"AMERSHAM, (or Agmondesham), a parish, market-town, and municipal borough, in the hundred of Burnham, in the county of Buckingham, and partly also in the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Hertford, 30 miles to the S.E. of Buckingham, and 26 miles from London, or 30 by the London and North Western railway. The town stands in a very pleasant valley, watered by the small river Mesbourn, a branch of the Colne, and surrounded by picturesque and well wooded hills. The hamlet of Coleshill is included in the parish. Its Saxon name was Agmunzdesham. It was a borough by prescription, and returned two representatives to parliament from the 28th year of the reign of Edward I. to the 2nd of Edward II. Its right was not exercised again till the latter part of the reign of James I. Petition for its restoration was made and granted in 1623, and it continued thenceforth to return two members until it was disfranchised under the Reform Act in 1832. Edmund Waller, the poet, and Algernon Sydney, have been among the representatives of this borough. The town consists chiefly of one long street, on the road from Uxbridge to Wendover, crossed by another street, forming part of the road from Chesham to High Wycombe. Near the centre of the town is the townhall, a handsome structure of brick, supported on pillars, and surmounted by a lantern and clock. The lower part is used as a market-house. It was erected about the year 1680, by Sir William Drake, Bart. The town is well paved and has a good supply of water.

The manufacture of cotton, silk, crape, and black lace, formerly carried on here, is discontinued; wooden chairs are made in great numbers for exportation, from the wood of the beech tree, which abounds in the neighbourhood. There are three flour mills, and an extensive brewery, and many women are employed in the manufacture of straw plait. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford, value £1,331, in the gift of Thomas Tyrwhitt Drake, Esq., lord of the manor. 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.

AMERSHAM, (or Agmondesham), a parish, market-town, and municipal borough, in the hundred of Burnham, in the county of Buckingham, and partly also in the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Hertford, 30 miles to the S.E. of Buckingham, and 26 miles from London, or 30 by the London and North Western railway. The town stands in a very pleasant valley, watered by the small river Mesbourn, a branch of the Colne, and surrounded by picturesque and well wooded hills. The hamlet of Coleshill is included in the parish. Its Saxon name was Agmunzdesham. It was a borough by prescription, and returned two representatives to parliament from the 28th year of the reign of Edward I. to the 2nd of Edward II. Its right was not exercised again till the latter part of the reign of James I. Petition for its restoration was made and granted in 1623, and it continued thenceforth to return two members until it was disfranchised under the Reform Act in 1832. Edmund Waller, the poet, and Algernon Sydney, have been among the representatives of this borough. The town consists chiefly of one long street, on the road from Uxbridge to Wendover, crossed by another street, forming part of the road from Chesham to High Wycombe. Near the centre of the town is the townhall, a handsome structure of brick, supported on pillars, and surmounted by a lantern and clock. The lower part is used as a market-house. It was erected about the year 1680, by Sir William Drake, Bart. The town is well paved and has a good supply of water.

The manufacture of cotton, silk, crape, and black lace, formerly carried on here, is discontinued; wooden chairs are made in great numbers for exportation, from the wood of the beech tree, which abounds in the neighbourhood. There are three flour mills, and an extensive brewery, and many women are employed in the manufacture of straw plait. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford, value £1,331, in the gift of Thomas Tyrwhitt Drake, Esq., lord of the manor. 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.

"BENNINGTON, a parish in the hundred of Broadwater, in the county of Hertford, 5 miles to the S.E. of Stevenage, its post town, and 7 N.W. from Ware. It is a place of great antiquity, and was the site of a palace of the kings of Mercia. In the Norman survey it is called Belintone, and the privilege of a market was granted to it at an early period. The Great Northern and North-Western railways pass about 6 miles from the village. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, of the value of £608, in the patronage of the Rev. F. B. Pryor. The church is dedicated to St. Peter, and contains several monuments of families who have held the manor. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel in the village. Not far from the church is the hill on which the ancient castle stood. A Roman road passed through the parish. The principal seats are Bennington Place and Bennington Street. The Puckeridge hounds meet at the latter place. The market has long been discontinued; but an annual fair is held on the 29th June."

"BERKHAMPSTEAD ST. MARY, (or Northchurch), a parish in the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Hertford, 1 mile from the town of Great Berkhampstead. The village, which is neatly built, is situated on the high road from Great Berkhampstead to Tring, from which latter place it is about 5 miles distant. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, of the value of £794, in the patronage of the Prince of Wales. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There is a Baptist chapel, and several charitable endowments, which produce about £30 per annum. A priory and chapel formerly stood in this place, the remains of which have been converted into a farm-house. The London and North-Western railway here passes through a tunnel of 300 yards in length.

"BERKHAMPSTEAD, (or Great, or St. Peter's), a parish and market town, mainly in the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Hertford, but partly in the county of Buckingham, 22 miles to the W. of Hertford, and 26 miles by road from London, or 28 miles by railway. It is a station on the London and North-Western line. The parish is situated on the banks of the small river Bulbourne, which joins the river Gade about 4 miles below the town. The Grand Junction canal passes the town, running along the valley, nearly parallel with the high road, the river, and the railway. Berkhampstead is a very ancient town; and from its name, which is Saxon, is supposed to be of Saxon origin, though some antiquaries suppose it to have been the Durobrivoe of the Romans. It acquired importance from being a residence of the Mercian kings, who had a fortified seat here. A council is said to have been held herein the year 697. It was here that the Norman Conqueror received the submission of Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and immediately after encountered the resistance of the Abbot of St. Alban's, who hindered his progress by felling the wayside trees and blockading the roads with them. The abbot, supported by a number of the leading men, both lay and ecclesiastical, obtained from the king an oath that he would govern the people according to their ancient laws and customs, and especially according to the laws of Edward the Confessor. This oath was taken in an assembly held at Berkhampstead. The manor was given by William to Robert, Earl of Moreton, his half-brother, who erected the castle on the site of the old residence of the Mercian kings.

In the reign of Henry I., on the rebellion of William, the son of the founder, the castle and manor came into the possession of the crown, and the castle was demolished. The inhabitants of the town received many valuable privileges from Henry II., who held his court here for some time. 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.

BERKHAMPSTEAD, (or Great, or St. Peter's), a parish and market town, mainly in the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Hertford, but partly in the county of Buckingham, 22 miles to the W. of Hertford, and 26 miles by road from London, or 28 miles by railway. It is a station on the London and North-Western line. The parish is situated on the banks of the small river Bulbourne, which joins the river Gade about 4 miles below the town. The Grand Junction canal passes the town, running along the valley, nearly parallel with the high road, the river, and the railway. Berkhampstead is a very ancient town; and from its name, which is Saxon, is supposed to be of Saxon origin, though some antiquaries suppose it to have been the Durobrivoe of the Romans. It acquired importance from being a residence of the Mercian kings, who had a fortified seat here. A council is said to have been held herein the year 697. It was here that the Norman Conqueror received the submission of Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and immediately after encountered the resistance of the Abbot of St. Alban's, who hindered his progress by felling the wayside trees and blockading the roads with them. The abbot, supported by a number of the leading men, both lay and ecclesiastical, obtained from the king an oath that he would govern the people according to their ancient laws and customs, and especially according to the laws of Edward the Confessor. This oath was taken in an assembly held at Berkhampstead. The manor was given by William to Robert, Earl of Moreton, his half-brother, who erected the castle on the site of the old residence of the Mercian kings.

In the reign of Henry I., on the rebellion of William, the son of the founder, the castle and manor came into the possession of the crown, and the castle was demolished. The inhabitants of the town received many valuable privileges from Henry II., who held his court here for some time. 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.

"BRAINTFIELD, (or Branfield) a parish in the hundred of Cashio, in the county of Hertford, 3 miles to the N.W. of Hertford, its post town. The Hertford branch of the Great Northern railway passes near it. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, of the value of £267, in the patronage of Abel Smith, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew. Thomas a Becket is said to have held the rectory of this parish as his first preferment in the Church. The principal residence is Braintfield Place.

"BROADFIELD, a parish in the hundred of Odsey, in the county of Hertford, 3 miles to the N.W. of Buntingford. The living is a rectory, annexed to that of the neighbouring parish of Cottered, in the diocese of Rochester. The church has long been in ruins."

"CADDINGTON, a parish in the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Hertford, but extending into the hundred of Flitt, in the county of Bedford, 2 miles to the W. of Luton, its post town. The Dunstable branch of the Great Northern railway passes near it. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely, value £319, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London. The church, which stands in Bedfordshire, is dedicated to All Saints, and contains two monumental brasses. There is a district church at Market Street, the living of which is a curacy, worth £227, in the gift of D. G. Ady, Esq. Market Street, on the Hertfordshire side of the parish, was the site of a Benedictine priory, called Markgate Cell, founded by Geoffrey, Abbot of St. Alban's, about the middle of the 12th century, and which was valued at the Dissolution at £115. The charitable endowments of the parish, consisting chiefly of the revenue of the grammar school, amount to about £150 per annum."

"MARKET-STREET, a chapelry in the parishes of Caddington, Flamstead, and Studham, partly in the hundred of Dacorum, county Herts, and partly in that of Manshead, county Beds, 3 miles S.E. of Luton. This place was anciently called Merkgate, and comprises three hamlets On a hill where now stands an ancient mansion called "The Priory" was formerly a Benedictine nunnery founded in 1145 by Geoffrey, Abbot of St. Albans, on land given by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London. Its revenue at the Dissolution was £143 138. 8d., when the site was given to G. Ferrers. In the village, which consists of one long street facing, the road from London to Birmingham, several industries are carried on, as the manufacture of hats, bonnets, and straw plait. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Ely, value £227. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is situated in the Priory Park, and was erected about the middle of the last century. 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."

"CALDECOTT, a parish in the hundred of Odsey, in the county of Hertford, 3 miles to the N. of Baldock, which is its post town, and a station on the Hitchin and Cambridge branch of the Great Eastern railway. The parish, which contains only 318 acres, lies on the border of Bedfordshire. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, value £75, in the patronage of C. C. Hale, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. Icknield Street passed a little to the S. of this place, and in 1724 some Roman urns were found here."

"FURNEUX-PELHAM, a parish in the hundred of Edwinstree, county Herts, 5 miles S.E. of Buntingford, and 6 N.W. of Bishop Stortford. Ware is its post town, and the nearest railway station is Bishop Stortford. This is the largest of the three Pelhams, the other two being called Brent and Stocking Pelham. They are all three situated on the river Ash, near its source. The living is a vic, annexed to that of Brent Pelham, in the diocese of Rochester. The church is an edifice of the middle ages. The interior has some fine specimens of carved work, a private chapel, handsome marble font, and monumental records of several families, also a brass of the early part of the 15th century. The register commences in 1538. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have each a chapel, and there is a National school."

"GREAT OFFLEY, (or Offley St. Legers), a parish in the hundred of Hitchin, county Herts, 3 miles S.W. of Hitchin, its railway station and post town, and 6 N.E. of Luton. The parish, which is large, is situated among the chalk hills, and contains the hamlet of Puthridge. It formerly belonged to King Offa, from whom it derived its name, and who is said to have died here. After the Norman conquest it was successively possessed by the St. Legers, Hoos, Boleyns, Spencers, and Salusburies. The village is chiefly agricultural. At Highdowns, in this parish, are several barrows and dykes, supposed to be of British origin. The impropriate tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1768. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester, value £298. The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, is an ancient structure containing monuments of the Spensers and others. The parochial charities produce about £87 per annum, part of which belongs to the vicar. There is a village school for both sexes. Offley Place is the principal residence.

"PUTTERIDGE PARK, a demesne in the parish of Great Offley, hundred of Hitchin and Pirton, county Herts, 5 miles S.W. of Hitchin, and 17 N.W. of Hertford. It was anciently called Poderich Bury, and was given by William the Conqueror to William Earl of Ewe, from whom it came to the Darells."

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Alphabetical list and index for places in Hertfordshire

HERTFORDSHIRE

"HERTFORDSHIRE, (or Herts), an inland county of England, situated in the S.E. part of the island, between 51° 36' and 52° 5' N. lat., and 0° 13' E. and 0° 45' W. long. It is very irregular in form, and of small extent, being only the thirty-fifth shire in England for size, including an area of about 630 square miles, or 393,951 acres. In its greatest length, from Royston in the N.E., to Rickmansworth, in the S.W., it extends for near 40 miles, and in its greatest breadth, from Hitchin to Waltham Cross, 26 miles. It is bounded on the N. by Cambridgeshire, E. by Essex, S. by Middlesex, W. by Buckingham, and N.W. by Bedfordshire. Before the Roman invasion, it was inhabited by a British tribe called the Catyeuchlani, mentioned by Ptolemy and Dion, and perhaps partly by the Cassii, whose name Camden identifies with that of the hundred of Cashio. After the subjugation of Britain it formed part of the Roman province of Flavia Cæsariensis, and contained the municipium of Verolamium, and the post, or town Ad fines, besides numerous camps and villages where Roman antiquities are frequently turned up. It was crossed in various directions by the three great British ways, Watling, Ermine, and Icknield Streets. The two first, being converted into military roads by the Romans, have continued to the present day, not varying much from the line of the modern roads from London to Dunstable, and from London to Royston.

Upon the Saxon conquest of this island, part of the county was appropriated by the East Saxons and part by Mercia. 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.

"NO-MANS-LAND, an extra parochial place in the hundred of Cashio, county Herts, 3 miles N.E. of St. Alban's. It is situated near the river Colne, and is a meet for Mr. Brand's hounds."

"WAKELEY, an extra parochial place in the hundred of Edwinstree, county Herts, 2 miles S.W. of Buntingford. It was formerly a parish."

HERTFORDSHIRE, (or Herts), an inland county of England, situated in the S.E. part of the island, between 51° 36' and 52° 5' N. lat., and 0° 13' E. and 0° 45' W. long. It is very irregular in form, and of small extent, being only the thirty-fifth shire in England for size, including an area of about 630 square miles, or 393,951 acres. In its greatest length, from Royston in the N.E., to Rickmansworth, in the S.W., it extends for near 40 miles, and in its greatest breadth, from Hitchin to Waltham Cross, 26 miles. It is bounded on the N. by Cambridgeshire, E. by Essex, S. by Middlesex, W. by Buckingham, and N.W. by Bedfordshire. Before the Roman invasion, it was inhabited by a British tribe called the Catyeuchlani, mentioned by Ptolemy and Dion, and perhaps partly by the Cassii, whose name Camden identifies with that of the hundred of Cashio. After the subjugation of Britain it formed part of the Roman province of Flavia Cæsariensis, and contained the municipium of Verolamium, and the post, or town Ad fines, besides numerous camps and villages where Roman antiquities are frequently turned up. It was crossed in various directions by the three great British ways, Watling, Ermine, and Icknield Streets. The two first, being converted into military roads by the Romans, have continued to the present day, not varying much from the line of the modern roads from London to Dunstable, and from London to Royston.

Upon the Saxon conquest of this island, part of the county was appropriated by the East Saxons and part by Mercia. 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.

"LITTLE BERKHAMPSTEAD, a parish in the hundred and county of Hertford, 4 miles to the S.W. of Hertford, its post town, and the same distance W. from Broxbourn railway station. The village is small, but neatly laid, out, and in the neighbourhood are several handsome villas. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, of the value of £249, in the patronage of the Marquis of Salisbury. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel at How Green. There is a National school and a provident society. The parochial charities produce about £15 a year. There is a tower 100 feet in height, called the Observatory, erected on a hill here, from which there is a wide and beautiful view. The chief residence is Berkhampstead House.

"BRAUGHING HUNDRED, one of the eight hundreds or subdivisions of the county of Hertford, situated in the eastern part of the county, and bounded on the N. by the hundred of Edwinstree, on the S. and E. by the county of Essex, and on the W. by the hundreds of Broadwater and Hertford. It contains the parishes of Bishop Stortford, Braughing, Eastwick, Gilston, Hunsdon, Sawbridgeworth, Standen, Stanstead Abbot's, Thorley, Thundridge, Ware, Westmill, and Widford. The area of the hundred is about 38,400 acres."

"BRENT, the name of two small rivers, the one rising in the south part of Hertfordshire, near Chipping Barnet, and after pursuing a south-westerly course of 16 miles, joins the Grand Junction canal near Hanwell, in Middlesex, and falls into the Thames at Brentford; the other flows through South Anglesey, and falls into the Menai Straits."

"BROADWATER HUNDRED, one of the eight hundreds or subdivisions of the county of Hertford, bounded on the N. by part of the hundred of Cashio, on the N.E. by the hundred of Odsey, on the E. by the hundred of Braughing, on the S.E. by the hundred of Hertford, on the S. by parts of the hundreds of Cashio and Dacorum, and on the W. by the hundreds of Cashio and Hitchin. It contains the parishes of Aston, Ayott St. Lawrence, Ayott St. Peter, Baldock, Bennington, Datchworth, Digswell, Graveley, Hatfield, Knebworth, Letchworth, Great Munden, Little Munden, Sacomb, Stevenage, Totteridge, Walkers, Watton, Welwyn, Weston, Willian, Great Wymondley, and Little Wymondley. The hundred comprises an area of about 60,600 acres."

"CASHIO HUNDRED, (or Liberty Of St. Alban's), one of the 8 hundreds of the county of Hertford, situated in the south-western quarter of the county, and bounded on the N. by the hundred of Dacorum, on the E. by the hundred of Broadwater, on the S. by the county of Middlesex, and on the W. by the hundred of Dacorum and the county of Buckingham. 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."

"PELHAM STOCKING, a parish in the hundred of Edwinstree, county Herts. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, value £163. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. Buntingford is the post town. N. Calvert, Esq., is lord of the manor.

"SACOMB, a parish in the hundred of Broadwater, county Hertford, 4 miles N.W. of Ware, its post town, and 2 N.E. of Stapleford. It is mentioned in, Domesday Book as Sevechampe, and was held by Peter de Valoignes. The manor subsequently came to the Fitzwalters, Babthorpes, Plumptons, Rolts, Caswells, and others. The village, which is of small extent, is wholly agricultural. The soil is of various qualities, and the land is partly in common. Woodhall Park, the seat of the Smiths, is a modern mansion, situated in a well-wooded park, containing some oak-trees of great age. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £335 158., and the glebe comprises 12 acres. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, value £266. The church, dedicated to St. Catherine, or to St. Mary, has a square tower, formerly embattled, containing three bells. It was thoroughly restored in 1856, the expense being defrayed by the late John Abel Smith, Esq., of Woodhall Park. The interior contains two stone stalls, a piscina under trefoil arches, and monuments of the Rolt family. The parochial charities produce about £10 per annum. There is a village school. A. Smith, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner."

"ST. LAWRENCE AYOTT, a parish in the hundred of Broadwater, in the county of Hertford, 6 miles to the N.W. of Hatfield, and 3½ W. of Welwyn and the Great Northern railway. The river Muran flows on the north-eastern side of the parish. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, value £180, in the patronage of Lionel Lyde, Esq., who now holds the manor. The church was erected in 1778, by Sir Lionel Lyde, Bart., after designs by the architect Nicholas Revett, friend and assistant of James Stuart in the preparation of the "Antiquities of Athens." The old church, which is dilapidated, contains several ancient and interesting monuments. This parish once belonged to the Saxon king, Harold.

"ST. MICHAEL, a parish, partly in the borough of St. Alban's, but chiefly in the hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county Herts, 1 mile N.W. of St. Alban's, of which it forms a populous suburb. The parish, which is small, lies on the S. bank of the river Ver, or Colne. The parish church, though situated in the town of St. Alban's, and within the walls of the ancient city of Verulam, is without the limits of the borough. The living is a vicarage, value £300, in the archdeaconry of St. Alban's and diocese of Rochester. The Earl of Verulum is impropriator of the great tithes. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a venerable structure, erected by Ulsinus, the sixth abbot, and has a square embattled tower and a chancel, the latter built principally of Roman tiles. In it the Lord Chancellor Bacon is interred under a marble tomb.

"ST. PETER AYOTT, a parish in the hundred of Broadwater, in the county of Hertford, 5 miles to the N.W. of Hatfield. Welwyn is its post town. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, value £250, in the patronage of the Rev. E. Prodgers.

"ST. STEPHEN'S, a parish in the hundred of Cashio, county Herts, 1 mile S.W. of St. Alban's, its post town, and 7 miles from Watford. The village is situated on the rivers Colne and Ver, near the Roman way Watling Street. The parish contains the hamlets of Pack, Smallford, and Windridge. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester, value £514. The church, dedicated to St. Stephen, occupies the site of one founded in the reign of Eldred by Ulsinus, sixth abbot of St. Alban's. There is also a district church at Frogmore, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £128, and a chapel-of-ease at the hamlet of Park-street. There are National and other schools. Many Roman coins have been found here, and in the churchyard was dug up a lectern in brass, now placed in the chancel.

"STUDHAM, a parish partly in the hundred of Dacorum, county Herts, but chiefly in that of Manshead, county Beds, 3½ miles S.W. of Market-Street, its post town, and 6 S.W. of Luton. The parish includes the hamlets of Humbershoe, Studham, and part of Market-Street. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely, value £150. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, contains a round stone font of curious workmanship. The parochial charities produce about £2 per annum."

"HUMBERSHOE, a hamlet in the parish of Studham, hundred of Manshead, county Herts; formerly in Beds."

"MARKET-STREET, a chapelry in the parishes of Caddington, Flamstead, and Studham, partly in the hundred of Dacorum, county Herts, and partly in that of Manshead, county Beds, 3 miles S.E. of Luton. This place was anciently called Merkgate, and comprises three hamlets On a hill where now stands an ancient mansion called "The Priory" was formerly a Benedictine nunnery founded in 1145 by Geoffrey, Abbot of St. Albans, on land given by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London. Its revenue at the Dissolution was £143 138. 8d., when the site was given to G. Ferrers. In the village, which consists of one long street facing, the road from London to Birmingham, several industries are carried on, as the manufacture of hats, bonnets, and straw plait. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Ely, value £227. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is situated in the Priory Park, and was erected about the middle of the last century. 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."

"WALTHAM ABBEY, (or Holy Cross), a parish and small market town in the hundred of Waltham, county Essex, also containing places in the county of Hertfordshire; 12 miles N.E. of St. Paul's, London, by road, or 15 by the Cambridge section of the Great Eastern railway, on which it is a station. This parish is situated, on the river Lea, and includes Waltham Forest, which belongs to the crown, also Hainault and Epping forests, part of what was the great wood or weald of Essex. The parish contains 11,870 acres, and includes, besides the town of Waltham, the townships of Holyfield, Sewardstone, and Upshire, or Uptra, and the ecclesiastical district of High Beech. The population of the parish in 1861 was 5,044, and of the town 2,873; the latter consists chiefly of one long street, containing the station of the division of the Metropolitan police, where petty sessions are held weekly on Tuesdays, and the courthouse in High Bridge-street, where a county court is held monthly. On the banks of the Lea are a government establishment for refining saltpetre and manufacture of gunpowder, several flour mills, and a manufacture for percussion caps; there are also malt kilns, a brewery, silk-mill, and a pin factory. It is said to owe its origin to Canute's standard-bearer, Tovy, who built here a church, which was reformed as a college by Harold in 1062, and subsequently converted by Henry II. into a mitred abbey for Augustine Canons, which continued to flourish till the Reformation, when its revenues were valued at £1,097 per annum. It was then surrendered by Robert Fuller, the last abbot, to Henry VIII., who gave the site to Sir A. Denny. All that now remains of this abbey is the nave with its two side chapels, constituting the present parish church of Holy Cross and St. Lawrence, and to which a square tower was added at the western end in 1558. It has recently been partially repaired, but funds are needed for further progress.

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."

WALTHAM ABBEY, (or Holy Cross), a parish and small market town in the hundred of Waltham, county Essex, also containing places in the county of Hertfordshire; 12 miles N.E. of St. Paul's, London, by road, or 15 by the Cambridge section of the Great Eastern railway, on which it is a station. This parish is situated, on the river Lea, and includes Waltham Forest, which belongs to the crown, also Hainault and Epping forests, part of what was the great wood or weald of Essex. The parish contains 11,870 acres, and includes, besides the town of Waltham, the townships of Holyfield, Sewardstone, and Upshire, or Uptra, and the ecclesiastical district of High Beech. The population of the parish in 1861 was 5,044, and of the town 2,873; the latter consists chiefly of one long street, containing the station of the division of the Metropolitan police, where petty sessions are held weekly on Tuesdays, and the courthouse in High Bridge-street, where a county court is held monthly. On the banks of the Lea are a government establishment for refining saltpetre and manufacture of gunpowder, several flour mills, and a manufacture for percussion caps; there are also malt kilns, a brewery, silk-mill, and a pin factory. It is said to owe its origin to Canute's standard-bearer, Tovy, who built here a church, which was reformed as a college by Harold in 1062, and subsequently converted by Henry II. into a mitred abbey for Augustine Canons, which continued to flourish till the Reformation, when its revenues were valued at £1,097 per annum. It was then surrendered by Robert Fuller, the last abbot, to Henry VIII., who gave the site to Sir A. Denny. All that now remains of this abbey is the nave with its two side chapels, constituting the present parish church of Holy Cross and St. Lawrence, and to which a square tower was added at the western end in 1558. It has recently been partially repaired, but funds are needed for further progress.

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.

"WYDDIALL, a parish in the hundred of Edwinstree, county Herts, 1½ mile N.E. of Buntingford. The village is mentioned in Domesday survey as Widehale, and appears to have been given by the Conqueror to Hardouin d'Escalers, ancestor of the Scaleses. It subsequently returned through the Widvilles to the crown, and having been given by Henry VIII. to the Gyllds, passed to the Ellises of Wyddiall Park, a demesne close to the village. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester, value £300. The church, dedicated to St. Giles, contains several stained-glass windows, a brass of Margaret Nevil, bearing date 1595, and monuments to the Gylld, Goulstone, and Ellis families. The register commences in 1660."

"BUNTINGFORD, a chapelry in the parishes of Aspenden, Layston, Throcking, and Wyddiall, hundred of Edwinstree, in the county of Hertford, 13 miles to the N. of Hertford, and about 33 miles from London. It is situated in a pleasant spot on the river Rib, and was formerly a market town. The business of the town is chiefly agricultural. Some of the inhabitants are engaged in the leather trade. Buntingford is the seat of a Poor-law Union, and a polling place for the county elections. Petty sessions are held in the town. The living is a perpetual curacy annexed to the vicarage of Layston, in the diocese of Rochester. The church, erected in 1626, is dedicated to St. Peter. There are chapels belonging to the Independents and the Society of Friends; a free grammar school founded about 1630, with a revenue from endowment of £50 per annum, and four scholarships at Christ's College, Cambridge; a girls' free school; National and British schools; almshouses for eight poor persons, founded and endowed by Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury; and a savings-bank. Buntingford was the birthplace (1618) of Bishop Ward, who also received his early education at the grammar school. Annual fairs are held here on the 29th June and 30th November."

"YARDLEY, a parish in the hundred of Odsey, county Herts, 4½ miles S.W. of Buntingford. It is watered by the river Beane. The land is chiefly arable, with a large portion of woodland, common, and waste. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester, value £250, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London, to whom the manor was given by King Athelstan. The church, dedicated to St. Lawrence, has some stained glass windows, and on the walls are some ancient fresco paintings. In the interior are monuments and the brass of a priest bearing date 1515. There is a National school. At Yardley Bury, the old seat of the Cornwalls and Chaunceys, Sir Henry Chauncey, the county historian, was born in 1700, and lies buried in the churchyard."

Search the GENUKI Gazetteer. [Click the Gazetteer link at the top of any page, not the search box which searches GENUKI pages.] 
The GENUKI Gazetteer covers the whole of England, Wales and Scotland and can be searched by place-name (or part of a place-name) or Ordnance Survey Grid Reference (six-figure, eg NZ183848). If there are multiple place-names matching the name you enter, you will initially be presented with a drop-down list of the matching place-names with their distances and bearings from London, England.

 

The GENUKI Church Database. [Click the Churches link at the top of any page, not the search box which searches GENUKI pages.]
This covers the whole of the UK and includes facilities for listing other churches and parishes within any specified distance of the parish church.

 

• The Vision of Britain site provides: A vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001. Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions. 
  - read the guide to searching places, units and locations 
  - check the sources on which this excellent site is based
• The downloadable PARLOC program is available from Dave & Chris Bennett's site.
• The Open Domesday project enables you to locates places (and their details) from the Domesday book.

 

GENUKI Gazetteer maintenance - Ireland

Basic information

All the Irish Civil Parishes and Townlands appear in the gazetteer, but for many we do not have an actual location. So as a starting point it uses the centre of the county when we have no location. Where we have a parish location we use that as a starting location for the townland. All very approximate but it helps guide reasearchers to the appropriate area and as we add locations it gets nearer and nearer to the real value. So most of this work is to achieve that. There is also other documentation describing how it is achieved.

• The status of each county section can be seen on the statistics page which helps identiy the amount of work required for each county.
• Details of the format of the source files and basic techniques are described in the Gazetteer maintenance page.
• Work already mostly done on developing the Irish counties is a useful adjunct.

Work required

The starting point for each county is to take a look at the Parishes column on the statistics page. If you hold the mouse over the numbers it explains what they represent. We want to get to the stage where there is just single number here where we've created a web page for each parish. If there is a name other than Phil Stringer in the Maintainers column then somebody is already working on this county.

In the end we want to get to the stage where there is nothing in the Approx column, and nothing in the No links column but it is easiest to do some of the tasks in a particular order.

Exact location for parish

In the Approx column, if there is a number marked Parishes with an approximate location this is the simplest one to resolve first. It is those parishes that had a location in our original data and location should be nearly right. Click the number for the names of the parishes, and click each name to see a page with links to online maps. Select This place shown on a Google map. Zoom the map appropriately and drag the icon to where you think the centre of that place is. You then have the correct value to go the csv file and can change the Approx field (column C)from Y to N. If you find the Google map does not take you to a place and ther is none nearby on the map, then perhaps then perhaps an error was made in the past. So use the instructions in the next step for finding the centre location of the parish.

Parishes where we need a location

These can be identified in the Parishes column, and are labelled Civil parishes for we don't yet have a location. Click the number and see the list of names. Click a name to take you to links to online maps, the ones in the south are much easier to do.

• North - the Irish Times site is your friend as it shows where they all are on a map. It is not always easy to relate this to the modern Google map as it does not show place names. But you need to open a Google map in another browser tab and pan it and move the marker to then centre of the area shown on the Irish Times. You then have the centre location of the parish.
• South - follow the link to the Irish Ordnance survey site. Use the search menu on the right, and select the county and then Historic parishes. That shows you a historic map of the parish along with its boundaries. Pan the map until the red cross is in the centre of the parish. Don't pan it again on subsequent clicks as it changes the location that you've just found!. I find it best then to go to the 'Preview map series' menu on the right and select 'Wind report' it changes to a modern map which is much easier to relate to the Google map. Zoom, without, panning so that you can see place names that you can relate to a Google map that you've open in another tab. So look at that the OS map with one eye and move the marker on the Google map to the same location. You then have the centre location of the parish.

Cut and paste the location (Lat/Lon) into column B in the csv file for that parish entry. Change the Approx field (column C) from Y to N. Now for all the townlands without a location in this parish, change the Approx field (column C) to P, and add the parish centre location to column B. This makes the most significant improvement to the gazetteer.

Places with no location at all

As updated versions of the csv file are updated the entries that need attention in the statistics file thankfully drop. At this point the Places with no location at all in the Approx column should now have disappeared. If not it is worth fixing these now as there will be very few left for this county. Sometimes you may see Market Town in column K with the name of a description in column L. Search the gazetteer for this place to read the description. It may tell you this is also a parish. If so copy column L into column L for the parish where it is missing and then you can probably just delete the duplicate Market Town entry. For others a Google search can help identify it and lead to a location.

Townlands with a parish centre location

We are now getting to the more tedious work, but once done it makes it much more useful for researchers. In the Approx column there is probably a significant number entitled Places with a parish location. This gives list of all the names which can be clicked to link to maps, such as Google centred on the parish centre, the value in that entry in the csv file. However going through this alphabetically can be slow and it isn't as easy to spot mistakes.

The easiest method I've found is to look in the csv file at all the entries in a parish, the smaller parishes being easier. Use the gazetteer to search for the entry for the parish and ask it to display all the places in the parish on a Google map. There will be townland names on the Google map which should match the ones you need to find. If none match then the parish location may be wrong! There do seem to townlands in other parishes with the same name as actual parishes. In the rare event that this has happened, then fix the parish centre location as described above. Drag and drop the marker on the map to find the location of the townlands and change the location field in the csv file and also change the Approx to N.

Start with the ones where we already have an approximate location as they show up reasonably easily to start with. Then compare the unknown townland names nearby on the Google map with the csv file. Where they match, drag and drop and you have another answer. Google does at times have two identical names close by. I tend to use the one in the larger font as that seems to be the older one. If both are the same size I drag to point mid-way between.

So what about the townlands that don't seem to be on the Google map? Well we can go to the Irish OS site and search for the townland and see where it is on the map. Be careful that the one you get is the one you want as there can be multiple townlands with the same name. Again a useful check is to look at adjacent ones on the map and see if they are in that parish in the cav file. The Irish OS technique can only be used for counties in the South as it doesn't have the countties and townlands in the search menu for the north. If it is a county in the North try the map provided by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. We haven't found a way to link into a location so you will need to zoom and pan to the parish location and then search for townland names. There does seem to be better coverage than Google, and it appears to have more accurate locations.

There will be some very small townlands that the Irish OS site doesn't have in the menu. If it is an island, then browse the Irish OS 6" historic map for the parish and pan and zoom across the wet areas. It is easy to find island names there. For tiny townlands that aren't islands, try a Google search as somebody may have described the location. Otherwise you are left with panning the historic 6".

There is also a technique that will find the townlands plotted on a Google map. Go to https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@?dg=dbrw&newdg=1 and put the place and county in the search bar. It normally finds it and shows a marker on a map with a rough outline of the townland. What you want is the location of the marker. So right click next to the marker and a menu will appear. Select What's here? and the lat/lon is placed in the search bar. I tend to compare that with other places in the parish to make sure it is nearby and so the right one.

In the larger parishes I find it useful to put in a framework of townlands, upload the csv file, and wait for the nightly update. Things are then clearer on the map the next day. There is less clutter and it is easier to finds ones that still need doing. You need to zoom in for Google to make some visible.

The remaining places with approximate locations

That ones that are left with approximate locations come from the CIA World Fact Book. Some will be duplicates of existing places, some geographic features and some places smaller than townlands. So take each one in the list, and select nearby places on a Google map.

• Look at nearby places marked on the map, and if a duplicate, remove it from the csv file.
• I look at all Cross Roads and tend to remove any that match the name of a nearby townland. If it is a new name check on the Irish OS map and zoom in when it usually becomes visible. You then know the exact location and can drag/drop the Google marker. It is also useful loohing at the historic 6" to see which parish it was in, and put that name in the Parish field. The CIA didn't always get the spelling right, so make any adjustments that are needed.
• If it is a named bridge, then I keep these setting the exact location, and filling in the Parish name.
• Then any small places I treat in a similar way.

It is during this phase that the towlands with parish boundaries running through them become visible as we have two or more markers at the same spot. Zoom in to make it clearer and perhaps drag one to the side to check the names and the parishes.

We only want the user to be presented with a single place at that location. We don't multiple gazetteer entries for any of these as we are trying to specify where they are, not to document an administrative hierarchy. But we can do our best to tell the user that it is in multiple parishes. So for the first entry for the townland put the names of the parishes it lies in, in the parish field separating the names with a colon ':' character (without quotes). Then delete the entries from the other parishes. We then have a single place listing all the parishes it is in.

Gotchas

There do seem to be some parishes split across counties. If you find one, get in touch with Phil as he has devised a technique to handle it but has not yet implemented it.

 

The Post Office's Postcode Finder

 

The Post Office no longer supports their postcode finder tool. Instead they advise: for the most up-to-date address and postcode details, please use your preferred mapping service such as Google Maps or Apple Maps, or use a search engine.

 

• The GENUKI Gazetteer covers the whole of England, Wales and Scotland and can be searched by place-name (or part of a place-name) or Ordnance Survey Grid Reference (six-figure, eg NZ183848). If there are multiple place-names matching the name you enter, you will initially be presented with a drop-down list of the matching place-names with their distances and bearings from London, England.
• A Gazetteer of British Place Names provided by the Association of British Counties. This comprehensive place-name index for Britain lists more than 50,000 places and gives the Ordnance Survey grid reference, the ancient or geographical County, and current local government information for each place name. There is comprehensive coverage of alternative spellings (including Welsh and Gaelic versions) and detailed notes specifically aimed at historians and genealogists. Appendices relate present day registration districts to local government areas and list those places which lay in a different "registration county" to their ancient County in the 19th century.
• The GB1900  Project - a crowd-sourced historical gazetteer based on the 1:10560 Ordnance Survey mapping of Great Britain
• GENUKI Church Database provides an online Parish Locator covering the whole of the UK. This includes facilities for listing other churches and parishes within any specified distance of the parish church.
• UK Placename Finder from Popular Archaeology includes details of 160,000 UK places.
• The archived copy of the BBC Domesday Project Reloaded website provides a method of searching the contents of the original BBC Domesday Gazetteer disk - a huge crowd-sourced description of the UK, dating from 1986 - by using the TNA Discovery Catalogue's results filtering facility.

Some historical gazetteers:

Lewis, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of England. 4 vols. London: S. Lewis and Co., 1831

Southall, Humphrey; Aucott, Paula; Fleet, Christopher; Pert, Tom; Stoner, Michael. GB1900: engaging the public in very large scale gazetteer construction from the Ordnance Survey “County Series” 1:10,560 mapping of Great Britain. Journal of Map & Geography Libraries, Vol. 13, No. 1, (2017), p. 7-28. [PDF]

Wilson, John M. The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. Six Volumes. Edinburgh, Scotland: A. Fullerton, 1870

The National Gazetteer: A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands. Virtue and Co., London (1868) 3 vols. [Full text - vol 1 (A-E), vol. 2 (F-M), vol. 3 (N-Z)]

Gazetteer of the British Isles. Edinburgh, Scotland: John Bartholomew and Sons, Ltd., 1966.