Hertfordshire

The church, which is a spacious brick edifice of the 16th century, and was extensively repaired in 1778, stands near the intersection of the two streets. It is dedicated to St. Mary. It contains a mausoleum of the Drake family, in which, and in the chancel, are some interesting monuments, besides a fine window of stained glass, representing the Twelve Apostles. There are two places of worship belonging to the Baptists, one to the Wesleyans, and one to the Society of Friends. There is a free grammar school, with a revenue of £86, founded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by Dr. Robert Challoner, rector of Amersham and canon of Windsor; in connection with which he also established three scholarships at Christ Church College, Oxford. The writing school, endowed by Lord Cheyne, has an income of £20. There is also a Sunday school endowed by William Drake, Jun., with £11 per annum; and an almshouse for six poor widows, erected and endowed by Sir William Drake. The union workhouse, erected in 1838, is a handsome building in the Elizabethan style of architecture. The parochial charities amount altogether to £428. Shardeloes Park, the seat of T. T. Drake, Esq., is about a mile from the town. Queen Elizabeth was entertained there in one of her progresses, by William Tothill, Esq. The hall stands on a hill, overlooking a small lake, and embracing a fine prospect over Amersham and its wooded hills. The manor of Amersham was formerly held by the Neville family, of whom was the great Earl of Warwick, the kingmaker, and last of the barons. Several persons suffered death at the stake here, in the reign of Henry V., for following the Lollards. And in the reign of Queen Mary, William Tillsworth and others suffered in the same manner, for holding the doctrines of the Reformation. The market day is Tuesday. Fairs are held on Whit-Monday and the 19th September, chiefly for sheep. Amersham is the seat of a poor-law union.

The castle having been rebuilt in the reign of King John, and garrisoned for him, was besieged by Louis, Dauphin of France, the ally of the insurgent barons, and was given up by command of the king. Prince Richard, King of the Romans, and brother of Henry III., died at Berkhampstead in 1271, broken-hearted at hearing of the assassination of his son, Prince Henry, in Italy. Cicely, Duchess of York, mother of Edward IV., also died at this place, and Richard III. is said to have been born here. Berkhampstead sent two representatives to parliament in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward III. The castle and manor, forming, with several other manors, the honour of Berkhampstead, have been held by the Princes of Wales as part of the Duchy of Cornwall from the reign of Edward III., who conferred them on his eldest son, the Black Prince, when he created him Duke of Cornwall. James I. selected the old mansion called Berkhampstead Place as a residence for his children, and conferred upon the town a charter of incorporation, but it was forfeited during the ensuing Civil War, in which the inhabitants suffered so seriously that they lost the means of retaining the privilege. Berkhampstead is seated in a deep and beautiful valley, at the foot of a fine ridge running off in a south-easterly direction from the Chiltern range as far as King's Langley. It has two principal streets, High-street and Castle-street, crossing each other at right angles. The former is very broad and about a mile long. Though not uniformly built, many of the houses are handsome. The town is lighted with gas, and has a good supply of water. Its situation is considered remarkably healthy. There is a new market-house in the middle of the town, also a mechanics' institution, a police station, a Union work-house, and extensive nursery grounds. The railway station is situated on a high embankment overlooking the town, with which it communicates by a bridge over the Grand Junction canal. The lace manufacture and the making of bowls, spoons, shovels, &c., of wood, were formerly carried on here to a great extent. At present many women are employed in making strawplait. There is a foundry, two malting-houses, and several wharfs. Petty sessions for the division are held here fortnightly by the magistrates, and courts-leet for the honour twice in the year. Berkhampstead is the seat of a Poor-law Union, and a polling-place for the county elections. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, of the value of £435, gross, in the patronage of the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. It is a large cruciform building, with a central embattled tower, exhibiting various styles of architecture, but principally the perpendicular. It stands in the centre of the town. The tower was erected in the reign of Henry VIII. Two small chapels, dedicated to St. John and St. Catherine, are connected with the church. There are many interesting monuments (including seven brasses, three of which are of the latter half of the 14th century) to the families of the Torringtons, Cornwallises, Intents, and others. Here is also the monument to the mother of Cowper. The parsonage-house was the poet's birthplace (1731), the rectory being at that time held by his father; but the old house was pulled down in 1810, and a new one erected, nearly on the same site. The Society of Friends, Wesleyan Methodists, Independents, and Baptists have places of worship in the town. The charitable foundations of this parish are numerous and important. The free grammar school, established in the reign of Henry VIII., was incorporated in the reign of his successor, by whom the Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, was appointed visitor. After a long period of decline and inefficiency, and an investigation in the Court of Chancery, the school is flourishing again, and has been recently restored. Its income amounts to above £900 a year, which was originally intended for the education of 144 boys, though only 22 are now admitted on the foundation. Another free school was, founded in 1727, by Thomas Bourne, for the instruction and clothing of 20 boys and 10 girls, the annual income of which is nearly £300, and each of the scholars receives 1s. per week. National, British, and infant schools have also been established. Almshouses for six widows were founded in 1681, and have been since endowed by several benefactors. There are other charitable bequests for the benefit of the poor. Portions of the massive walls of the old castle, which belongs to the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, and gives to him the title of baron, still remain on the east side of the town. The estate, with the exception of the old castle, has been recently purchased by Earl Brownlow. Wednesday is the market day. Fairs are held on Shrove-Tuesday, Whit Monday and the two following days; and a statute fair on the 29th September.

"FRITHSDEN, (or Friesden), a chapelry partly in the parish of Berkhampstead, hundred of Dacorum, county Herts, and partly in the parish of Pitstone, hundred of Cottesloe, county Bucks, 2 miles N.E. of Berkhampstead.

There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Baptists. The charities consist of £138 per annum, belonging to the grammar school. There is a National school."

It was several times devastated by the Danes, and in the reign of Alfred they brought their vessels up the Lea to Hertford, but Alfred diverting the course of the river, obliged them to abandon their ships and march across the island to the Severn. More effectually to check the incursions of the Danes, Edward the Elder, the son of Alfred, built Hertford Castle, about 905, and probably also the castle at Bishop Stortford for the same purpose. After his victory at Hastings, William the Conqueror marched northwards, and was met near Berkhampstead by Frederic, Abbot of St. Alban's, whose influence with the Saxon nobles and clergy was such that the Conqueror found it necessary to come to terms by taking an oath before the witenagemote, assembled at Berkhampstead, to govern according to the laws of the realm, as revised by Edward the Confessor. In the reign of John the castle of Hertford was defended for the king against Prince Louis and the barons, but surrendered after a brave defence. In 1312 the nobles confederated against Gaveston and Edward II., and assembled their troops at Wheathampstead, near St. Alban's, at which latter town many ringleaders in the revolt of the peasantry, under Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, were executed. In 1455 St. Alban's was stormed by Richard Duke of York, and the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, who took the king prisoner. Six years afterwards, the second battle of St. Alban's was fought, in which the Earl of Warwick was slain, and the king restored to his own party. In the civil war of Charles I. Hertford formed one of the associated counties; and it was here that Cromwell, while yet only captain of a troop of horse, captured the high sheriff of Hertfordshire as he was proceeding to St. Alban's to publish the king's proclamation declaring all the parliamentary leaders traitors. The geographical configuration of the county gives it many natural advantages, both of soil and climate. Being situated on the N. edge of the chalk basin which forms the valley of the Thames, its soil is of various qualities. In the S. part the London clay prevails, succeeded by the plastic clay, and further N., the chalk crops out, forming the continuation of the Chiltern- hills. Some of these downs, as Kensworth Hill, on the border of Bedfordshire, rise 908 feet above the sea-level, but on the whole the shire is level, or rather wavy, and being well wooded and tilled, presents a variety of scenery. It is adorned with numerous mansions and thriving plantations, which are generally situated in the higher and drier parts. The climate is mild, and well suited to the growth of fruit and flowers. Apple and cherry orchards and market gardens are met with in sheltered spots, for supply of the London markets, and the florists carry off most of the prizes for roses at the metropolitan flower shows. Although situated within 20 miles of London the county does not partake of the metropolitan character, but is almost wholly agricultural. The chief crops are wheat, the best white being extensively grown, turnips, vegetables, and hay. Cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry are also reared for the London market. The richest lands occur on the Essex border, along the road from London to Bedford, where the mixture of the chalk, clay, and gravel forms a rich loam; but in the more hilly districts the soil is a cold clay, only recently brought under tillage. The rivers for the most part belong to the basin of the Thames, except those in the N. part of the county, which flow towards the Ouse. The chief of those falling into the:Thames are the Lea, Stort, and Colne, with their affluents, the Maran, or Mimram, Beane, Rib, Quin, Ash, Verlam, or Muse, Gade, and Chess; besides several headsprings of the Thame, another affluent of the Thames, which take their rise in the north-western part of the county, near Tring. The Lea, which rises at Leagrave, in Bedfordshire, traverses the county from W. to E., becoming navigable at Hertford, and after a course of 50 miles joins the Thames at Bromley, near London. The Stort, which is a branch of the Lea, rises in Essex, and for a considerable distance forms the S.E. boundary of the county, being navigable from Bishop Stortford: its whole length is about 21 miles. The Colne rises between Barnet and Elstree, near Hatfield, and pursues a very circuitous course, partly through and partly on the border of the county, sometimes crossing into Middlesex, and finally quits Hertfordshire to form the boundary between Buckinghamshire and Middlesex. Of the smaller streams above mentioned few are navigable, but in their course turn a great number of mills, and several of them afford good sport to the angler. The streams which fall into the Ouse are the Hiz, Oughton, and Pirral. These, rising on the northern slope of the chalk downs, have but a short course in this county, and then enter Bedfordshire. The only other stream of any considerable length is the Rhee, which, rising near Ashwell, joins the Cam. The New River, which is brought to London from springs near Ware, is an artificial cut formed in 1608. Part of its course is through Herts, nearly parallel to the river Lea, from which it has a feeder. The only navigable canal is the Grand Junction, which enters the county on the N., and proceeding in a southerly direction, passes near the towns of Tring, Berkhampstead, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, and Rickmanstead, where it enters Middlesex, following the valley of the Lower Colne till it joins the Thames. There are cuts from the main line to Aylesbury, Wendover, and Watford. The county is intersected by the main N. road, which passes through the towns of Chipping Barnet, Hatfield, Stevenage, and Baldock, and sends off a branch through St. Alban's and Dunstable, known as the Liverpool road. There is also a mainline of road to Cambridge, passing by Waltham Cross and Ware to Puckeridge, where it separates into two branches, one going to Royston, and the other continuing in a straight line. The three great lines of railway, the London and North-Western, Great Northern, and Cambridge section of the Great Eastern, also traverse the county. The North-Western proceeds through the western part of the county, nearly in the line of the Grand Junction canal, throwing off branch lines to Rickmansworth and Uxbridge to join the Great Western (not yet completed), to Aylesbury, to St. Alban's, and to Dunstable, which last only touches the northern border; the Great Northern passes through the centre of the county, and has stations at all the principal towns, with branch lines to Hertford and Hitchin; the Cambridge section of the Great Eastern passes through the eastern part of the county, and has branch lines to Hertford and Buntingford. The three Grand Trunk lines are connected by the Hertford, Luton, and Dunstable line, which joins the Great Eastern at Hertford the Great Northern at Welwyn and the London and North-Western at Luton. -Although furnished with such abundant means of communication, both with London and all parts of the country, Hertfordshire is not a manufacturing county, the only manufactures of any importance are straw-plait, silk, and paper. In the first about 6,000 persons are employed, including bleachers, cleaners, Brazilian hat makers, and dealers; in the second about 500; and in the third-viz: paper-about 350. There are a large number of millers, and a considerable business is done in malting, brewing, tanning, currying, brick and tile making, parchment bleaching, type-founding, pipe and chimney-pot making, sail-weaving, and coach-building. The amount of savings by the working classes, as tested by the returns of the savings-banks made to parliament in 1862, was but small compared with the population, being only £188,759; yet there can be no doubt of the general prosperity of the county, chiefly owing to the number of resident gentry. The population are principally of English extraction. The county returns three members to parliament for the shire, and two for the borough of Hertford, which is the county town and place of election. It formerly returned two for St. Alban's, but this latter town was disfranchised for bribery at the late elections. The polling-places are Hertford, Stevenage, Buntingford, Bishop Stortford, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, and Hoddesdon. The county is governed by a lord-lieutenant, and a body of deputy-lieutenants and county magistrates. It is included in the Home circuit, and within the London bankruptcy jurisdiction. The assizes and quarter sessions are held at Hertford, except for the hundred of Cashio and liberty of St. Alban's, which has a separate commission of peace. Besides the boroughs of Hertford and St. Alban's, the county contains 15 market towns-viz: Ashwell, Baldock, Barnet, Berkhampstead, Bishop Stortford, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hitchin, Hoddesdon, Royston, Tring, Ware, Watford, with Buntingford and Rickmansworth; but the markets of these two last have fallen into disuse. The other considerable towns are-Cheshunt, Welwyn, Stevenage, King's Longley, Braughing, Offley, Sawbridgeworth, and Hadham. For civil purposes the county is divided into 8 hundreds, comprising 130 parishes and townships, and into 13 Poor-law Unions, parts of which extend into other adjoining counties. There are four coroners for the county, with separate divisions-viz: Hertford, Hitchin, Hemel Hempstead, and St. Alban's. County courts are held in Barnet, Bishop Stortford, Hertford, Hitchin, Waltham, and Watford. For ecclesiastical purposes it forms the archdeaconry of St. Alban's, in the bishopric of Rochester and province of Canterbury, and is divided into 12 rural deaneries. The county constabulary consists of a chief constable, 3 superintendents, 9 inspectors, and 78 constables, maintained at an annual cost of about £8,000. Some of the principal seats are-Cashiobury Park, of the Earl of Essex; Brocket Hall, of Viscount Palmerston; Hatfield House, of the Marquis of Salisbury; Ashridge House, of Earl Brownlow; Ball's Park, of Marquis Townshend; Camfield, of Baron Dimsdale; Gorhambury House, of the Earl of Verulam; Great Hyde Hall, of the Earl of Rowden; Grove Park, of the Earl of Clarendon; Knebworth House, of Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, Bart.; Marchmont House, of the Dowager Lady Cooper; Oakhill, of Lord Faversham; Aspenden Hall, of Henry Lushington, Esq.; Bedwell Park, of Sir Culling E. Eardley, Bart.; Beechwood, of Sir Thomas G. S. Sebright. Bart.; Broxbourne Bury, G. J. Bosanquet, Esq., besides numerous other seats of gentlemen and wealthy merchants, which greatly enhance the beauty of the scenery of this county. The Roman and British antiquities of Hertfordshire are numerous. Besides the sites of Verulamium and Ad Fines, already mentioned, there is a large camp on Wilbury Hill, near Baldock, covering 7 acres, and surrounded by a rampart and ditch, which is 5 feet high on the W. side. In the same part of the county, at Caldecote and Ashwell, numerous Roman antiquities have been found, including funereal urns filled with charred bones, glass lacrymatories, pateræ of fine red earthenware, fibulæ, rings and a great variety of silver coins. At Rockley Wood, near Royston, a small bronze figure of Mars, and some thin plates with figures and inscriptions upon them, have been dug up. Coins have also been found at Braughing, Cheshunt, Bishop Stortford, and Hemel Hempstead. The most interesting of the ancient buildings are St. Alban's and Waltham abbeys, recently restored; the priories of Hitchin and Ware, of which there are some remains; the palaces of Hatfield and King's Langley, the latter built by Henry III.; and the castles of Hertford, Berkhampstead, Bishop Stortford, and the Anstie, of which last the earthworks alone remain.

Several portions of this hundred, which was a possession of the monks of St. Alban's, lie detached in various parts of the county The hundred contains the parishes of Abbot's Langley, Aldenham, Chipping Barnet, East Barnet, Braintfield, Codicote, Elstree, Hexton, Newnham, Northaw, Norton, St. Paul's Walden, Redbourn, Rickmansworth, Ridge St. Alban's, Sandridge, Sarrat, and Watford, comprising about 87,600 acres.

"CHADWELL, (or St. Chad's Well), one of the sources of the New River, rising near Ware Park, in county Herts.

"COLNE, a river which, rising near Hatfield, in the county of Herts, runs 30 miles in a south-westerly direction, and finally discharges itself into the Thames near Staines."

"COLNEY CHAPEL, an old seat on the river Colne, in the county of Herts, 3 miles S.E. of St. Alban's. It was built by Governor Bourchier, and was afterwards the residence of the Margrave of Anspach."

"COOPER'S GREEN, a small hamlet in the county of Herts, near Hatfield."

"CROMER, (and Cromer Hide) two places in the county of Herts, one near Stevenage, the other near Hatfield.

"DACORUM, a hundred in the W. division of the county of Hertford, contains the parishes of Berkhampstead, Aldbury, Flamsted, Bushey, Harpenden, Great and Little Gaddesden, Kensworth, Hemel-Hempstead, Mimms, King's Langley, Puttenham, Shenley, Wigginton, Wheathampstead, and Tring, with parts of Amersham, Caddington, Aldenham, and Studham, comprising 78,160 acres."

"EDWINSTREE HUNDRED, one of the eight subdivisions of Hertfordshire, situated in the north-eastern part of the county, and bounded on the N. by the county of Cambridge, E. by Essex, S. by the hundred of Hertford, and W. by the hundreds of Odsey and Broadwater. It contains the parishes of Albury, Anstey, Aspenden, Barkway. Barley, Buckland, Much and Little Hadham, Great and Little Hormead, Layston, Meesden, Pelham Brent, Pelham Furneux, Pelham Stocking, Throcking, Wakely, and Wyddiall, comprising about 38,000 acres."

"GADE, a small river of Hertfordshire, uniting with the Colne near Rickmansworth."

"HERTFORD, a hundred in county Herts., contains the towns of Hertford and Hoddesdon, and the parishes of Great Amwell, Bayford, Benges, Little Berkhampstead, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Essendon, Hertingfordbury, Stanstead St. Margaret, Stapleford, Tewin, Wormley, and part of All Saints, comprising 34,410, exclusive of the liberty of Hertford. It gives name to a deanery in the archdeaconry of St. Alban's and diocese of Rochester."

"HITCHIN, a hundred in the county Herts, contains the parishes of Hitchin, Ickleford, Ippollitts, Kimpton, King's Walden, Lilley, Offley, and Pirton, comprising an area of 27,280 acres. It gives name to a deanery in the archdeaconry of St. Alban's and diocese of Rochester."

"IVEL, a river which rises in Mitley Hill, county Herts, and joins the Ouse at Tempsford, in Bedfordshire."

"LECHMORE HEATH, in the hundred of Cashio, county Herts, 3 miles E. of Watford."

"LETCHMORE HEATH, in county Herts, 3 miles N.E. of Watford."

"MIMERAM, (or Maran), a feeder of the river Lea, rises near King's Walden, in county Herts, and joins the Lea at Hertford.

"ODSEY, a hundred in the county of Herts, contains the parishes of Ashwell, Broadfield, Bygrave, Caldecott, Clothall, Cottered, Hinxworth, Kelshall, Radwell, Reed, Rushden, Sandon, Therfield, Wallington, Yardley, and part of Royston, comprising an area of 32,410 acres."

"OYSTER HILLS, a low range of hills in the county of Herts, near St. Alban's. On the summit is a camp formed by the Roman general Ostorius."

"RAVENSBURY CASTLE, an ancient camp on Icknield Street, county Herts, near Hexton. It covers 16 acres, and is supposed to be of Danish origin."

"RIB, a feeder of the river Lea, rises near Buntingford, county Herts."

"STORT, a stream of county Herts, rises near Meesdon, and flowing along the Essex border by Bishop's Stortford, joins the Lea at Broxbourn."

"VER, (or Verlain), a river in county Herts, forming the head stream of the Colne.

"WILBURY, a hill in county Herts, 3 miles S.W. of Baldock. It is situated on the line of the ancient Icknield Street, and has a single-ditched Roman camp covering 7 acres."

There are many monuments, including two brasses bearing date 1559, and effigies of the Dennys. The living is a donative curacy in the diocese of Rochester, value £195, in the patronage of trustees. This living was once held by Bishop Hall and by Fuller. In the Abbey cemetery are said to be interred the bodies of Harold and his brothers, who fell at Battle, by their mother Githa, with the simple epitaph, "Hic jacet Harold infelix." There is also the district church of St. Paul, at High Beech, the living of which is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of the Bishop of London. The Wesleyans and Baptists have each a chapel. There are a free school, endowed by Leverton with about £170 per annum, National, and British and Foreign schools, and a mental improvement society with a small library. The parochial charities produce about £370 per annum, including £70, the endowment of Green's almshouses. Besides the parish church, there are some ruins of the abbey, including part of the abbey wall, a vault, gateway, and a bridge. Roger de Waltham, one of the monkish chroniclers of the time of Henry III., and Bishop John de Waltham, were born here. It was here that Cranmer, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, was first introduced to Henry VIII., and suggested the referring of the question of the king's divorce to the divines and learned men of England, instead of submitting to the decision of the Pope. Market day is on Tuesday. Fairs are held on the 14th May and 25th and 26th September.

"CROSS BROOK STREET, a hamlet in the parish of Waltham Abbey, in the county of Herts, 2 miles from Waltham Abbey."

"TURNER'S HILL, a hamlet in the parish of Waltham Abbey, county Herts, 1½ mile N.W. of Waltham Cross."