpose t o bring up ” the horses to the Altar . The church was 1 8 8 o f an d restored in 7 it is flint and rubble , is now chiefly Perp . and Dec . with a few Older portions . Note ( I ) ambry and double piscina

in the chancel ; ( 2 ) brass in N . transept to r es Robert Po yid (d . ( 3) brasses in effi ies chancel, with g , to the Hughes family, o n e o f of whom , Alice , was daughter Thomas K bew o r t h y , an ancient dweller i n this parish 1 she died 1 59 4. There is a tumulus about

mile S .

S . K E L HALL ( 2 % miles S . E from Ashwell

Station , has a restored , but interesting

church , dedicated to St . Faith , partly Perp . and t e — a partly Dec . Over h S . porch is a parvise — small chamber and in the N . aisle is a recess, 1 34

H E RTFORDSHI RE

- twenty second Baron Dacre (d . K im ton whom the reredos is also a memorial . p Hoo 2 0 , in a beautiful park of about 5 acres , is

1 . E a o f mile N . from the vill ge . It is the seat

Viscount Hampden . Pretty walks may be taken aid E . Kimpton Mill to Codicote, N . to Bendish ’

to o r . and Whitwell , W . Peter s Green , S to

Lamer Park . ’ K IN G S LANG L E Y I s a large and interesting village . The river Gade flows between the main street and the station , Paper and straw plait are both made largely . The village owes its name to the fact that Henry o n a II I . built a palace a spot still marked by o f few fragments ruin a little W . from the church, and the royal manor became known as L o n angley Regis, whereas the Langley the E . o f side the river belonged to the Abbey of St . ’ 3 Albans , and was called Abbot Langley

Edmund de Langley, fifth son of Edward I II . , was born in this palace in 1 344. He became

Duke of York , Earl of Cambridge and Lord Tiv edale , and married Isabel , a younger daughter f 1 2 N o f o . . Don Pedro Castile I n 39 Richard , with his first Queen , Anne of Bohemia, and many bishops, earls, lords and ladies, kept ’ Christmas at King s Langley Palace .

Near the palace was founded , by one Roger

Helle, a priory of Dominican monks , which was enriched by Edward II . and several suc o f G av esto n c essiv e monarchs . The body Piers was brought from Oxford and buried in the — church of this priory I n 1 3 1 5 he w as beheaded 1 36 KING ’ S LANGLEY — o n Blac klo w Hill in 1 3 1 2 and what was the n a believed to be the body o fRich rd II . was brought to the same spot in 1400 fo r temporary sepulture . The priory was dissolved , like most

o f . priories, in the days Henry VIII ; but it was was restored by Mary . It finally suppressed soon after the accessi o n of Eli z abeth . The church, at the S . E . extremity of the village f . o street, is a Perp structure flint and Totternhoe stone the W . tower is embattled and has an angle turret . It has been partially restored . o f On the N . side the chancel stood formerly the tomb o fEdmund de Langley and Isabel o f Castile (both mentioned above) which was brought from the priory church at the Dissolu tion ' ; it is no w in the chapel at the end of the

N . aisle . There is , I believe, no absolute proof o f that this is the tomb Edmund and Isabel , but the evidence that it is so is very strong . Chau nc y, two centuries back, wrote On the north side o fthe chancel there is a Monument fi v e o f raised about foot, with the Arms France and England, with three Labels upon it, also o f o f e the Arms Peter, King Castile and L ons, by which Coats it seems to be the Tomb where So n o f Edmond de Langley , the Fifth Edward W i o ne III . and Isabel his fe , of the Daughters o fDo n Pedro , King of Castile, was [were] ’ in ter r d During the removal of the tomb to its present position the bones of a male and two females were discovered they are presumably o f o f those Edmund and Isabel , and Anne ’ o f o f o so n M rtimer, the wi e Edmund s sec nd , I 37 HE RTFORDSHIRE

o f Richard, Earl Cambridge . The tomb is covered by a slab . 7 feet 3 inches long ; the sides are embossed with Plantagenet shields 8 within cu ps . Note the beautifully carved open screen between chapel and chancel , and the 1 8 reredos, partly of marble, erected in 7 7 . The o aken pulpit is Perp . There are several other 1 G lasc o c k e monuments ( ) to Hon . Sir. W . Of Aldamho w e K t , . , Admiralty Judge in Ireland 16 8 8 2 under Charles I I . (d . ) ( ) brass to John “ G iffr es 1 8 8 insc r i Carter, late of (d . 5 ) the p

tion states that he had two wives, that the first bore him fo ur sons and five daughters and the second five sons and four daughters ; ( 3) brass 8 1 2 . to William Carter and Alice his wife, 5 186 2 Sir John Evans, in , found an almond shaped river - drift flint implement o n a heap of

stones in this neighbourhood . ’ K I S W D E S W NG A L N (about 5 miles . . from r e Hitchin) has an ancient church, carefully 186 8 the o fThe stored in . It stands in park

B ur z . y, a large mansion , Eli abethan i n style The embattled tower has masonry probably

older than fourteenth century, and much of the

nave arcade is Norman . Note the sculptured t o capitals of pillars , curiously similar those at

Old Shoreham . The chancel arch is E . Perp . E E o o n probably substituting its . . predecess r very close lines the corbels bear busts thought

o f . to resemble Henry VI . and Margaret Anjou

In the chancel are a double piscina, and two E E . . lancet windows . The chancel screen is a o f o really won derful piece w rk, in excellent 1 38

KING ’ S WALDEN— KN EBWORTH

o . . preservati n In the N aisle is an ambry , a and i n the S . aisle a sedile and two piscin ,

and on the N . side another ambry . The o f font stands at the E . end S . aisle, formerly

the Chapel of the Virgin Mary . K ins bo u r ne G r een is o n the Bedfordshire E 2 N . . border, miles . from Harpenden The

Kennels o fthe Hertfordshire Hunt are here . H o o The hamlet is close to Luton Park . ’

K itter s r een 1 . G is a hamlet mile S . E from King ’ s Langley Station Abbot ’ s

Langley old church is mile N . K E BW R m N O TH , famous as the ho e of 1 Bulwer Lytton , lies on high ground mile

W . from the station The village

o f . it is small , and in itself little interest ; was Che ne ew o r de K n ebbe formerly called p , and I t an d worth . is , however, ancient, was valued D omesda B ooh in y . K G who fo r Sir Thomas Bouchier, . . , fought o f the Earl Richmond at Bosworth Field, sold the ' m an o r o fK ne bbew o r th to Robert Lytton , E s o f q , Keeper the Wardrobe to Henry VII . ,

whose son William was buried in this parish . This Sir Robert began to erect a huge Tudor mansion on the site of a fortress which had stood since the days of the Conquest ; it took n several ge erations to complete it . The present house is the result o fthe work o fdemo lition ’ and reconstruction in the days o fthe novelist s o f o f1 8 8 mother, and the enlarging 3, when

the S . wing and entr ance were added ; it is o - pseud Gothic . The castellated parapet, cupola I 39 HE RTFORDSH IRE

r iffi ns n topped turrets, g upon pinnacles and ma y mullioned windows are noticeable features from the grounds . Within , the finest sight is the o ld grand banqueting hall , with its gallery for

o ak - ~ minstrels, its Elizabethan screen , and wains o n cots by Inigo Jones . Arou nd , all sides, are o f o f suits armour, some dating from the days o Henry VII . The r om is associated with o f memories Elizabeth , who was sometimes entertained at Knebworth by Sir Rowland

Lytton , whom she knighted he was buried in the chancel of the little church in the park (see 1 8 2 z below) in 5 . The room in which Eli abeth slept o n these occasions is still shown as Queen ’ ” z h Eli abeth s C amber, and contains a fi nely carved over - mantel (oak) and an oaken bed o f stead colossal pro portions . Among the distinguished guests so often entertained here by Bulwer Lytton were Dickens , Forster and

Jerrold .

The grounds are nearly perfect, art and

- nature seeming to strive to out do one another . Well - kept lawns are figured by flo w er - beds o f all shapes and si z es ; the rosery is very large ; the great variety o fevergreens imparts every hue and shade to the extensive walks stretching

W . from the house . The lawns are divided here and there by stone balustrades and over looked by statues o f classical and modern

figures . There are many nooks , pleasure houses o f and alcoves . A long avenue limes leads to the lake .

The church , a little N . from the house, 140

HE RTFORDSHI RE f rom when ce a walk of 3 miles N . o ver open country leads to Stevenage . K n ebwo r th r een o f G skirts the S . side the

Park ,

Lan le H at field- g y , a hamlet on the H itchi n W 2 S. . f road , is miles rom Stevenage Station ’ Langley Bottom is a few minutes walk N . ’ Lan le bu r g y y ( 1 mile S . from King s Langley l Station , is practica ly part and o f parcel Hunton Bridge , the church standing

. o f f W and the village E . the main road rom

Watford to Hemel Hempstead . The church m is odern , a Gothic structure ; on the S . is a

- t o good lich gate . Close the S . porch is the o f large cross Sicilian marble , by the Florentine o f sculptor Romanelli , to the memory the late

- W . J . Loyd , at whose expense the church was l ’ erected . The walk from Lan g eybu r y t o Buck s

Hill by way of West Wood, leads through o f o n some lovely bits scenery, and should no account be omitted . At the outset the confines of Grove Park are o n the left and the road dips u - p and down as the woods are passed, and is shaded by fine beeches in many spots . La s to n y was a village i n Saxon times, but no thing n o w remains save the ruins o f the o f church , still almost intact, at the meeting tw o 1 N E . lanes , mile . . from Buntingford It

E E . is a flint structure, . . and Perp . The S porch is in part demolished . There are monu ments to the C r o w c h family o fseventeenth and eighteenth centuries . 142 KNE BW ORTH— LETCHWORTH

LE A . . , river (See Introduction , Section II ) S 2 LE AVE D E N (about 5 miles N . from Wat ford) is a village in the pretty district between Br ic k et ec c lesi Gro ve Park and Wood . The astic al parish was formed fifty years ago from the parishes o fWatford and St . Albans . The n huge brick building o high ground a little N . is the Metropolitan District Asylum fo r Idiots 1 86 it was erected i n 9 . The church dates only fro m the formation o fthe parish and is situated 1 d at Garston , mile E . It was esigned by Sir E E The Gr ov e Gilbert Scott and is . . , a large i o f 1 60 mans on red brick , was erected in 7 by o ne o f the Villiers family , but has been restored h a o f and altered . The ouse cont ins a part the pictures collected by Clarendon ; comprising o p rtraits by Vandyck , Lely, C . Janssens, Z ucchero, Van Somer, Kneller, Hogarth , etc .

The park is extensive and beautiful . LE M S F OR D is another modern ecclesiastical a o parish, formed forty years g . It is nearly 3 f o f miles N . rom Hatfield , on the S . E . side B r ochet Hall Par h fo r . It is widely known its o n large mill the river Lea . The church , erected in 18 59 as a memorial to the sixth Earl

E E . Cowper, is . . and Dec , with a good E . window, also to the memory of the earl . The W f tower ( . ) is lo tyand embattled . Letc hm o r H ea th I W f e S. ( i mile . rom M R Radlett Station , . . ) is a small village . Letc hw o r th 2 N E f ( miles . . rom Hitchin) has

. o ld a small Perp church , containing a curious

“ s t o W bras Thomas yrley, an early Rector (d . 143 HE RTFO RDSHI RE

The effi gy represents him with a heart in his hands . Another brass , much f cir ca 1 00 t o defaced , dates rom 4 it is William f . l Overbury and Isabel his wi e The vil age, which almost adjoins that o fWillian is o f ancient, and was once the property Robert f Gernon , a Norman warrior who ought at Leceeoor t Hastings . There was a church at h tem I at least as early as p . Henry . , for during the reign of that monarch it was given wi th all its appurtenances and twelve acres o fland b Letchzoo h . r t to the monastery at St . Al ans Hall n o w , a manor house containing some good o ak carved , was built by Sir William Lytton i (c r ca and still bears on the S . front the arms o fthat family . Lett r een y G is close to Cole Green Station ,

N . G . . R

Len ns r een 1 e G ( mile S . from Great Munden)

- o f- 1 8 has a tiny chapel ease erected in 9 3 . The 2 E nearest station is Standon , % miles . , between which and the hamlet lies the Old

North Road . f LE V E R S TO C K GRE E N ( I t mile S . E . rom

M . R Hemel Hempstead Station , . ) is in a pleasantly diversified district, at the j unction ’ Of the roads from St . Albans and Abbot s

Langley . It has a modern church , Gothic in c o n style , erected just before the district was 1 8 0 stituted an ecclesiastical parish in 5 . 1 Ley G r een is a hamlet mile N . from ’ S W King s Walden Church, and about 4miles . .

13 o n . from Hitchin . It high ground

HE RTFORDSHI RE

f W heatham s e o t d . that John p Henry VIII . and Catherine of Arragon stayed here during “ ” the sw eat in ge sic k n esse Lo n Lane g is a hamlet near the river Chess, W S . 1% mile . from Rickmansworth . Lo n M ar s to n 1 g , mile N . from the Ayles bury Canal , is a village and ecclesiastical parish o f in the extreme W . the county . The nearest 1 o ld station is Marston Gate, mile N . The church , a small Dec . structure, was pulled down twenty years ago with the exception o fthe tower, which stands in the disused graveyard .

The new building, adjoining the present burial o ground , is Gothic, and contai ns some p rtions o f a the Old structure, and its two piscin e . Lo w er G r een . (See Tewin . ) Lu dw ic k H de o f y is in the parish Hatfield,

N . E . 3 miles . from that town Lu enhall fi , a little hamlet , is in the hollow W between Weston and Cottered , 5 miles . o ne from Buntingford Station . The district is of winding lanes and field footpaths so character ist ic o f the county . L e E n d 2 . y , miles S from Sandon Church , o is a hamlet lying W . fr m the Buntingford

Royston road . N W M AC K E RY E N D . I . , t mile from W heathampstead Station , is close to Bat fo r d o n and Pickford mills the river Lea . Charles and Mary Lamb had talked about the place “ all their lives ” and the essay by the “ former entitled M ac k er y End in Hertford ” shire need only be named here . The place, 146 LONG LANE—MARFORD

M ac k ar el as Lamb mentions, was also called W heatham ed . st End John p , who became - h 1 2 0 thirty t ird Abbot of St . Albans in 4 , was the son o fH ugh Bostok o r Bostock o fthe village from which he took his name ; his o f mother was the daughter Thomas Makery, “ ” ake r e nd Lord o fM y . M an r o v e Offi e g is a hamlet, partly in y and partly in Lilley parishes ; Mangrove Green is o n o fPu tter id e the S . outskirts g Bury Park, o n the Bedfordshire border . The nearest to station the latter is Luton (Beds) . M a le r o s s 2 S W C . . p , a hamlet miles from

Rickmansworth , is near the river Chess . I t o n lies between Mill End and West Hyde , o the road t Uxbridge . M M I M RAM I nt r o du c ARAN , or , river . (See tion . ) M a r o r d Old N ew f , and , are hamlets on the river Lea . The latter adjoins the E . side o fWheathampstead village ; the former lies

E - i mile farther . ; the cress beds, the hand a bridge over the river, and some dilapid ted cottages render it a picturesque spot . On the opposite side o f the road from Hatfield to ’ Wheathampstead lies The Devil s Dyke, a long , narrow gorge most beautifully wooded . It is o f a favourite haunt the nightingale , as the writer can testify . M ARK E T or M ARKYAT E S TRE E T ( 3% miles W S. . from Luton , Beds) is a village on the high road from St . Albans to Dunstable .

The church , a little N . from the village , in

I 4 .7 HERTFORDSHI RE

Cell Park, is small and uninteresting, with a 8 chancel added in 1 9 2 . The mansion called N o ld Markyate Cell , a little farther . , is , and occupies the site o fthe o ld Benedictine nunnery ff built by Geo rey de Gorham, sixteenth Abbot of St . Albans, at the instigation of Roger the o f Monk, the church which was consecrated in

1 145. Cowper the poet was at school in the f o . . village, at the house Dr Pitman M ARLOW E S is a suburb o fHemel Hempstead

M a r s h M o o r lies between Hatfield Park and

Mimms Park . It is a hamlet in the parish of 2 North Mimms , miles S . from Hatfield . M ar s to n G ate is little more than the station

1 S . for Long Marston , mile It is nearly the extreme W . point of the county M a den C r o t y f, or Maiden Croft, is near the o f o f source the river Hiz, with the hamlet Gosmore adj oining Some remains of to a moat may be traced , which are supposed o f mark the site a nunnery . The manor is ancient in the time o fEdward II I . it belonged to Sir Robert Nevill , Kt . E D E M E S ON (6% miles N . . from Buntingford) has a very ancient flint church , probably erected 1 8 in the thirteenth century, but restored in 77 . ' o r c h is The S . p Jacobean . The pavement of o f the Sacrarium is a mosaic many coloured , vitrified tiles it is almost unique in the county o f and is undoubtedly great age . There is also in the chancel a curious monument and insc r ip

o . tion to Robert Y ung, gent . (d Most 148

H ERTFORDSH IRE

Manor, was the real founder, as stated by

Chau n c . y However this may be, the structure o f is now almost wholly later date . The monuments and brasses are numerous and very o f interesting ; several the latter, now in the chancel , were moved from their original posi tions o n the floor during the restoration forty years ago . Among them we may note ( 1) large black marble monument in chancel surmounted by a figure of justice , to John Lord Somers , o f 1 16 2 Baron Evesham (d . 7 ) ( ) altar tomb in z ffi t o N . aisle, with Eli abethan e gy, a Derby shire family named Beresford ; the inscription is only in part decipherable ; ( 3) mutilated K no lles 1 brass to Sir Robert (d . 4 and to

Eli z abeth his wife (d . (4) brass to Sir 1 8 8 o ld t o Henry Covert (d . 4 ) ( 5) fine brass Richard Boteler and Martha (Olyfi) his wife cir ca 6 o f ( ( ) brass, probably Flemish t o workmanship, thought to be a memorial ffi William Kesteven , vicar (d . This e gy “ a is closely described in Murray . It is p ar entl o f p y Flemish , and resembles in style that

Abbot de la Mare at St . Albans . He is vested in a chasuble and stole, has a chalice on his breast, and over him is a rich canopy, with, on the dexter side, St . Peter , and underneath SS .

John the Evangelist and Bartholomew, and in

o n . corresponding places the sinister SS Paul , r e James the Great, and Andrew, with their s ec t iv e p emblems . Above is the Almighty holding the soul o fthe deceased ; at the sides are two angels swinging censers . Separated 1 50 NORTH MIMM S—SOUTH M IMM S fro m the chancel by an oaken screen is the

- o f chantry chapel St . Catherine, dating from early fourteenth century . Nor th M imms Par h surrounds the fine

Jacobean manor house of red brick, recently i n 1600 part restored , but originally built about by Sir Ralph Coningsby ; it is very extensive and can show some good carving, and a chimney piece dating from sixteenth century . E . from P otter els this park is , a modern house standing in another but smaller park, and E . again from ’ Po tter els o B r oohman s P ar t is the m re famous , 16 8 2 where, in , Andrew Fountaine erected the mansion so o n afterwards purchased by the great 1 16 Lord Somers who died here in 7 . The house was completely burnt down ten years

n o t . ago and has , I believe, been rebuilt The ‘ ’ fu r ther str etc h o fpark adjoi ning Br o o k m an s Guhhins Gohions on the S . is , or more correctly , where formerly stood the o ld manor house in which Sir Thomas More lived awhile with his family . The walks in each of these parks are very fine, and most beautifully wooded ; they command distant views in many directions, and , in the autumn , are a perfect study in c NO olour . London cyclist should fail to visit this picturesque and interesting neighbourhood . M I S S M M , OU TH , recently included in the administrative county of Herts, has a restored ,

E . Perp . church , with fine massive W . tower . k Fr o w . The y chantry, at E . end of N aisle , contains a very ancient tomb with recumbent ffi o f e gy a knight in armour , under a richly 1 51 H E RTFORDSHIRE

F . r o w k designed canopy The knight was a y , and there are also some mutilated brasses to o n this family . The village is prettily situated ’ I f % . rising ground, mile W rom Potter s Bar

a G N R. . St tion , . . (Middlesex) M o ne bu r H ill y y is on the Bucks border , 2 W S. . close to the Bridgewater Column , miles from Tring Station . r r een M o o G ( 3 miles W . from Buntingford

Station , is a hamlet in Ardeley parish . M o r r ell r een 2 f G is a hamlet miles E . rom o n x Barkway the Esse border . The nearest 6 l station is Buntingford , nearly mi es S . E . M o r t r o v e g , on the Beds border, is little

a' I i f m more than modern house, i mile S . ro

Hexton . M u nc hes G r een lies in the centre of that quiet district of villages and haml ets which

G . N R stretches between the . . and G . E . R . It

. Ar dele B u is a hamlet a little S E . from y ry f and nearly 4 miles W . rom Westmill Station ,

G . E . R . M D E E U N N , GR AT , formerly Mundon Fur Fu r n iv al nival , from Gerrard de , who was Lord o f of the Manor in the time Richard L , is a 2 village miles W . from Braughing Station , o n G . E . R . There is a Norman doorway the

N . s ide of the church , and a small Perp . reredos which was discovered during restoration in 1 6 8 5. There is a brass in the chancel to John o f Lightfoot, Canon Ely (d . The ham o f N E let Nasty, a little . . from the church, no w takes Munden F ur n iv al as its alternative 1 52

HE RTFORDSHI RE

ar c hze o lo ist w ho o f great g , has a rich collection flints coins , prehistoric , implements, etc . , some o f which were discovered in the neighbourhood . N ettlede n was formerly in Bucks, but was f few trans erred to Herts a years ago . The village is beautifully situated at the foot o fa wooded hill , at the meeting of the roads from

Great Gaddesden and Little Gaddesden . The o f small parish church is a Perp . structure stone, with a N . porch it was partly rebuilt by the last Duke of Bridgewater, and was restored in

1 8 8 . 7 Note the carved oak pulpit, which, like f that in Little Gaddesden Church , was the gi t of Lady Marian Alford (d . Sir John

- Cotton , Vice Chamberlain to Edward VI . , was Ber kham buried here . The nearest station is p 2 S W stead, 5 miles . . N ew M i l 1 f l . is mile N rom Tring, between o f o the hamlets Little Tring and Tring Gr ve .

- The famous reservoirs , often the resting place

- of rare water fowl , are within a short walk . N ew ate S tr eet hamlet g , a small in Hatfield 6 parish , is , however , miles S . E . from that town .

It is in a prettily wooded district , close to P onshour ne Par k .

E W N H AM N ( 2 % miles N . from Baldock) is a o n E E village lying high ground, with an . . battlemented church o n a little knoll above a

. o f brook It consists of chancel , nave four bays with clerestory, S . aisle and porch , and W . f . o tower The interior can show little interest, I o n but there are brasses, ( ) chancel floor, to B 2 Sir William Dyer, art . (d . ( ) to a 1 54 N ETTLE DEN—NORTH AW

cir ca 1 0 family, the man i n civic costume ( 49 ) f an o D o wm . ( 3) to Joan , wife James (d and her eight children . N ew s ell 1 , a hamlet mile N . from Barkway , lies a little W . from the Cambridge Road .

The nearest station is Royston , 3% N W New sell miles . . Park is a modern mansion S . from the hamlet . ’ N o M an s Land a is a l rge tract of common , z partly covered by fur e, stretching left from the road between Sandridge and Wheathampstead . Some years ago a farmer close by collected quite ff a museum of stu ed birds , etc . , shot in the neighbourhood , which many persons visited , but I understand the collection is now dis er sed p . 18 8 In 4Sir John Evans showed to Mr . W . “ alx o lithic G . Smith a good white ovate p ’ o ne o f implement , two found on No Man s 1 8 86 Land Common . In December, , Mr . Smith visited the gravel pits there and found a somew hat similar implement in situ ; this latter M an the Pr immual Sav a e is engraved in his g .

At the same time Mr . Smith found two neolithic o n celts the common . N bla nd r een I W o G ( i mile N . . from Wid ford Station , is little more than a farm and a few cottages . ’ H 2 o NORT AW ( miles E . fr m Potter s Bar

Station , is a village on the Middlesex border, near the source of the river Colne , and o f a place considerable interest . I n the wood f N . rom the village there lived a hermit named I SS H E RTFORDSH I RE

o f Sigar, the subject some monkish legends . o f He lived about the time Henry L , and was buried beside Roger the Monk (see Markyate

. o f Street) in the S aisle of the Baptistery St . ’ Alban s Abbey . There was originally a small o E E church cl se to the village, . . or perhaps late Norman ; this was replaced by the cruciform

o f a - church St . Thomas Becket , a pseudo Perp . 18 8 1 structure, destroyed by fire in ; the present cruciform building of Ancaster st o ne is Dec . with a conspicuous W . tower carrying four pinnacles . Note the piscina, three sedilia and credence table in chancel ; also the finely o n carved font of Ancaster stone , marble pillars, o f presented by the children the parish . There o f are several memorial windows , only local interest ; but the pulpit and reredos are both good , the former showing the four Eva ngelists in canopied recesses . Unfortunately, only a porti o n o fthe o ld registers were saved from the

' fire o f1 8 8 1 . H C H a NORT H U RC , or Berkhampste d St . Mary, forms o ne long street with Great Ber khamp 1 stead , but is a separate village , mile W . from Berkhampstead Station , The crucifo rm church is Dec . it stands in a small graveyard close to the high road to Tring . The most curious memorial is the brass near t o the porch Peter the Wild Boy , who was found wild in a forest in Hanover in 17 2 5 and brought t o England at the desire of Queen

Caroline . He lived at a farm at Broadway

' in 1 8 (qu a) and died 7 5. There is also a 1 56

H E RTFORDSH IRE

E o r E S T LE E OFFL Y OFFL Y . G R ( 3 miles S W . . from Hitchin) is a village at the meeting o f a the w ys from Hitchin, Temple Dinsley, ff and Lilley . It owes its name to O a, King of a the Merci ns, who had a palace here, as we

learn from his life by Matthew Paris, and its Le ier s . o f adj unct to the St g , who became Lords

the Manor soon after the Conquest . Miss Salu sbu r a Hester y, who became Mrs . Thr le, z and afterwards Mrs . Pio zi , used as a child to O e Place visit at fl y , in the park close to the o ld church . The mansion was built by Sir a 1600 Rich rd Spencer in , and in part rebuilt

early last century, when its style was changed o f from Jacobean to a form Gothic .

The church (restored Perp . ) stands in the I park, close to the road . Note ( ) monument 1 2 in chancel to Sir H . Penrice , Kt . (d . 7 5 ) a figure of Truth standing on a sarcophagus o f 2 black marble, the whole finely executed ; ( )

monument in white marble, by Nollekens, to Salusbu r Sir Thomas y, Kt . (d . and Sarah 1 8 0 a ffi his wife (d . 4) ( 3) br ss with e gy, to John z Samwell (d . and his wives Eli abeth and Joan ; (4) brass to a civilian and his family cir ca 1 0 ( 53 ) 5) well carved Perp . font . ‘ O le Little I W N . fi y , , is a hamlet i mile . f rom the above . O le r een N W fi y G is 4 miles . . from Bunting ’ ford Station , G . E . R . The walk beside Julian s 1 S W is v er Park to Rushden , mile . . , y pleasant . l O i e H o les 2 S W fi y ( % miles . . from H itchin) ff . Offi e H o o is a small hamlet O ley Grange, y , 1 58 OFFLEY—PAN SHANGE R PARK

Offi ey Cross and Offley Bottom are all in the W immediate neighbourhood, W . and N . . al r een 1 Old H l G ( 5 mile W . from Standon

Station , lies W . from the Old North

Ro ad . It is a small hamlet . 2 OXH E Y ( miles S . from Watford) is a hamlet on the M iddlesex border I t has a good E E Oxhe modern church, . in style . N . lies y Place o f , on the site the old home Of the Hey do n a family, rebuilt by Sir William B uckn ll in H o n 166 8 . , and again by William Bucknall in

1 . 79 9 The chapel , close to the old mansions, was spared by both those renovators, but has since been repeatedly restored . It contains n many interesti g monuments, conspicuous among n a to which is that o the S . w ll Sir James 16 1 o n Altham (d . 7) who had built the chapel o f 16 1 2 the site an earlier structure in . The old judge is represented kneeling in his robes o f between two pillars, beneath a canopy alabaster behind him is the effigy o fhis third o ak wife Helen (Saunderson) . Note the carved seventeenth century reredos, occupying the whole o f the E . end Of the chapel . It is divided into three compartments by two columns, massive and twisted, with Corinthian capitals ; these support a frieze, with cornice and pediment . o ak Note also the ceiling, and the five Tudor O h l N W x e Ha l . . windows (replaced) . y , from no w the chapel , is a farm but can still show o f o ak the wonderful ceiling carved , in sixteen panels, which must be very ancient . P A S A E R P A RK N H N G , Earl Cowper, l 59 HE RTFORDSHI RE

K . P G . C . . , , should be visited by all who love an historic home surrounded by beautiful scenery . It lies almost midway between Hat field and Ware Parks ; the house itself is I t

. o G . N. R. mile N fr m Cole Green Station , The park is very extensive (about 9 00 acres) ; the river Maran flows through it from W. to

S . E . , opening into a lake S . from the house . It is famous for its splendid timber the wonder “ ” o ne o f ful Panshanger Oak, the very largest in England , stands W . from the house . Panshanger is no t a correct structure fro m an architectural standpoint the writer o f Murray’ s Handbook describes it well as “ a

- — stucco fronted, semi castellated Gothic mansion o f - the Walpole Wyatt type Most ramblers, however, are not architects, and the grey stone mansion and its surroundings are, as a whole, as picturesque as they can well be . The greater part of it was built by Peter, fifth Earl Cowper, 1 80 1 in but the picture gallery, overlooking the terrace and gardens, was a later addition . a 18 The house was p rtially burnt in 55. The older home o fthe family stood at Co le Green then called Colne Green . The famous C owper C ollection is largely the result o fthe taste and perseverance o fthe third earl , who resided for some years at Florence . Only a few o fthe pictures can be named here

Madonna, by Raphael Holy Family, by Fra Bartolommeo ; Mountainous Coast (fisher in men foreground) , by Salvator Rosa Nativity, by Carlo Dolce ; Virgin Enthroned, by Paul

160

H ERTFORDSH IRE

“ lane l o ne S E . ways ( is hardly more than a ) ead . to to Kimpton , S . to Harpenden , N . Lawrence E B e c hw o d . r a o E nd Park, and N . to Green and

Bendish . P ic c o tts E nd is passed when going from to Hemel Hempstead Great Gaddesden . It is E f o n . o the river Gade, at the N . extremity G adesbr id e g Park . P in r een 1 o G ( % mile E . fr m Stevenage t r Station , lies be ween the G eat North

Road and the river Beane . P I ‘ W f RTON ( 35 miles N . . rom Hitchin) is an o n o t o o w e ancient village the Beds b rder, said o ne its name to Peri , who possessed it in Saxon Limesie times . William I . gave it to Ralph de , o r Limesy, who founded the church and gave o f to f the tithes it the Abbey o St . Albans . The site o fthe castle built by Ralph is tho ught to be at Toot Hill , W . from the church, where a moat may be traced . The church was origin s ally cruciform , but the transept have long dis appeared ; the tower, massive and embattled, Re still standing between nave and chancel. sto r atio n has been carefully carried o n recently 1 8 the tower was rebuilt in 77 , but some Norman work may still be traced in its arches . Note 1 to ( ) monument and curious inscription Jane, f o Do c wr a 16 2 wi e of Th mas (d . 45) ( ) double

a o f . piscina, fourteenth century, in S . w ll chancel Pirton should be visited for the fine old houses Hi h D own in its neighbourhood . g , S . from the z s church , is Eli abethan , with gable , twisted chimneys and mullio ned windo ws it was 16 2 PIGGOTTS EN D—PU CKE RIDGE

o f D o c w r as Pir t n fo rmerly the home the . o l n l W Hal o N . . o o , a hi l fr m the village, is als z Rector M anor House Eli abethan , and the y and ’ Hamnzoncl s Fa m r are both ancient . In the latter is some fine old carved oak . P l um s r S W f ne s 1 . is 5 mile . rom Knebworth G N R o f o Station , . . . It consists a few c ttages . P o nfi eld lies between Bedwell and Bayford 2 bury Parks . It is a small hamlet nearly miles

G . N R. S . E . from Cole Green Station , . P o lar r een o n o n p G is the river Maran , the

. o l W edge of Panshanger Park . The d church W at Tewin is less than 1 mile N . . The station is Cole Green .

P tte n E n d E . Be kha o ( 2 miles N . from r mp & N stead Station , L has a modern chapel o f- ease to Nettleden ( 1 mile The hamlet is prettily situated between the rivers Gade and Bu lbo u r ne .

P E S T R ON (4miles W . from Stevenage Station, is a hamlet beautifully situated o n high ground . The Church of St . Martin is a small building a few yards W . from the green , recently o erected ; cl se by is the Bunyan Chapel , and ’ dell mile N . is Bunyan s , where the author ’ Pil r im s P o r ss Tem le of the g r g e often preached . p D insl e o . y, a manor h use a little E from the Red o n o f Lion , stands the site of the preceptory f the Knights Templars , ounded by Bernard de

Baliol in the reign of Stephen . ’ P r im r o s e H ill is a hamlet in King s Langley f f i . o parish , mile N rom the stati n , P C E RI D G E U K , a village on the Old North 16 3 H E RTFORDSHI RE

W 1 S. f Road, nearly mile . rom Braughing

Station , was visited by Pepys on more than one occasion . Here, at the White Hart

. Inn , the road divides , going left , nearly due N to Royston and right to Cambridge . The village lies partly in Standon and partly in Braughing 1 parish . The nearest church is at Standon , mile S . E . , but divine service is conducted in the church sch o olroom . P u dd h W ep ats ( 3 miles N . . from Redbourn

M . R. . Station , ) is a hamlet in Flamstead parish F a r w ell M ill o n Pu r w ell o r Pir r el , the river ,

1 . mile E from Hitchin , stands near the Spot where the tesselated pavement o fa Roman villa was discovered a few years ago, in excellent preservation . P E H M 1 U TT N A ( % mile S . from Marston

Gate Station , lies near the o f Clinton chalk hills , in the extreme W . the county, on the Bucks border . The church , close to the village , is of several periods, parts

E . E of the structure being . and other portions

Perp . and Tudor . Several portions should be 1 carefully noted : ( ) very large embattled W . o f o f tower, built blocks Ketton stone with flints laid in squares between each block ; ( 2 ) roof o f tem nave , thought to date from p . Edward

IV . ; with two shields under the ridges, one a Z be ring the arms of ouch , the church having belonged to the Priory of Ashby ( 3) solid o ak pews , probably coeval with nave roof. The f 1 8 8 . o S . porch was rebuilt in 9 The vill Puteham Leo fw in o e to belonged to , br th r 164

HE RTFORDSH I RE

l casions . It has no tower, the two be ls hang ing in a small turret at the W . end of nave . o Here , as at Nort n , there are several memorials to the Pym family ; and a few others worth : 1 e ffi ies o noting ( ) brass, with g , to J hn Vele,

Gent . (d . and his two wives ; this was

o - fi v e discovered during rest ration , about twenty o years ago, but the inscription was c pied by Chau nc y, so it must have been hidden by some f 16 0 2 alterations e fected after, say, 9 ( ) marble monument to John Parker, Kt . (d . and 1 Mary , his wife (d . 574) the latter was buried o at Bald ck . There is also a small brass to o r o f h Elizabeth (Gage Cage) , wife Jo n Parker

(d . The font is fourteenth century . Reedw ell t o o w e Radwell , formerly , is said its name to the many reeds that grew by the

- o f . o river side There are plenty m or hens , coots and dab - chicks o n the lake - like expansi o n of the Ivel near the m ill . Red H eath o f is in the parish Croxley Green , 2 miles N . N . E . from Rickmansworth . Red H ill , 4 miles E . from Baldock , is a small hamlet in a very quiet neighbourhood . fi The nearest church is at Wallington , mile N W . ulians . 7 , a substantial house in the park,

5 S. m ile , was built early in the seventeenth century . RE D B OU RN the road by the burn) lies o n o ld W N . . the Watling Street, 4 miles from

St . Albans . The river Ver , here a small stream ,

‘ o f skirts the E . side the village . The old o o f e w as man r, like that Abbots Langl y, given

166 RE D HEATH— REED

E elwin e to the Abbey of St . Albans by g the W in c elfled o f Black and , his wife, in the days

Edward the Confessor . St . Amphibalus was probably buried here after his martyrdom ' ; his barrow was on the Common , and the story f o f o the removal his bones to St . Albans is to narrated in Matthew Paris, and is referred in the Intro duction (Section The church

f . o . St Mary, at Church End, i mile W from the station dates from Norman times the only existing portions o fthe ancient str u c o f ture are the three columns the N . aisle r arcade, but much thirteenth and fou teenth r e centuries work still stands . It was largely W heatham sted tem built by Abbot John p ( p . Henry Note ( 1) almost unique carved 2 oak rood screen , double canopied ( ) pointed o f arches of S . side nave , replacing those de faced during the Commonwealth ( 3) Eastern sepulchre and sedilia i n chancel ; (4) piscina

- in N . aisle and lady chapel ; ( 5) brass in effi ies chancel , with eight kneeling g , without 6 Pec o c k date ; ( ) brass in chancel to Richard , o r o Pekok (d . There are silk and c rn mills on the Ver , close by . RE E D o n w lies the chalk range , mid ay fo between Bunting rd and Royston , about

G R. N . 3% miles S . from Royston Station , .

The village lies right from the Old North Road . One of the best N o rman doorways in the county o n is the N . Of the little church, which also

contains good Dec . portions . The tower alone was untouched d uring the resto ration of fo rty 16 7 H E RTFO RDSHI RE

tw o years ago . Some remains of m o ats are a little E . from the village ; Reed End, Reed

o . Green and Reed W od, are in the vicinity The neighbourhood is less wooded and pic tur o f esque than most the county . d W Rev el E n 1 S. ( % mile . from Redbourn M R o . . . Stati n , ) is a hamlet RI C K M AN S W O RTH is in the extreme S W o . . of the county ; the rivers C lne , Chess , to and Gade unite here, close the Grand Junction Canal ; and it is easy to understand why the place was formerly called Rykemer es ” a h i - w e r t e o . , . . , the rich m or meadow It is a co mpact little town with many quaint houses

- n o w and quainter by paths . The residence B asin H ouse fo r called g , in the High Street, was o f some time the home William Penn , the Quaker ; a photograph of it was recently re uiv r produced i n the Q e . The manor was ff t f o o . given by O a the Abbots St Albans, o w who retained it till the Diss lution , after hich

Edward VI . granted it to Nicholas Ridley, o f Bishop London . Henry III . granted a market to be held in the town every W ednes it o n day ; was subsequently held Saturday,

- but has long been discontinued . Paper making and brewing are no w largely carried o n in the o neighbourho d . o f The church, at the S . end Church Street, was rebuilt (except the tower) in 1 8 2 6 ; and 1 8 0 again in 7 , from designs by Sir Arthur Blo m fi el d . . It is Perp , almost entirely em o fflin ts o battled , and is constructed , with st ne

16 8

HE RTFO RDSH IRE

the present structure, after several alterations and much embellishment during eighteenth , nineteenth and twentieth centuries . It is a o f large and stately mansion Portland stone , o f with fine Corinthian portico, the columns 0 which are about 5 feet high . The vast hall was almost covered with classical and m edia v al designs by Sir James Thornhill , who had to sue Styles before he could obtain his remuneration note the huge statues supporting the five marble doorways . The house may be seen to advantage some distance from the terrace but it must be remembered that it no longer retai ns its wings, whi ch were removed when Mr . T . B . Rous lived at Moor Park towards the end of the eighteenth century . o i Permission must be bta ned before the park, grounds or house can be inspected . The park contains about 500 acres and is famous fo r its o f o o f splendid timber, some its aks being almost perfect development and proportions . th P ar k Ric k m an s w o r . , N from the town , has a modern house well situated . The park stretches nearly to Loudwater Mill on the river

Chess, and is, like Moor Park , beauti fully

wooded . ’ 2 W RI D G E ( % miles S . from Potter s Bar o n Station , is the Middlesex border , close to South Mimms ; The village doubtless

owes its name to its situation on the hill . The

small church is mainly Perp . , but the chancel o to is E . Dec . ; it contains several mem rials the Blount family, including one to Charles 170 RICKMANSWORTH PARK—ROWLEY

Blount ( 16 54 He was an infidel o fmore bitterness than ability , as may be seen from his ’ translation o fPhilo str atu s s Apollonius Tyanee us ; readers may remember that his 7 ust Vindication in ear n . q g, etc , was stigmatised by Macaulay ’ Ar o a i tic as garbled extracts from Milton s e p g a. On bein g refused a licence to marry his deceased ’ — wife s sister, he committed suicide Pope says he “ ’ ” des atc h p d himself . The Blount family resided in the neighbourhood for many genera f o f tions ; Sir Henry Pope Blount, ather the

- above mentioned Charles , built here a fair o f structure Brick, made fair Walks and Gardens i ’ d ” se z . to it, and died thereof He was the o h v nt author o fA Voyage int t e Le a . Ring s hall is a hamlet on the Bucks border in the parish o fLittle Gaddesden .

Ro e r een . G (4 miles S E . from Ashwell

Station , is in a pleasant and very quiet neighbourhood . The nearest parish church is 1 N E Ro e Sandon , about mile . . Wood is a little N . from the hamlet . Ro esto c k , a hamlet in the parish of North

1 . Mimms, is mile N . from the Park Small 1 N W ford Station , is mile . . Ro u nd B u s h o f I i consists a few cottages, W S. M R mile . from Radlett Station , . . Ro w W G r een I . ( t mile S . from Hatfield)

t o . lies close to the road from St . Albans Hatfield Row W Hyde is a li ttle farther S. . Ro wle r een o n y G , the road from Barnet n 2 Gate to Shenley, is early miles E . from E o M R lstree Stati n , . . 1 7 1 H ERTFORDSHI RE

R S k O Y TON , an ancient mar et town o n the I c k nield Way at its junction with Ermine

Street, was until recently partly in Cambs . It is supposed to owe its name to a Dame Ro esia w ho o n placed a cross here the highway, near which spot a monastery of Black Canons was founded by Eustace de Mere and others in the reign o fHenry II . Early in the reign of

Henry IV . the town was almost destroyed by

fire . Royston enjoyed several market privileges i n the good old days, and it is recorded that early in the fifteenth century wheat was so plentiful that i t was s o ld in Royston market for d 1 2 . a quarter . The church was erected close to the monas t er y late in the thirteenth century, and at the

Dissolution was constituted the parish church . a o o Thirty years g it was restored , and m re o recently enlarged , and is now an imp sing o f E E structure flint and rubble , . . in style . W The tower ( . ) is embattled and carries four pinnacles . The fine lancet windows in the chancel were disco vered during restoration in 1 8 2 o f 7 , as were also the fragments the old screen, since pieced together to form the present a f pulpit and reading desk . The labaster e figy o f be in the chancel , a knight in armour, is liev ed o ne o f to represent the Scales family . There are several o ld brasses : 1) to William T br am Ther fi eld a . , Rector of (d this no w r e was large, but only the upper part mains ( 2 ) t o a civilian and his wife (cir ca 1 00 r i 5 ) ( 3) to Fathe W lliam Chambre, who 17 2

H E RTFORDSHI RE

an oratory, and that it was closed during the

Reformation . There are still the traces of several tumuli in

the neighbourhood , and ancient coins, etc . ,

have been found , but the evidences of any

Roman occupation are not very convincing . o Royst n is a somewhat quaint town , with - o o s some narrow byways and odd l oking h use , amongst which the Old Pl o ugh Inn is not the

least noticeable . u h n 1 fo R s G r ee ( mile S . r m Ware) is a small

hamlet . Ru s hden Risendene , formerly and Risden

. . o ( 5 miles S E from Baldock), has a stucc ed brick Chau n c church, Dec . and Perp . y saw in it, ” o r k no Inscription , Monument, other Remar , but in 17 54 the monument o fSir Adolphus K t Meetkerke, . , was brought here from St . ’

o . Am B tolph s, Aldersgate Meetkerke was ’ bassado r from Flanders to the Court o fQueen z o o f Eli abeth , and the auth r several volumes . o N te the canopy in nave, thought to have o f covered a statue the Virgin . In the reign o f o fHenry I I . the patronage the church was f o f given by William Basset, Sheri f Leicester ’ o f shire , to the Canons and Church St . Peter s

at Dunstable . R u s tli ng G r een is midway between K neb ’ worth and St . Paul s Walden Parks . The district is prettily diversified by small woods . By the shortest way through the park K neb worth Station is ab o ut 35 miles E . TH E RY E o n nk E H OU S the W . ba of the RUSH GREEN—TH E RYE HOUSE

o f s river Lea, is a famous resort fi hermen , excursionists and folk wishing to see the Great f 86 o 1 . Bed Ware , brought here from Ware in 9 o f The bed is a huge construction solid oak , to quaintly carved, and large enough hold twelve adults, as is proved by a story which can readily be found by the curious, but which is unfit for repetition in these pages . It is alluded to by Shakespeare , Byron and other writers . The present Rye House is modern , but attached to it are some remains o fthe o ld

House , some account of which must be given

here . “ In his description o fthe M an n o r of the ha n c a C u . Rye y s ys, King Henry VI granted O ar d licence to Andrew g and others , that they o f m o f might impark the seite the Man or Rye , otherwise called the Isle o f Rye in Stansted o f o f Abbot, fifty Acres Land , eleven Acres o f Meadow, eight Acres Pasture and Sixteen

Acres of Wood, erect a Castle there with Lime and Stone , make Battlements and Loopholes ” 1 c a d & . The castle built by Og r passed into the hands o fthe Baesh family ; it was d o ubt f fo r less in part rebuilt at di ferent times , what

f. o o f remains o it is of brick . In c urse time o f it became the property Lieut . , afterwards “ ” Col . , Rumbold , known as Hannibal among

his associates , who had been a private in Fair ’ o f16 8 fax s famous regiment 4 . This man was i i o f H ow P a the or g nator the Rye e l t .

' 1 H zst An ti o 8 . . l . v o . i. g f etc . , , p 3 3 ,

ed . 18 2 6. I 7 S H E RTFORDSHI RE

The story o fthat pl o t may be recapitulated 16 i n few words . In the spring of 8 3 Charles o f II . and James Duke York were at New

o f - Re market . Rumbold and some his ultra publican friends heard that the Royal party t o o f would return London by way Rye House . They met together and arranged t o secrete some men in the house, to create a disturbance as the King passed and to kill him in the confusion which would follow . The King — o be escaped probably, as m st writers agree, cause he left Newmarket earlier than was e'x ec t ed o p . The plot soon became kn wn , the Rye House was searched and many persons w Tw o ere charged with High Treason . illustrious men became implicated , through the allegations o f Howard o f Escrick and — others Algernon Sidney and Lord Russell .

Both were certainly innocent, but both were beheaded , and Russell was buried at Chenies o n in Bucks (almost the Herts border) . Rum bold fled to Holland, joi ned the expedition which Argyle headed i n Scotland , and was hanged in Edinburgh in 16 8 5 Visito rs to the neighbourhood of the Rye House will perhaps be assured that Rumbold suffered o n a tree near by, but such was not the case . S B E N W AC OM (4 miles . . from Ware) lies scattered over a considerable district . It was long ago called Su ev ec amp Su av isc ampu s) because of its pleasant situation . The small

. o n . Dec church stands _ the hill , at the N end o f o f o the Park ; it is ancient foundati n , but 176

H E RTFORDSH I RE

cir ca 2 8 his escape , and adopted his faith ( 5

30 5 the date is very uncertain) . During the fifth century the Saxo ns captured and destro yed Verulam and built a new town o n the hill t W i s o me distance E . This hey named at/ng r eefier (the town on Watling Street) , but when (7 9 3) Offa built a monastery to the memo ry o n H o lmhur st l o fAlban H i l , the traditionary o f o e site the martyrd m, the town itself becam

. o kno wn as St . Albans Gildas, Bede and ther

‘ ' o ld autho rities agree that an earlier church sto o d n o e h was o this sp t ; they state, ind ed , t at it o f built soon after the death St . Alban .

The plan of the city is, like the Abbey, cruci

o ld - o a form , four high r ads meeting together ne r W u S W the Clock Tower, N . . from D nstable, . . E o N . . from Watford , S . E . fr m London , from

Wheathampstead . The latter unites with the road from Harpenden and Luton at The W ’ 2 N . . . Cricketers, mile from St Peter s u o n Church . The fo r roads, entering the city, are respectively called Verulam Road , Holywell ’

. o ne Hill, London Road and St Peter s Street ; o o f the oldest thoroughfares, h wever, is that called Fishpool Street, which runs from near o n the W . end of the Abbey to the flour mill the Ver . Quite recently several of the oldest houses in the neighbourhood were in this street no w o but some have been pulled d wn . We will enter the city from the direction o f

St . Stephens . Crossing the bridge over the o f Ver , we turn left by the Duke Marl u u a boro gh , pass thro gh the gate ne r the river 178 8 ST . ALBAN side and keeping the cress—beds on the left reach u the silk mill . T rning right we ascend the hill W . of the Abbey orchard, obtaining mean o f while a fine view the stately W . front of the o o Abbey itself, as rec nstructed by L rd Grim thorpe . Our way into the city lies through the o ld - Gate Home o f , partially ivy clad , a relic the

Benedictine Monastery note the Perp . pointed arch and groined roo f. This was originally to the entrance the Abbey court, the Magna l P o rta o fthe o d monastic days . There was a former structure o n o r near the same spot this was blown down and the present building dates o f from the rule Thomas de la Mere, thirtieth abbot ( 1 349 Used as a jail some cen ’ t ur ies a o . g , it has long been known as St Alban s 5001 W mm r 85 S . Gr a a ; the battlemented house . o fthe archway is the residence o fthe head o f to t/ze master . The claims this school be older : in E ng/e nd canno t be adequately discussed Su fiic e n here . it to say that docume ts attesting its existence date from Abbot Richard de Albini 10 - 1 1 1 ff G o r ( 9 7 9 ) his successor, Geo rey de ham , came from Normandy to become its master . Matthew Paris records that the school was afterwards kept by a nephew o fAbbot Warine

(or Warren) de Cambridge, and had at that time more scholars than any school in E ngland . Passing through the arch we notice o n the left a small , triangular burial ground . The spot is Ro melan d Tan ker v ille called . Here George a6th was burnt by order of Bishop Bonner, on 1 6 August, 55 . I 79 HE RTFORDSHIRE

Passing straight forward into Spicer Street n r ational Cna el C o e - 1 the g g p , founded in 79 7, is o n on the right . A l ittle farther is College Street ; o n the left side stands the house in which Cowper was placed under the charge of

Dr . Cotton when his insanity was most pro n o no u c ed. To reach the o ld Clock T wer we turn right into Verulam Street and left into

High Street . The Tower stands at the S . end of the Market Place ; note the quaint, narrow f o . . th rough are at its W side , called French Row o f The Tower is Perp . , fiint and dressed stone ,

battlemented, and surmounted by a small spire the basement has long been utilised as a saddler ’ s 1 shop . It dates from the fifteenth century, but 1 86 was restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 4. In it hangs the great bell Gabriel ” cast early in o f the reign E dward III . it is now used for o f striking the h ur and formerly tolled the cur ew .

In the foreground , where the drinking fountain “ ’ now stands, was Eleanor s Cross, erected,

n . like the cross at Waltham (o ) , by Edward I

in memory of his Queen . It was destroyed 1 00 - about 7 . The old market place , so quaint

even thirty years ago , is now largely occupied by modern shops ; partly by reason o fa fire

which occurred a few years back . Continuing o u r way up the market- place we Town Hall o r C our t Home pass the on the right, 18 2 6 an Italian structure dating from , and the

1 C l u tterbu c k says it was erec ted between 1402 and 1 2 4 7 .

1 8 0

H ERTFORDSHI RE

founded these almshouses for widows, and en dowed them with 1:30 per annum for ever as a salve to his conscience . There is an iron arrow o ld over the brick gateway before the houses, which seems to countenance the story . There o were f rmerly many other brasses in the church, but the inscriptions o n some of them must now

. ho w be sought in the county histories A few,

e . o ne o f to ever, remain , .g , with shield arms

z . 1 . Mrs . Eli abeth Wyndham (d 7 3 In the N o f aisle is the tomb Edward Strong (d . “ ’ Master Mason of St . Paul s Cathedral ,

. o the churchyard lies Dr Nathaniel Cott n , the o f 1 80 friend Cowper (see page ) (d . i n o f Among those who fell the battles St . Albans (of which more will be said presently) and were buried in this church or graveyard E n w sel K o f 1 t t . were ( ) Sir Bertin y , , Baron Br ybek e in Normandy ; ( 2 ) Ralph Babtho r pe

o f o ld . and Ralph his son , an Yorkshire family As a matter o ffact a great number of the slain “ were buried here Chau n c y says this Church and Churchyard was filled with the Bodies o f those that were slain in the tw o battles fought in this town The two other churches founded by Abbot

lsin s . U u are those of St . Stephen and St

Michael . ’ n /z r i W St Ste en : C n t n S. . . p stands f mile o f from the Clock Tower, at the j unction the w as roads from Edgware and Watford . I t restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1 86 1- 6 2 but

o n e. . still retai ns s me a cient features g , the late

1 8 2 _

’ LORD Bac on s M ON UM E NT

HE RTFORDSH IRE

hat . upon his head ; the sculptor. (unknown) has succeeded admirably in imparting an air of ’ abst raction to the countenance . Of Bacon s Gor nanzont I W f . house at y, mile farther , little remains except some fragments of wall and n tower, with projecti g entrance porch . In the yet remaining spandrels o fthe arches are medallions o f- Roman Emperors ; over the porch are the arms of Elizabeth . The present c o m mansion, a little E . from the ruins, was m en c ed in 1 77 8 by James third Viscount

Grimston ; it has been consi derably altered , but retains the grand N . portico the pedi

“ ment , supported by ten Corinthian columns ,

f. reaches to the roo The hall is very large, and o f contains portraits Francis Bacon , George o f i Villiers, Duke Buck ngham and other worthies . There are n u m ei o us pictures in other apart i o f s ments , including portra ts Sir Nichola Bacon , o f ff u eeri Thomas Wentworth , Earl Sta ord, Q l o f E izabeth, Robert Devereux , Catherine

Braganz a and William Pi tt . There were three monastic institutions on the outskirts of the town . '

1 o o f St . nlzan ( The Leper H spital 7 , ff G o tham founded by Geo rey de , sixteenth

o f . Abbot St Albans, on a spot close to St . ’ Stephen s Church . Of this no vestige remains . f M ar ac Pr e 2 St . ( ) The Hospital of y , for - f women lepers, founded about fifty years a ter the above by Warren de Cambridge, twentieth ld o n o f o . abbot, either side the Watling Street So me o fthe graves in the churchyard attached 184 ' R UINS OF LORD B A C ON S HO USE

HERTFO RDSHI RE consensus o ftestimony wherever I have found o r discrepancy contradiction . d to It has already been stated that, accor ing

Gildas, Bede and other authorities , a church was erected on H o lmhur st Hill after the

. o martyrdom of St Alban . C ncerning that church we know little more than that it was o r almost destroyed by the Saxons . In 79 3,

ff . very near that date , O a II , who had murdered the East Anglian King, Ethelbert, resolved to found a monastery , encouraged, as o o f l s we learn fr m William Ma me bury, by

Charlemagne . The monastery was duly fo r 100 founded , an abbot and Benedictine be monks, and the little church, renovated ,

came the original abbey of the fo undation .

Having discovered the bones o fSt . Alban and ff placed them i n a costly reliquary, O a con v e ed y them to this church , intending to erect a nobler edifice for their reception but it is doubtful whether the design was carried o u t

during his lifetime . Indeed , we know little as to that enlarging and adornment o f the church which must surely have been effected

in the days of the early abbots, and the first ’ hi nts o fthe erection o fthe great abbey occur o fE aldr ed E admer in the lives and , eighth and w ho ninth abbots, collected immense quantities

- of red , tile like Roman bricks from the ruins of Verulam Matthew Paris tells us that E adm er made some progress in the actual

o f . rebuilding the church The twelfth abbot, ’ n Leo fSta (d . the building with

1 86 ST . ALBAN S ABBEY

“ certain ornaments but it was the four teenth 10 abbot, Paul de Caen ( 7 7 who, using the vast stores o fmaterial collected by o n his predecessors , entirely rebuilt the church a scale al most commensurate with its present i s z e . The rebuilding o fthe Abbey Church by

Abbot Paul de Caen occupied eleven years . W o f hen completed , it was certainly one the noblest and largest structures in the kingdom . The length o fthis cruciform Norman church 2 6 n o w was 4 feet . (The extreme length is

0 . 55 , due to additions presently mentioned ) o f On the E . side either transept were two apsidal chapels, the one adjoining the presby ter y aisle being in each case the larger o fthe o f two ; there was also an apse at the E . end the presbytery . A square , battlemented tower

flanked the W . front on either side ; but the ’ chief glory of Abbot Paul s church was n u doubtedly the enormous Norman tower of four

- flo o r stages, triforium , clerestory , ringing and belfry, surmounted by parapets and flanked by o f angle turrets , which such considerable who po rtions yet remain . Visitors saw the o f Abbey thirty years ago saw the E . portion su bstant i the nave, the transepts and the tower ally as built by Abbot Paul de Caen . The 1 1 1 new Abbey was dedicated 5. ff 1 1 1 Geo rey de Gorham , sixtee nth abbot ( 9

placed the relics of St . Alban in a new shrine . o 1 16 1 R bert de Gorham , eighteenth abbot ( 18 7 HE RTFORDSHIRE

erected the G/zapter Home and Locntozy ’ s 1 16 (Abbot s Cloister) ; his succes or, Symeon ( 7 completed the erection and embellishment ' n zn o t an ” o f S r e S . d the f , raising its height so Hi a A that it could be seen from the g ltar .

During his abbacy the relics of St . Amphibalus

‘ o f were brought to St . Albans, and the shrine that saint was eventually erected in the E . aisle . na l o t ut/zo a i G e S . C er t B t ster The p f in the p y,

“ built by Abbot Richard de Albini ( 109 7- 1 1 was also dedicated about this time . o Warren de Cambridge, twentieth abb t ( 1 1 8 3- 9 placed the relics of St Amphibalus fer etr in a y, enriching it with gold and silver ornamentation . He placed it behind the High

’

fer etr o f . . Altar, near the y St Alban —fir st 1 1 John de Cella, twenty abbot ( 9 5

commenced to rebuild the W . front, E E no w notably the three fine . . porches o f replaced by those Lord Grimthorpe , but the work was completed by his successo r William de Tr u mpyn t o ne ( 1 2 14 w ho added the tw o flanking towers . This abbot erected the rood screen between the nave and choir, added the octagon above the tower after removing the Norman turrets and parapets, E fl E . o n e ac h and probably built those . bays

- side o fthe nave which are nearest to the W . f o o . front . He also restored porti ns the S no ’ St . C nt er t s transept and S . aisle , and rebuilt Cnapel o n the spot now partly occupied by the ’ Rooa Scr een . ‘ h The E ; end o ft he Abbey next r ec e iv ed . t e

1 88

HE RTFORDSH IRE sted became abbot ( 1420- 40 and 1451 tw o o o f This celebrated man , during the peri ds ff his abbacy, hardly rested in his e orts to beautify the Abbey . It is stated in a Cottonian MS . that this abbot constructed a little chapel near the shrine of St . Alban ; this was perhaps the ' ’ in Watcnzng Loft (N . of Sa t s awn) in which the keeper o fthe holy shrine and rel ics (Custos o Feretri) spent much of his time . J hn de Wheat hampsted also built the tomb of Hum

hr e . o n p y, Duke of Gloucester (d the side o fthe chapel oppo site the Watcning Loft (a few steps lead down to the coffi n) ; pre pared his own tomb W . from that of the duke built the great Perp . window over the W .

h n o w . porc es , replaced by one Dec in design , o fNat/e Ant and the nine N . windows and e c noir ; and was probably responsible fo r the o n paintings discovered the choir ceiling, and for many o fthe embellishments of the Lady cna el p . Perhaps, however, his fame chiefly Hi /z Altar Scr een rests on the g , which he designed , but which was erected by the thirty- sixth 1 6 abbot, William Wallingford ( 47 There were apparently few important features added to the Abbey, and but little restoration effected during the rule o fthe last four abbots ( 149 2 A few brief paragraphs concern ing its modern restorations and present appear ance must now be added . Those modern restorations date l argely fro m o f o o in the middle last century . Its c nditi n, ter nall t y and externally, was at that time cer ainly B ST . AL AN S ABBEY

discreditable to everybo dy concerned in its wel 18 6 a fare . In 5 National Committee placed o f o the matter in the hands Sir Gilbert Sc tt, under wh o se direction the building was in part resto red ; but public funds presently failed and in 1879 the direction o fthe workers was undertaken by o ne who had at o nce the inclina tion and the funds necessary to its completion

- Lord Grimthorpe . oo d e . The y, from the W porches to the E . end o fthe Lady- enapel and the Cnapel ofTr an: ' “ nr atzon u 2 0 f 0 fig , meas res inside 5 eet, outside 55

tr anse t . to S feet ; the entire p length from N . , 1 nav e o on the floor, 7 7 feet ; the , the I ngest o o ne 2 2 x G thic i n the world , 9 feet 7 5 feet 4

Lad ~ cna el x 2 inches ; the y p , 57 feet 4 feet the great Scr een: are rather less than 1 7 0 feet tower 1 apart ; the height of the is 44 feet . Visitors will find some slight discrepancies as to measurements in the several guides which have been compiled ; but the foregoing figures will assist them to realise the vast dimensi o ns of the

building . Its area is approximately

square feet . Of special interest are 1 T/ze Tower ( ) , which is seen to greater advantage since Sir Gilbert Scott removed the

exterior plaster, thus exposing the wonderfully preserved Roman tiles with which it was faced

by Abbot Paul de Caen . The four enormous piers upon which it rests were weakened by the o f ignorance early restorers, who cut into them im freely, and dug graves in such manner as to

peril their foundati o ns . The most arduous 19 1 H ERTFORDSHIRE wo rk o fSir Gilbert Scott was the strengthening ff r e of these piers, e ected piecemeal by partial construction o fthe piers themselves and by o f laying a durable substratum . cement right

. down to the chalk _ The fine ring of eight

bells was rehung . Visitors will find the ascent o f u the spiral staircase long and arduo s, but will be rewarded by the almost unrivalled view fro m

between the merlons o n its summit . ’ ' ’ 2 St All an r n t n ( ) . S r e (in the Saint s Chapel

e - betw en the Altar Screen and the Lady chapel) ,

already referred to (p . disappeared about the time of the suppression o fthe mon astery and all traces of it were lost except the fragment of Purbeck marble marking its former o n site the chapel floor . Yet that shrine, its d o n genuineness unquestioned, stands to ay the site which it occupied centuries ago ! H undreds of fragments of Purbeck marble were discovered when the central arches o f the Lady-c hapel

were opened by Dr . Nicholson previous to the

restorations of Sir Gilbert Scott . Subsequently, other fragments were discovered and the whole o f collection , the importance which was sus ec ted l p , was pieced together with indefatigab e

ingenuity by the late John Chapple . The er etr f y itself, mentioned by Matthew Paris, which was supposed to contain the relic o fthe

martyr, has not, and probably never will be,

discovered . The groined niches are of clunch ,

but the rest o fthe shrine is of Purbeck marble . Note the beautiful tracery o f these groined o f c r o c kett ed niches, the cusps the arches and 19 2

ST . ALBAN S ABBEY

a pediments , and the carvings in the tympan , o f representing scenes from the martyrdom SS .

Alban and Amphibalus . ’ m nzoalnr Sar ine o St A . o f ( 3) f . p (in N aisle presbytery) . This was discovered in fragments and pieced together i n the same manner as that o f o f St . Alban . The whole, however , is clunch, and, unfortunately, incomplete . Note

f - the ret like sculpture round the basement, and the name o f the saint (imperfect) in carved capitals . Hi a Altar Scr een o r o f (4) g , screen Abbot Wallingford (restored at the expense o fLord z as Aldenham) ; is in point of si e, in beauty, perhaps unique i n England . Note its resem blance to that at Winchester . It was much en dilapidated , its many statues having been t ir ely destroyed at the time o fthe Reformation but its restoration has been admirably executed , f the figures o SS . Alban and Amphibalus being : C eltic especially noticeable the latter wears a , n o t a Roman tonsure . Note also the figures of our Lord and His apostles in alabaster, and f o . those Adrian IV , Bede, Hugh of Lincoln ,

St . Edmund and many others . ( 5) Chantry Tombs o fnew: Ran nyge and Abbot am Wneatnanz r teal r es ec 7 p , occupying p iv el f o f t o . y the last arches N . and S side the o f Sanctuary . Note the fine late Perp . work W heatham sted the former, and the p arms , three

- wheat ears, on the latter . ( 6) Tae Lady- enapel (enter through Retro fo m r c o n t ain t he choir) . This r e ly ed much of N 19 3 HE RTFORDSHI RE

finest work in the Abbey and traces o fit are r e still retained , despite its repeated and entire s a io n o o f to r t . The present vaulted ro f real stone replaces that of imitation stone built by Abbot

o stf Refo r m at io n Hugh de Eversden . In p days it was long used as the Grammar School ; but since the removal o fthe school to the Old Gate House ( 1 869 ) the chapel has gradually been o f brought into its present state . Many its — most beautiful features tracery , mouldings , — r statuettes, carvings, etc . had , howeve , been completely destroyed by the boys . The marble pavement is new ; the stained glass in the E . window was presented by the Corporation o f n o f London . Note the wo derful variety carved flowers and fruits with which this chapel is embellished . ’ ' An i nitz t er . From Grose s o (vol . viii ) I quote the following “ Mr . Robert Shrimpton , grandfather, by the ’ f n o . mother s side, to Mrs . Shrimpto St Albans, was four times mayor of that town ; he died 10 about sixty years since, being then about 3 o f years of age . He lived when the Abbey St . Alban flourished before the Dissolution and remembered most things relating to the build o f ings of the Abbey, the regimen the house , the ceremonies of the church all of which

o - he would often disc urse in his life time . o Among ther things, that in the Great Hall there was an ascent o f fifteen steps to the ’ abbot s table, to which the monks brought up the e e f s rvic in plate, and staying at every fi th 19 4

H E RTFORDSHI RE

because the royal prisoner had been conducted

thither . Several illustrious persons slain in this battle were buried in the Lady- chapel ( 1) o f Henry Percy, second Earl Northumberland 2 ( ) Edmund Beaufort, first Duke of Somerset ff ( 3) John , Lord Cli ord . Sir Robert Vere, Sir

William Chamberlain , Sir Richard Fortescue, K ts . , and many squires and other gentlemen

also perished . ec o n d B a ttle o t Albans — Ou S fS . Shrove 1 1 6 1 Tuesday, 7th February, 4 , Queen Margaret defeated the Earl of Warwick , who retreated

with considerable loss , the battle being mostly ’ fought out on Bernard s Heath , N . from St . ’ Peter s Church . This engagement also was o u t stubbornly fought . According to Stow

and Hollinshead , the Lancastrians were thwarted in their efforts t o pass through the town from

N . S . to , being repulsed by arrows in the Market ’ Place , and eventually reached Bernard s Heath

by a circuitous route from the W . If this is

so, visitors who ramble down the High Street,

turn right i nto Katherine Lane , coming out of ’ W llc l e o se . Street near St Peter s Church , will probably tread in the footsteps o fthe troops of

Margaret . After the fight had been decided the victorious Lancastrians poured back into the

town , which was again plundered , and the a Abbey also parti lly stripped . This was during o f W heatham sted the second abbacy John p , and Stow records that the day after the battle Queen

Margaret, and the King (Henry VI . ) were led by the abbot and monks to the High Altar of 19 6 B Y— ST. ALBAN S A BE SAN DON

fo r the Abbey, where they returned thanks the victory . ’ M E S o n S T . ARGAR T , the river Lea, has a small church with several unimportant memorials . It was probably formed from o ne aisle of an older edifice ’ t M ar ar et s o f S . g is also the name a few W cottages a little N . . from Great Gaddesden , site o f near the , the Benedictine convent of M nr erle o f y, the refectory which was almost intact early last century . ’ T P S W D E S W S . AU L AL N (4 miles . . from

Stevenage Station , is a large and scattered parish ; much o fit is very picturesque . The no w 1 0 1 o f church , ( 9 ) in the hands the restorers, 18 o f o f several styles, but contains little worthy o n o f comment . Note the tablet the W . wall the chapel to Henry Stapleford and Dorothy his “ wife . The said Henry was servant to Queen i ” Elizabeth, King James and K ng Charles (d . The manor was formerly called first ’ Waldene , then Abbot s Walden , being the ’ o St P aul s property of the abbots fSt . Albans . . Walden B ur S W y, mile . . from the church , is o f the seat Lord Glamis . Note the fine avenues c o f in the park, ommanding good views the house . The walk S . to Whitwell , through the steep and twisted lane and across the bridge over “ the Maran , keeping the bog and cress beds o n the right, is very pretty . S D % . . AN ON ( 3 miles S E from Ashwell Station , N G . R . ) has a flint church , probably late four teen th century . Several features should be 19 7 HE RTFO RDSH I RE

o ak e n na and noted ( 1) Perp . screen ( ) betw e ve chancel ; ( 2 ) old stained glass in windo ws of b o th aisles ; ( 3) fine Jacobean o ak pulpit ; (4) old brass, with inscription which was imperfect “ 2 00 ff years back, to Johannes Fitz Geo ery, ” 1 80 Armiger (d . 4 ) ( 5) piscina in each aisle 6 c r o c ketted ( ) pinnacled and arches in chancel , over triple sedilia . The church was partially 1 8 Sandone restored in 7 5. The manor of was owned by Saxon kings ; Athelstan gave ten ’

wi . ll . houses in the to St Paul s, London The

Old North Road to Royston is 2 miles E .

D I E E . SAN R D G ( 2 5 miles N . . from St Albans) is on the road to Wheathampstead, and is a n fo r thoroughly typical English village co sisting, o fo ne the most part, street, with the parish E The church near its N . . end . parish stretches northwards to the Lea, and is very ancient ; the ff will r ith so n . was given by n , a of O a, to St ~ ’ I t e Alban s Abbey . ow s its name to the nature of its soil . The church, one of the most ancient i n the county , has known much restoration , but

- still retains Norman work . It was consecrated as a chapel a few - years after the consecration ’ 1 1 1 of St . Alban s Abbey ( 5) the chancel was rebuilt by Abbot John Moote (cir ca The tower fell towards the end of the seventeenth century and the structure which took its place was pulled down and reconstructed in 1 8 87 .

o ld . Note the material in the apex, the Perp windows in the aisles, the clerestoried Norman nave and the Norman fo nt . There are N . and

S . porches .

HE RTFORDSHI RE

E Pirnioour S n ( . ) and y ( . ) are engraved in Cha ney the present mansion in Pishio bur y Park was built by Wyatt, and has a fine adjoining rosery . The church stands between the town and the station it has a good Perp . screen between the clerestoried Dec . nave and the

and a . chancel , a l rge canopied piscina in the N : o 1 aisle . The brasses are numerous n te ( ) to Lev en tho r e 1 Sir John p (d . 43 3) and Katherine 1 1 his wife (d . 43 ) the former was an executor 2 to King Henry V . ( ) to several other mem o f Lev en tho r e bers the p family, too numerous t o alfedu s 1 mention ( 3) to G r Jocelin (d . 47 and his wives Katherine and Joan (4) insc r ip tion on brass, which was long ago transcribed as follows

Of o u r C a ite y . h r Sey a P ater N o stre and an Av e F o r the S o wl o fW ill iam C hau nc e On wh o se S o wl Jes u have M erc y

Several monuments and brasses are to the memory of persons buried elsewhere . Note the marble altar - tomb in chancel to John r 1 2 Jocelin o Jocelyn (d . 5 5) and Philippa his wife . S hafto n E n d and S /zafto n - H o e lie a little o n E . from the Cambridge Road , the Essex border, about 4 miles S . E . from Royston . S ha w G r een is 4 miles S . E . from Baldock, ' z nr P r e near f7ul a a . E E H S 2 . H P ALL ( miles N . N E . fro m Knebworth

Station, is a little E . from the Great

2 00 SH AFTON EN D—SHEN LE Y

North Road . It is a small village . The church ,

- E . E , is approached through a good lich gate , and contains many memorials, including two sixteenth - century brasses to members o f the o ne o f o f Nodes family, which was Sergeant the Buckhounds to Henry VI II . , Edward VI . ,

Mary and Elizabeth (d .

S E E 2 . H NL Y ( miles E from Radlett Station , l M R. o f o d . ) is interest to many for its fine “ ” - u o f lock p, or cage, in the centre the village . o n o f We are high ground here , and the tower ’ St . Alban s Abbey is well seen above the trees W N . to the . The village is scattered along several converging roads, and the surrounding a country is undulating and be utifully wooded . Turn down the lane opposite the Black Lion o f 1 to reach the old church St . Botolph , mile

N . N . W . from the cage . Note the venerable - d yews, and the quaint old grave boar s in the graveyard ; also the altar - tomb to Nicholas o f Hawksmoor, a pupil Wren , and the architect of St . Mary Woolnoth , Lombard Street (d . at

Shenley, The church was partly rebuilt o f i n the middle the eighteenth century, when the tower was demolished and a structure o f timber, with quadrangular tiled roof, eventually erected in its stead . This has disappeared , and “ ” the o ld parish church is now an oblong

o f - building flints , chalk faced , with tiled roof. P or ter r W , in the park, a little . , was the resi o f Saliraur Hall dence Admiral Lord Howe . y , u a gabled manor ho se with massive chimneys , surrounded by a moat, is Jacobean , and stands

2 0 1 HE RTFORDSHI RE on the spot occupied successively by the older o f M o nt ac u tes houses the , and of Sir John

Cutts, Treasurer and Privy Councillor to

Henry VI II . Eugene Aram visited the neigh bo r ho o d u .

’ lea s H de Smallfo r d S p y (a mile S . E . from

‘ Station , is a hamlet in the parish of

Colney Heath . ale m u . E S G . g , a few cottages, lies on the Br ic k et N E confines of Wood , 3 mile . . from that station , ’ m th s E nd o n S y adjoins Barley the S . S oles br id e Lane s g , on the river Ches , is close to Chorley Wood . S o u thend S o u thend r een and G are hamlets, 1 e o n S 2 3 ( ) adjoining St venage the . , ( ) 5 mile

E . from Rushden . Spell br o o k is a hamlet nearly midway be ’ ' tween Saw br idgew o r th and Bishop s St o rtford . S tan bo r o u h H at fi eld - w g , on the Wel yn l road, is midway between Hatfie d and Brocket N W Hall Parks . The road which branches . . from the hamlet leads to the modern church at Lemsford D S TAN O N has several claims to notice . It

1 . is a large village , mile E from the Old W North Road . A little . , and on the other o f o c side the railway, is the mansion which c u ies o fStandon Lor a/i nt p the site } , a fi ne old o f manor house, which hardly a vestige remains . w o I t was long o ned by the Sadleir family, m st illustrious o f whom was Sir Ralph Sadleir

(d . who fought at Pinkie . (See below . )

2 0 2

HE RTFORDSHI RE

Victuals for the Navy Royal and Marine affairs within the Realms of England and Ireland ” o f (d . He married Jane , a daughter Sir a Baesh Ralph S dleir . (See Standon . ) The six so n Almshouses were built and endowed by his , Baesh a Sir Edward . Sever l brasses , some muti o n e lated , are in the church , notably near the

- to o r Saxa e t o f altar rails William Saraye y , la e “ ” Stanr teaaour u Grais In (d . y, a h ge a gabled mansion , l rgely rebuilt , stands in exten o f Baeshs sive grounds, and was the home the and o f Feildes their successors , the . S ta le o r d p f , a village on the river Beane , is W N . . . 3 miles N . from Hertford The church is Perp . with N . porch it was enlarged nearly e thirty years ago, when the pres nt tower was added . STE VE NAG E o n , a town the Great North n Road, has shifted from its original positio . It

N E . to once stood farther . and close the church but after a terri ble fire which destroyed a large proportion of its houses the village was gradually rebuilt more directly on the famous old coaching road . The first paper mill in England is said o f to have been built in this parish . Several its inns were standing when the regular coaches were o n the road . i The old Church of St . Nicholas, m le

N E . of . , is reached through an avenue limes and

- chestnuts , headed by a new lich gate . It is E E largely . . Note the octagonal pillars and pointed arches o fthe nave and the two small chapels attached to the chancel . The font at the 2 0 4 STE V E N A G E C H URC H

H E RTFORDSHI RE

S wan les z N E g ( i miles . . from Ware) is a a small hamlet little S . from the river Rib . S ln o nds r een W 8 S. f y G ( mile . rom Steven age Station , is a hamlet between the Great North Road and the ruins of M insde n a Ch pel . Sy i no nds Hy de Farm and Wood are in a

S. W pleasant district, very diversified , a little .

. mallfo r from Brocket Hall Park . S d and Hat 2 field Station are from to 3 miles S . W S . and . respectively . Tea r een G , a hamlet near the Beds border, lies between Br eac hw o o d Green and Pu t ter idge

Bury . Tednam bu ry and Tednam M ill are o n the o n river Stort and right the Essex border . 1 Sawbridgeworth Station is mile S . E a T WIN ( bout 2 miles S . E . from Welwyn h Station , is most c armingly situated on high ground above the river Maran . The village is divided into the Upper and Lower 3 f Green ; the church , ; mile rom the latter,

“ v stands on a hill that slopes steeply to the ri er . Note the altar - tomb in churchyard t o Lady 1 10 Anne Grimston (d . 7 ) The tomb is forced asunder by ash and sycamore trees growing t o gether , a circumstance popularly attributed to o f the sceptical opinions Lady Anne, who is a t o o f s id have denied the doctrine immortality , and to have expressed the wish that such a phenomenon should happen if the doctrine were indeed true The church , which looks very o ld r , is of flint, brick and rubble, wi th a la ge

2 0 6 SWANGLE S—THORLEY

o - o n o ne o f diam nd faced clock side the tower .

In the S . porch (entrance blocked up) is the marble monument to Sir Joseph Sabine (d .

who fought under Marlborough . Note 1 the pyramid , 5 feet high , and the recumbent

ffi . e gy, dressed as a Roman soldier There is to o ne also in the S . aisle a good brass Thomas P ygo tt (d . and a slab with an imperfect m Lo u the Lo bardic inscription to Walter de . ' W Tewzn W ater N . . , in the park, , is prettily surro unded by trees . Beautiful walks may be taken in almost any direction , especially in the trend o fthe river Maran towards Digswell and

Welwyn . W Tha e d . r b s E n is I fmile N . from Saw id r br gew o th. ’

S o . TH E O B AL D P ARK . (See Waltham Cr ss )

H E I E D . T RF L ( 3 miles S . E from Ashwell ’ t o D u dale s Station , was, according g ' M onartzcon An licanunt g , given to the church o f Ramsey by Etheric, Bishop of Sherbourne, “ ” 80 Chaun c s about 9 , and y guesse that an o f T er fi l abbot Ramsey built h e d church . The present church is a modern Dec . structure, a o f little W . from the centre the scattered I cknield Wa o n village . The y skirts the parish the N . and many Roman relics have been dis in covered the neighbourhood . There are also o n several tumuli in the parish , which lies high , s chalky oil . ’ R E 2 S W TH O L Y ( miles . . from Bishop s Stort

' ford) c an show a good Norman doorway o n the

o f - S . side the little church note the do g to oth 207 HE RTFORDSH I RE

o - t e moulding and twisted n ok shafts . The E m ainder o f e E . the building is larg ly . there — at is a piscina in the chancel and the W . — entrance a niche fo r a holy water stoup . The ’ font, as at Bishop s Stortford , was recently dis covered . Thorley Wash and Thorley Street are between the church and the G . E . R . C I 2 N W TH RO K N G ( miles . . from Bunting

o n . ford Station , stands a hill The E E church is . . and Dec . , except the upper part o f 1 60 6 . the tower , of brick, added in The monuments include o ne by Nollekens and o ne R sbr ac k t o by y , members of the Elwes family, o fwhose manor house there are still some Hall Far m traces adjacent to the . The walk W N . o f . to Baldock , by way Julians Park (7 to 8 miles) , leads across open , breezy country . ’ TH U N D RI D G E and W AD E s M I LL are o n

2 . the Old North Road , about miles N from

Ware . The river Rib crosses the road at ’ E E Wade s Mill The present parish church, . . to in style , was built about fifty years ago , close the bridge over the Rib the tower o fthe old ’ ” church , Little St . Mary s, was standing quite recently in the lower meadows 5 mile E . On

. o f the W side the Old North Road , close to ’ Wade s Mill , a low obelisk marks the spot where Thomas Clarkso n resolved to give his o f life to the cause of the abolition slavery . Titm r e r n W o G ee is I f mile N . . from

G . N R. Stevenage Station , . Tittenhan r g e . (See London Colney . ) ’ To dd r n s G ee adj oins Titm o r e Green .

20 8

HE RTFORDSHI RE

o embattled, flint structure the t wer has a u m corner turret and is, like that at Hitchin , 1 usually massive . Note ( ) the clustered columns 2 of the nave, ( ) the quaint corbels, ( 3) the large, imposing monument to Sir William G o re and 1 0 1 0 his wife (d . 7 7 and 7 5 respectively) Sir William was Lord Mayor of’ London (4) good Perp . windows in each aisle . Tring was formerly a considerable centre o f

- a the straw pl it industry, which is still pursued to a less extent The place is of great an t i u it Tr ean f q y, g hundred dating rom the days of to Alfred the Great William I . gave it Robert o f Earl Ewe, and Stephen kindly bestowed it upon the monks of Faversham , in perpetual Alms for the Health of the Souls o fMaud his ” Queen and all faithful People Edward I I . a granted to Tring m rket rights . Tr ing P ar e (Lord Walter Rothschild) is surrounded by perhaps the most exquisite — — in woods largely of beech the whole county .

Much altered in modern times, it is said to have been designed by Wren , and to have been visited by Charles I I . The park is well kept, and contains many living curiosities placed here by Lord Rothschild , a lover of natural history . M ureurn c o n The , at the top of Akeman Street, o u t taining a fine zoological collection , is the ’ o f come his lordship s energy and benevolence . M ureunz H oure is The , to which it attached , is a u o f prettily designed struct re red brick, with gables . T i N W r in Little . . g , , is a hamlet f mile

2 10 TRING PARK—VE RULAM

I from the town , and Tring Grove, a hamlet i E N . mile . The former is near the large o f reservoirs, upon which several the rare birds mentioned in the Introduction (Section IV . ) were observed . B o lto n: N W Tr o w ley ( 3 m iles . . from Red M R o . . . b urn Station , ) is a hamlet a little S o n e o f from Flamstead , in the most thoroughly rural districts in the county . The Roman

i e t - Watl ng Str e (St . Albans Dunstable road) is

1 E . mil e N . d l ‘ S W Tu r n o r . f ( i mile . from Broxbourne

Station , is a hamlet in Cheshunt B r oxbour ne B ur parish , on the New River . y P k 1 ar is m ile N . Tw o W ater s owes its name to its position — at the juncti o n of two small rivers the Gade and the Bulbo u r n e I t is in Hemel Hemp 1 Bo x stead parish , and about mile E . from moor Station . T tten han er Tit ten han er y g . (See g . ) W ’ w ic k r een . Up G (4 miles N . from Bishop s o n Stortford) is a hamlet the Essex border . Hadnanz Hall 1 (see Little Hadham) is mile S . ' ' VE LAM o l nzu cz t nz RU . Of the d Roman ni p u ( Ver ulamium) there now remains above ground little more than some large fragments o f im crumbling wall in the valley of the Ver, S W f mediately . . rom St . Albans . Passing under the o ld Gatehouse and crossing the bridge at the Silk Mill the visitor , instead of turning right and following the course o fthe o n Ver, should keep straight and pass the small

Z I I H ERTFORDSHI RE

a g te into Verulam Woods . On his right as he follows the broad footpath will be the outer E . wall o fthe Roman city ; o n his left what ap » s pears a long gorge, overgrown by bu hes and o f n e trees many species, was once the fi . Note o f the great thickness and solidity the walls , and

- the tile li ke bricks, similar to those in the

flin ts . Abbey tower, mingled with Presently

’ b o th wall and fosse turn sharply W . and may be followed in that direction for a considerable

distance . The walls may also be traced at other W spots farther . , particularly a large mass known G o r hambu r as y Block, believed to mark the o f boundary the municipium in that direction . It has been mentioned in the Introduction

( Section IX . ) that the only Roman theatre known t o have existed in England stood in this

neighbourhood . Its remains were discovered rather more than fifty years ago in a field im ’ mediately W . from St . Michael s Church ;

nothing is now to be seen, for the excavations in have been again covered . The discovery o f cluded that the stage, somewhat narrow, the auditor ium , with many rows of seats, and portions

of the frescoed walls . Many coins were found

among the ruins . Mention must be made of the fact that the Roman Ver ulamium was the scene o fthe awful o f massacre in the time Boadicea, when the o f Queen the Iceni , with a great number of

followers, slew alike the British and Roman i nhabitants and partially destroyed the city A D o Anna]: ( . . An acc unt of this is in the

2 1 2

H E RTFORDSHIRE

k picturesque, but there is little to notice . Ta e the lane opposite the Plough Inn to reach the church, which can show a good Perp . roof and screen , and some mutilated monuments and brasses in the chapel . The main structure is

Dec . but the chancel was rebuilt forty years ago A walk affording views very characteristic o f erts may be taken from the footpath near the walled pond adjoining the church , by bearing S . S . E . to Red Hill , Rushden and

Cottered . Walr wor t/z , a hamlet , is almost a suburb at the N E “ . . end of H itchin , 5 mile from the station . W AL AM R S S o n TH C O , the London w Cambridge road , owes its name, as is ell to known , the Cross which Edward I . erected to the memory o fQueen Eleanor about I i mile

W . from Waltham Abbey . The cross stands a little W . from Waltham Station where the above - mentioned road meets that which leads E . to the Abbey . Although frequently restored it is perhaps even now more complete than any other Eleanor Cross still existing .

(That erected at St . Albans, as already stated ,

2 00 . is I was destroyed about years ago ) It , believe, disputed as to whether it was designed by Pietro C av alin i or no t it was completed i n

1 2 . 9 4 It is hexagonal in shape , of three stages , diminishing from basement to summit ; the details o fits sculpture can be readily sei z ed by ’ examining Mr . New s drawing . The restoration of 1 8 3 3 was worked in Bath stone ; this was r b la gely replaced y new material , in Ketton 2 14 W'A LTH A M C ROSS

HE RTFORDSHI RE

Tneobaldr that Charles I . set out to raise his standard at Nottingham The house was partially destroyed during the turmoil that ensued ; after the Restoration it was given by

. su bs Charles II to George Monk . It was e quently the property o fthe Earl o fPortland o f and several other persons . W A RE was for a long period , and is perhaps now, the centre of the malt trade in Herts, but o n brickmaking is also extensively carried . The o n river Lea skirts the town the S . side, and is crossed by an iron bridge near the Barge Inn . The H I gh Street displays many new houses i b and shops, but by turn ng into the smaller y ways visitors may find quaint co ttages and picturesque nooks and corners . The town is very ancient, but contained only a few persons at the time of the Conquest .

The cruciform church of St . Mary has been much restored the body of the present Structure is Dec . but the tower and chancel are Perp . 1 o ak Note ( ) the carved screen separating the S .

- 2 transept from the Lady chapel ; ( ) sedilia , piscina and ambries in the chapel itself ; ( 3) nt a octagonal font (te / . Henry bearing figures of saints on its panels ; (4) mural monument in S . transept to Sir Richard Fan

P r r o r P r e . 1 0 shawe ; 5) brass to W . y y y y (d 47 ) and his wives Agnes and Alice, the inscription 6 was apparently never completed , ( ) curious I s brass figure near pulpit . There also a modern E E church in the New Road , . . in style, of

Kentish Rag and Bath Stone .

2 16 WARE—WATE R EN D

There was a Franciscan Priory a little W . f rom the church , which, although sometimes said to have been founded by Margaret, Countess of tem Leicester ( p . Henry was probably of e n much earlier foundation , though doubtless lar ed g by that lady . It fell into decay after o ld the Dissolution , but some remains of the to War e Pr ior buildings are still be seen at y, a mansion occupying the site . The property formed a separate manor , which was given to Ric hm o rid the Countess of by her son , Henry

VII . n t Ware is o without literary association .

The Johnny Gilpin , on the road to Amwell , ’ commemorates the hero o f Cowper s ballad ; Pepys mentions his visits to the town o n several o ccasions ; Dick Turpin , as the story runs in ’ Rool’ wood Ainsworth s , passed through Ware f in his amous ride to York ; Godwin , who l figures so largely in the Lamb iterature , was for some years the Independent minister o fthe town . By a long ascent N . from the town , we o fWar e reach, by turning right, the hamlet Side , picturesquely scattered over a slight de Wid or d pression close to f W . from the War e Par k o n f town is , a mansion a beauti ul eminence . ’ - ar r en s r een E . f W G (about 4 miles N . rom

Stevenage Station , is a small hamlet . W ater E nd o n , on the river Gade, is the W f S . o . confines Gaddesden Park There are also hamlets of the same name ( 1) close t o Ayot 2 o f Station , ( ) at the E . extremity 2 17 H E RTFORDSH IRE

W f ’ 2 N . o Mimms Park, miles . r m Potter s Bar

Station ( Middlesex) . W aterfo r d and Waterfor d M ar i n are in o n Bengeo parish , the river Beane . On the to marsh is some grazing common , free all parishioners . W ater s ide is the name of a few cottages ( 1) ’ o n the river Gade, near King s Langley village E 2 1 N . . ( ) at M ill Green , mile . from Hatfield W A F R T O D , including its quickly rising

" suburbs , is much the largest town in Hert f hi e o r ds r . The Colne crosses the high road f where it dips be ore rising towards Bushey, and Chau n c y says that the town derives its name from the Wet Ford by which the river is crossed . The building of the Junction Station N E . . from the High Street, did much to facilitate the growth o fWatford S W and extend its trade the railroad diverges . .

t o N E . Br ic ket Rickmansworth only, and . to a Wood , Park Street and St . Albans ; the m in line from London passes through a long tunnel ’ before reaching King s Langley Station . The antiquities of the town itself are less interesting and indeed less known than those o fother towns Chau nc e in the county, and y, .g . , finds little to say about it . The manor was long held by the o o f abb ts St . Albans ; then it became Crown property, and after several changes of ownership t o o f passed William , fourth Earl Essex, whose descendants are still lords of the manor .

The parish church , on a small yard adjoining the S . side of the High Street, is Perp . , and

2 18

H E RTFORDSHI RE

windo w in the S . aisle In Beechen Grove is o ne o fthe finest Nonconformist (Baptist) chapels in the county ; it dates from 18 7 8 and is Italian in design . There is a School o f o f Science, a School Music, a Public Library, a Masonic Hall , and other institutions . Market day is on Tuesday . CAS H I OB U RY P A RK stretches from the W — . o f N . end Watford, reaching together with o — Gr ve Park , which it joins to the parting of le r W Lan bu l . the ways at g y y Church (4mi es N . from Watford Old Church) . It is crossed from N . to S . by the river Gade . The present mansion dates from 1800 it was built fo r o f by Wyatt the fifth Earl Essex . Dis posed around an open courtyard , its many handsome apartments make a noble appearance o f what was formerly part of the N . wing the old mansion built by Sir Richard Morriso n and his son Charles in the sixteenth century is still retained , although that house was largely rebuilt by the first earl , from designs furnished by

Hugh May . There is a fine library, and three o f smaller ones , the collection books being very valuable ; but in the estimation of many the pictures are still more so . Among them may be named : ( 1) Arthur Lord Capel and his family , C . Janssens ; this was the Capel who defended Colchester and was beheaded in ft 16 2 . 49 ; ( ) Charles I I , by Lely ; ( 3) fi h o f Earl Essex as a boy with his sister, by G r in lin Reynolds , in frame carved by g Gibbons o f (4) Countess Ranelagh, full length, by

2 2 0 WATFORD—WATTON

Kneller ; ( 5) portrait by Rubens, probably a of Charlotte de la Tremouille , afterw rds o fD er b 6 Countess y ; ( ) Moll Davis (actress) , h by Lely T ere are many others, especially

further portraits of the Capel family . The park and grounds are beautifully laid out . The park is open to the public but the house

is shown only by Special request . W ATTON o r W ATTON AT S TON E is a large village on the Hertford - Stevenage road and K n b 2 . . e the river Beane , 3 miles S E from G N . R. worth Station , . Its position is very

central , the roads from Ware, Hertford , Great a a and Little Munden , W lkern , Steven ge, Welwyn and Tewin all converging within

the area of the main street . The church, at o f the S . end the village , is Perp . ; it was in 18 1 entirely r estored 5 . Note ( I ) piscina and triple sedilia in chancel ( 2 ) doors formerly

leading to rood loft ; ( 3) curious tombstone ,

E . E . . , in the churchyard ; (4) E window o f a stained glass, d ting from the Restoration ;

( 5) memorial window i n the S . aisle to Lady

Catherine Barrington . The brasses are u n u su ld o e. . ally and interesting , g , ( I ) with canopied ' ff t o Sir Peleto t 2 e igy, Philip (d . ( ) to Bar do lf 1 ff Sir E . (d . 455) the e igy is that of o w n his wife , his having been long missing ; ( 3) to John Boteler (Butler) and family

The Boteler family , to whom there are many

other memorials in the church , lived for many o f a generations in the manor house Woodh ll , 1 1 burnt in 7 7 . The house stood on high

2 2 1 HE RTFORDSHI RE

Woodnall Par /é ground in the beautiful , E . from W o n atton Church , the site occupied by the present fine mansion (Abel Smith , Esq . , The Beane flows through the park and has t o o f been widened form a large sheet water S . from the house . Welharn G r een is between H atfi eld and 2 Mimms Parks, miles S . from Hatfield Station .

ellbu r . W y is 3 miles W from Hitchin . Wel/outy Houre (modern) stands in a small park two small places of few inhabitants, called W e llbur o n N E Old and New y, lie the . . o outskirts fthe Park . W E LW YN , a small town in the Maran o f Valley, can show little interest beyond many quaint cottages, and the church, famous as that o f i n . N t in which Dr Edward Young , author g T ou ntr o fli c iated 1 0 1 6 n . g , from 7 3 to 7 5 He was buried in the church the mural memorial to him was erected by his son . The church is E E Dec . , with . . portions ; the piscina in the chancel is ancient, the sedilia is modern . An o f 1 1 inventory the church furniture , taken in 54 , shows that there were formerly three altars in o f it . The avenue limes in the rectory grounds was planted by Young there is a Latin insc r ip o o n tion t the poet a pedestal at its upper end . n o His so was visited here by Dr . Johns n and

James Boswell . I The walk S . E . to the station ( i mile) com mands a fine view o fthe Great Northern viaduct o fforty arches over the deeper portion o fthe o f Maran Valley . On the opposite (left) side

2 2 2

HE RTFORDSHIRE

W E S TM and I LL, a church picturesque cluster o f cottages in a hollow a little W . from the Bunt

in fo r d 1 . g Road, is 2mile S from that town . The river Ri b runs between - the church and ‘ the station The manor is ancient ; it was given by William I . to Robert de Olgi . o f Histor o Her t Nathanial Salmon , author a y f

or ds/tir e b 1 2 8 . f pu lished in 7 , was once curate here The church very probably dates from the o f E E end the thirteenth century, and is an . . s o ld flint structure . There are ome slabs in o n e the chancel to the Bellenden family, and on the . nave floor bearing an inscription to one eu ken o r Thomas de L ( E) . W W es tmill G r een is a hamlet I i mile S. . from Westmill Station , G . E . R .

W E S T N . . o O , a large village 3 miles S E fr m

Baldock, has an interesting, restored church ,

1 2 00 . dating from about It has a N . tran sept, in which are two good Norman windows

E E . a piscina, . . , is i n the nave The massive o embattled t wer, which carries an octagonal , E 86 N . . 1 . turret, was rebuilt in 7 In the churchyard may be seen two small stones, about four yards apart, which, according to local tradition , mark the grave of the Weston giant . The church was once a property o fthe Knights

Templars . There is what seems a second vil lage just where a narrow footpath leads from the f 5 Lu en Hall Road to the church , which stands

mile E . from the long main street . Many folk may still be noticed plaiting in the neighbour

hood . 2 2 4 W E STM ILL— WHEATHAMPSTEAD

W es to n D ane E nd ( 15 mile S . from the above village) is a hamlet on the road to Walkern .

w . Wes tw ic k Ro ( 2 miles S . E from Hemel a Hempstead) is a h mlet near Leverstock Green , in a charming neighbourhood . W E S E D H ATHAM P T A lies i n a hollow, in the valley of the Lea . Cyclists approaching the village from St . Albans by way of Sandridge ’ and No Man s Land must beware o fthe steep descent from the Old Red Cow to the Swan a Inn . The pl ce undoubtedly owes its name to the fi ne wheat grown in the neighbourhood ; it is very picturesque, particularly around the church and Vicarage , and by the waterside B r ocket Hall towards .

The cruciform church, W . from the centre E E of the village , is . . and Dec . with a few B r ocl’ et Perp . features . A doorway in the C da el but p is supposed to be Saxon , I cannot say whether the supposition is correct ; the chapel also contains an altar - tomb with efli gies a of Sir John Brocket and his wife , Marg ret, 1 bearing date 543, and a piscina in the S . wall . A brass o fmuch interest is that to Hugh Bostock cir ca and his wife , Margaret ( showing their figures in robes . These persons were the o f W heatham s e parents John de p t d . (See St .

Albans . ) An old marble tablet is to John Hey 1 8 worth (d . 55 ) and his wife Joan . Note also e fli ies the monumental g in N . transept to Sir

John Garrard , Bart . (d . and his wife

z . r er dos Eli abeth (d The e is very fine .

Twenty years ago the village was truly rural , 2 2 5 HE RTFORDSH I RE but the rebuilding o fthe old mill between the church and station branch from Hat field to Dunstable) and the erection o fseveral modern shops in the main street has altered its Wneatnanz stead House appearance . p , close to the o f Lamer P ar k station , is the seat Earl Cavan ,

N . a little , slopes pleasantly towards the fine

- home o fMajor General A . C . Garrard . Mention must be made of the curious br o nZ e

o f - vessel the Anglo Saxon period, resembling a teapot, found in the neighbourhood some years ago . It is figured and described in the recently

Victor ia Histor o H er t or ds/zir e published y f f . d r atham s tea o ss I . Whe p C ( fmile S E . from R M . 2 Harpenden Station , . ) is miles S W . from the above village . It contains nothing but a few cottages . Whem s tead p , a hamlet in the centre of the county , is not easily reached , being about 5 miles E . from Knebworth Station , and

W h s - N . T e o rather farther . . from Ware called W/zenz r tead C /za el p p , recently demolished , was a small cottage, but it doubtless stood near the “ site o fan o ld chapel founded and endowed about the beginning o fthe thirteenth century by the family o n u illo n White B ar ns , near the Essex border, is a

: hamlet 3 mile N . from Furneaux Pelham an 7 ) . ll W Whitw e (4% miles S. . from Stevenage) is o f z strictly a hamlet, but is a place some si e,

t e . scattered along the S . bank of h river Maran ’

. The . nearest parish church is at St Paul s

2 2 6

HE RTFORDSH IRE

“ two centuries ago, In this church are no grave ” stones . The manor is very ancient and was held in the reign of William I . by the Bishop of London . W i in to n g g lies on very high ground, a comm nding splendid views . The village is W I : S. about i mile . from Tring Station ,

the church , near the parting of the roads at its S . E . extremity , is a small flint E E structure , . . in style, with a modern N . aisle . C /ram ne s It has no tower . p y , near Wigginton Common ( 1 mile is a prettily situated 1 8 mansion , rebuilt in 74. It was formerl y

’ Val the residence of the py family . Wilbu r H ill y , between Ickleford and Bal k n i ld I c e . dock , is crossed by the Roman Way v al/um The , through which the Way passes , is thought to mark the site o fa Roman c amp ; ’ Stu k eley s suggestion that it was probably the site o fa British oppidum is questioned by Salmon Hir tor o Her t or dr nir e ( y f f , Roman coins have been found i n some abundance in the

Faustina. neighbourhood , notably a silver W ild H ill is between Hatfield and Bedwell

Parks . illian E W 2 N . . , formerly Wylie ( miles from

H itchin Station , is very ancient, mention of it as a property dating from the o f times the Mercian kings . The village lies 1 mile W . from the Great North Road . The to church is thought date from the Conquest, but only an arch in the chancel is Norman . Note ( 1) the monument to Edv ar du s Lacon

2 2 8 WIGGINTON— WOODHILL

o 6 2 . 1 2 (d . and J anna his wife (d 4) ( ) G o ldo n small brass to Richard , a former vicar " 1 6— 1 (d . 44 A tiny graveyard surrounds l ou Rox e C r t . the church . y mile S ) is the i a property of Colonel Mort mer H ncock . W ils to ne , near the Aylesbury Canal , lies in a hollow 2 miles S . E . from Marston Gate

Station , It has a modern church , E E o f a c . . . in style , onsisting n ve only ’ in dr id e o f h W . g , a ward St Step en s parish , S W is mile . . from the Station at the foot of Holywell Hill , St . Albans . W in ter G r een o n N W . . is _ the confines of 1 Knebworth Park, about mile from the church and 2 miles from the st ation The o n neighbourhood is high ground . dend S W W o o ( 3% miles . . from Westmill

Station , has a numerous population , but is, I believe , a hamlet in Ardeley parish . o f The modern Chapel St . Alban the Martyr is o f built largely small stones, and has a S . porch . k n P r k S W Wal er a . is mile . o o dhall 1 W ( 5 mile N . N . E . from Hatfield) is a scattered hamlet between Stanborough and el de H at fi d Hy . Two farms and several cottages bear the name . Woodhall Woods are a little fart her N . o o dhill W (about 32miles S . E . from Hatfield)

B r ee/i mam Ha eld and is prettily situated , with , tfi Bedwell k Par s all within a short walk . St . ’ - o f- 1 8 80 Mark s Chapel Ease was rebuil t in , although originally erected only i n 18 52 by o f the then Marquess Salisbury . 2 2 9 H E RTFORDSH IRE

Wo o ds ide is the name o fat least three small I places, ( ) i n the neighbourhood of Hatfield, w here Upper and Lower Woodside are at the o f 2 I n S . E . side the park ; ( ) a ward the parish o f I n o f Cheshunt ; ( 3) the parish Leavesden . ’ Wo o len s B r o o k o n , the Hoddesdon Hert ford road, has a tiny Mission Church . It is a small hamlet, a little S . from Haileybury College . W o o lrn er G r een lies on the Great North

1 . Road , mile S . E from Knebworth Station ,

G N . R . . The roads from Welwyn , Stevenage B a fi ld o f . and r m e meet at the S . end the street

The hamlet is considerable . W E 1 S W ORM L Y ( mile . . from Broxbourne o n Station , G . E . R . ) is the New River . The

18 Wor rnle B ur . church at y y, 5 mile W from the village it is very ancient , but was restored 1 2 twenty years ago . Note ( ) Norman font ; ( ) “

o n . small Norman doorway N side , ( 3) The ’ a Last Supper, by Gi como Palma, a fine picture over the communion table (4) rebuilt chancel I n 6 o n arch ( 5) Perp . windows nave ; ( ) tablet E n fi eld S . wall to Gough the antiquary (d . at , Gough completed a translation o fa French history o fthe Bible in his thirteenth year, which was printed for private circulation ’ he subsequently translated Fleu r y s work on ’ Israelitish customs and edited Camden s B r i i nn a . x ta . He bequeathed many M SS to O ford

University . The church contains other modern monu 1 ments , and there are brasses ( ) to John Cleve ,

1 0 2 o . Rector (d . 4 4) ( ) to Edward Howt n (d

HE RTFORDSHI RE

century, but has been much restored . The font, the chancel arch , and three windows in the chancel are s aid to be Norman the tower is Perp . The memorials are unimportant .

The neighbourhood is interesting . The Lords o f the M anor of Wymondley M agna were formerly, as the newspapers have recently

- reminded us , Cup bearers to the King at his

Coronation . Near the church are some traces S o of an ancient fortification ; a little . , and p po site a row of quaint cottages with heavily a D elamer e H ouse thatched roofs, st nds , once the o f property Cardinal Wolsey, who is said to have been visited here by Henry VII I . At — M anor Far m . the , Edward VI according to — tradition once slept ; the Green Man , close o f by, on the W . side the main street, has been kept by successive generations o fo n e family for 0 30 years . Twenty years ago several Roman urns were discovered in the neighbourhood, and the well - preserved pavement o fa Roman Pur w ell villa was unearthed , subsequently, at

Mill , between the village and H itchin . Pre historic implements have also been found . W N D E L E W m o n d YMO L Y, ITT L , formerly y 1 ley Parva , is mile S . from the above . The G R . N . . E end of the street is crossed by the . near the tiny churchyard . The church is Perp . and was largely rebuilt in 1 8 7 5 ; two earlier structures are thought to have occupied the o site . It contains several inscriptions, and s me monuments to the Needham family (seventeenth o century) . A Pri ry of Augustinian Canons, 2 3 2 WYMONDLEY— YOUNG SBURY

to St . Mary, was founded here by

r en to n . g , in the reign of Henry III ;

suppressed at the Dissolution . When ,

1 t he Old P r ior - s , y farm hou e was being o f E E some portions two . . arches were

d , and are thought to show where the d o he ior of t P r y stood . There is another

E ch in the house . Y D E . AR L Y . (See Ardeley ) Y o u n u r o . g s b y . (See High Cr ss )

2 3 3