situated between the two. Indeed, the whole of "Barnet" is now almost
merged into one; there being houses or shops almost from Hadley High
Stone to a little S. from Cat Hill. The Station Road is a wide pleasant
thoroughfare stretching from New Barnet Station, G.N.R., to the main
road from London to High Barnet. The whole district is excellent ground
for the student of modern domestic architecture, the examples of diverse
schools and styles being endless. The stretch of valley between the
railway and High Barnet, now largely built upon, is a new civil parish
called Barnet Vale. On a gentle slope in the centre, off Potter's Road,
stands the new Church of St. Mark, in which services have been held for
twenty-four years, but which is still incomplete. _Lyonsdown_, an
ecclesiastical district founded in 1869, is scattered over high ground
S.W. from the station; it is almost wholly comprised of detached
residences and is considered exceedingly healthy. There is here a good
view, overlooking the stretch of hill and dale towards Cockfosters, New
Southgate, and the Alexandra Palace. The Church of the Holy Trinity,
erected in 1864, is Dec. and contains fine lancet windows to W. C. M.
Plowden, killed in Abyssinia. There are N. and S. porches, good of their
kind, and the apsidal chancel is well designed.
_Barwick Ford_ is on the river Rib, about 2½ miles N.W. from Hadham and
3 miles S.W. from Standon Stations, G.E.R.
_Bassett's Green_ (1 mile S.E. from Walkern Church) is a small hamlet
between Walkern Hall and Walkern Bury. There is no railway station
nearer than 5 miles, Buntingford, G.E.R., and Stevenage, G.N.R., being
each about that distance.
_Batchworth_ is a hamlet close to Rickmansworth Station, L.&N.W.R., at
the N.W. extremity of Moor Park (_q.v._).
_Batchworth Heath_, 1½ mile S.E. from Rickmansworth, is on the Middlesex
border.
_Batlers Green_ (¾ mile from Radlett Church, and 1 mile S.W. from the
station, M.R.) is in a pretty district, but contains little more than a
few scattered cottages and farms.
BAYFORD (3 miles S.W. from Hertford) is a parish and village on rising
ground, near the river Lea. It has a cruciform church, E.E. in design,
with facings of Kentish rag-stone, erected by W. R. Baker, Esq., in
1870-1. In the chancel are seven fine lancet windows of stained glass.
Note also (1) altar tomb and marble effigy to Sir George Knighton (d.
1612); (2) two palimpsest brasses, one bearing a figure in half-armour
and the other a figure in plate-armour and ring-mail skirt, of which the
age is conjectural; (3) the fine lich-gate. In the churchyard lies
William Yarrell, the great ornithologist (d. at Yarmouth, 1856).
BAYFORDBURY stands in a beautiful park, famous for its fine cedars and
pines, a little N. from the village. It is the seat of the lord of the
manor, H. W. Clinton-Baker, Esq., J.P. The house was originally erected
by an ancestor of the present owner, about 1760. Here are the portraits
of most of the members of the Kit Cat Club, painted by Sir Godfrey
Kneller; the MS. of the first book of _Paradise Lost_, and a collection
of letters of great literary interest, were recently sold to America.
_Bedmond_, or _Bedmont_, together with Sheppeys, forms a large hamlet 1
mile N. from the village of Abbots Langley, and nearly 2 miles N.E. from
King's Langley Station, L.&N.W.R.
_Bedwell Plash_ is a hamlet 1 mile S.E. from Stevenage.
_Beeson's End_ is pleasantly situated near the S. extremity of Harpenden
Common, and about 1¾ mile nearly due E. from Redbourn Station, M.R.
_Bell Bar_, a hamlet in the parish of North Mimms, is near Brookman's
Park, and about 2½ miles N. from Potter's Bar Station, G.N.R.
(Middlesex).
_Bendish_ lies on high ground, 2½ miles S.W. from St. Paul's Walden
(_q.v._). The nearest station is at Luton Hoo (Beds) about 4 miles S.W.
BENGEO (¾ mile N. from Hertford) is a village between the rivers Beane
and Rib; Ware Park is close by (N.E.). It is now in the borough of
Hertford. The old church dedicated to St. Leonard, is Early Norman;
there are very few churches of older foundation in Hertfordshire. It was
restored at several times between 1884 and 1893. The bell in the wooden
cote bears date 1636; a small Norman arch divides the nave from the
chancel; there are lancets and a Perp. window in the apse. The monuments
are mostly to local gentry. Eric, seventh Baron Reay, is buried in the
tiny churchyard. The new church, erected on the hillside in 1855, is of
Kentish rag. There are terra-cotta panels by Tinworth in the reredos.
The walk from Bengeo to Hertford, past the sandy warren-hills, so
beautifully clad with fir, larch, etc., with the Lea winding through the
low meadows on the left, is one of the finest in the county.
BENGEO (Rural) was formerly a part of the same parish as the above. Near
by, at Chapmore End, is the Hertford County Reformatory for boys.
_Bennett's End_ is the name of two small hamlets, one near Leverstock
Green (_q.v._) and the other near Hemel Hempstead (_q.v._).
BENNINGTON (4½ miles N.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) was once the
residence of Mercian kings. The village and neighbourhood are
picturesque; the roads from Walkern, Hertford and Knebworth meet where
a tiny triangular green is shaded by fine elms. The river Beane is 1
mile to the W. The church is at the S. end of the village; it dates from
the fourteenth century. The nave is wide, with clerestory; the narrow
chancel has a chapel on the N. side. The tower is embattled, and
contains a ring of eight bells. There are triple sedilia, and stalls of
carved oak in the chancel; what was _once_ a holy water basin is in the
porch. Note also (1) the oaken rood-screen, surmounted by a large cross;
(2) the memorial to the Cæsar family (1622-61); (3) the (supposed) tomb
of Sir John de Benstede (1432), a baron who sat in Parliament in the
time of Edward II., as we learn from Dugdale's _Monasticon_; (4) Carved
oak reredos. Near the churchyard a large house of red brick stands on
the site of the castle of the Benstedes, in ruins when Chauncy wrote two
centuries back. Bertulf, King of the Mercians, held a council here in
850. _Bennington Park_ (1¼ mile E.) is one of three deer parks in
Hertfordshire which figured in _Domesday Book_.
BERKHAMPSTEAD (Great) an interesting town in the W. of the county, is
situated on the little river Bulbourne, and is chiefly famous as the
birthplace of William Cowper, who was born in the rectory on 26th
November, 1731. The Grammar School was founded by Dr. John Incent in
1541. The castle, of which there are still ruins close to the L.&N.W.R.,
dates from before the Domesday Survey. Visitors must not expect to find
a castle here such as those at Carisbroke or Lewes. The ruins, although
of considerable extent, are fragmentary, and little more than the plan
of this stronghold can now be traced. The moats are double to the N.W.,
but triple elsewhere. Henry II. held a court here; and the castle was at
times the residence of many monarchs, particularly Edward III. The Black
Prince was a visitor here during his father's reign. The Church of St.
Peter, on the N. side of the High Street, is by local authorities
claimed to be larger than any parish church in the county, saving only
St. Albans Abbey; but this distinction is also claimed for St. Mary's,
Hitchin. The original structure was of great antiquity, dating from
pre-Norman times; but it was wholly rebuilt early in the reign of Henry
III. There are chantry chapels on either side of each transept; that
called "St. John's Chantry" dates from about 1350. Among many other
features of interest note (1) fine groined roof of northern chantries;
(2) lancet windows in the chancel, containing fourteenth century glass;
(3) the E. window, a memorial to the poet Cowper; (4) tablet to Ann
Cowper, the poet's mother; (5) brass to John Raven, Esquire to the Black
Prince; (6) altar tomb to John Sayer, head cook to Charles II.; (7)
mosaic reredos; (8) altar tomb and effigies of Richard Torrington (d.
1356) and Margaret his wife, in N. transept. During the restoration of
this transept in 1881 a portion of an ancient arch was discovered.
[Illustration: CASTLE STREET, BERKHAMPSTEAD]
The Grand Junction Canal is close to the river Bulbourne, and partly for
this reason many small industries are pursued in the town, such as the
making of straw plait, scoops and shovels of various sorts, army
tent-pegs, etc. The present rectory is on a small hill near the church,
to the S. of the High Street; it stands on the site of the former house,
in which Cowper was born, and the old well-house, called "Cowper's
Well," may still be seen. There is a good library in the Mechanics'
Institute. The almshouses, for six widows, were founded in 1681, by the
John Sayer mentioned above. The Kings of Mercia are known to have
resided and held courts here; King Whithred summoned a council to meet
at _Berghamstedt_ in 697.
BERKHAMPSTEAD, LITTLE (3 miles S. from Cole Green Station, G.N.R.), has
a stone church erected early in the seventeenth century. It has a wooden
belfry and spire. The building was restored in 1856-7, but contains
little of architectural or historical interest. There are, however,
several memorials, notably the altar table in memory of Bishop Ken, born
in the parish in 1637. On a hill N.E. from the church stands the tall
red-brick observatory erected by John Stratton in 1789, in order, as it
is said, that from its summit he might watch his ships in the Thames.
The tower has been called "Stratton's Folly".
_Bernard's Heath._ (See St. Albans.)
_Betlow_ is a lordship of Long Marston (_q.v._)
[Illustration: BISHOP'S STORTFORD]
BISHOP'S STORTFORD is in the extreme E. of the county and on the Essex
border. It is an ancient town, deriving its name from the ford over the
river Stort, and from the fact that William I. gave the town to Maurice,
Bishop of London. It is famous for its Grammar School, at which the late
Cecil Rhodes, a native of the town, was educated. The site of Waytemore
Castle, built by William I., is on a mound near the road to Hockeril,
where a low, wide flint wall is partly surrounded by a moat. The church
of St. Michael on Windhill is Perp.; it was restored in 1859. There was
a former church on the same site; the present structure dates from say
1420-40. The nave has six bays; the tower is pinnacled and has a ring of
ten fine bells. Chauncy's book has an interesting paragraph about this
church. "Three Gylds and a Chantry were founded in this church; the Gyld
of St. Mary; the Gyld of St. Michael; and the Gyld of St. John Baptist;
to which, An. 1476, Elizabeth Spycere gave Legacies, _viz._, to the two
former 13s. 4d. a piece, to the last 40s. These Saints had their altars,
and St. Michael his Tabernacle, on which much Cost had been bestowed;
but the Chantry was founded in the time of Richard III. and the
Settlement thereof cost much Money." Chancel and nave are separated by a
screen of carved oak; the font (Norman) was discovered during the
restoration of the church; there is a piscina in the S. aisle. The
clerestory was added and the chancel restored in 1884; on the chancel
floor is a brass to Lady Margaret Denny (d. 1648), "a maid of honour in
ordinary for five years to Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory". There is
also a memorial to Sir George Duckett, Bart. (d. 1822), who increased
the facilities for the navigation of the Stort, which is now navigable
by barges to the town. A cattle sale is held every Thursday, which is
market-day. The trade in malt is still very large. We read that in old
times a cross was erected on each of the four roads leading from the
town. The main thoroughfares are still in the form of a cross; going
down Windhill the visitor will find a bridge over the Stort before him,
and a main street on either side. The town can boast several of the
finest old inns in Herts.
BOREHAM WOOD (1¼ mile N.E. from Elstree) is a large and rather prettily
situated hamlet.
_Bourne End_, 1 mile W. from Boxmoor Station, L.&N.W.R., contains little
more than an inn, a coffee-room, and a few cottages standing beside the
Grand Junction Canal.
BOVINGDON (2½ miles S.W. from Boxmoor Station) is a large village, built
on the slopes of two hills, the centre of the village being in the
depression between them. The church dates from the end of the eleventh
century, but was rebuilt in 1846 in a Gothic style, with pinnacled W.
tower. Note (1) the effigy of an armoured knight under the tower, dating
from perhaps the middle of the fourteenth century; (2) brasses to the
Mayne family (1621-42). Some traces of a Roman encampment and villa are
shown on inquiry at a spot near the village.
_Bowman's Green_ (¼ mile N.E. from London Colney and 2 miles S. from
Smallford Station, G.N.R.) is a tiny hamlet near the river Colne and the
high road from Barnet to St. Albans.
BOXMOOR is a village about 1½ mile S.W. from Hemel Hempstead. The Grand
Junction Canal flows between the village and the town. From the station,
L.&N.W.R., a motor car plies to and from Hemel Hempstead. Many Roman
remains have been found in the neighbourhood, particularly some remains
of two Roman villas, and many coins of the period of Diocletian. The
church, erected in 1874, is E.E. in design, and was planned by Mr.
Norman Shaw. It has N. and S. aisles and porches. There was an earlier
structure on the same site. Private residences are increasing so rapidly
that the place is now almost a suburb of Hemel Hempstead.
_Boydon's Hill_ adjoins the village of Aldenham.
_Bragbury End_ (1¼ mile E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet
on the Great North Road.
BRAMFIELD OR BRAINTFIELD (3½ miles N.W. from Hertford Station, G.N.R.)
is a parish and village. The church is E.E., standing on the site of an
earlier edifice; the present tower and spire were built in 1840, and the
church itself restored in 1870. We learn from Matthew of Westminster
that Thomas Becket held the living here as his first charge; a pond near
the church is called "Becket's Pond". _Queen Hoo Hall_, N.W. from the
village, is now a farmhouse, but was formerly an Elizabethan residence,
and gave the title to a romance partly written by Sir Walter Scott. The
neighbourhood is pleasant, and a pretty stroll may be taken either N.E.
to Woodhall Park or S. to Panshanger Park.
_Brandley Hill_ is 1 mile N.W. from Aston.
BRAUGHING has a station ¾ mile S.W. from the town, on the Buntingford
Branch of G.E.R. It is an ancient parish, the "Brachinges" of _Domesday
Book_, and was a Roman station. The church and few streets of which the
village consists are very picturesquely scattered on the S.W. slope of a
hill overlooking the river Quin, at the intersection of the Roman Ermine
Street and the road from Bishop's Stortford to Baldock. There was
formerly a market each week, dating from the reign of Stephen; also an
annual fair, abolished many years ago. The church, close to the
hand-bridge over the river, is largely Perp., and contains a few
brasses, none of which are important. It has been partially restored on
several occasions during the last eighty years, and some of the modern
workmanship is very good. Note (1) open tracery in carved oak screen;
(2) oak pulpit; (3) finely carved font of Caen stone; (4) old font
outside, near the tower. At _Cockhampstead_ (1½ mile E. from the church)
was once an Augustinian priory.
_Breachwood Green_ (about 3½ miles N.E. from Luton Hoo Station, G.N.R.,
and 1 mile S. from King's Walden Church) is a village on high ground
rather more than a mile from the Bedfordshire border. Pretty walks may
be taken S.E. to Bendish or S.W. to Chiltern Green.
BRENT PELHAM (1 mile from Essex border and 5 miles E. from Buntingford)
is an interesting village, formerly called Burnt Pelham because, as
tradition states, both village and church were destroyed by fire during
the reign of Henry I. Traces of the fire existed in the days of Norden
(_circa_ 1548-1626). The church--near which the old stocks may still be
seen--is E.E., with the embattled western tower so frequent in Herts. It
is locally famous for a tomb in the N. wall, said to mark the
resting-place of one Piers Shonkes, a serpent slayer who lived in the
time of William I. The tomb bears some allegorical figures, which have
been the subject of diverse interpretations. _Pelham Hall_ (E. E.
Barclay, Esq.), "a slight but well contrived House in this Mannor, near
the Church," was built in 1620 by one Edward Newport. It was once owned
by the Floyers or Flyers, a family to whose memory there are several
memorials in the church.
_Brickendon_ is now partly included in the borough of Hertford. There
are some imposing residences in the neighbourhood.
BRICKET WOOD is almost exactly midway between St. Albans and Watford;
it consists of some cottages scattered around an extensive wood and
common, crossed by L.&N.W.R. The station is ½ mile from the "wood,"
which is much frequented by picnic parties, school treats, etc. The
district is good ground for the field botanist and entomologist.
_Broadfield_ (2¼ miles N.W. from Buntingford) is a hamlet near Cottered,
on the hill N. from that village. The hall was once a much larger
structure (engraved in Chauncy, vol. i.); it was in part rebuilt in
1882, but still retains a portion believed to date from the fifteenth
century.
_Broadwater_ is a hamlet at the meeting of the roads from Stevenage,
Hatfield and Hertford. The nearest station is Knebworth (1¼ mile S.).
_Broadway_ (1½ mile S.E. from Berkhampstead) has a Dec. chapel-of-ease
to the parish church. It was erected in 1854. A short walk takes one to
the ruined chapel of St. Mary Magdalen on the Bucks border.
_Bromley_ (1½ mile S.E. from Standon Station, G.E.R.) is a small hamlet.
_Broomin Green_ (¾ mile S.W. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet
near the railway and ½ mile from the Six Hills. (See Stevenage.)
[Illustration: BROXBOURNE CHURCH]
BROXBOURNE, a large village near the river Lea and New River, is a
favourite fishing resort. The church stands on high ground overlooking
the mill-leat; it is a fine Perp. structure, dating from early in the
fifteenth century. The N. chancel-chapel was built by Sir William Say,
"in honor a ye Trenete the yere of our Lord God 1522"; his tomb is in
the chancel. The church was restored in 1857; the roof is of fine oak
panelling; the font, on eight pillars, is probably Early Norman. There
are brasses to a priest holding a chalice (_circa_ 1470); to another
priest in robes (_circa_ 1510); to Sir John Borrell, mace bearer to
Henry VIII. (d. 1521); to Sir John Say (d. 1478), and his wife (d.
1473). Note also (1) holy water basin near door; (2) marble effigies of
Sir Henry Cock (d. 1609), and his wife and family; (3) shield of arms in
centre of nave, with verses in English, bearing date 1630. From the
church a very picturesque walk may be taken through the village, to
Hoddesdon, by way of "Admiral's Walk," or beside the Lea past the
grounds of the Crown Hotel. _Broxbournebury_ (Major G. R. B.
Smith-Bosanquet, J.P.) is in the beautiful park, 1 mile W., and is a
large imposing mansion in Jacobean style. In Church Fields and on the
London Road are large rose-nurseries, producing an immense number of
roses yearly. The neighbourhood is one of the most pleasant in the
county.
BUCKLAND (3 miles N. from Buntingford, on the Royston Road) has an E.E.
church, built by Nicholas de Bokeland in 1348. The piscina at the E. end
of the S. aisle marks the site of what was formerly the lady-chapel. The
font is very possibly anterior to the Conquest; it is a roughly hewn
mass of Barnack stone. The low window in the S. wall of the chancel was
opened out during some renovations, and is thought to have been
connected with a confessional, as a coloured figure of the Virgin was
discovered on the wall. The theory, however, may be dismissed as purely
mythical. There is a brass to William Langley, a rector of the church
(d. 1478); a low-relief medallion by Chantrey to William Anthony (d.
1819), and a brass to one of the Boteler family (1451). The interior was
restored in 1875; the new W. door, of oak, was added in 1881.
_Buck's Hill_ (2 miles S.W. from King's Langley Station, L.&N.W.R.) is a
pretty hamlet. The nearest parish church is about 1¼ mile N.E. at
Chipperfield (_q.v._).
BULBOURNE, river. (See Introduction.)
_Bull's Green_ is 2¼ miles N.E. from Welwyn Station, G.N.R.
_Bull's Mill_ is 2½ miles N. from Hertford.
BUNTINGFORD, a small town on the river Rib, on the Royston-Cambridge
Road, consists chiefly of the long High Street and of a few small
by-ways, E. by the river side, and W. on the roads to Aspenden and
Cottered. Standing across the High Street is the cruciform church of St.
Peter, built in 1614-26 as a chapel-of-ease to Layston (_q.v._). An old
brass tablet still preserved represents the holding of a Divine service
in the church before completion. There is also a portrait of Seth Ward
(see Aspenden); the almshouses a few yards W. were founded by him in
1684. "This town," wrote Chauncy, "is of small antiquity, for there is
no mention of it in Domesdei Book, neither can I find anything of it
before Anno. 21. Edwd. III., when that King did grant one Market every
Week, and one Fair every Year in Buntingford, to Elizabeth de Burgo and
her Heirs, reserving the Yearly Rent of 6d." At the N. end of High
Street is the old pound. _Corney Bury_ (½ mile N.) is a fine old manor
house. Little of historic importance is to be gleaned in the town, but a
ramble from end to end is interesting by reason of the many quaint inns
and cottages, of all ages and styles, which meet the eye at every turn.
_Burnham Green_ is a hamlet 1¼ mile N.E. from Welwyn Station, G.N.R.
_Bury Green_ (1½ mile W. from Cheshunt Station, G.E.R.) is a small
hamlet near Theobald's Park; also
_Bury Green_, a hamlet 2½ miles W. from Bishop's Stortford.
_Bury Hill and Bury Mill._ (See Hemel Hempstead.)
_Bury Stede._ (See Hexton.)
_Bush Barrow_ is 1¼ mile N. from Wallington, on Metley Hill, midway
between the village and the Icknield Way.
BUSHEY is a large village, now practically the S.E. suburb of Watford.
The station (L.&N.W.R.) is in the hollow between the village itself and
High Street, Watford; cyclists must be careful of the descent towards
that town. Near the centre of the village is a small green and pond, and
here stands the partly Dec. church of St. James, rebuilt in 1871 by Sir
Gilbert Scott. The E.E. window, triple lancet, is to the memory of
Edwards Marjoribanks of the Hall (d. 1879) and his wife. Silas Titus,
whose name is remembered for his supposed authorship of the notorious
pamphlet _Killing noe Murder_, was born at Bushey and buried in this
church; there is a headstone to his daughter in the graveyard.
BUSHEY HEATH (1 mile S.E. from the above) is on the Middlesex border. It
is now an ecclesiastical district, formed in 1889; the church, an E.E.
brick structure, dates from 1838; the porches were added in 1882. The
district is very healthy.
_Bushey, Little_, is E. from Bushey Heath, which it almost joins.
_Bushey Mill_ is on the river Colne, ¾ mile N.E. from Watford Junction.
_Butchery Green._ (See Hertford.)
BYGRAVE (1¾ mile N.E. from Baldock Station, G.N.R.) has a small church
built of clunch from the Ashwell pits near by. It dates from perhaps
1320. Note (1) octagonal font (about 1420-40), (2) slab on floor to a
former rector, a Huguenot (d. 1725), and (3) the piscina in chancel.
Close by, at the Manor House, are the remains of some moats constructed
five centuries ago by the resident knight, Sir John Thornbury, because
of the many marauders that infested the neighbourhood. The place was
once a market-town; the market, granted by Henry III., was held each
Monday. The village lies on high ground, a few minutes' walk N. from the
Icknield Way.
CALDECOTE (about 3 miles N.N.E. from Baldock Station, G.N.R.) has a
Perp. church of rubble, containing a few memorials, a very finely
canopied holy water basin, and a font dating from, say, 1480.
_Caldicot Hill_ is 1 mile E. from Bushey Heath, on the Middlesex border.
CASSIOBURY PARK. (See Watford.)
_Catlip_ is a hamlet near Chorley Wood Station, Met.R.
_Chandler's Cross_ (2½ miles S.W. from King's Langley Station,
L.&N.W.R.) is a small hamlet.
_Chapmore End_ is 2½ miles N. from Hertford.
_Chelsing_ is near the river Rib, 3 miles N. from Ware.
_Cherry Green_ (1 mile S.W. from West Mill Station, G.E.R.) is a small
hamlet.