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HERTFORDSHIRE
_By_
HERBERT W. TOMPKINS
F.R.Hist.S.
_With Illustrations by_
EDMUND H. NEW
AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
AND TWO MAPS
"Hearty, homely, loving Hertfordshire"
--CHARLES LAMB
LONDON
METHUEN & CO. LTD.
_36 Essex St. Strand_
_Second Edition, Revised_
{Transcriber's note: Some misprints have been corrected, as noted at the
end of the e-text. All material added by the transcriber is between
braces {}. Text in bold in the original is surrounded by =equals signs=.}
_First Published March 1903_
_Second Edition, Revised 1922_
TO
MY WIFE
PREFACE
In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a brief description of
Hertfordshire on the lines of Mr. F. G. Brabant's book in this series.
The general features of the county are briefly described in the
Introduction, in sections approximately corresponding to the sections of
the volume on Sussex. I have thought it wise, however, to compress the
Introduction within the briefest limits, in order that, in the
Gazetteer, I might have space for more adequate treatment than would
otherwise have been possible.
I have visited a large proportion of the towns, villages and hamlets of
Hertfordshire, and have, so far as possible, written from personal
observation.
I desire to thank Mr. John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., etc., for his
kindness in writing the sections on _Climate_ and _Botany_; Mr. A. E.
Gibbs, F.L.S., F.R.H.S., for his permission to make use of several
miscellanies from his pen, and Mr. Alfred Bentley of New Barnet for his
courtesy in placing some photographs from his collection at the disposal
of Mr. New.
VERULAM,
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA,
1903.
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
I SITUATION, EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES 1
II PHYSICAL FEATURES 2
III CLIMATE 11
IV FLORA AND FAUNA 15
V POPULATION 23
VI COMMUNICATIONS 25
VII INDUSTRIES 28
VIII HISTORY 31
IX ANTIQUITIES 33
X CELEBRATED MEN 39
DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN HERTFORDSHIRE ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY 45
INDEX TO PERSONS 235
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
THE RAILWAYS OF HERTFORDSHIRE _Front Cover_
THE ABBEY CHURCH, ST. ALBANS _Frontispiece_
(_From a Photograph by the Graphotone Co., Enfield_)
LEAFLESS BEECHES IN NOVEMBER, ASHRIDGE WOODS _To face page_ 2
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
ON THE RIVER COLNE 8
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
GRAND JUNCTION CANAL AT TRING--THE HIGHEST WATER LEVEL IN ENGLAND 10
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
THE PARISH CHURCH, ALDBURY 47
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
ASHRIDGE HOUSE 53
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
OLD COTTAGE, BALDOCK 59
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
CASTLE STREET, BERKHAMPSTEAD 72
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
BISHOP'S STORTFORD 74
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
BROXBOURNE 79
CHORLEY WOOD COMMON 87
(_From a Photo. by the London Stereoscopic & Photo. Co._)
HATFIELD HOUSE 109
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
KING JAMES'S DRAWING-ROOM, HATFIELD HOUSE 111
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD 115
HERTFORD 117
HITCHIN 125
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
KNEBWORTH PARK 139
OLD COTTAGES NEAR MACKERY END 146
(_From a Photograph by the Author_)
RICKMANSWORTH 170
(_From a Photo. by the London Stereoscopic & Photo. Co._)
THE HIGH STREET, ROYSTON 172
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
THE FIGHTING COCKS, ST. ALBANS--THE OLDEST INN IN ENGLAND 178
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
BACON'S MONUMENT 183
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
RUINS OF BACON'S HOUSE 184
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
ST. ALBAN'S SHRINE 192
(_From a Photograph by the Graphotone Co., Enfield_)
STEVENAGE CHURCH 204
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
WALTHAM CROSS 214
MAP OF HERTFORDSHIRE 233
INTRODUCTION
I. SITUATION, EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES
Hertfordshire, or Herts, is a county in the S.E. of England. On the S.
it is bounded by Middlesex; on the S.W. by Buckinghamshire; on the N.W.
by Bedfordshire; on the N. by Cambridgeshire; on the E. by Essex. Its
extreme measurement from due E. to W., say from Little Hyde Hall to
Puttenham, is about 38 miles; from N. to S., from Mobb's Hole at the top
of Ashwell Common to a point just S. of Totteridge Green, about 30
miles; but a longer line, 36 miles in length, may be drawn from Mobb's
Hole to Troy Farm in the S.W. Its boundaries are very irregular; the
neighbourhood of Long Marston is almost surrounded by Buckinghamshire
and Bedfordshire, that of Hinxworth by Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire,
and that of Barnet by Middlesex. Its extreme points are:--
N. Lat. 52 deg. 5' (N.)
E. Long. 0 deg. 13' (E.)
W. Long. 0 deg. 45' (W.)
S. Lat. 51 deg. 36' (N.)
Its area is 404,523 acres or 632 square miles. It is one of the
smallest counties in England, the still smaller counties being Rutland,
Middlesex, Huntingdon, Bedford and Monmouth. Hertfordshire is one of the
six home counties.
[Illustration: LEAFLESS BEECHES IN NOVEMBER, ASHRIDGE WOODS]
II. PHYSICAL FEATURES
Hertfordshire, being an inland county, is naturally devoid of many
charms to be found in those counties which have a sea-coast. But it has
beauties of its own, being particularly varied and undulating. Its
scenery is pleasantly diversified by many woods, which however are
mostly of but small extent, by swelling cornfields, and by several small
and winding streams. There is much rich loam in the many little
valley-bottoms traversed by these streams, and other loams of inferior
quality are found in abundance on the higher levels of the arable
districts. The soil in many parts, owing to the preponderance of chalk,
is specially adapted to the cultivation of wheat. Its trees have
elicited the admiration of many, particularly its oaks and elms, of
which colossal specimens are found here and there throughout the county,
and its beeches, of which the beautiful woods on the Chiltern slopes and
elsewhere in the W. are largely composed. The hornbeam is almost
restricted to Essex and Hertfordshire. The woods of Hertfordshire form
indeed its sweetest attraction in the eyes of many. The districts of
Rickmansworth, Radlett, Wheathampstead and Breachwood Green, among
others, are dotted with coppices of ideal loveliness, and larger
woods such as Batch Wood near St. Albans and Bricket Wood near Watford
are carpeted with flowers in their season, interspersed with glades, and
haunted by jays and doves, by ringlets and brimstones. Hazel woods
abound, and parties of village children busily "a-nutting" in the autumn
are one of the commonest sights of the county. It abounds, too, in quiet
park-like spots which are the delight of 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 either regularly or 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 Hertfordshire. The
eastern part of the county, though, on the whole, less charming to the
eye than the rest, contains some fine manor houses and interesting old
parish churches. Its most beautiful part is unquestionably the W., near
the Buckinghamshire border; its greatest historic interest centres
around St. Albans, with its wonderful old abbey church now largely
restored; Berkhampstead, Hertford, Hatfield and Hitchin. The county
contains rather less than the average of waste or common land; the
stretches of heath used for grazing purposes only aggregating 1,200
acres.
Among the finest panoramic views may be mentioned:--
(1) From the hill near Boxmoor Station.
(2) From the village of Wigginton, looking S.
(3) From the high-road between Graveley and Baldock.
(4) From Windmill Hill, 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 Gazetteer which follows this Introduction.
The Geology of Hertfordshire must be here summarised in few words. The
predominant formations are the Cretaceous and the Tertiary.
CRETACEOUS.--Ignoring the Gault, which barely touches the county, this
formation consists chiefly of Chalk-marl, Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk.
A series of Chalk Downs, an extension of the Chiltern Hills, stretches,
roughly speaking, from Tring to Royston, forming by far the most
prominent natural feature of Hertfordshire. The oldest rocks are in the
N.W.
_The Chalk Marl_ 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 materials for many churches in the shire. Ashwell, Pirton
and Tring may be named as neighbourhoods where this stratum may be
traced.
_The Lower Chalk_ is devoid of flints, and rests, in somewhat steeply
sloping beds, upon the Totternhoe stone. It forms the western slopes of
the Dunstable Downs, and of the Chiltern Hills. It is fossiliferous, one
of the commonest of its shells being the Terebratula.
_The Middle Chalk_, of resonant hardness, is laminated, and has at its
base the Melbourn Rock and at its summit the Chalk Rock. Nodules of
flint, greenish in appearance, and (rarely) arranged in layers, occur
sparsely in the Middle Chalk, which may be traced in the neighbourhood
of Boxmoor, Berkhampstead and Baldock, and also in a few other
districts.
_The Upper Chalk._--Although, as has been stated, the configuration of
Hertfordshire is very undulating, we are able to discern a general trend
in certain districts. Thus, there is a gradual slope to the S. from the
N.W. and central hills, a slope which comprises the larger part of the
county. This slope is formed of the Upper Chalk, a formation abounding
in layers of black flints. The chalk is whiter than that of the lower
beds, and very much softer. Fossil sponges, sea-urchins, etc., are
abundant in this formation.
TERTIARY.--Many of the chalk hills of Hertfordshire are strewn with
outlying more recent deposits which prove that the lower Tertiary beds
were more extensive in remote ages. The beds of sand and clay, of such
frequent occurrence in the S.E. districts, contain fossils so distinct
from those of the Upper Chalk that an immense interval must have elapsed
before those Tertiary deposits were in turn laid down.
_The Eocene Formation._--The _Thanet Beds_, of light-coloured sands,
present in some other parts of the London Basin, notably in 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 are the _Reading Beds_. These
rest directly upon the Chalk and have an average thickness of, say, 25
feet. They may be traced E. to S.W. from the brickfields near Hertford
to Hatfield Park; thence to the kilns on Watford Heath and at Bushey;
they may also be traced from Watford to Harefield Park. These beds
contain flints, usually found close to 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 _plum-pudding 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, not
impertinent to mention here the opinion of geologists that during the
_Eocene Period_ a considerable portion of the land usually spoken of as
S.E. England was covered by the ocean.
Resting upon the _Reading Beds_ we find that well-known stratum called
the _London Clay_, which is of bluish hue when dug at any considerable
depth. It is found in some of the same districts as the _Woolwich_ and
_Reading Beds_, and from Hertford and Watford it extends to N.E. and
S.W. respectively until it leaves Hertfordshire. Its direction may be
approximately traced by a series of hills, none of which are of any
great height.
_The Drift._--In Hertfordshire, as elsewhere, the strata whose names are
so familiar to geologists do not form the existing _surface_ of the
ground. For the origin of this we go back to a comparatively recent
period, when disintegration was busily working upon the solid rocks, and
glaciers were moving southwards, leaving stones and much loose _debris_
in their wake. Rivers, some of which, as in the Harpenden valley, have
long ceased to run, separated the flints from the chalk, forming a
gravel which is found in quantities at Harpenden, Wheathampstead and St.
Albans, and is, indeed, present in all valley-bottoms, even where no
river now runs. Gravel, together with clays, sand, and alluvial loams,
forms, for the most part, the actual surface of the county.
_The Rivers_ of Hertfordshire are many, if we include several so small
as hardly to deserve the name. They are the Ash, Beane, Bulbourne,
Chess, Colne, Gade, Hiz, Ivel, Lea, Maran, Purwell, Quin, Rhee, Rib,
Stort and Ver.
1. _The Ash_ rises near Little Hadham, and, passing the village of
Widford, joins the Lea at Stanstead.
2. _The Beane_, rising in the parish of Cottered, runs to Walkern, where
it passes close to the church, and flows from thence past Aston and
Watton, and into the Lea at Hertford.
3. _The Bulbourne_ rises in the parish of Tring, passes N.E. of
Berkhampstead and S.W. of Hemel Hempstead and unites with the Gade at
Two Waters.
4. _The Chess_ enters the county from Buckinghamshire at Sarratt Mill,
and flowing past Loudwater joins the Gade at Rickmansworth. The Valley
of the Chess is one of the prettiest districts in the shire.
[Illustration: ON THE RIVER COLNE]
5. _The Colne_ rises near Sleap's Hyde, is crossed by the main road from
Barnet to St. Albans at London Colney, and by the main road from Edgware
to St. Albans at Colney Street. Thence it passes between Bushey Hall and
Bushey Lodge, flows through Watford to Rickmansworth where, uniting with
the Gade and Chess, it enters Middlesex near Stocker's Farm.
6. _The Gade_ rises near Little Gaddesden, skirts Hemel Hempstead Church
on the W. side, and passing King's Langley and Hunton Bridge, flows
through Cassiobury Park and joins the Chess and Colne at Rickmansworth.
7. _The Hiz_, rising at Well Head, S.W. of Hitchin, crosses that town,
joins the Purwell at Grove Mill and leaves the county at Cadwell.
8. _The Ivel_ rises near Baldock, flows to Radwell Mill and shortly
afterwards enters Bedfordshire.
9. _The Lea_ is the largest river in Hertfordshire. It rises near
Leagrave (in Bedfordshire) and flows through the county from N.W. to
S.E. Entering Hertfordshire at Hide Mill, it flows past Wheathampstead,
Hatfield, Hertford, Ware, and, leaving the county near Waltham Abbey,
enters the Thames at Blackwall. Its entire length is about 50 miles. The
waterway known as the _Lea and Stort Navigation_ is navigable to
Bishop's Stortford.
10. _The Maran_, or _Mimram_, rises in the parish of King's Walden,
skirts Whitwell on the N., running parallel with the village street, and
passing through Welwyn and near Tewin enters the Lea at Hertingfordbury.
11. _The Purwell_, or _Pirall_, rises in the parish of Ippollits and
passing W. of Great Wymondley runs to Purwell Mill, and joins the Hiz at
Grove Mill.
12. _The Quin_ rises in the neighbourhood of Wyddial, and passing
Quinbury, unites with the Rib at Braughing.
13. _The Rhee_, rising a little E. of Ashwell, has but a few miles to
flow before it enters Cambridgeshire.
14. _The Rib_ rises at Corney Bury, flows E. of Buntingford, thence
turning W. it flows under the bridge at the _Adam and Eve_, runs to
Westmill, Standon and Thundridge, finally uniting with the Lea at
Hertford.
15. _The Stort_ enters Hertfordshire from Essex at a point near Cannon
Wood Mill, and after passing through Bishop's Stortford forms the
extreme E. boundary of the county for some distance before quitting it
near Cheshunt.
16. _The Ver_ rises near Flamstead, is crossed by the Dunstable Road,
N.W. of 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 of the _Lea and Stort Navigation_ already
mentioned, there are other artificial waterways:--
_The Aylesbury Canal_ (a branch of the Grand Junction Canal) crosses the
extreme western neck of the county, from S. of Puttenham to S. of
Gubblecote.
[Illustration: GRAND JUNCTION CANAL AT TRING
_The highest water level in England_]
_The Grand Junction Canal_ is largely utilised by barges traversing the
W. of Hertfordshire. It is conspicuous at Rickmansworth, Boxmoor, and
Berkhampstead; it enters Bedfordshire near Marsworth Reservoir.
_The New River_ was constructed by Sir Hugh Myddelton, a London
goldsmith, in 1609-13, 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 of its
projector; one of its shares is now 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.
III. CLIMATE
The chief elements of climate are temperature and rainfall. A general
idea of the mean temperature and rainfall of Hertfordshire, both monthly
and annual, may be gained from an inspection of Bartholomew's _Atlas of
Meteorology_ (1899). From that work it appears that the mean annual
temperature of the county, if reduced to sea-level (that is, the
theoretical mean for its position) would be 50 deg. or a little above it,
but that the actual mean varies from 46 deg.-48 deg. on the Chiltern Hills to
48 deg.-50 deg. in the rest and much the greater part of Hertfordshire; also
that the mean annual rainfall is between 25 and 30 inches, the latter
amount only being approached towards the Chilterns. Thus altitude is
seen to have a great effect on both these elements of climate.
Hertfordshire is hilly though not mountainous, a great extent of its
surface being considerably elevated above sea-level, with a general
south-easterly inclination; it has a dry soil; is well watered with
numerous rivers of clear water--already enumerated--chiefly derived from
springs in the Chalk; is well but not too densely wooded; and its
atmosphere is not contaminated by manufacturing towns. It thus maintains
the reputation for salubrity which it gained more than three centuries
ago, our earliest county historian, Norden, remarking on the "salutarie"
nature of the "aire".
Observations taken at the following meteorological stations during the
twelve years 1887 to 1898 have been printed annually in the
_Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society_, and a brief
summary of some of the chief results will here be given.
_Royston_ (London Road): lat. 52 deg. 2' 34'' N.; long. 0 deg. 1' 8'' W.; alt.
301 feet; observer, the late Hale Wortham, F.R.Met.Soc.
_Berkhampstead_ (Rosebank): lat. 51 deg. 45' 40'' N.; long. 0 deg. 33' 30'' W.;
alt. 400 feet; observer, Edward Mawley, F.R.Met.Soc.
_St. Albans_ (The Grange): lat. 51 deg. 45' 9'' N.; long. 0 deg. 20' 7'' W.;
alt. 380 feet; observer, John Hopkinson, Assoc.Inst.C.E.
_Bennington_ (Bennington House): lat. 51 deg. 53' 45'' N.; long. 0 deg. 20' 7''
W.; alt. 407 feet; observer, Rev. Dr. Parker, F.R.Met.Soc.
_New Barnet_ (Gas Works): lat. 51 deg. 38' 5'' N.; long. 0 deg. 10' 15'' W.;
alt. 212 feet; observer, T. H. Martin, M.Inst.C.E.
1. _Temperature._--The mean temperature of Hertfordshire, as deduced
from the above observations, is 48.3 deg.. It has varied from 47.0 deg. in 1887
to 50.2 deg. in 1898. The mean daily range is 15.9 deg.. It was the least
(14.2 deg.) in 1888, and the greatest (18.1 deg.) in 1893. The mean temperature
of the seasons is as follows: spring 46.6 deg., summer 60.2 deg., autumn 49.2 deg.,
winter 37.2 deg.. The warmest month is July, with a mean temperature of
61.0 deg.; the coldest is January, with a mean of 36.1 deg.. August is very
little colder than July. In these two months only has the temperature
never been below freezing-point (32 deg.). In December and January only has
it never exceeded 62 deg.. It increases most rapidly during the month of
May, and decreases most rapidly during September and October.
2. _Humidity._--The relative humidity of the air, that is the amount of
moisture it contains short of complete saturation which is represented
by 100, is, at 9 A.M., 82. It has varied from 78 in 1893 to 85
in 1888 and 1889. The air is much drier in spring and summer (78 and 75)
than it is in autumn and winter (86 and 89). There is the least amount
of moisture in the air from April to August (74 to 78), and the greatest
from November to January (90).
3. _Cloud._--The mean amount of cloud at 9 A.M., from 0 (clear sky) to
10 (completely overcast), is 6.7. It has varied from 6.0 in 1893 to 7.4
in 1888. Spring, summer, and autumn are about equally cloudy (6.5 to
6.6), and winter is considerably more so (7.2). The sky at 9 A.M. is
brightest in September (6.0) and most cloudy in November and January
(7.5).
4. _Sunshine._--At Berkhampstead only have records of bright sunshine
been taken for the whole of the twelve years. Throughout the year the
sun shines brightly there for nearly four hours a day (3.9). The average
duration in spring is 5.0, in summer 5.8, in autumn 3.2, and in winter
1.6. The duration is least in December and greatest in May; the sun
shining for rather more than an hour a day in December and nearly six
hours and a half in May. An apparent discrepancy between this and the
preceding section is due to a bright day often following a cloudy
morning and _vice versa_.
5. _Wind._--The prevailing direction of the wind, as recorded at
Berkhampstead, St. Albans and Bennington, is from S.W. (sixty-one days
in the year) to W. (sixty-two days), and the next most frequent winds
are N. to N.E. and S. (each about thirty-seven days). The least frequent
are S.E. (twenty-five days). About forty-four days in the year are
recorded as calm.
6. _Rainfall._--Twelve years is much too 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 from for
Hertfordshire. The average rainfall at a varying number of stations for
the sixty years 1840 to 1899 (from one station in the first decade of
this period to twenty stations in the last decade) was 26.15 inches. In
the driest year (1854) 17.67 inches fell, and in the wettest (1852)
37.57 inches. Spring has 5.40 inches, summer 6.97, autumn 7.87, and
winter 5.91. The driest months are February and March, each with a mean
of 1.65 inch; April is but very little wetter, having 1.69. The wettest
month is October, with 2.96 inches, and the next is November with 2.56.
The mean number of days of rain in the year, that is of days on which at
least 0.01 inch fell, for the thirty years 1870-99, was 167. Autumn and
winter have each about six more wet days than spring and summer. The
rainfall is greatly affected by the form of the ground, the southern and
western hills attracting the rain, which chiefly comes from the S.W., so
greatly that with a mean annual fall of about 26 inches there is a
difference of 31/2 inches between that of the river-basin of the Colne on
the W. and that of the river-basin of the Lea on the E., the former
having 28 inches and the latter 241/2. The small portion of the
river-basin of the Great Ouse which is within our area has rather less
rain than the average for the county.
IV. FLORA AND FAUNA
In his _Cybele Britannica_, H. C. Watson divided Britain into eighteen
botanical provinces of which the Thames and the Ouse occupy the whole of
the S.E. of England. The greater part of Hertfordshire is in the Thames
province and a small portion in the N. is in that of the Ouse.
In Pryor's _Flora of Hertfordshire_, published by the Hertfordshire
Natural History Society in 1887, which should be referred to for full
information on the botany of the county, these botanical provinces are
again divided into districts, the Ouse into (1) Cam, (2) Ivel; and the
Thames into (3) Thame, (4) Colne, (5) Brent, (6) Lea; both the larger
provinces and the smaller districts thus being founded on the natural
divisions of a country, drainage areas or catchment basins.
In the following brief notes a few of the rarer or more interesting
flowering plants of each district are enumerated.
1. _The Cam._--This is the most northern district. It is almost entirely
on the Chalk and is very bare of trees. The few plants which are
restricted to it are very rare. A meadow-rue, _Thalictrum Jacquinianum_,
and the cat's foot (_Antennaria dioica_) occur only on Royston and
Therfield Heaths; _Alisma ranunculoides_ and _Potamogeton coloratus_
only on Ashwell Common; and of the great burnet (_Poterium officinale_)
the sole record is that of a plant gathered near Ashwell in 1840.
2. _The Ivel._--This district is S.W. of that of the Cam, and the Chalk
Downs of that district are continued through it. Its rarer plants are
_Melampyrum arvense_, which occurs only in one spot S. of Ashwell;
_Smyrnium olusatrum_, which has been found near Baldock and Pirton; and
_Silene conica_, which was found near Hitchin in 1875. The white
helleborine (_Cephalanthera pallens_), the dwarf orchis (_Orchis
ustulata_), and the musk orchis (_Herminium monorchis_) occur on the
Chalk Downs.
3. _The Thame._--A very small tongue-like protrusion[a] of the extreme
W. of the county, in which are the Tring Reservoirs. Two of the species
confined to the district, _Typha angustifolia_ and _Potamogeton
Friesii_, are water-plants which occur only in these reservoirs or in
the canals which they supply. A rare poplar, _Populus canescens_, grows
by the Wilstone reservoir, and the man-orchis (_Aceras anthropophora_)
on terraces cut in the Chalk near Tring.
4. _The Colne._--A large district, comprising almost the whole of the
western portion of the county. _Diplotaxis tenuefolia_, _Silene nutans_,
and _Hieracium murorum_ grow only on old walls in St. Albans. Colney
Heath is our only habitat for a very rare loosestrife, _Lythrum
hyssopyfolium_, and also for _Teesdalia nudicaulis_, while there is but
one other locality, a different one in each case, for four of its
plants, _Radiola linoides_, _Centunculus minimus_, _Cuscuta epithymum_,
and _Potamogeton acutifolius_. The pasque-flower (_Anemone pulsatilla_)
grows abundantly on the Chalk slopes near Aldbury. The rarer orchids of
the district are the bog-orchis (_Malaxis paludosa_), the narrow-leaved
helleborine (_Cephalanthera ensifolia_), and the butterfly orchis
(_Habenaria bifolia_).
5. _The Brent._--The smallest district, a protrusion[b] of the county in
the S. entirely on the London Clay, and chiefly interesting owing to the
presence of Totteridge Green and its ponds. In these ponds grow the
great spearwort (_Ranunculus lingua_) and the sweet-flag (_Acorus
calamus_), the former, however, not being indigenous. The star-fruit
(_Damasonium stellatum_) formerly grew on Totteridge Green, and
_Chenopodium glaucum_ at Totteridge, but neither has lately been seen.
6. _The Lea._--The largest district, comprising the whole of the E. of
the county. The London rocket (_Sisymbrium irio_) occurs only in the old
towns of Hertford and Ware; the true oxlip (_Primula elatior_) near the
head of the River Stort; a very rare broom-rape, _Orobanche caerulea_, at
Hoddesdon, where it is parasitic on the milfoil; and an almost equally
rare bedstraw, _Galium anglicum_, on an old wall of Brocket Park. A rare
trefoil, _Trifolium glomeratum_, is known only at Easneye near Ware; and
Hatfield Park is our only locality for the water-soldier (_Stratiotes
aloides_) except where it has evidently been planted. Two species,
usually of rare occurrence, _Polygonum dumetorum_ and _Apera
spica-venta_, are frequent in the district.
The indigenous flowering plants of Hertfordshire number 893 species, 679
being Dicotyledons and 214 Monocotyledons. If to these be added 199
aliens, etc., the total number of species recorded is brought up to
1,092. The flora is essentially of a southern type, the northern species
being few in number. Owing to the dry soil, xerophiles largely prevail
over hygrophiles.
_The Ferns_ and their allies the horsetails and clubmosses are not well
represented, both the soil and the air of the county being too dry for
them. Another cause for the present scarcity of ferns is the proximity
of Hertfordshire to London, for they have been uprooted and taken there
for sale in cart-loads. We have twenty-four species of ferns and
fern-allies, but not one really rare. The principal varieties are
_Scolopendrium vulgare_, var. _multifidum_; _Athyrium filixfaemina_[c],
var. _convexum_; and _Polypodium vulgare_, var. _serratum_. _Equisetum
silvaticum_ is our rarest horsetail; and our only clubmoss is
_Lycopodium clavatum_.
_The Mosses_ are much better represented than the ferns, 175 species
having been recorded. The bog-mosses are represented by six
species--_Sphagnum intermedium_, _cuspidatum_, _subsecundum,
acutifolium_, _squarrosum_, and _cymbifolium_. _Tetraphis pellucida_
occurs in Sherrard's Park Wood, and _Polytrichum urnigerum_ in Hitch
Wood. _Seligeria pusilla_ has been found in an old chalk-pit in Brocket
Park, and _S. paucifolia_ on chalk nodules in the Tunnel Woods near
Watford. _Campylopus pyriforme_ occurs in Berry Grove Wood, Aldenham,
and _C. flexuosus_ in Dawley's Wood, Tewin.
Of _the Liverworts_ (_Hepaticae_) forty-four species are known to occur;
and the Stoneworts (_Characeae_) are represented by seven species--two of
_Chara_, two of _Tolypella_, and three of _Nitella_.
_The Algae_ have been pretty fully investigated, especially the
_Diatomaceae_, of the 252 species of Algae known to occur in the county,
156 belonging to that interesting family of microscopic plants. As an
illustration of their minute size 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 200,000 separate frustules of
_Achnanthes subsessilis_, and it was estimated that these occupied only
one twenty-fifth part of the drop. Both species of _Chlamidococcus_ (the
old genus _Protococcus_), _C. pluvialis_ and _C. nivalis_ occur; and
the pretty _Volvox globator_ has frequently been found.
Of _the Lichens_ much less is known, only sixty-seven species having
been recorded. The most noteworthy are _Calicium melanophaeum_, found on
fir-trees in Bricket Wood; _Peltigera polydactyla_, on moss-covered
ground in Oxhey Woods, Watford; _Lecanora phlogina_, in the Tunnel
Woods, Watford; and _Pertusaria globulifera_, on trees in the same woods
and also in Bricket Wood. As woods in the vicinity of Hertford and of
Watford only have been searched for lichens, our list ought to be
largely increased by investigation in other parts of the county.
Of _the Fungi_ our chief knowledge is derived from lists of species
collected at Fungus Forays of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society
and from records of the Mycetozoa by Mr. James Saunders. The number of
species recorded for the county is 735, of which fifty-eight are
"myxies". Of the Hymenomycetes, or mushroom-like fungi, some very
noteworthy finds have been made, nearly all at Forays of the county
society. They include two species new to Britain, _viz._, _Agaricus
(Nolania) nigripes_, found in Aldenham Woods, Watford, and _Ag.
(Hypholoma) violacea-ater_, in Gorhambury Park, St. Albans (by the
present writer). Hertfordshire has also furnished the second British
records for _Ag. (Lepiota) gliodermus_ (Broxbourne Woods), _Ag.
(Leptonia) euochrous_ (Ashridge Woods), _Ag. (Psathyrella) aratus_
(Sherrard's Park, Welwyn), and _Paxillus Alexandri_ (Hatfield Park),
this species having first been recorded from Hatfield Park, Essex; and
the second and third British record for _Agaricus (Clytocybe) Sadleri_
(Ashridge Park and Cassiobury Park). The very rare _Strombilomyces
strombilaceus_ has been found in Grove Park, Watford, and the still
rarer _Peziza luteo-nitens_ on the Chalk slopes between Aldbury and
Ashridge Park. Lastly it may be mentioned that Mr. Saunders added the
"myxie" _Physarum citrinum_ to the British fungus-flora from specimens
found by him at Caddington and Welwyn.
_The Birds_ of Hertfordshire have been carefully observed, and the
appearance of rare visitors has been duly recorded. At a lecture
delivered at St. Albans in 1902, Mr. Alan F. Crossman, F.L.S., F.Z.S.,
stated that 212 species had been known to visit the county, and
mentioned, _inter alia_, that the kingfisher is more numerous in
Hertfordshire than formerly, that the heron nested in the county for the
first time in 1901, and that the appearance of the bearded titmouse had
been noticed on but three occasions. During the last forty years the
following birds, among others, have been noticed as occasional
visitants: the storm-petrel (_Procellaria pelagica_), golden oriole
(_Oriolus galbula_), whooper-swan (_Cygnus musicus_), snow-bunting
(_Plectrophanes nivalis_), greater spotted woodpecker (_Picus major_),
black tern (_Hydrochelidon nigra_), great northern diver (_Colymbus
glacialis_), herring-gull (_Larus argentatus_), cormorant
(_Phalacrocorax carbo_), tufted duck (_Fuligula cristata_), hoopoe
(_Upopa epops_), crossbill (_Loxia curvirostra_), sheldrake (_Tadorna
cornuta_), Guillemot[d] (_Lornvia troile_), Pallas' sandgrouse (_Syrrhaptes
paradoxus_), rock thrush (_Monticola saxatilis_), black redstart
(_Ruticilla titys_), Dartford warbler (_Silvia undata_), grasshopper
warbler (_Locustella naevia_)[d], waxwing (_Ampelis garrulus_), twite
(_Linota flavirostris_), hen harrier (_Circus cyaneus_), buzzard (_Buteo
vulgaris_), redshank (_Totanus calidris_), greenshank (_Totanus
cunescens_) and the little auk (_Mergulus alle_).
The lapwing is thought to be increasing in numbers; the writer
frequently observed considerable flocks during his recent rambles in the
county. Finches are perhaps as numerous in Hertfordshire as in any other
county of equal size; the large flocks of hen chaffinches that haunt the
farmyards in winter being quite a notable feature. The goldfinch, it is
to be feared, is rapidly becoming scarcer; as are also the jay, the
woodcock and other birds much more numerous a few years back. Fieldfares
and redwings visit the county in great numbers from the N. during the
winter; one morning in the winter of 1886 the writer saw many thousands
of fieldfares 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
difficult to obtain.
The presence of many woods and small streams attracts a good proportion
of the smaller English migrants; the nightingale and the cuckoo are
heard almost throughout the county. Moorhens, coots and dabchicks are
abundant; the reed-sparrow is heard only in a few districts. Titmice,
great, blue and long-tailed, are well distributed.
V. POPULATION
Comparatively little peculiar to the county is known of the early
inhabitants of Hertfordshire. 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. Singularly enough, this almost uniform
dispersion of population is still largely maintained, for, unlike so
many other counties, Hertfordshire has not within its borders a single
large town. The larger among them, _i.e._, Watford, St. Albans, Hitchin,
Hertford and Bishop's Stortford, are not collectively equal in
population to even such towns as Bolton, Halifax or Croydon. Another
feature to be noted is that, owing to the county's proximity to London,
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 of
local character or peculiarities of idiom. It is hardly necessary to say
that this conglomeration of peoples is common to all the home counties,
though mostly so, as I venture to think, in Hertfordshire and Surrey.
The Essex peasant is still strongly differentiated from his neighbours.
Grose, writing towards the end of the eighteenth century, stated that
the population of Hertfordshire was 95,000. They must have been well
dispersed, for he tells us that the county contained at that period 949
villages; by the word "village," however, he seems to mean any separate
community, including small hamlets. Some interesting figures are to be
found in Tymms's _Compendium of the History of the Home Circuit_. He
states that in 1821 the county contained 129,714 inhabitants, comprising
26,170 families and living in 23,687 houses. Of these families no fewer
than 13,485 were engaged in agriculture. From the same source I quote
the following figures relating to the year 1821:--
Houses. Inhabitants.
Hemel Hempstead 1,012 5,193
Watford 940 4,713
Hitchin 915 4,486
St. Albans 735 4,472
Cheshunt 847 4,376
Hertford 656 4,265
In 1881 the population of the county was 203,069; in 1891 it had
increased by about one-eleventh to 220,162; in 1921 it was 333,236.
In the days of William I. the whole of the possessions and estates of
Hertfordshire belonged to the King and forty-four persons who shared his
favour, amongst whom may be mentioned the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Bishops of London, Winchester, Chester, Bayeux and Liseux, and the
Abbots of Westminster, Ely, St. Albans, Charteris and Ramsey.
To go as far back as the Heptarchy, we find the land mostly owned by
Mercians, East Saxons and by the Kings of Kent, and thus there gradually
sprang up that "Middle English" population which for so long formed a
large proportion of the inhabitants of Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Essex.
How thoroughly such persons separated into small communities and settled
down in every part of the county may be ascertained by the many "buries"
found at a little distance from the town or village--Redbourn-bury,
Ardeley-bury, Bayford-bury, Langley-bury, Harpenden-bury, etc.
VI. COMMUNICATIONS
1. _Roads._--Hertfordshire, as one of the home-counties, is crossed by
many fine roads from the N.E., E. and N.W., as they gradually converge
towards their common goal--London. Among them may be mentioned the Old
North Road, from Royston through Buntingford and Ware to 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 road at Barnet.[1] We may
contrast these roads at the present day with the rough paths infested
with robbers existing in the days when the country between Barnet and
St. Albans was little better than a continuous, tangled forest; or 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 stiff hills to mount
at Elstree, High Barnet, Ridge, near South Mimms, and at St. Albans. He
should also beware of the descent into Wheathampstead, of the dip
between Bushey and Watford, and of the gritty roadways in the
neighbourhood of Baldock. Most of the roads are well kept, particularly
since they have been cared for by the County Council, and the
traveller's book at the inn usually contains fewer anathemas touching
the state of the highways than in some other counties which might be
named.
[Footnote 1: There has been much dispute as to the exact trend of the
"Great North Road". After careful inquiry I believe that the above
paragraph states the case correctly. Much misunderstanding has doubtless
arisen by confounding the "Old" with the "Great" North Road.]
_Railways._--Few counties in England are so well served with railroad
communications; the London and North Western, Midland, Great Northern
and Great Eastern running well across its face.
_The London and North Western_ enters the county 1/2 mile N.W. of Pinner,
and has stations 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 Rickmansworth; and to
Bricket Wood, Park Street and St. Albans; it has also a station at
Marston Gate, on its branch line to Aylesbury.
_The Midland_ enters the county during its passage through the Elstree
tunnel and runs nearly due N., having stations at Elstree, Radlett, St.
Albans and Harpenden. It has also a branch with stations at Hemel
Hempstead and Redbourn.
_The Great Northern_ main line crosses a small tongue of the county upon
which it has stations at Oakleigh Park and New Barnet. It then traverses
the Hadley Wood district of Middlesex, entering Hertfordshire again at
Warren Gate, and has stations at Hatfield, Welwyn, Knebworth, Stevenage
and Hitchin. From Hatfield it has three branches: (1) to Smallford and
St. Albans; (2) to Ayot, Wheathampstead and Harpenden; (3) to Cole
Green, Hertingfordbury and Hertford. At Hitchin it has a branch to
Baldock, Ashwell and Royston.
_The Great Eastern_ enters the county at Waltham Cross and skirts the
whole of the S.E. quarter, running on Essex soil from near the Rye House
almost to Sawbridgeworth. It has stations in Hertfordshire at Waltham
Cross, Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford. It
enters Essex again near the last-named station. It has also important
branches, (1) from Broxbourne to Rye House, St. Margaret's, Ware, and
Hertford; (2) from St. Margaret's to Mardock, Widford, Hadham, Standon,
Braughing, West Mill and Buntingford.
In addition, the Metropolitan Railway has an extension which crosses the
S.W. extremity of the county, having stations at Rickmansworth and
Chorley Wood. The Great Northern Railway has a branch from Finsbury Park
to High Barnet, with a station at Totteridge.
VII. INDUSTRIES
1. _Agriculture._--Charles Lamb used no mere haphazard expression when
he wrote of Hertfordshire as "that fine corn county". Forty years ago
the county contained 339,187 acres under arable cultivation, of which
considerably more than half were utilised for corn; and the proportion
thus used is still much larger than might be supposed. (In 1897 it
amounted to about 125,000 acres.) At the same period there were about
60,000 acres under wheat alone; for this grain, of which a large white
variety is much cultivated, the county has long been famous. To this
circumstance the village of Wheathampstead is indebted for 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 extensively cultivated, enormous quantities being sent into London
from St. Albans, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhampstead, Welwyn and many other
districts. Much manure is brought to the farms from the London stables,
and by its aid large second crops of vegetables are frequently obtained.
Clover, turnips and tares may be mentioned among other crops
prominently cultivated. Fruit is also sent to London, particularly from
the district lying between Tring, Watford and St. Albans, but none of
the orchards are large.
The number of pigs reared in the county is--or was quite
recently--rather above the average (per 100 acres under cultivation) for
all England; the number of cattle rather below, and of sheep much below,
this average.
2. _Manufactures_ are fairly numerous.
(_a_) _Straw Plait_ has for over 200 years been extensively made by hand
for the Luton dealers. The wages earned by peasant girls and women in
this employment were formerly high; 100 years ago a woman, if dexterous,
might earn as much as L1 a week, but the increase in machinery and the
competition from foreign plait has almost destroyed this cottage
industry in some districts. During the last four decades several large
straw hat manufactories have been erected in St. Albans, and the trade
enlarged, although the conditions of production are altered.
(_b_) _Malting_ is still extensively carried on at Ware, which has been
the centre of the industry for many years; it is said, indeed, to be the
largest malting town in England. There are nearly 100 malting houses,
many of them being beside the River Lea, navigable from this town for
barges W. to Hertford and S. to London. There are extensive _Breweries_
at St. Albans, Watford, Hertford, High Barnet, Baldock, Hitchin,
Hatfield, Tring, Berkhampstead, and other places.
(_c_) _Brick Fields_ are worked at Watford, St. Albans, Hemel Hempstead,
Broxbourne, Bishop's Stortford, Hitchin and elsewhere.
(_d_) _Brushes_ of many kinds are manufactured at St. Albans and
Berkhampstead.
(_e_) _Hurdles_ are made at Barkway, Croxley Green, Breachwood Green,
Chorley Wood, Albury, and at one or two other places.
(_f_) _Iron Foundries_ are at Hertford, Ippollitts, Royston, Colne
Valley (Watford), Hitchin and Puckeridge.
(_g_) _Paper_ is made at Croxley Mills, King's Langley, and Nash Mills.
(_h_) _Silk_ is made at the large mill on the River Ver, St. Albans, and
at Redbourn.
(_i_) _Photographic plates_, _paper_, etc., are made at Watford, Boreham
Wood and Barnet.
(_j_) _Lavender Water_ is made at Hitchin, from lavender grown in fields
close by.
_Gravel_ abounds in many districts, and pits are extensively worked at
Rickmansworth, Hertford and at Heath, Wheathampstead, Watford and
Harpenden.
There are _windmills_ at Cromer, Albury, Goff's Oak, Anstey, Arkley,
Much Hadham, Weston, Tring and Bushey Heath. _Water mills_ are too
numerous to specify, there being several on many of the small rivers
named in Section II.
VIII. HISTORY
Hertfordshire was formerly a part of Mercia and of Essex. Its share in
what is usually called "History" can hardly be called great; but many
interesting details of its story are recorded in the histories of
Chauncy, Salmon, Clutterbuck, and Cussans. Among smaller works the
following will be found useful: Cobb's _Berkhampstead_; Gibbs'
_Historical Records of St. Albans_; Nicholson's _Abbey of St. Albans_;
Bishop's _Hitchin and Neighbourhood_, and _Bygone Hertfordshire_ by
various writers.
The story of Hertfordshire may be said to commence with the sack of the
great Roman city of _Verulamium_ by the followers of Boadicea, Queen of
the Iceni[e] (A.D. 61). Our knowledge of the event is largely
drawn from Tacitus, and Dion Cassius, who give revolting details of the
torture of the inhabitants by the Britons. The martyrdom of St. Alban
(_circa_ A.D. 304) the Synod of Verulam (429), the second
destruction of that city by the Saxons towards the end of the sixth
century and the siege of Hertford by the Danes in 896, when Alfred the
Great grounded their vessels by cutting the river banks, are some of the
more prominent episodes of pre-Conquest times. William I., entering the
county from the direction of Wallingford, met the Saxon nobles in
council at Berkhampstead immediately before his coronation at
Westminster. The castles of Hertford and Berkhampstead were captured by
the revolted barons.
There was a dangerous insurrection of the peasantry in the days of
Richard II. Three important battles were fought in Hertfordshire, during
the Wars of the Roses: (1) At St. Albans on 23rd (?) May, 1455; (2) on
Bernard's Heath, St. Albans, 17th February, 1461; (3) near Chipping
Barnet, 14th April, 1471; these battles are mentioned more fully in the
Sections on St. Albans and Barnet.
The residence of the Princess Elizabeth at Ashridge Park and her
subsequent captivity at Hatfield up to the time of her accession (1558)
may be here mentioned, but the more casual visits of monarchs are
referred to as occasion requires.
The county was not the scene of any considerable engagement during the
great Rebellion; but the Parliamentary troops are held responsible for
much ecclesiastical sacrilege at St. Albans, Hitchin and elsewhere, and
it was from Theobalds that Charles I. set out to meet his army in 1642.
In 1647, when a prisoner in the care of Cornet Joyce, he was taken from
Leighton Buzzard to Baldock and from thence to Royston. The march of
Cromwell from Cambridge to St. Albans towards the end of the war is
recorded rather too literally on the interior of several churches.
Of importance in history was the Rye House Plot (1683), a carefully laid
but abortive scheme to murder Charles II. and James, Duke of York, on
their way to London from Newmarket. (See Rye House.)
IX. ANTIQUITIES
The antiquities of Hertfordshire have been carefully studied and well
repay the labour that has been bestowed upon them. A few words under
several heads will suffice to show that the subject is a large one.
1. _Prehistoric._--_Paleolithic_ man--in whom we are all so interested,
but of whom we know so little--must have dwelt in Hertfordshire for a
long period, a period to be measured by centuries rather than by years.
Perhaps, however, the word "dwelt" is hardly appropriate here; for
doubtless, for the most part, the rude flint-shaper and skin-clad hunter
roamed at random over this tract of land wherever necessity led him. It
is usual to speak of him as a troglodyte, or cave-dweller, but the caves
of Hertfordshire are, and probably _were_ few, and his life in such a
district would therefore be more than usually nomadic. As is often the
case, we find traces of him in the river-valleys more frequently than
elsewhere, and it is in beds of clay, conjectured to be of lacustrine
origin, that we find those rudely shapen flint nodules which served him
for tools. Such implements have been found in the Valley of the Gade by
Sir John Evans, K.C.B.; in more central neighbourhoods by Mr.
Worthington G. Smith; and many axes, knives, etc., were discovered only
a few years ago near Hitchin. Implements of the _Neolithic_ Age are
naturally more numerous and form in themselves an interesting study in
the evolution of manual skill. Flint axe-heads, wonderfully polished,
have been found at Albury, Abbot's Langley, Panshanger and Ware; chipped
flints of more fragmentary character have been found near St. Albans and
elsewhere; flint arrow-heads were discovered at Tring Grove nearly 170
years ago. The great number of natural flints found in the county make
it very difficult to recognise these archaeological treasures, many of
which must thus escape detection and be destroyed. Some details of the
discovery of Prehistoric implements are given in the Gazetteer.
2. _Pre-Roman._--The earliest inhabitants of Hertfordshire in times more
or less "historic" were of Celtic blood; these, after a settlement of
considerable duration, were driven out by Belgic invaders, of whom the
Cassii, or Cateuchlani, seem to have been one of the most powerful
tribes. The Cassii, who shared at least a part of the district with the
Trinobantes, were numerous and war-like when Caesar invaded Britain;
their chief, Cassivellaunus, is believed to have lived near what is now
St. Albans. He was chosen as leader by the British, and offered stout
resistance to the Romans, but was driven back and his capital--wherever
it was--stormed and captured. Earth works, supposed to have been erected
by these Pre-Roman inhabitants, still remain at Hexton, Ashwell, Great
Wymondley, Tingley Wood, and elsewhere, but are rapidly disappearing in
the general obliteration of ancient landmarks. Grymes-dyke, still to be
traced on Berkhampstead 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 in the Gazetteer.
Bronze Celts of many kinds are in the possession of Mr. W. Ransom,
F.S.A.; some of these were found at Cumberlow Green. Relics of the
Bronze Age in the county include two bracelets of gold found at Little
Amwell; and many narrow hatchets, or palstaves, from the neighbourhood
of Hitchin.
To the Late Celtic Period belong the imperfect iron sword-blade, in a
bronze sheath, discovered at Bourne End and now in the British Museum;
also the two bronze helmets, one from the neighbourhood of Hitchin, and
one from Tring. At Hitchin, too, was discovered some pottery of the same
period.
3. _Roman._--Hertfordshire formed a part of the Flavia Caesariensis of
the Romans--the district E. of the Severn and N. of the Thames. Most
important of their stations was the municipium at Verulamium (W. of St.
Albans) of which some fragments of wall yet remain in the neighbourhood
of the River Ver and the Verulam Woods; here, too, is the site of the
only Roman theatre known in Britain (of _amphitheatres_ there are many
remains). There were also stations at Cheshunt (Ceaster), at Braughing
(ad Fines), at Berkhampstead (Durocobrivis?), at Ashwell, Wilbury Hill,
etc.; there was a cemetery at Sarratt; a sepulchre at Royston. Roman
villas have been unearthed at Purwell Mill, Abbots Langley and Boxmoor.
The Roman coins found in the county would, if brought together, form an
exceedingly valuable collection. They have been found in considerable
numbers at St. Albans, Ware, Hoddesdon, Hitchin, Willian, Ashwell,
Caldecote, Boxmoor, and many other places. Small bronze coins, known as
_minimi_, have been recently found at St. Albans, and are now in the
city museum. They date from after the year 345, when the earliest
specimens of this type were struck, and are conjectured to be copies of
coins issued under Constantius II. (337-61) and Julian the Apostate
(361-3). On the obverse is the "Imperial Head"; on the reverse a soldier
striking with his spear at a man on horseback. The coins, however, are
assigned by at least one numismatist to a later date. They may have
issued from a Romano-British mint at Verulamium. The famous Watling
Street entered the county at Elstree and crossed it by way of St. Albans
and Redbourn to Dunstable (Beds); the Icknield Way ran N.W. through
Ickleford, Baldock and Royston; Akeman Street passed through Watford,
Berkhampstead and Tring; Ermine Street, entering Hertfordshire at
Waltham, passed through Ware and Braughing to Royston.
4. _Saxon._--A few fragmentary remains at Berkhampstead, Bennington,
Offley and Hitchin have been thought to mark the sites of the palaces of
Mercian kings; but genuine Saxon remains are scarcely found except,
perhaps, among the foundations of a few churches, _e.g._, St. Michael's
at St. Albans, Standon and Wheathampstead.
Mention must however be made of the story, narrated in _Archaeologia_, of
the discovery of the sepulchre of St. Amphibalus at a spot near Redbourn
called the "Hills of the Banners". St. Alban himself appeared to a
layman in a vision and told him where the saint's bones were to be
found,--indeed, he is said to have himself gone thither to point out the
spot. This was during the abbacy of Symon (1167-83). We learn from Roger
of Wendover that the remains of St. Amphibalus were found lying between
those of two other men; the bones of seven others were also lying close
by. Among the relics found with the bones of the saint were two large
knives, one of which was in his skull. We know that the holy relics were
deemed worthy of solemn removal to the Abbey of St. Albans; his shrine
there is mentioned in the Gazetteer.
In the _Antiquary_ (vol. xi.) mention is made of the supposed discovery
of an Anglo-Saxon burial ground in a field near Sandridge. Many bones
and some implements were unearthed, and pronounced by local experts to
date from Saxon times. They were buried again by some ignorant person.
A bronze brooch, discovered at Boxmoor, has been assigned to "the
latest period of true Anglo-Saxon art". A gold ornament, resembling an
armlet, was found at the village of Park Street, near St. Albans; it is
thought to date from A.D. 700-1000.
5. _Churches._--These will be separately mentioned in due order,
especially St. Albans Abbey, the unique meeting ground of all Styles;
but a few sentences touching the predominant periods may be permissible
here:--
_Norman_ work is found in many places; Anstey, Bengeo, Barley, East
Barnet, Graveley, Hemel Hempstead, Little Hormead, and Ickleford are
largely of this period, and Norman features are mingled with later work
at Abbots Langley, Baldock, Weston, Great Munden, Great Wymondley,
Knebworth, Redbourn, Sarratt, and the churches of SS. Michael and
Stephen at St. Albans. There are Norman fonts at Broxbourne, Bishop's
Stortford (found beneath the flooring in 1869) Anstey, Buckland,
Harpenden, Great Wymondley and Standon.
_Early English_ churches are at Ashwell, Brent Pelham, Digswell,
Furneaux Pelham, Great Munden (Norman doorway), Knebworth, Royston,
Stevenage and Wheathampstead. Some of these, _e.g._, Digswell and
Knebworth, are pleasantly situated and others contain features of great
interest, but on the whole they can hardly boast of much architectural
beauty.
_Decorated_ churches are rarely found without prominent transitional
features, the purest structures dating from that period being those at
Flamstead, Hatfield, North Mimms, Standon, and Ware. Early Decorated
portions are noticeable among Norman surroundings at Hemel Hempstead,
and among Early English at Wheathampstead; Late Decorated is found with
Perpendicular at Hitchin. Standon is the only W. porch in the county.
Flamstead and Wheathampstead are the only churches in the county that
have retained their original vestries, N. of the chancel.
_Perpendicular_ churches are fairly numerous in Hertfordshire. Almost
purely Perpendicular structures 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 antiquities.
A characteristic feature of Hertfordshire churches--rare elsewhere--is
the narrow tapering _fleche_, or leaded spire; a feature almost wholly
absent is the apse, which is, I believe, present only at Bengeo, Great
Wymondley, and Amwell.
X. CELEBRATED MEN
Comparatively few really famous men have been born in Hertfordshire, but
very many have resided in the county, or have at least been associated
with it sufficiently to justify the mention of their names here.
1. _Men of Letters._--Chaucer was clerk of the works at Berkhampstead
Castle in the time of Richard II.; Matthew Paris, the chronicler, lived
and wrote in the great Benedictine monastery at St. Albans; Sir John
Maundeville, once called the "father of English prose," was, according
to his own narrative, born at St. Albans and, if we may trust an old
inscription, was buried in the abbey;[2] Dr. Cotton, the poet, lived and
died in the same town, where the poet Cowper lodged with him at the
"Collegium Insanorum". Bacon lived at Gorhambury and was buried in the
neighbouring church of St. Michael. Bulwer Lytton lived and wrote at
Knebworth, where he was visited by Forster, Dickens and others. George
Chapman translated much of Homer at Hitchin, and is believed to have
been born in that town. Young, the author of the _Night Thoughts_, was
for many years Rector of Welwyn; his son 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 before the Dissolution of the
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.
[Footnote 2: As most readers are aware, it is now, to say the least,
gravely questioned whether "Sir John Maundeville" was ever more than a
name.]
2. _Divines._--Bunyan laboured and preached much in Hitchin and its
neighbourhood; Baxter preached at Sarratt and elsewhere, and lived
awhile at Totteridge; Isaac Watts lived for many years at Theobalds near
Cheshunt; Philip Doddridge was at school at St. Albans. Fox, in his
_Journal_, mentions visiting Hitchin, Baldock and other places.
Tillotson was a curate at Cheshunt; Ken was born at Little
Berkhampstead; Nathaniel Field, a man of prodigious learning, chaplain
to James I., was born at Hemel Hempstead. William Penn, whom many
considered a divine indeed, lived with his beautiful wife at Basing
House, Rickmansworth; Godwin was an Independent minister at Ware. Ridley
and Bonner were much in the county. Fleetwood, afterwards Bishop of
Worcester, was Rector of Anstey; Cudworth was Vicar of Ashwell; Warham
was Rector of Barley; Horsley was Rector of Thorley. The two Sherlocks,
respectively Master of the Temple and Bishop of London, were Rectors of
Therfield. Lightfoot, the Great Hebraist, was Rector of Great Munden.
To classify other celebrities connected with the county would require
almost as many headings as names. Henry Bessemer was born at Charlton
near Hitchin; Cardinal Wolsey lived at Delamere House, Great Wymondley;
the munificent Somers lived at North Mimms; Nicholas Breakspeare, who
became Pope Adrian IV., was born at Abbots Langley; Piers Gaveston was
much at Berkhampstead and was buried in the priory church at King's
Langley; Sir Robert 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 or illustrious families have resided in Hertfordshire. Some
of the owners of old manors are mentioned in the Gazetteer; but a few
prominent families may be here named. The Cecils have been Lords of
Hatfield since James I. gave the manor to the first Earl of Salisbury in
exchange for that at Theobalds. The Cowpers have resided at Panshanger
since the erection of their castellated mansion in the Park a century
ago by the fifth earl. The Egertons, Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater,
lived at Ashridge; one of them, Francis, third duke, is known in history
as "the father of British inland navigation," and another was the
projector of the famous _Bridgewater Treatises_. The Capells, Earls of
Essex, have owned the beautiful estate at Cassiobury Park since the
father of the first earl obtained it by marriage during the reign of
Charles I. The Rothschild family have an estate at Tring; Lord Ebury is
the owner of Moor Park; Lord Lytton still owns the grand old house of
the great novelist at Knebworth, founded nearly 350 years ago. The Earl
of Cavan has a house at Wheathampstead; Viscount Hampden at Kimpton Hoo;
Earl Strathmore at St. Paul's Walden Bury; the Earl of Clarenden (Lord
Lieut. of Herts) at the Grove, Leavesden; Lord Grimthorpe lived at St.
Albans. Gorhambury, near St. Albans, is the home of the Earl of Verulam.
Mgr. Robert Hugh Benson lived and wrote many novels at Hare Street
House, near Buntingford.
DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN HERTFORDSHIRE ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY
Abbreviations of architectural terms:--
E.E. = Early English.
Dec. = Decorated.
Perp. = Perpendicular.
ABBOTS LANGLEY (11/2 mile S.E. of King's Langley Station) is a village on
prettily wooded high ground near the river Gade. It is famous as the
birthplace of Nicholas Breakspeare, who, having vainly endeavoured to be
admitted as a monk in the great Benedictine monastery at St. Albans,
studied at Paris and eventually became Pope Adrian IV. He died in 1158
at Anagni; tradition states that he was choked with a fly whilst
drinking. The village probably owes its name, first, to its length,
"Langley" signifying a long land; second, to the fact that in the days
of Edward the Confessor it was given to the Abbots of St. Albans by
Egelwine the Black and Wincelfled[f] his wife. An entry in _Domesday_
records that there were two mills on this manor, yielding 30s. rent
yearly, and wood to feed 300 hogs. The Church of St. Lawrence has nave,
aisles and clerestory; a chancel with S. aisle, and square embattled
tower. The windows are mostly Perp., but those of the S. aisle are Dec.
Note (1) the monument to Lord Chief Justice Raymond, died 1732; (2) the
brasses in nave to Thos. Cogdell and his two wives, 1607, and to Ralph
Horwode and family, 1478. Late in the reign of Henry VIII. the vicarage
was rated at L10 per annum. An inscription in the chancel, copied in
Chauncy, reads "Here lieth Robert Nevil and Elizabeth his wife, which
Robert deceased the 28th of April in the year of our Lord God 1475. This
World is but a Vanity, to Day a man, to Morrow none." Prince Charles
held a Court at Abbots Langley during the Reign of James I.
ALBURY (31/2 miles E. of Braughing 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 of Stephen, in whose reign Robert de Sigillo gave the
profits of the church at _Eldeberei_ to Geoffery, first Treasurer of St.
Paul's Church, London. An interesting will, dated 4th November, 1589,
records that Marmaduke Bickerdy, Vicar of Aldebury, gave an acre of land
in the neighbourhood to provide a sum for distribution among the poor on
every Good Friday. In the chancel the mutilated effigies of a man and
woman are said to represent Sir Walter de la Lee and his wife. Sir
Walter sat in nine Parliaments in the interests of the county--at
Westminster, Northampton and Cambridge, and was Sheriff of Herts and
Essex. He died during the reign of Richard II. _Albury Hall_, close by,
is a fine old mansion, where the "Religeous, Just and Charitable" Sir
Edward Atkins, Knight, and Baron of the Exchequer, died in 1669. The
village is usually a quiet spot, with little business, but it is
pleasantly situated; the proximity of the river and some scattered
cottages and farms enhance its attractiveness.
_Albury End_ is a small hamlet about 1 mile S.W. of Albury.
[Illustration: THE PARISH CHURCH, ALDBURY]
ALDBURY (11/2 mile E. from Tring Station) is a village on the
Buckinghamshire border, nestled in a beautiful valley close to Ashridge
Park (_q.v._). It is the "Clinton Magna" of _Bessie Costrell_, and the
author of that story, Mrs. Humphrey Ward, lived at _Stocks_, 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, which
is topped by the "Aldbury Monument," a granite column about 100 feet
high erected to the memory of Francis, third Duke of Bridgewater, whose
labours and enterprise for the extension of canals earned for him the
well-known title "the father of inland navigation". As a village of the
Old English type Aldbury has perhaps no equal in the county. In the
centre is the green and pond, under the shadow of an enormous elm; close
by stand the stocks and whipping-post, recently in excellent
preservation. The Church of St. John the Baptist is E.E.; it was
restored in 1867. Visitors should notice the old sundial on a pedestal
in the churchyard, and the Verney Chapel, which is separated from the
nave by a screen of stone, and contains a monument to Sir Robert
Whittingham, who was slain at the battle of Tewkesbury. The church also
contains memorials of the Hides and Harcourts, families who left several
charities to the poor of the parish. In the days of Edward the Confessor
the manor of _Aldeberie_[g] was held by one Alwin, the king's thane. The
ascent of the wooded slope towards the Bridgewater monument takes the
visitor through one of the most beautiful districts in the county, and a
noble prospect stretches before him as he looks back through the beeches
towards the village in the valley beneath.
ALDENHAM (2 miles S.W. from Radlett Station M.R.) is a village
pleasantly situated near the river Colne, reached by way of Berry Grove
at the W. end of the village. The churchyard is locally famous for the
tombs of a man and woman named Hutchinson, which, singularly enough,
have been riven apart and almost destroyed by three sycamore trees about
a century old. The Church of St. John the Baptist is largely Perp. with
earlier portions, and is worth a visit, if only for the oaken nave-roof,
believed to date from about 1480, and for the font of Purbeck marble,
probably 750 years old. An object of greater interest in some eyes is
the fine parish chest, formed from one massive piece of oak nearly ten
feet in length, and furnished with iron clamps and hinges of great
size; there are few finer old parish chests in England. Note also (1)
the triple sedilia in chancel; (2) the many brasses dating from 1450,
several of which are to the Cary family; (3) two palimpsest brasses in
the vestry, one of which bears a portion of a mutilated inscription to
one Long, an alderman of London, who died in 1536. The church was
restored in 1882 by Sir A. W. Blomfield, F.S.A. _Aldenham House_,
property of Lord Aldenham, dates from the days of Charles II., and
stands in a park of about 300 acres.
_Aldenham Abbey_, once known as Wall Hall, stands close to the parish
church; it is about a century old, and belongs to the Stuart family.
_Aldwick Farm_ is 1 mile N.E. from Marston Gate Station, L.&N.W.R.
_Allen's Green_, a hamlet 2 miles N.W. from Sawbridgeworth, contains
little of interest.
_Almshoebury_ (11/2 mile W. of Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is about fifteen
minutes' walk from the ruins of _Minsden Chapel_ (_q.v._).
AMWELL is a tiny hamlet 1 mile S.W. of Wheathampstead Station, G.N.R.
AMWELL, GREAT, a parish and village 11/2 mile S.E. of Ware Station,
G.E.R., is very prettily situated near the New River, and is known by
name to many who have never visited the neighbourhood, for the village
is frequently mentioned in the essays and letters of Charles 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 Myddelton, the
projector of the New River, and the stone bearing some lines written by
John 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 of which was
contributed by the children of the parish as an Easter offering nearly
seventy years ago. The structure was restored in 1866. There is a
piscina in the chancel, and one in the S. wall of the nave; there are
also two hagioscopes. "The chancel arch," writes Canon Benham, "seems to
me Anglo-Saxon, and the chancel is a most curious apse." Thomas Warner,
a friend of Shakespeare, and Isaac Reed, a Shakespearian commentator,
were both buried here.
_Amwell End_, once at the N.W. extremity of the parish of Great Amwell,
is now a part of Ware (_q.v._).
_Amwell, Little_ (about 11/2 mile S.W. from Great Amwell), was formerly a
liberty in the parish of All Saints, Hertford; it has formed a separate
civil and ecclesiastical parish since 1864. The Church of Holy Trinity
is E.E. in style; it was erected in 1863. The district is now usually
called Hertford Heath. An interesting, pleasant ramble may be enjoyed by
walking from Hertford to Little Amwell, Great Amwell, and thence to
Ware, or _vice versa_.
ANSTEY (about 41/2 miles N.E. from Buntingford Station, G.E.R.) has a
cruciform church of mixed styles: the nave is Dec., the transepts E.E.,
the S. porch Perp. The tower rests upon four Norman arches; the font
also is Norman. The church was restored in 1871; many features of
architectural interest being wisely retained. The recumbent effigy in
the recess in S. transept is thought to be that of Richard de Anestie,
who founded the church in the fourteenth century. We learn from
_Domesday Book_ that at the time of the Great Survey there was "pannage"
(_i.e._ acorn woods) at _Anestie_ sufficient 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 traced in the grounds of
_Anstey Hall_. The churchyard is entered by a covered lich-gate.
_Appleby Street_ is a hamlet 3 miles N.W. from Cheshunt Station, S.E.R.,
and about 2 miles N.W. from the village.
APSLEY END (about 11/2 mile S. from Hemel Hempstead Station, M.R., and 11/4
mile S.E. from Boxmoor Station, L.&N.W.R.) is an ecclesiastical parish
near the river Gade. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was built in E.
Dec. style in 1871, and is well furnished and decorated. One of the
prettiest prospects in the neighbourhood is that from Abbot's Hill, a
fine private residence, flanked by woods. The Gade and Bulbourne Rivers
unite, a little N.W. from the village, at a place called _Two Waters_
(_q.v._).
_Archer's Green_ is on the river Maran, about 1/2 a mile S.E. from Tewin
Church and 13/4 mile N.W. from Cole Green Station, G.N.R. It adjoins
_Panshanger Park_ (_q.v._).
ARDELEY, otherwise Yardley (6 miles S.W. from Buntingford Station,
G.E.R.), is a village and parish in a purely agricultural district. It
is famous through its connection with the Chauncy family, who resided at
Ardeley Bury for many generations; one of them, Sir Henry Chauncy, was
the author of a well-known history of Hertfordshire. The family monument
is outside of the church of St. Lawrence, some existing portions of
which date from the thirteenth century. The roofs of nave and aisles are
noticeable for the angels which they bear, of Tudor character; visitors
should observe, too, the early window in the restored chancel. _Ardeley
Bury_, in the days of Sir Henry Chauncy, was an Elizabethan manor-house
dating from about the year 1580, surrounded by a moat; it was almost
entirely rebuilt of brick in 1815-20, when it became a castellated,
imposing mansion. The manor of _Erdeley_ was owned by a succession of
Saxon kings until Athelstan bestowed it upon the church of St. Paul,
London, as recorded in Dugdale's _Monasticon Anglicanum_; it was of the
Dean and Chapter that the Chauncys rented their estate. The river Beane
rises near here. A stroll around Ardeley and Ardeley Bury leads the
visitor into some of the quietest spots to be found in the county. The
windmill on the hill above Cromer, near by, is useful as a landmark
when threading the many winding lanes in the neighbourhood.
ARKLEY (1 mile W. from High Barnet) consists chiefly of a few small
houses at a spot once called Barnet Common. The view is extensive in
every direction, the village (strictly speaking the chapelry) lying on
high ground. The chapel of St. Peter was erected in 1840, the style
being a variety of Low Gothic; a chancel (E.E.) was added in 1898, and
has a good groined roof.
ASH, river; see Introduction, Section VI.
_Ashbrook_ consists of a few cottages and a beer-shop, 1 mile N.E. from
St. Ippollit's village, and midway between Hitchin and Stevenage
Stations, G.N.R.
[Illustration: ASHRIDGE HOUSE]
ASHRIDGE is in a beautifully undulating district, immediately N. of
Berkhampstead Common, 1 mile E. from Aldbury Church and about 2 miles E.
from Tring Station, L.&N.W.R. The present house, the seat of Earl
Brownlow, stands in a park of about 1,000 acres, well known for the deer
which are kept there; it was built by the first Earl of Bridgewater, or
rather by his architect, Wyatt, in 1808-14. It is a huge structure, its
greatest width being 1,000 feet; conspicuous portions are the turreted
centre, some good arched doorways and the large Gothic porch. The site
was formerly occupied by the palace of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of
Cornwall, and by the monastery which he built, adjoining the palace, for
the monks of the Order of Bonhommes, an Order which he himself brought
to this country from France. The earl died here, but his bones were
subsequently removed to Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire. The house
contains some fine pictures, including, in addition to works by modern
masters, Rubens' "Death of Hippolytus," Luini's "Holy Family" and
Titian's "Three Caesars". In the chapel is a fine brass to John
Swynstede, Prebendary of Lincoln, 1395. It was brought here from
Edlesborough Church.
ASHWELL is a village of considerable size on the Cambridgeshire border.
The village is 21/2 miles N.W. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R. The parish is
very ancient, and is believed to have been the site of a British
settlement and of a Roman station. The former theory is considered
proved by the existing entrenchments, S.W. from the village, called
Arbury Banks; the latter theory is supported by the fact that very many
Roman relics, especially coins, have been discovered in the
neighbourhood. That it was formerly a place of importance has been
mentioned in the Introduction (Section V.); it was a town in Norman
times, and held four fairs each year. The Rhee, a tributary of the Cam,
rises in this village, at a spot surrounded by ash trees, and to this
fact the parish is thought to owe its name. When Sir H. Rider Haggard
was at Ashwell recently he was unable to say much for its agricultural
prosperity and outlook; but in Chauncy's day the district produced "all
sorts of excellent Grain, especially Barley, which has greatly
encouraged the trade of Malting in this Borrough". The same writer
mentions the stone quarry, from which he tells as that several
neighbouring churches had been built or repaired. The Church of St. Mary
the Virgin is mostly E.E. and is conspicuous for its spire-topped
western tower, 176 feet high, being equal to the length of the church.
Note (1) the large ambry in the S. aisle, once the lady-chapel, where is
also a fragmentary reredos; (2) the curious inscriptions on the inner
side of the tower walls, mostly undecipherable, one of which refers to
the plague that attacked the town in the fourteenth century; (3) the
really fine oaken pulpit, dating from the year 1627. There was formerly
a small monastic house in the town, a cell to Westminster Abbey. From
the village it is an open, breezy walk N. to Ashwell Common or S.E. to
Ashwell Field, between the village and the station.
ASPENDEN (1 mile S.W. from Buntingford Station, G.E.R.) may be reached
from the Old North Road by turning to the left before entering
Buntingford. It is a small, quiet, unimportant village; but much of it
is picturesque and interesting. Readers will remember that Macaulay was
at school here, and that it was the birthplace of Seth Ward,
mathematician and bishop, a contemporary and antagonist of Thomas
Hobbes. The church is a flint structure,--a conglomeration of many
styles. Notable features are the Easter sepulchre in the N. wall of
chancel, the Norman window close to it, the piscina, ambry and credence
table, discovered during the restoration of the church by Sir A. W.
Blomfield in 1873. There are also memorial windows to members of the
Lushington family, and an altar tomb, under a canopy of marble, to "Sir
Robert Clyfford" (d. 1508), who built the church porch in 1500, and to
his wife Elizabeth. The tomb bears brass effigies of these worthies,
which were once in the Church of St. Michael, Cornhill, but were brought
to Aspenden at the time of the fire of London. The aisle (S.) was built
by Sir Ralph Jocelyn in 1478. This Sir Ralph was lord of the manor; he
is remembered in history for his sally against Thomas Nevill, when that
adventurer attempted to rescue Henry VI. from the Tower. He was twice
Lord Mayor of London (1464 and 1476). He died in 1478 and was buried at
Sawbridgeworth.
ASTON (21/4 miles N.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) has an ancient
church restored in 1883. There is E.E. work in parts of 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; nor should visitors overlook the brass at the foot of
the chancel steps to one John Kent, his wife and ten children. This
worthy died in 1592; he was a servant of Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth.
The village is scattered upon a hill a little W. from the river Beane,
and dates from Saxon times. The manor was once owned by three men under
the protection of Archbishop Stigand; afterwards by the Abbot of
Reading. It fell to the Crown at the Dissolution, like so many other
properties.
_Aston Bury_ is a fine manor house of red brick, about 3/4 mile S. from
the village, formerly the property of the Boteler family. The prospect
from the N. windows is a noble one, the district being varied and
undulating.
_Aston End_, a hamlet 1 mile N.W. from Aston, may be reached from
Stevenage Station, G.N.R., about 21/2 miles. There is little here of
interest, but the neighbourhood is very pleasant and largely
agricultural.
_Astrope Hamlet_ (1/2 mile E. from Puttenham) is midway between the
village of Long Marston and the Aylesbury Canal. It is close to the
Bucks border.
_Astwick Farm_ is 2 miles N.W. from Hatfield Station, G.N.R.
_Attimore Hall_ is 11/2 mile S.W. from Welwyn Station, G.N.R.
_Aubrey Camp_ (3/4 mile S.W. from Redbourn) is conjectured to be the site
of an early British encampment.
_Austage End_ lies in the parish of King's Walden, in a purely
agricultural district.
_Ayot Green_ is about 1/2 mile S.E. from and in the parish of Ayot St.
Peter's (_q.v._).
AYOT ST. LAWRENCE (21/2 miles N.E. from Wheathampstead Station and about
the same distance N.W. from Ayot Station, G.N.R.) has a new and an old
church. The former is in Ayot Park, and was designed by Revett in a
classical style. Note (1) the _Eastern_ portico, with colonnade on
either side; (2) the memorial to Sir Lionel Lyde, Bart. (d. 1791), and
to the architect of the church (d. 1804). The earlier structure, still
in ruins near the middle of the village, was Dec. of an early period,
with several singular features; the tower, however, was Perp. "The
Windows ... have been adorn'd with curious Pictures, in stained and
painted Glass, beyond many other Churches." The village has at different
times been styled Eye, Aiot, Great Aiot, and Ayot St. Lawrence, and was
a parcel of the property of Harold Godwin. _Ayot House_, standing in a
beautiful park of 200 acres, was once the property and residence of Sir
William Parr, brother to Catherine Parr, Queen of Henry VIII. A room in
an older building in the rear of the present mansion was once, according
to local tradition, the prison of Catherine Parr. There are shoes at
Ayot House which belonged to Anne Boleyn and a hat of Henry VIII.
AYOT ST. PETER'S (1/4 mile N. from Ayot Station, G.N.R.) lies in a pretty
district watered by the rivers Maran and Lea. The village is small, but
has a commodious Parish Room, containing a small library. There was a
mill here in the time of the Great Survey, the rent of which was three
shillings and 200 eels from the mill-pool per annum. A church, bearing
"a short spire erected upon the tower," stood on the hill-top in
Chauncy's day; in 1751 an octagonal structure of red brick was built by
the rector (Dr. Freeman) some distance from the village. This church was
demolished in 1862 and a new one built upon its site; in 1874 this
was in turn destroyed by lightning, and in 1875 the present church of
St. Peter, E.E. in style, was erected much nearer to the village. It
contains a very fine pulpit, carved by Miss Bonham, of Norwood, upon
which the figures of SS. Alban and Helen are conspicuous among others.
There are several memorial windows, tastefully designed, one of which,
to the memory of Mrs. I. A. Robinson, was designed by the architect (J.
P. Seddon). A delightful stroll may be taken from the village, westwards
to Wheathampstead or Lamer Park, or northwards to Codicote or Kimpton.
Nightingales are plentiful in the neighbourhood; the numerous thickets,
dense and secluded, affording excellent shelter to this shy songster.
_Baas Hill_ is 3/4 mile W. from Broxbourne Station, G.E.R.
_Babb's Green_ (nearly midway between Mardock and Widford Station,
G.E.R.) is a small hamlet.
_Baker's Grove_ is 11/2 miles S.W. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.
[Illustration: OLD COTTAGE, BALDOCK]
BALDOCK, a small town in the northern extremity of the county, lies
between the chalk hills at the junction of the Great North Road and the
Roman Icknield Way. The malting industry is still busily pursued,
although the town is not so exclusively devoted to it as formerly. Very
fine barley was grown in the district before the reign of Elizabeth, and
the horse fairs, of which there are several annually, are well attended.
The township was founded by the Knights Templars, in whose time there
stood a Lazar-house a little eastwards from the town. The church,
dating from the fourteenth century, is large, and of considerable
architectural interest. The chancel and adjoining chapels are Perp. and
contain sedilia and piscinae; the nave has eight bays and a lofty
clerestory. The rood-screen is co-extensive with the width of the entire
church; the octagonal font is of great antiquity (probably not less than
700 years); there are several brasses, two of which are of the early
part of the fifteenth century. Note also (1) the defaced slab, with
Lombardic inscription to Reynaud de Argenthem, (2) the piscina-like
recess in the N. chapel, (3) the Dec. pillars and arches of nave, (4)
the fine old chest near rood-screen (N. chapel). Baldock has been the
recipient of many bequests; existing charities are in the name of Roe,
Wynne, Pryor, Cooch, Clarkson, Smith, Parker, and a few others, the
whole aggregating a considerable annual sum. The Wynne Almshouses are in
the spacious High Street, where are also the fine town hall and fire
station, erected in 1896-7. Some side streets between the church and
station are noticeable for the variety of cottage architecture which
they display.
BARKWAY (4 miles S.E. from Royston station, G.N.R.) was a village of
some importance in the old coaching days, for it is on the main road
from Ware to Cambridge. It was partly burnt in 1592. There are many
quaint houses in the neighbourhood, and one or two inns seem to still
retain something of the atmosphere of the old regime. Near the village,
at a spot called Rokey Wood, a small bronze statue of Mars was
discovered some years ago. It is of Roman workmanship and is now in the
British Museum. Cyclists riding northwards or eastwards from Barkway
will find many hills to test their powers; but the air is exceptionally
good and the district decidedly worth visiting. The church (flint, with
stone quoins) is Perp. with embattled and pinnacled western tower; it
was restored in 1861. Several memorials are worth noticing: (1) marble
sarcophagus, with bust by Rysbrach, to Admiral Sir John Jennings (d.
1743); (2) brass on N. wall, found in the flooring during restoration,
to Robert Poynard (d. 1561), his wives Bridget and Joan, and his four
daughters; (3) monuments to Chester and Clinton families in chancel. The
once annual Pedlars' Fair has been discontinued; as has also the Tuesday
market, which dated from the days of Henry III. In Saxon times the
village was called Bergwant, _i.e._, the way over the hill.
BARLEY, a village on the Essex border, is 2 miles N.E. from Barkway, and
lies on the same high road. The Church of St. Margaret was restored in
1872, in fourteenth century Gothic, but the tower, which is Norman,
still stands. During the restoration some curious jars, of ancient make,
were found in the chancel walls, but were broken in the efforts to
dislodge them. There is a brass to Andrew Willet, D.D., rector of the
parish and author of _Synopsis Papismi_ (d. 1621).
Some interesting data for a book on the antiquities of Barley are
preserved in the pre-Reformation "Parish Hutch". I may mention the
"towne house ... tyme out of mynde used and employed for the keeping of
maides' marriages," and the "Playstoe" or "common playinge place for the
younge people and other inhabitants of the said towne". This "towne
house" may still be seen near the church.
_Barleycroft End_ is S.E. from Furneaux Pelham (_q.v._). It almost
adjoins that village.
BARNET, EAST (1/2 mile from Oakleigh Park Station, G.N.R.) is surrounded
by Middlesex except to the N.W. where it adjoins New Barnet. The old
village is situated at the meeting of the roads from High Barnet,
Southgate and Enfield. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is very
interesting; it stands on the hill-top, at a sharp bend in the road,
about 1/2 mile S. from the village. It is said to have been founded about
the year 1100 by an abbot of St. Albans; if this date is approximately
correct this abbot must have been Richard d'Aubeny or de Albini, who
ruled the great monastery from 1097 to 1119, and in whose day the whole
manor (including Chipping or High Barnet) belonged to the Abbey of St.
Albans. The structure is Early Norman, with a western tower of brick,
through the lower portion of which the church is entered. The N. wall
is probably the most ancient church wall in this part of the county.
There is a lich-gate at the N. entrance to the churchyard. A son of
Bishop Burnet, the historian, was once rector here, and is buried in the
church. Tradition states that Thomson the poet was tutor to the son of
Lord Binning when that nobleman lived at the old Manor House, the site
of which is now a part of the rectory garden. Near the church, too,
stood once a house in which Lady Arabella Stuart was confined. _Belmont
House_ (C. A. Hanbury, Esq., D.L., J.P.) marks the site where stood
Mount Pleasant, once the property of the Belted Will Howard, Warden of
the Western Marches, referred to in the "Lay of the Last Minstrel".
_Little Grove_, a house on Cat Hill (Mrs. Stern), stands where stood
formerly the house of the widow of Sir Richard Fanshawe, Bart.,
Ambassador to Spain in the reign of Charles I. The whole neighbourhood
is varied and undulating; the eastern extremity of the parish touched
the confines of Enfield Chace until late in the eighteenth century.
BARNET, HIGH (formerly "Chipping Barnet" from the market granted by
Henry II. to the Abbots of St. Albans, which was held every Monday),
stands on the hill-top about 11 miles N.W. from London, and 9 miles S.E.
from St. Albans. As stated above, the manor belonged to the Abbots of
St. Albans, and Chauncy tells a story in this connection which is worth
repeating: "Anno 18, Edw. I., the Abbot of St. Albans (Roger de Norton,
24th Abbot) impleaded several Persons for prostrating his Ditch and
burning his Hedges and Fences in the Night at _Bernet_; Richard
Tykering, one of 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 Tickering only
for that he burnt the Hedge." Other squabbles between abbot and peasant
are referred to in this book, in the section on St. Albans. The Parish
Church of St. John the Baptist stands at the junction of the roads from
London, Enfield and St. Albans. It has known many changes. A church
stood upon the spot so long ago as _circa_ 1250, to which a detached
tower was added about a century later. The body of this structure was
almost wholly replaced by a new building, reaching to and including the
tower, near the end of the abbacy of John de la Moote (1396-1401). The
present church is the result of the restoration and enlargement under
the direction of Mr. W. Butterfield, in 1875; it is of flint and worked
stone, partly Dec. and partly Perp. The old tower was lowered
sufficiently to form a portion of the nave and a new embattled tower
was built, now a conspicuous landmark for many miles round. The present
N. aisle is entirely new. The nave is clerestoried, with eight bays;
most of the windows are of stained glass. The Ravenscroft mortuary
chapel, adjoining the S. transept, contains many monuments, the most
conspicuous being the altar-tomb and recumbent effigy in marble to
Thomas Ravenscroft (d. 1630), which was formerly in the chancel. Other
memorials are to James Ravenscroft (d. 1680) who founded and endowed the
almshouses in Wood Street near by, called _Jesus' Hospital_, and to John
Ravenscroft (d. 1681). Note (1) the beautifully carved font screen,
pinnacled and crocketted; (2) the pulpit, adorned with carved figures of
men famous in English Church history; (3) the four ancient ledgers of
stone, two in the chapel and two in the tower-basement, all inscribed to
members of the Ravenscroft family. The church was formerly a
chapel-of-ease to that at East Barnet. A Roman Catholic church,
dedicated to SS. Mary the Immaculate and Gregory the Great, stands in
Union Street: it was built in 1850.
On Barnet Common there was formerly a medicinal spring known widely as
"Barnet Wells"; its chalybeate waters are referred to in Pepys' _Diary_,
and more fully praised in _The Perfect Diurnall_ (1652) and _The Barnet
Well Water_ (1800). These waters were in such repute that one John Owen,
an alderman of London, provided L1 to be spent yearly in keeping the
well in fit condition. Barnet Fair, which is held annually early in
September, is attended by cattle dealers from all parts of England and
Scotland, and by showmen and adventurers of all kinds. It is certainly
one of the most famous horse fairs in the country. The ordinary cattle
market is held each Wednesday.
BATTLE OF BARNET.--Of this engagement, so familiar by name, very little
is known accurately. Early in the spring of 1471, Edward IV., assisted
in his schemes by the Duke of Burgundy, quitted Flanders, whither he had
fled when the Earl of Warwick landed in the S. of England with
reinforcements from Louis XI.; touched, after a difficult passage, at
Cromer, where he heard of the resistance organised by Warwick, and
finally landed at Ravenspurgh on the Humber. Having been joined by
further followers at Nottingham he entered London on Holy Thursday, the
Lancastrians offering little resistance. Warwick collected his forces,
and the two armies met on Easter Sunday on Gladmore Common or Gledsmuir
Heath, to the N.W. of what is now Hadley Wood. The engagement was
desperately contested for five or 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 case. Chauncy repeats the old tradition that a fog gathered over
the battle-field, that the Lancastrians slew one another in the mist
and confusion, and that this led to the death of Warwick. It is supposed
that the "King Maker" fell close to the spot now marked by Hadley High
Stone. This obelisk was erected a little distance off in 1740; but was
removed nearer to what is now thought the right position. Montacute,
brother to Warwick, was slain at the same spot.
BARNET, NEW, is a residential extension of High and East Barnet, being
situated between the two. Indeed, the whole of "Barnet" is now almost
merged into one; there being houses or shops almost from Hadley High
Stone to a little S. from Cat Hill. The Station Road is a wide pleasant
thoroughfare stretching from New Barnet Station, G.N.R., to 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 Barnet, now largely built upon, is a new civil parish
called Barnet Vale. On a gentle slope in the centre, off Potter's Road,
stands the new Church of St. Mark, in which services have been held for
twenty-four years, but which is still incomplete. _Lyonsdown_, an
ecclesiastical district founded in 1869, is scattered over high ground
S.W. from the station; it is almost wholly comprised of detached
residences and is considered 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 of the Holy Trinity,
erected in 1864, 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 chancel is well designed.
_Barwick Ford_ is on the river Rib, about 21/2 miles N.W. from Hadham and
3 miles S.W. from Standon Stations, G.E.R.
_Bassett's Green_ (1 mile S.E. from Walkern Church) is a small hamlet
between Walkern Hall and Walkern Bury. There is no railway station
nearer than 5 miles, Buntingford, G.E.R., and Stevenage, G.N.R., being
each about that distance.
_Batchworth_ is a hamlet close to Rickmansworth Station, L.&N.W.R., at
the N.W. extremity of Moor Park (_q.v._).
_Batchworth Heath_, 11/2 mile S.E. from Rickmansworth, is on the Middlesex
border.
_Batlers Green_ (3/4 mile from Radlett Church, and 1 mile S.W. from the
station, M.R.) is in a pretty district, but contains little more than a
few scattered cottages and farms.
BAYFORD (3 miles S.W. from Hertford) is a parish and village on rising
ground, near the river Lea. It has a cruciform church, E.E. in design,
with facings of Kentish rag-stone, erected by W. R. Baker, Esq., in
1870-1. In the chancel are seven fine lancet windows of stained glass.
Note also (1) altar tomb and marble effigy to Sir George Knighton (d.
1612); (2) two palimpsest brasses, one bearing a figure in half-armour
and the other a figure in plate-armour and ring-mail skirt, of which the
age is conjectural; (3) the fine lich-gate. In the churchyard lies
William Yarrell, the great ornithologist (d. at Yarmouth, 1856).
BAYFORDBURY stands in a beautiful park, famous for its fine cedars and
pines, a little N. from the village. It is the seat of the lord of the
manor, H. W. Clinton-Baker, Esq., J.P. The house was originally erected
by an ancestor of the present owner, about 1760. Here are the portraits
of most of the members of the Kit Cat Club, painted by Sir Godfrey
Kneller; the MS. of the first book of _Paradise Lost_, and a collection
of letters of great literary interest, were recently sold to America.
_Bedmond_, or _Bedmont_, together with Sheppeys, forms a large hamlet 1
mile N. from the village of Abbots Langley, and nearly 2 miles N.E. from
King's Langley Station, L.&N.W.R.
_Bedwell Plash_ is a hamlet 1 mile S.E. from Stevenage.
_Beeson's End_ is pleasantly situated near the S. extremity of Harpenden
Common, and about 13/4 mile nearly due E. from Redbourn Station, M.R.
_Bell Bar_, a hamlet in the parish of North Mimms, is near Brookman's
Park, and about 21/2 miles N. from Potter's Bar Station, G.N.R.
(Middlesex).
_Bendish_ lies on high ground, 21/2 miles S.W. from St. Paul's Walden
(_q.v._). The nearest station is at Luton Hoo (Beds) about 4 miles S.W.
BENGEO (3/4 mile N. from Hertford) is a village between the rivers Beane
and Rib; Ware Park is close by (N.E.). It is now in the borough of
Hertford. The old church dedicated to St. Leonard, is Early Norman;
there are very few churches of older foundation in Hertfordshire. It was
restored at several times between 1884 and 1893. The bell in the wooden
cote bears date 1636; 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 hillside in 1855, is of
Kentish rag. There are terra-cotta panels by Tinworth in the reredos.
The walk from Bengeo to Hertford, past the sandy warren-hills, so
beautifully clad with fir, larch, etc., with the Lea winding through the
low meadows on the left, is one of the finest in the county.
BENGEO (Rural) was formerly a part of the same parish as the above. Near
by, at Chapmore End, is the Hertford County Reformatory for boys.
_Bennett's End_ is the name of two small hamlets, one near Leverstock
Green (_q.v._) and the other near Hemel Hempstead (_q.v._).
BENNINGTON (41/2 miles N.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) was once the
residence of Mercian kings. The village and neighbourhood are
picturesque; the roads from Walkern, Hertford and Knebworth meet where
a tiny triangular green is shaded by fine elms. The river Beane is 1
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 has a chapel on the N. side. The tower is embattled, and
contains a ring of eight bells. There are triple sedilia, and stalls of
carved oak in the chancel; what was _once_ a holy water basin is in the
porch. Note also (1) the oaken rood-screen, surmounted by a large cross;
(2) the memorial to the Caesar family (1622-61); (3) the (supposed) tomb
of Sir John de Benstede (1432), a baron who sat in Parliament in the
time of Edward II., as we learn from Dugdale's _Monasticon_; (4) Carved
oak reredos. Near the churchyard a large house of red brick stands on
the site of the castle of the Benstedes, in ruins when Chauncy wrote two
centuries back. Bertulf, King of the Mercians, held a council here in
850. _Bennington Park_ (11/4 mile E.) is one of three deer parks in
Hertfordshire which figured in _Domesday Book_.
BERKHAMPSTEAD (Great) an interesting town in the W. of the county, is
situated on the little river Bulbourne, and is chiefly famous as the
birthplace of William Cowper, who was born in the rectory on 26th
November, 1731. The Grammar School was founded by Dr. John Incent in
1541. The castle, of which there are still ruins close to the L.&N.W.R.,
dates from before the Domesday Survey. Visitors must not expect to find
a castle here such as those at Carisbroke or Lewes. The ruins, although
of considerable extent, are fragmentary, and little more than the plan
of this stronghold can now be traced. The moats are double to the N.W.,
but triple elsewhere. Henry II. held a court here; and the castle was at
times the residence of many monarchs, particularly Edward III. The Black
Prince was a visitor here during his father's reign. The Church of St.
Peter, on the N. side of 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,
Hitchin. The original structure was of great antiquity, dating from
pre-Norman times; but it was wholly rebuilt early in the reign of Henry
III. There are chantry chapels on either side of each transept; that
called "St. John's Chantry" dates from about 1350. Among many other
features of interest note (1) fine groined roof of northern chantries;
(2) lancet windows in the chancel, containing fourteenth century glass;
(3) the E. window, a memorial to the poet Cowper; (4) tablet to Ann
Cowper, the poet's mother; (5) brass to John Raven, Esquire to the Black
Prince; (6) altar tomb to John Sayer, head cook to Charles II.; (7)
mosaic reredos; (8) altar tomb and effigies of Richard Torrington (d.
1356) and Margaret his wife, in N. transept. During the restoration of
this transept in 1881 a portion of an ancient arch was discovered.
[Illustration: CASTLE STREET, BERKHAMPSTEAD]
The Grand Junction Canal is close to the river Bulbourne, and partly for
this reason many small industries are pursued in the town, such as the
making of straw plait, scoops and shovels of various sorts, army
tent-pegs, etc. The present rectory is on a small hill near the church,
to the S. of the High Street; it stands on the site of the former house,
in which Cowper was born, and the old well-house, called "Cowper's
Well," may still be seen. There is a good library in the Mechanics'
Institute. The almshouses, for six widows, were founded in 1681, by the
John Sayer mentioned above. The Kings of Mercia are known to have
resided and held courts here; King Whithred summoned a council to meet
at _Berghamstedt_ in 697.
BERKHAMPSTEAD, LITTLE (3 miles S. from Cole Green Station, G.N.R.), has
a stone church erected early in the seventeenth century. It has a wooden
belfry and spire. The building was restored in 1856-7, but contains
little of architectural or historical interest. There are, however,
several memorials, notably the altar table in memory of Bishop Ken, born
in the parish in 1637. On a hill N.E. from the church stands the tall
red-brick observatory erected by John Stratton in 1789, in order, as it
is said, that from its summit he might watch his ships in the Thames.
The tower has been called "Stratton's Folly".
_Bernard's Heath._ (See St. Albans.)
_Betlow_ is a lordship of Long Marston (_q.v._)
[Illustration: BISHOP'S STORTFORD]
BISHOP'S STORTFORD is in the extreme E. of the county and on the Essex
border. It is an ancient town, deriving its name from the ford over the
river Stort, and from the fact that William I. gave the town to Maurice,
Bishop of London. It is famous for its Grammar School, at which the late
Cecil Rhodes, a native of the town, was educated. The site of Waytemore
Castle, built by William I., is on a mound near the road to Hockeril,
where a low, wide flint wall is partly surrounded by a moat. The church
of St. Michael on Windhill is Perp.; it was restored in 1859. There was
a former church on the same site; the present structure dates from say
1420-40. The nave has six bays; the tower is pinnacled and has a ring of
ten fine bells. Chauncy's book has an interesting paragraph about this
church. "Three Gylds and a Chantry were founded in this church; the Gyld
of St. Mary; the Gyld of St. Michael; and the Gyld of St. John Baptist;
to which, An. 1476, Elizabeth Spycere gave Legacies, _viz._, to the two
former 13s. 4d. a piece, to the last 40s. These Saints had their altars,
and St. Michael his Tabernacle, on which much Cost had been bestowed;
but the Chantry was founded in the time of Richard III. and the
Settlement thereof cost much Money." Chancel and nave are separated by a
screen of carved oak; the font (Norman) was discovered during the
restoration of the church; there is a piscina in the S. aisle. The
clerestory was added and the chancel restored in 1884; on the chancel
floor is a brass to Lady Margaret Denny (d. 1648), "a maid of honour in
ordinary for five years to Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory". There is
also a memorial to Sir George Duckett, Bart. (d. 1822), who increased
the facilities for the navigation of the Stort, which is now navigable
by barges to the town. A cattle sale is held every Thursday, which is
market-day. The trade in malt is still very large. We read that in old
times a cross was erected on each of the four roads leading from the
town. The main thoroughfares are still in the form of a cross; going
down Windhill the visitor will find a bridge over the Stort before him,
and a main street on either side. The town can boast several of the
finest old inns in Herts.
BOREHAM WOOD (11/4 mile N.E. from Elstree) is a large and rather prettily
situated hamlet.
_Bourne End_, 1 mile W. from Boxmoor Station, L.&N.W.R., contains little
more than an inn, a coffee-room, and a few cottages standing beside the
Grand Junction Canal.
BOVINGDON (21/2 miles S.W. from Boxmoor Station) is a large village, built
on the slopes of two hills, the centre of the village being in the
depression between them. The church dates from the end of the eleventh
century, but was rebuilt in 1846 in a Gothic style, with pinnacled W.
tower. Note (1) the effigy of an armoured knight under the tower, dating
from perhaps the middle of the fourteenth century; (2) brasses to the
Mayne family (1621-42). Some traces of a Roman encampment and villa are
shown on inquiry at a spot near the village.
_Bowman's Green_ (1/4 mile N.E. from London Colney and 2 miles S. from
Smallford Station, G.N.R.) is a tiny hamlet near the river Colne and the
high road from Barnet to St. Albans.
BOXMOOR is a village about 11/2 mile S.W. from Hemel Hempstead. The Grand
Junction Canal flows between the village and the town. From the station,
L.&N.W.R., a motor car plies to and from Hemel Hempstead. Many Roman
remains have been found in the neighbourhood, particularly some remains
of two Roman villas, and many coins of the period of Diocletian. The
church, erected in 1874, 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 same site. Private residences are increasing so rapidly
that the place is now almost a suburb of Hemel Hempstead.
_Boydon's Hill_ adjoins the village of Aldenham.
_Bragbury End_ (11/4 mile E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet
on the Great North Road.
BRAMFIELD OR BRAINTFIELD (31/2 miles N.W. from Hertford Station, G.N.R.)
is a parish and village. The church is E.E., standing on the site of an
earlier edifice; the present tower and spire were built in 1840, and the
church itself restored in 1870. We learn from Matthew of Westminster
that Thomas Becket held the living here as his first charge; a pond near
the church is called "Becket's Pond". _Queen Hoo Hall_, N.W. from the
village, is now a farmhouse, but was formerly an Elizabethan residence,
and gave the title to a romance partly written by Sir Walter Scott. The
neighbourhood is pleasant, and a pretty stroll may be taken either N.E.
to Woodhall Park or S. to Panshanger Park.
_Brandley Hill_ is 1 mile N.W. from Aston.
BRAUGHING has a station 3/4 mile S.W. from the town, on the Buntingford
Branch of G.E.R. It is an ancient parish, the "Brachinges" of _Domesday
Book_, and was a Roman station. The church and few streets of which the
village consists are very picturesquely scatte |
