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HERTFORDSHIRE
[Illustration: ST. ALBAN'S ABBEY CHURCH]
HERTFORDSHIRE
_By_
HERBERT W. TOMPKINS
F.R.Hist.S.
_With Illustrations by_
EDMUND H. NEW
AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
AND TWO MAPS
"Hearty, homely, loving Hertfordshire"
--CHARLES LAMB
LONDON
METHUEN & CO. LTD.
_36 Essex St. Strand_
_Second Edition, Revised_
_First Published March 1903_
_Second Edition, Revised 1922_
TO
MY WIFE
PREFACE
In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a brief description of
Hertfordshire on the lines of Mr. F. G. Brabant's book in this series.
The general features of the county are briefly described in the
Introduction, in sections approximately corresponding to the sections of
the volume on Sussex. I have thought it wise, however, to compress the
Introduction within the briefest limits, in order that, in the
Gazetteer, I might have space for more adequate treatment than would
otherwise have been possible.
I have visited a large proportion of the towns, villages and hamlets of
Hertfordshire, and have, so far as possible, written from personal
observation.
I desire to thank Mr. John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., etc., for his
kindness in writing the sections on _Climate_ and _Botany_; Mr. A. E.
Gibbs, F.L.S., F.R.H.S., for his permission to make use of several
miscellanies from his pen, and Mr. Alfred Bentley of New Barnet for his
courtesy in placing some photographs from his collection at the disposal
of Mr. New.
VERULAM,
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA,
1903.
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
I SITUATION, EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES 1
II PHYSICAL FEATURES 2
III CLIMATE 11
IV FLORA AND FAUNA 15
V POPULATION 23
VI COMMUNICATIONS 25
VII INDUSTRIES 28
VIII HISTORY 31
IX ANTIQUITIES 33
X CELEBRATED MEN 39
DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN HERTFORDSHIRE ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY 45
INDEX TO PERSONS 235
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
THE RAILWAYS OF HERTFORDSHIRE _Front Cover_
THE ABBEY CHURCH, ST. ALBANS _Frontispiece_
(_From a Photograph by the Graphotone Co., Enfield_)
LEAFLESS BEECHES IN NOVEMBER, ASHRIDGE WOODS _To face page_ 2
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
ON THE RIVER COLNE 8
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
GRAND JUNCTION CANAL AT TRING--THE HIGHEST WATER LEVEL IN ENGLAND 10
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
THE PARISH CHURCH, ALDBURY 47
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
ASHRIDGE HOUSE 53
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
OLD COTTAGE, BALDOCK 59
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
CASTLE STREET, BERKHAMPSTEAD 72
(_From a Photo. by Mr. J. T. Newman, Great Berkhampstead_)
BISHOP'S STORTFORD 74
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
BROXBOURNE 79
CHORLEY WOOD COMMON 87
(_From a Photo. by the London Stereoscopic & Photo. Co._)
HATFIELD HOUSE 109
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
KING JAMES'S DRAWING-ROOM, HATFIELD HOUSE 111
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD 115
HERTFORD 117
HITCHIN 125
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
KNEBWORTH PARK 139
OLD COTTAGES NEAR MACKERY END 146
(_From a Photograph by the Author_)
RICKMANSWORTH 170
(_From a Photo. by the London Stereoscopic & Photo. Co._)
THE HIGH STREET, ROYSTON 172
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
THE FIGHTING COCKS, ST. ALBANS--THE OLDEST INN IN ENGLAND 178
(_From a Photo. by Messrs. Valentine, Dundee_)
BACON'S MONUMENT 183
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
RUINS OF BACON'S HOUSE 184
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
ST. ALBAN'S SHRINE 192
(_From a Photograph by the Graphotone Co., Enfield_)
STEVENAGE CHURCH 204
(_From a Photograph by Messrs. Frith, Reigate_)
WALTHAM CROSS 214
MAP OF HERTFORDSHIRE 233
INTRODUCTION
I. SITUATION, EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES
Hertfordshire, or Herts, is a county in the S.E. of England. On the S.
it is bounded by Middlesex; on the S.W. by Buckinghamshire; on the N.W.
by Bedfordshire; on the N. by Cambridgeshire; on the E. by Essex. Its
extreme measurement from due E. to W., say from Little Hyde Hall to
Puttenham, is about 38 miles; from N. to S., from Mobb's Hole at the top
of Ashwell Common to a point just S. of Totteridge Green, about 30
miles; but a longer line, 36 miles in length, may be drawn from Mobb's
Hole to Troy Farm in the S.W. Its boundaries are very irregular; the
neighbourhood of Long Marston is almost surrounded by Buckinghamshire
and Bedfordshire, that of Hinxworth by Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire,
and that of Barnet by Middlesex. Its extreme points are:--
N. Lat. 52° 5´ (N.)
E. Long. 0° 13´ (E.)
W. Long. 0° 45´ (W.)
S. Lat. 51° 36´ (N.)
Its area is 404,523 acres or 632 square miles. It is one of the
smallest counties in England, the still smaller counties being Rutland,
Middlesex, Huntingdon, Bedford and Monmouth. Hertfordshire is one of the
six home counties.
[Illustration: LEAFLESS BEECHES IN NOVEMBER, ASHRIDGE WOODS]
II. PHYSICAL FEATURES
Hertfordshire, being an inland county, is naturally devoid of many
charms to be found in those counties which have a sea-coast. But it has
beauties of its own, being particularly varied and undulating. Its
scenery is pleasantly diversified by many woods, which however are
mostly of but small extent, by swelling cornfields, and by several small
and winding streams. There is much rich loam in the many little
valley-bottoms traversed by these streams, and other loams of inferior
quality are found in abundance on the higher levels of the arable
districts. The soil in many parts, owing to the preponderance of chalk,
is specially adapted to the cultivation of wheat. Its trees have
elicited the admiration of many, particularly its oaks and elms, of
which colossal specimens are found here and there throughout the county,
and its beeches, of which the beautiful woods on the Chiltern slopes and
elsewhere in the W. are largely composed. The hornbeam is almost
restricted to Essex and Hertfordshire. The woods of Hertfordshire form
indeed its sweetest attraction in the eyes of many. The districts of
Rickmansworth, Radlett, Wheathampstead and Breachwood Green, among
others, are dotted with coppices of ideal loveliness, and larger
woods such as Batch Wood near St. Albans and Bricket Wood near Watford
are carpeted with flowers in their season, interspersed with glades, and
haunted by jays and doves, by ringlets and brimstones. Hazel woods
abound, and parties of village children busily "a-nutting" in the autumn
are one of the commonest sights of the county. It abounds, too, in quiet
park-like spots which are the delight of artists, and contains many
villages and hamlets picturesquely situated upon slopes and embowered
among trees. A large proportion of the birds known to English observers
are found in the county either regularly or as chance visitors, and will
be treated more fully in a separate section. The many narrow, winding,
flower-scented lanes are one of the chief beauties of Hertfordshire. The
eastern part of the county, though, on the whole, less charming to the
eye than the rest, contains some fine manor houses and interesting old
parish churches. Its most beautiful part is unquestionably the W., near
the Buckinghamshire border; its greatest historic interest centres
around St. Albans, with its wonderful old abbey church now largely
restored; Berkhampstead, Hertford, Hatfield and Hitchin. The county
contains rather less than the average of waste or common land; the
stretches of heath used for grazing purposes only aggregating 1,200
acres.
Among the finest panoramic views may be mentioned:--
(1) From the hill near Boxmoor Station.
(2) From the village of Wigginton, looking S.
(3) From the high-road between Graveley and Baldock.
(4) From Windmill Hill, Hitchin, looking W.
There were medicinal waters at Barnet, Northaw, Hemel Hempstead and
Welwyn, but these are now disused. Many other details touching
physiographical characteristics are mentioned as occasion arises in the
Alphabetical Gazetteer which follows this Introduction.
The Geology of Hertfordshire must be here summarised in few words. The
predominant formations are the Cretaceous and the Tertiary.
CRETACEOUS.--Ignoring the Gault, which barely touches the county, this
formation consists chiefly of Chalk-marl, Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk.
A series of Chalk Downs, an extension of the Chiltern Hills, stretches,
roughly speaking, from Tring to Royston, forming by far the most
prominent natural feature of Hertfordshire. The oldest rocks are in the
N.W.
_The Chalk Marl_ is superimposed upon the Gault and Upper Greensand
beds, which are confined to the western portion of the county. Its upper
layer passes into a sandy limestone, known as Totternhoe stone, which
has furnished materials for many churches in the shire. Ashwell, Pirton
and Tring may be named as neighbourhoods where this stratum may be
traced.
_The Lower Chalk_ is devoid of flints, and rests, in somewhat steeply
sloping beds, upon the Totternhoe stone. It forms the western slopes of
the Dunstable Downs, and of the Chiltern Hills. It is fossiliferous, one
of the commonest of its shells being the Terebratula.
_The Middle Chalk_, of resonant hardness, is laminated, and has at its
base the Melbourn Rock and at its summit the Chalk Rock. Nodules of
flint, greenish in appearance, and (rarely) arranged in layers, occur
sparsely in the Middle Chalk, which may be traced in the neighbourhood
of Boxmoor, Berkhampstead and Baldock, and also in a few other
districts.
_The Upper Chalk._--Although, as has been stated, the configuration of
Hertfordshire is very undulating, we are able to discern a general trend
in certain districts. Thus, there is a gradual slope to the S. from the
N.W. and central hills, a slope which comprises the larger part of the
county. This slope is formed of the Upper Chalk, a formation abounding
in layers of black flints. The chalk is whiter than that of the lower
beds, and very much softer. Fossil sponges, sea-urchins, etc., are
abundant in this formation.
TERTIARY.--Many of the chalk hills of Hertfordshire are strewn with
outlying more recent deposits which prove that the lower Tertiary beds
were more extensive in remote ages. The beds of sand and clay, of such
frequent occurrence in the S.E. districts, contain fossils so distinct
from those of the Upper Chalk that an immense interval must have elapsed
before those Tertiary deposits were in turn laid down.
_The Eocene Formation._--The _Thanet Beds_, of light-coloured sands,
present in some other parts of the London Basin, notably in Kent, are
wanting in Hertfordshire. There are, however, some widespread deposits
of loamy sands which may possibly be rearranged material from the Thanet
Beds.
The lowest Eocene deposits in the county are the _Reading Beds_. These
rest directly upon the Chalk and have an average thickness of, say, 25
feet. They may be traced E. to S.W. from the brickfields near Hertford
to Hatfield Park; thence to the kilns on Watford Heath and at Bushey;
they may also be traced from Watford to Harefield Park. These beds
contain flints, usually found close to the Chalk, and consist chiefly of
mottled clays, sands, and pebble-beds. Fossils are but rarely found.
From the Woolwich and Reading Beds come those conglomerate masses of
flint pebbles commonly called Hertfordshire _plum-pudding stone_. These
have usually a silicious matrix and were often used by the Romans and
others for making querns for corn-grinding. It is, perhaps, not
impertinent to mention here the opinion of geologists that during the
_Eocene Period_ a considerable portion of the land usually spoken of as
S.E. England was covered by the ocean.
Resting upon the _Reading Beds_ we find that well-known stratum called
the _London Clay_, which is of bluish hue when dug at any considerable
depth. It is found in some of the same districts as the _Woolwich_ and
_Reading Beds_, and from Hertford and Watford it extends to N.E. and
S.W. respectively until it leaves Hertfordshire. Its direction may be
approximately traced by a series of hills, none of which are of any
great height.
_The Drift._--In Hertfordshire, as elsewhere, the strata whose names are
so familiar to geologists do not form the existing _surface_ of the
ground. For the origin of this we go back to a comparatively recent
period, when disintegration was busily working upon the solid rocks, and
glaciers were moving southwards, leaving stones and much loose _débris_
in their wake. Rivers, some of which, as in the Harpenden valley, have
long ceased to run, separated the flints from the chalk, forming a
gravel which is found in quantities at Harpenden, Wheathampstead and St.
Albans, and is, indeed, present in all valley-bottoms, even where no
river now runs. Gravel, together with clays, sand, and alluvial loams,
forms, for the most part, the actual surface of the county.
_The Rivers_ of Hertfordshire are many, if we include several so small
as hardly to deserve the name. They are the Ash, Beane, Bulbourne,
Chess, Colne, Gade, Hiz, Ivel, Lea, Maran, Purwell, Quin, Rhee, Rib,
Stort and Ver.
1. _The Ash_ rises near Little Hadham, and, passing the village of
Widford, joins the Lea at Stanstead.
2. _The Beane_, rising in the parish of Cottered, runs to Walkern, where
it passes close to the church, and flows from thence past Aston and
Watton, and into the Lea at Hertford.
3. _The Bulbourne_ rises in the parish of Tring, passes N.E. of
Berkhampstead and S.W. of Hemel Hempstead and unites with the Gade at
Two Waters.
4. _The Chess_ enters the county from Buckinghamshire at Sarratt Mill,
and flowing past Loudwater joins the Gade at Rickmansworth. The Valley
of the Chess is one of the prettiest districts in the shire.
[Illustration: ON THE RIVER COLNE]
5. _The Colne_ rises near Sleap's Hyde, is crossed by the main road from
Barnet to St. Albans at London Colney, and by the main road from Edgware
to St. Albans at Colney Street. Thence it passes between Bushey Hall and
Bushey Lodge, flows through Watford to Rickmansworth where, uniting with
the Gade and Chess, it enters Middlesex near Stocker's Farm.
6. _The Gade_ rises near Little Gaddesden, skirts Hemel Hempstead Church
on the W. side, and passing King's Langley and Hunton Bridge, flows
through Cassiobury Park and joins the Chess and Colne at Rickmansworth.
7. _The Hiz_, rising at Well Head, S.W. of Hitchin, crosses that town,
joins the Purwell at Grove Mill and leaves the county at Cadwell.
8. _The Ivel_ rises near Baldock, flows to Radwell Mill and shortly
afterwards enters Bedfordshire.
9. _The Lea_ is the largest river in Hertfordshire. It rises near
Leagrave (in Bedfordshire) and flows through the county from N.W. to
S.E. Entering Hertfordshire at Hide Mill, it flows past Wheathampstead,
Hatfield, Hertford, Ware, and, leaving the county near Waltham Abbey,
enters the Thames at Blackwall. Its entire length is about 50 miles. The
waterway known as the _Lea and Stort Navigation_ is navigable to
Bishop's Stortford.
10. _The Maran_, or _Mimram_, rises in the parish of King's Walden,
skirts Whitwell on the N., running parallel with the village street, and
passing through Welwyn and near Tewin enters the Lea at Hertingfordbury.
11. _The Purwell_, or _Pirall_, rises in the parish of Ippollits and
passing W. of Great Wymondley runs to Purwell Mill, and joins the Hiz at
Grove Mill.
12. _The Quin_ rises in the neighbourhood of Wyddial, and passing
Quinbury, unites with the Rib at Braughing.
13. _The Rhee_, rising a little E. of Ashwell, has but a few miles to
flow before it enters Cambridgeshire.
14. _The Rib_ rises at Corney Bury, flows E. of Buntingford, thence
turning W. it flows under the bridge at the _Adam and Eve_, runs to
Westmill, Standon and Thundridge, finally uniting with the Lea at
Hertford.
15. _The Stort_ enters Hertfordshire from Essex at a point near Cannon
Wood Mill, and after passing through Bishop's Stortford forms the
extreme E. boundary of the county for some distance before quitting it
near Cheshunt.
16. _The Ver_ rises near Flamstead, is crossed by the Dunstable Road,
N.W. of Redbourn, then recrossed by it. It then skirts St. Albans on the
S. and joins the Colne near Park Street.
In addition to the cutting of the _Lea and Stort Navigation_ already
mentioned, there are other artificial waterways:--
_The Aylesbury Canal_ (a branch of the Grand Junction Canal) crosses the
extreme western neck of the county, from S. of Puttenham to S. of
Gubblecote.
[Illustration: GRAND JUNCTION CANAL AT TRING
_The highest water level in England_]
_The Grand Junction Canal_ is largely utilised by barges traversing the
W. of Hertfordshire. It is conspicuous at Rickmansworth, Boxmoor, and
Berkhampstead; it enters Bedfordshire near Marsworth Reservoir.
_The New River_ was constructed by Sir Hugh Myddelton, a London
goldsmith, in 1609-13, and is largely fed by springs at Chadwell near
Hertford. Its course in Hertfordshire is mostly close to and parallel
with that of the Lea. The New River caused the financial ruin of its
projector; one of its shares is now worth a large fortune. The whole
story of this undertaking is very interesting; but as the New River was
cut in order to bring water to London that story belongs to a volume on
Middlesex.
III. CLIMATE
The chief elements of climate are temperature and rainfall. A general
idea of the mean temperature and rainfall of Hertfordshire, both monthly
and annual, may be gained from an inspection of Bartholomew's _Atlas of
Meteorology_ (1899). From that work it appears that the mean annual
temperature of the county, if reduced to sea-level (that is, the
theoretical mean for its position) would be 50° or a little above it,
but that the actual mean varies from 46°-48° on the Chiltern Hills to
48°-50° in the rest and much the greater part of Hertfordshire; also
that the mean annual rainfall is between 25 and 30 inches, the latter
amount only being approached towards the Chilterns. Thus altitude is
seen to have a great effect on both these elements of climate.
Hertfordshire is hilly though not mountainous, a great extent of its
surface being considerably elevated above sea-level, with a general
south-easterly inclination; it has a dry soil; is well watered with
numerous rivers of clear water--already enumerated--chiefly derived from
springs in the Chalk; is well but not too densely wooded; and its
atmosphere is not contaminated by manufacturing towns. It thus maintains
the reputation for salubrity which it gained more than three centuries
ago, our earliest county historian, Norden, remarking on the "salutarie"
nature of the "aire".
Observations taken at the following meteorological stations during the
twelve years 1887 to 1898 have been printed annually in the
_Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society_, and a brief
summary of some of the chief results will here be given.
_Royston_ (London Road): lat. 52° 2´ 34´´ N.; long. 0° 1´ 8´´ W.; alt.
301 feet; observer, the late Hale Wortham, F.R.Met.Soc.
_Berkhampstead_ (Rosebank): lat. 51° 45´ 40´´ N.; long. 0° 33´ 30´´ W.;
alt. 400 feet; observer, Edward Mawley, F.R.Met.Soc.
_St. Albans_ (The Grange): lat. 51° 45´ 9´´ N.; long. 0° 20´ 7´´ W.;
alt. 380 feet; observer, John Hopkinson, Assoc.Inst.C.E.
_Bennington_ (Bennington House): lat. 51° 53´ 45´´ N.; long. 0° 20´ 7´´
W.; alt. 407 feet; observer, Rev. Dr. Parker, F.R.Met.Soc.
_New Barnet_ (Gas Works): lat. 51° 38´ 5´´ N.; long. 0° 10´ 15´´ W.;
alt. 212 feet; observer, T. H. Martin, M.Inst.C.E.
1. _Temperature._--The mean temperature of Hertfordshire, as deduced
from the above observations, is 48.3°. It has varied from 47.0° in 1887
to 50.2° in 1898. The mean daily range is 15.9°. It was the least
(14.2°) in 1888, and the greatest (18.1°) in 1893. The mean temperature
of the seasons is as follows: spring 46.6°, summer 60.2°, autumn 49.2°,
winter 37.2°. The warmest month is July, with a mean temperature of
61.0°; the coldest is January, with a mean of 36.1°. August is very
little colder than July. In these two months only has the temperature
never been below freezing-point (32°). In December and January only has
it never exceeded 62°. It increases most rapidly during the month of
May, and decreases most rapidly during September and October.
2. _Humidity._--The relative humidity of the air, that is the amount of
moisture it contains short of complete saturation which is represented
by 100, is, at 9 A.M., 82. It has varied from 78 in 1893 to 85
in 1888 and 1889. The air is much drier in spring and summer (78 and 75)
than it is in autumn and winter (86 and 89). There is the least amount
of moisture in the air from April to August (74 to 78), and the greatest
from November to January (90).
3. _Cloud._--The mean amount of cloud at 9 A.M., from 0 (clear sky) to
10 (completely overcast), is 6.7. It has varied from 6.0 in 1893 to 7.4
in 1888. Spring, summer, and autumn are about equally cloudy (6.5 to
6.6), and winter is considerably more so (7.2). The sky at 9 A.M. is
brightest in September (6.0) and most cloudy in November and January
(7.5).
4. _Sunshine._--At Berkhampstead only have records of bright sunshine
been taken for the whole of the twelve years. Throughout the year the
sun shines brightly there for nearly four hours a day (3.9). The average
duration in spring is 5.0, in summer 5.8, in autumn 3.2, and in winter
1.6. The duration is least in December and greatest in May; the sun
shining for rather more than an hour a day in December and nearly six
hours and a half in May. An apparent discrepancy between this and the
preceding section is due to a bright day often following a cloudy
morning and _vice versâ_.
5. _Wind._--The prevailing direction of the wind, as recorded at
Berkhampstead, St. Albans and Bennington, is from S.W. (sixty-one days
in the year) to W. (sixty-two days), and the next most frequent winds
are N. to N.E. and S. (each about thirty-seven days). The least frequent
are S.E. (twenty-five days). About forty-four days in the year are
recorded as calm.
6. _Rainfall._--Twelve years is much too short a period to give a
trustworthy mean for such a variable element of climate as rainfall, and
five stations are much too few to deduce an average from for
Hertfordshire. The average rainfall at a varying number of stations for
the sixty years 1840 to 1899 (from one station in the first decade of
this period to twenty stations in the last decade) was 26.15 inches. In
the driest year (1854) 17.67 inches fell, and in the wettest (1852)
37.57 inches. Spring has 5.40 inches, summer 6.97, autumn 7.87, and
winter 5.91. The driest months are February and March, each with a mean
of 1.65 inch; April is but very little wetter, having 1.69. The wettest
month is October, with 2.96 inches, and the next is November with 2.56.
The mean number of days of rain in the year, that is of days on which at
least 0.01 inch fell, for the thirty years 1870-99, was 167. Autumn and
winter have each about six more wet days than spring and summer. The
rainfall is greatly affected by the form of the ground, the southern and
western hills attracting the rain, which chiefly comes from the S.W., so
greatly that with a mean annual fall of about 26 inches there is a
difference of 3½ inches between that of the river-basin of the Colne on
the W. and that of the river-basin of the Lea on the E., the former
having 28 inches and the latter 24½. The small portion of the
river-basin of the Great Ouse which is within our area has rather less
rain than the average for the county.
IV. FLORA AND FAUNA
In his _Cybele Britannica_, H. C. Watson divided Britain into eighteen
botanical provinces of which the Thames and the Ouse occupy the whole of
the S.E. of England. The greater part of Hertfordshire is in the Thames
province and a small portion in the N. is in that of the Ouse.
In Pryor's _Flora of Hertfordshire_, published by the Hertfordshire
Natural History Society in 1887, which should be referred to for full
information on the botany of the county, these botanical provinces are
again divided into districts, the Ouse into (1) Cam, (2) Ivel; and the
Thames into (3) Thame, (4) Colne, (5) Brent, (6) Lea; both the larger
provinces and the smaller districts thus being founded on the natural
divisions of a country, drainage areas or catchment basins.
In the following brief notes a few of the rarer or more interesting
flowering plants of each district are enumerated.
1. _The Cam._--This is the most northern district. It is almost entirely
on the Chalk and is very bare of trees. The few plants which are
restricted to it are very rare. A meadow-rue, _Thalictrum Jacquinianum_,
and the cat's foot (_Antennaria dioica_) occur only on Royston and
Therfield Heaths; _Alisma ranunculoides_ and _Potamogeton coloratus_
only on Ashwell Common; and of the great burnet (_Poterium officinale_)
the sole record is that of a plant gathered near Ashwell in 1840.
2. _The Ivel._--This district is S.W. of that of the Cam, and the Chalk
Downs of that district are continued through it. Its rarer plants are
_Melampyrum arvense_, which occurs only in one spot S. of Ashwell;
_Smyrnium olusatrum_, which has been found near Baldock and Pirton; and
_Silene conica_, which was found near Hitchin in 1875. The white
helleborine (_Cephalanthera pallens_), the dwarf orchis (_Orchis
ustulata_), and the musk orchis (_Herminium monorchis_) occur on the
Chalk Downs.
3. _The Thame._--A very small tongue-like protrusion[a] of the extreme
W. of the county, in which are the Tring Reservoirs. Two of the species
confined to the district, _Typha angustifolia_ and _Potamogeton
Friesii_, are water-plants which occur only in these reservoirs or in
the canals which they supply. A rare poplar, _Populus canescens_, grows
by the Wilstone reservoir, and the man-orchis (_Aceras anthropophora_)
on terraces cut in the Chalk near Tring.
4. _The Colne._--A large district, comprising almost the whole of the
western portion of the county. _Diplotaxis tenuefolia_, _Silene nutans_,
and _Hieracium murorum_ grow only on old walls in St. Albans. Colney
Heath is our only habitat for a very rare loosestrife, _Lythrum
hyssopyfolium_, and also for _Teesdalia nudicaulis_, while there is but
one other locality, a different one in each case, for four of its
plants, _Radiola linoides_, _Centunculus minimus_, _Cuscuta epithymum_,
and _Potamogeton acutifolius_. The pasque-flower (_Anemone pulsatilla_)
grows abundantly on the Chalk slopes near Aldbury. The rarer orchids of
the district are the bog-orchis (_Malaxis paludosa_), the narrow-leaved
helleborine (_Cephalanthera ensifolia_), and the butterfly orchis
(_Habenaria bifolia_).
5. _The Brent._--The smallest district, a protrusion[b] of the county in
the S. entirely on the London Clay, and chiefly interesting owing to the
presence of Totteridge Green and its ponds. In these ponds grow the
great spearwort (_Ranunculus lingua_) and the sweet-flag (_Acorus
calamus_), the former, however, not being indigenous. The star-fruit
(_Damasonium stellatum_) formerly grew on Totteridge Green, and
_Chenopodium glaucum_ at Totteridge, but neither has lately been seen.
6. _The Lea._--The largest district, comprising the whole of the E. of
the county. The London rocket (_Sisymbrium irio_) occurs only in the old
towns of Hertford and Ware; the true oxlip (_Primula elatior_) near the
head of the River Stort; a very rare broom-rape, _Orobanche cærulea_, at
Hoddesdon, where it is parasitic on the milfoil; and an almost equally
rare bedstraw, _Galium anglicum_, on an old wall of Brocket Park. A rare
trefoil, _Trifolium glomeratum_, is known only at Easneye near Ware; and
Hatfield Park is our only locality for the water-soldier (_Stratiotes
aloides_) except where it has evidently been planted. Two species,
usually of rare occurrence, _Polygonum dumetorum_ and _Apera
spica-venta_, are frequent in the district.
The indigenous flowering plants of Hertfordshire number 893 species, 679
being Dicotyledons and 214 Monocotyledons. If to these be added 199
aliens, etc., the total number of species recorded is brought up to
1,092. The flora is essentially of a southern type, the northern species
being few in number. Owing to the dry soil, xerophiles largely prevail
over hygrophiles.
_The Ferns_ and their allies the horsetails and clubmosses are not well
represented, both the soil and the air of the county being too dry for
them. Another cause for the present scarcity of ferns is the proximity
of Hertfordshire to London, for they have been uprooted and taken there
for sale in cart-loads. We have twenty-four species of ferns and
fern-allies, but not one really rare. The principal varieties are
_Scolopendrium vulgare_, var. _multifidum_; _Athyrium filixfæmina_[c],
var. _convexum_; and _Polypodium vulgare_, var. _serratum_. _Equisetum
silvaticum_ is our rarest horsetail; and our only clubmoss is
_Lycopodium clavatum_.
_The Mosses_ are much better represented than the ferns, 175 species
having been recorded. The bog-mosses are represented by six
species--_Sphagnum intermedium_, _cuspidatum_, _subsecundum,
acutifolium_, _squarrosum_, and _cymbifolium_. _Tetraphis pellucida_
occurs in Sherrard's Park Wood, and _Polytrichum urnigerum_ in Hitch
Wood. _Seligeria pusilla_ has been found in an old chalk-pit in Brocket
Park, and _S. paucifolia_ on chalk nodules in the Tunnel Woods near
Watford. _Campylopus pyriforme_ occurs in Berry Grove Wood, Aldenham,
and _C. flexuosus_ in Dawley's Wood, Tewin.
Of _the Liverworts_ (_Hepaticæ_) forty-four species are known to occur;
and the Stoneworts (_Characeæ_) are represented by seven species--two of
_Chara_, two of _Tolypella_, and three of _Nitella_.
_The Algæ_ have been pretty fully investigated, especially the
_Diatomaceæ_, of the 252 species of Algæ known to occur in the county,
156 belonging to that interesting family of microscopic plants. As an
illustration of their minute size it may be mentioned that a single drop
of water from the saucer of a flower-pot at Hertford, mounted as a
microscopic slide, was found to contain 200,000 separate frustules of
_Achnanthes subsessilis_, and it was estimated that these occupied only
one twenty-fifth part of the drop. Both species of _Chlamidococcus_ (the
old genus _Protococcus_), _C. pluvialis_ and _C. nivalis_ occur; and
the pretty _Volvox globator_ has frequently been found.
Of _the Lichens_ much less is known, only sixty-seven species having
been recorded. The most noteworthy are _Calicium melanophæum_, found on
fir-trees in Bricket Wood; _Peltigera polydactyla_, on moss-covered
ground in Oxhey Woods, Watford; _Lecanora phlogina_, in the Tunnel
Woods, Watford; and _Pertusaria globulifera_, on trees in the same woods
and also in Bricket Wood. As woods in the vicinity of Hertford and of
Watford only have been searched for lichens, our list ought to be
largely increased by investigation in other parts of the county.
Of _the Fungi_ our chief knowledge is derived from lists of species
collected at Fungus Forays of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society
and from records of the Mycetozoa by Mr. James Saunders. The number of
species recorded for the county is 735, of which fifty-eight are
"myxies". Of the Hymenomycetes, or mushroom-like fungi, some very
noteworthy finds have been made, nearly all at Forays of the county
society. They include two species new to Britain, _viz._, _Agaricus
(Nolania) nigripes_, found in Aldenham Woods, Watford, and _Ag.
(Hypholoma) violacea-ater_, in Gorhambury Park, St. Albans (by the
present writer). Hertfordshire has also furnished the second British
records for _Ag. (Lepiota) gliodermus_ (Broxbourne Woods), _Ag.
(Leptonia) euochrous_ (Ashridge Woods), _Ag. (Psathyrella) aratus_
(Sherrard's Park, Welwyn), and _Paxillus Alexandri_ (Hatfield Park),
this species having first been recorded from Hatfield Park, Essex; and
the second and third British record for _Agaricus (Clytocybe) Sadleri_
(Ashridge Park and Cassiobury Park). The very rare _Strombilomyces
strombilaceus_ has been found in Grove Park, Watford, and the still
rarer _Peziza luteo-nitens_ on the Chalk slopes between Aldbury and
Ashridge Park. Lastly it may be mentioned that Mr. Saunders added the
"myxie" _Physarum citrinum_ to the British fungus-flora from specimens
found by him at Caddington and Welwyn.
_The Birds_ of Hertfordshire have been carefully observed, and the
appearance of rare visitors has been duly recorded. At a lecture
delivered at St. Albans in 1902, Mr. Alan F. Crossman, F.L.S., F.Z.S.,
stated that 212 species had been known to visit the county, and
mentioned, _inter alia_, that the kingfisher is more numerous in
Hertfordshire than formerly, that the heron nested in the county for the
first time in 1901, and that the appearance of the bearded titmouse had
been noticed on but three occasions. During the last forty years the
following birds, among others, have been noticed as occasional
visitants: the storm-petrel (_Procellaria pelagica_), golden oriole
(_Oriolus galbula_), whooper-swan (_Cygnus musicus_), snow-bunting
(_Plectrophanes nivalis_), greater spotted woodpecker (_Picus major_),
black tern (_Hydrochelidon nigra_), great northern diver (_Colymbus
glacialis_), herring-gull (_Larus argentatus_), cormorant
(_Phalacrocorax carbo_), tufted duck (_Fuligula cristata_), hoopoe
(_Upopa epops_), crossbill (_Loxia curvirostra_), sheldrake (_Tadorna
cornuta_), Guillemot[d] (_Lornvia troile_), Pallas' sandgrouse (_Syrrhaptes
paradoxus_), rock thrush (_Monticola saxatilis_), black redstart
(_Ruticilla titys_), Dartford warbler (_Silvia undata_), grasshopper
warbler (_Locustella nævia_)[d], waxwing (_Ampelis garrulus_), twite
(_Linota flavirostris_), hen harrier (_Circus cyaneus_), buzzard (_Buteo
vulgaris_), redshank (_Totanus calidris_), greenshank (_Totanus
cunescens_) and the little auk (_Mergulus alle_).
The lapwing is thought to be increasing in numbers; the writer
frequently observed considerable flocks during his recent rambles in the
county. Finches are perhaps as numerous in Hertfordshire as in any other
county of equal size; the large flocks of hen chaffinches that haunt the
farmyards in winter being quite a notable feature. The goldfinch, it is
to be feared, is rapidly becoming scarcer; as are also the jay, the
woodcock and other birds much more numerous a few years back. Fieldfares
and redwings visit the county in great numbers from the N. during the
winter; one morning in the winter of 1886 the writer saw many thousands
of fieldfares pass over St. Albans from the direction of Luton. The
redwing, being largely insectivorous, is often picked up dead in the
fields when the frost is unusually severe and food proportionally
difficult to obtain.
The presence of many woods and small streams attracts a good proportion
of the smaller English migrants; the nightingale and the cuckoo are
heard almost throughout the county. Moorhens, coots and dabchicks are
abundant; the reed-sparrow is heard only in a few districts. Titmice,
great, blue and long-tailed, are well distributed.
V. POPULATION
Comparatively little peculiar to the county is known of the early
inhabitants of Hertfordshire. They seem from the earliest times to have
been scattered over the county in many small groups, rather than to have
concentrated at a few centres. Singularly enough, this almost uniform
dispersion of population is still largely maintained, for, unlike so
many other counties, Hertfordshire has not within its borders a single
large town. The larger among them, _i.e._, Watford, St. Albans, Hitchin,
Hertford and Bishop's Stortford, are not collectively equal in
population to even such towns as Bolton, Halifax or Croydon. Another
feature to be noted is that, owing to the county's proximity to London,
it is now the home of persons of many nations and tongues, and only in
the smaller villages between the railroads are there left any traits of
local character or peculiarities of idiom. It is hardly necessary to say
that this conglomeration of peoples is common to all the home counties,
though mostly so, as I venture to think, in Hertfordshire and Surrey.
The Essex peasant is still strongly differentiated from his neighbours.
Grose, writing towards the end of the eighteenth century, stated that
the population of Hertfordshire was 95,000. They must have been well
dispersed, for he tells us that the county contained at that period 949
villages; by the word "village," however, he seems to mean any separate
community, including small hamlets. Some interesting figures are to be
found in Tymms's _Compendium of the History of the Home Circuit_. He
states that in 1821 the county contained 129,714 inhabitants, comprising
26,170 families and living in 23,687 houses. Of these families no fewer
than 13,485 were engaged in agriculture. From the same source I quote
the following figures relating to the year 1821:--
Houses. Inhabitants.
Hemel Hempstead 1,012 5,193
Watford 940 4,713
Hitchin 915 4,486
St. Albans 735 4,472
Cheshunt 847 4,376
Hertford 656 4,265
In 1881 the population of the county was 203,069; in 1891 it had
increased by about one-eleventh to 220,162; in 1921 it was 333,236.
In the days of William I. the whole of the possessions and estates of
Hertfordshire belonged to the King and forty-four persons who shared his
favour, amongst whom may be mentioned the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Bishops of London, Winchester, Chester, Bayeux and Liseux, and the
Abbots of Westminster, Ely, St. Albans, Charteris and Ramsey.
To go as far back as the Heptarchy, we find the land mostly owned by
Mercians, East Saxons and by the Kings of Kent, and thus there gradually
sprang up that "Middle English" population which for so long formed a
large proportion of the inhabitants of Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Essex.
How thoroughly such persons separated into small communities and settled
down in every part of the county may be ascertained by the many "buries"
found at a little distance from the town or village--Redbourn-bury,
Ardeley-bury, Bayford-bury, Langley-bury, Harpenden-bury, etc.
VI. COMMUNICATIONS
1. _Roads._--Hertfordshire, as one of the home-counties, is crossed by
many fine roads from the N.E., E. and N.W., as they gradually converge
towards their common goal--London. Among them may be mentioned the Old
North Road, from Royston through Buntingford and Ware to Waltham Cross;
the Great North Road from Baldock through Stevenage, Welwyn and Hatfield
to Barnet; and the Dunstable Road through Market Street, Redbourn and
St. Albans, which meets the last-mentioned road at Barnet.[1] We may
contrast these roads at the present day with the rough paths infested
with robbers existing in the days when the country between Barnet and
St. Albans was little better than a continuous, tangled forest; or even
with the same roads in the days when Evelyn and Pepys frequently rode
along them--and found them exceedingly bad. The cyclist wishing to ride
northwards through Hertfordshire has comparatively stiff hills to mount
at Elstree, High Barnet, Ridge, near South Mimms, and at St. Albans. He
should also beware of the descent into Wheathampstead, of the dip
between Bushey and Watford, and of the gritty roadways in the
neighbourhood of Baldock. Most of the roads are well kept, particularly
since they have been cared for by the County Council, and the
traveller's book at the inn usually contains fewer anathemas touching
the state of the highways than in some other counties which might be
named.
[Footnote 1: There has been much dispute as to the exact trend of the
"Great North Road". After careful inquiry I believe that the above
paragraph states the case correctly. Much misunderstanding has doubtless
arisen by confounding the "Old" with the "Great" North Road.]
_Railways._--Few counties in England are so well served with railroad
communications; the London and North Western, Midland, Great Northern
and Great Eastern running well across its face.
_The London and North Western_ enters the county ½ mile N.W. of Pinner,
and has stations on its main route at Bushey, Watford, King's Langley,
Boxmoor, Berkhampstead and Tring. It crosses the Bedfordshire border
near Ivinghoe. From Watford it has a branch to Rickmansworth; and to
Bricket Wood, Park Street and St. Albans; it has also a station at
Marston Gate, on its branch line to Aylesbury.
_The Midland_ enters the county during its passage through the Elstree
tunnel and runs nearly due N., having stations at Elstree, Radlett, St.
Albans and Harpenden. It has also a branch with stations at Hemel
Hempstead and Redbourn.
_The Great Northern_ main line crosses a small tongue of the county upon
which it has stations at Oakleigh Park and New Barnet. It then traverses
the Hadley Wood district of Middlesex, entering Hertfordshire again at
Warren Gate, and has stations at Hatfield, Welwyn, Knebworth, Stevenage
and Hitchin. From Hatfield it has three branches: (1) to Smallford and
St. Albans; (2) to Ayot, Wheathampstead and Harpenden; (3) to Cole
Green, Hertingfordbury and Hertford. At Hitchin it has a branch to
Baldock, Ashwell and Royston.
_The Great Eastern_ enters the county at Waltham Cross and skirts the
whole of the S.E. quarter, running on Essex soil from near the Rye House
almost to Sawbridgeworth. It has stations in Hertfordshire at Waltham
Cross, Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford. It
enters Essex again near the last-named station. It has also important
branches, (1) from Broxbourne to Rye House, St. Margaret's, Ware, and
Hertford; (2) from St. Margaret's to Mardock, Widford, Hadham, Standon,
Braughing, West Mill and Buntingford.
In addition, the Metropolitan Railway has an extension which crosses the
S.W. extremity of the county, having stations at Rickmansworth and
Chorley Wood. The Great Northern Railway has a branch from Finsbury Park
to High Barnet, with a station at Totteridge.
VII. INDUSTRIES
1. _Agriculture._--Charles Lamb used no mere haphazard expression when
he wrote of Hertfordshire as "that fine corn county". Forty years ago
the county contained 339,187 acres under arable cultivation, of which
considerably more than half were utilised for corn; and the proportion
thus used is still much larger than might be supposed. (In 1897 it
amounted to about 125,000 acres.) At the same period there were about
60,000 acres under wheat alone; for this grain, of which a large white
variety is much cultivated, the county has long been famous. To this
circumstance the village of Wheathampstead is indebted for its name.
Barley and oats are also staple crops. The first Swede turnips ever
produced in England were grown on a farm near Berkhampstead. Watercress
is extensively cultivated, enormous quantities being sent into London
from St. Albans, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhampstead, Welwyn and many other
districts. Much manure is brought to the farms from the London stables,
and by its aid large second crops of vegetables are frequently obtained.
Clover, turnips and tares may be mentioned among other crops
prominently cultivated. Fruit is also sent to London, particularly from
the district lying between Tring, Watford and St. Albans, but none of
the orchards are large.
The number of pigs reared in the county is--or was quite
recently--rather above the average (per 100 acres under cultivation) for
all England; the number of cattle rather below, and of sheep much below,
this average.
2. _Manufactures_ are fairly numerous.
(_a_) _Straw Plait_ has for over 200 years been extensively made by hand
for the Luton dealers. The wages earned by peasant girls and women in
this employment were formerly high; 100 years ago a woman, if dexterous,
might earn as much as £1 a week, but the increase in machinery and the
competition from foreign plait has almost destroyed this cottage
industry in some districts. During the last four decades several large
straw hat manufactories have been erected in St. Albans, and the trade
enlarged, although the conditions of production are altered.
(_b_) _Malting_ is still extensively carried on at Ware, which has been
the centre of the industry for many years; it is said, indeed, to be the
largest malting town in England. There are nearly 100 malting houses,
many of them being beside the River Lea, navigable from this town for
barges W. to Hertford and S. to London. There are extensive _Breweries_
at St. Albans, Watford, Hertford, High Barnet, Baldock, Hitchin,
Hatfield, Tring, Berkhampstead, and other places.
(_c_) _Brick Fields_ are worked at Watford, St. Albans, Hemel Hempstead,
Broxbourne, Bishop's Stortford, Hitchin and elsewhere.
(_d_) _Brushes_ of many kinds are manufactured at St. Albans and
Berkhampstead.
(_e_) _Hurdles_ are made at Barkway, Croxley Green, Breachwood Green,
Chorley Wood, Albury, and at one or two other places.
(_f_) _Iron Foundries_ are at Hertford, Ippollitts, Royston, Colne
Valley (Watford), Hitchin and Puckeridge.
(_g_) _Paper_ is made at Croxley Mills, King's Langley, and Nash Mills.
(_h_) _Silk_ is made at the large mill on the River Ver, St. Albans, and
at Redbourn.
(_i_) _Photographic plates_, _paper_, etc., are made at Watford, Boreham
Wood and Barnet.
(_j_) _Lavender Water_ is made at Hitchin, from lavender grown in fields
close by.
_Gravel_ abounds in many districts, and pits are extensively worked at
Rickmansworth, Hertford and at Heath, Wheathampstead, Watford and
Harpenden.
There are _windmills_ at Cromer, Albury, Goff's Oak, Anstey, Arkley,
Much Hadham, Weston, Tring and Bushey Heath. _Water mills_ are too
numerous to specify, there being several on many of the small rivers
named in Section II.
VIII. HISTORY
Hertfordshire was formerly a part of Mercia and of Essex. Its share in
what is usually called "History" can hardly be called great; but many
interesting details of its story are recorded in the histories of
Chauncy, Salmon, Clutterbuck, and Cussans. Among smaller works the
following will be found useful: Cobb's _Berkhampstead_; Gibbs'
_Historical Records of St. Albans_; Nicholson's _Abbey of St. Albans_;
Bishop's _Hitchin and Neighbourhood_, and _Bygone Hertfordshire_ by
various writers.
The story of Hertfordshire may be said to commence with the sack of the
great Roman city of _Verulamium_ by the followers of Boadicea, Queen of
the Iceni[e] (A.D. 61). Our knowledge of the event is largely
drawn from Tacitus, and Dion Cassius, who give revolting details of the
torture of the inhabitants by the Britons. The martyrdom of St. Alban
(_circa_ A.D. 304) the Synod of Verulam (429), the second
destruction of that city by the Saxons towards the end of the sixth
century and the siege of Hertford by the Danes in 896, when Alfred the
Great grounded their vessels by cutting the river banks, are some of the
more prominent episodes of pre-Conquest times. William I., entering the
county from the direction of Wallingford, met the Saxon nobles in
council at Berkhampstead immediately before his coronation at
Westminster. The castles of Hertford and Berkhampstead were captured by
the revolted barons.
There was a dangerous insurrection of the peasantry in the days of
Richard II. Three important battles were fought in Hertfordshire, during
the Wars of the Roses: (1) At St. Albans on 23rd (?) May, 1455; (2) on
Bernard's Heath, St. Albans, 17th February, 1461; (3) near Chipping
Barnet, 14th April, 1471; these battles are mentioned more fully in the
Sections on St. Albans and Barnet.