of the old Priory, founded during the reign of William I. by Ralph
Limesy and by him conveyed to the Abbot of St. Albans, who placed here
six Benedictine monks under Ralph, who became their first prior. The
Priory was dissolved in the twenty-sixth year of Henry VIII.; but the
church was rebuilt by Thomas Willis in 1629. It was "demolisht by order
of the Bishop of Lincoln" towards the end of the seventeenth century.
The church of All Saints, on high ground E. from the town, was destroyed
by fire in 1891, when almost everything perished. It was immediately
rebuilt as a Perp. structure of Runcorn stone, and consecrated in 1895.
In the main, the plan of the old church has been followed, but the
aisles are longer than formerly; note the fine clerestoried nave of five
bays, and hexagonal N. porch. The old building contained monuments to
Sir John Harrison, Kt., Farmer of Customs to Charles I. (d. 1669);[4] to
Isabel Newmarch, maid of honour to Isabella, daughter of Charles VI. of
France and second wife to Richard II.; and to Johannes Prest, "porter"
(janitor) to Katherine, wife of Henry V. The two latter monuments were
removed more than 200 years ago. Note the beautiful chestnut trees in
the avenue near the church, and the many quaint epitaphs on the
tombstones in the extensive graveyard. The Church of St. Andrew is
modern; it occupies the site of an older Perp. edifice, originally
founded before the Conquest. Close by in the market place is the Shire
Hall, a large brick building of "questionable shape" erected towards the
close of the eighteenth century. Malting, brewing and general trade in
corn and its products form the larger part of the industries of
Hertford. Between this town and Ware is the spot where Cromwell put a
summary period to the insurrection of the "Levellers" by shooting a
ringleader named Arnald.
[Footnote 4: This Sir John Harrison erected the fine brick mansion in
Balls Park, S.E. from Hertford, once the property of Charles Townsend,
Secretary of State to George II. His widow built four almshouses at
Butchery Green, long ago decayed.]
_Hertford Heath._ (See Amwell, Little.)
HERTINGFORDBURY may be visited from Hertford, the station (G.N.R.)
being 1½ mile S.W. The village is pleasantly situated on the river
Maran, on the S. confines of Panshanger Park. The church, partly rebuilt
by Earl Cowper in 1890-3, was founded during the fifteenth century. It
contains little of architectural interest, but the monuments are
numerous: (1) marble mosaic altar tomb to Sir W. Harrington, with
alabaster effigies of himself and wife and inscription in rhyme; (2)
slab to Thomas Ellis (d. 1608) and Grace his wife (d. 1612); (3)
recumbent effigy in marble to Lady Calvert, wife of Sir George Calvert,
Kt., who died in 1622; (4) to Dr. Jonathan Browne, Dean of Hertford (d.
1643); (5) very ancient brass inscription beneath chancel arch to two
daughters of Robert de Louthe, and one of similar age to Robert de
Louthe and his wife. The Cowper Chapel, N. side of chancel, contains
many monuments to that family, particularly a fine alto-relievo by
Roubeliac to Spencer Cowper (d. 1727), chief Justice of Chester in 1717.
HEXTON (about 6 miles N.W. from Hitchin Station, G.N.R.) lies on a
tongue of the county surrounded W., N. and E. by Bedfordshire. The
Church of St. Faith, W. from the village, was rebuilt, with the
exception of the embattled tower, in 1824, as a Perp. edifice. The St.
Nicholas Chapel, N. side of chancel, takes the place of the chapel
bearing the same name in the former church. There is a memorial to Peter
Taverner (d. 1601), who was, I suppose, father to that Francis
Taverner, Esq., who compiled a record of the antiquities of Hexton and
set it in the chapel. Little space can be spared for excerpts in this
volume, but the details which Taverner brought together are so
interesting that I transcribe a part of them from a copy in my
possession:--
"Near unto the Roman military Way called Icknild or Ikenild-Street,
which passeth by this Parish upon a very high Hill is to be seen a
warlike Fort of great Strength, and ancient Works, which seemeth to have
been a Summer standing Camp of the Romans: And near it on the Top of
another Hill called Wayting-Hill, a Hillock was raised up, such as the
Romans were wont to rear for Souldiers slain, wherein many Bones have
been found. The Saxons call'd this Fort Ravensburgh, from a City in
Germany, whereof the Duke of Saxony beareth the Title of Lord at this
Day. And this Town, which the Britains perhaps call'd Hesk of Reed,
which doth abound much in this Place; the Sazons call'd Heckstanes-Tune,
that is the Town of Reed and Stones, if not rather Hockstanes-Tune, that
is, the Town of Mire and Stones, for old Englishmen, call deep Mire,
Hocks: Or may be from Grates set in Rivers or Waters before Floodgates,
which are call'd Hecks; neither is it unlikely but that the Danes made
some Use of this Fort, for a Parcel of Ground near thereunto is called
Dane-Furlong to this Day. Some of these Conjectures may be true, but
this is certain, that Offa, a Saxon King, of the Mertians about 795,
founded the Monastery of St. Albans, in Memory of St. Alban, and that
Sexi an honourable and devout Dane (as it is in the Chartulary of the
Abby) about Anno Dom. 1030, gave to the said Monastery the Town of
Heckstane-Tune and the Abbot of St. Albans held this Mannor in the time
of King William the Conqueror.
"This Vill at that time did lie in the Half-hundred of Hiz, and from
that time during the Space of 510 Years, the Abbots of St. Albans were
Lords of the Mannors now call'd Hexton. They were also Patrons of this
Church (dedicated to St. Faith, which Saint had her Statue erected over
a Fountain near this Church Yard, call'd St. Faith's Well) for John de
Hertford, the 23d Abbot, did appropriate this Church of Hexstoneston to
the said Monastery. The Cellarers of which Monastery kept the Court Leet
and the Court Baron, and received the Rents of the Demeasnes and
Customary Tenants of this Mannor; and the Sacrists had the disposing of
the Profits of the Rectory.
"The said Fort, which the common People call Ravensborough Castle, is
cast up in the Form of an Oval, and containeth sixteen Acres, one Rood,
and fifteen Poles of Ground, and is naturally strengthened with mighty
deep and very steep Combs, which the inhabitants call Lyn.
"The Town of Hexton is seated at the Foot of the Mountains, whence issue
many Springs of Water; the Mountains are a continued Rock of Stone."
HIGH CROSS (3 miles N. from Ware) is a village and parish on the Old
North Road. It has a modern Dec. church of grey stone, containing
several good stained-glass windows, but little of architectural
interest. _Youngsbury_, a beautiful but small park, S. from the village,
has a fine Georgian residence (C. B. Giles-Puller, Esq.). The little
river Rib skirts the park on the S. side. There is a small hamlet of the
same name 1¼ mile S.W. from[j] Radlett Station (M.R.).
_High Street_ is a small hamlet on the Cambridge Road, near the river
Quin. Braughing Station (G.E.R.) is 1¼ mile S.
_High Wych_ (2 miles N. from Harlow Station, Essex) has an E.E. church,
built in 1861; the marble reredos, finely worked, was added in 1871. The
trade in malt is large for so small a place.
_Highley Hill_ (1 mile S.W. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R.) is on the
Cambridgeshire border.
HINXWORTH, formerly Hamsteworde and Henxworth (4 miles N. from Baldock),
is close to the Bedfordshire border. The parish is very ancient. The
church of St. Nicholas was erected about 1400 on the site of an earlier
structure. It is a mixture of several styles, partly restored in 1881.
Note (1) two canopied Perp. niches in S.E. angle of nave, where was
formerly the lady-chapel; (2) brass to John Lambard, a master of the
Mercers' Company (d. 1487), and Anne his wife; (3) oak roof in
chancel, added in 1892; (4) rood-stairs. William I. divided the _vill_
between three Normans, Peter de Valoignes, Hardwin de Scalers, and
William Earl of Ewe, who owned much other property in Hertfordshire. The
vill was subsequently divided into two manors, one of which belonged to
William de Cantilupe, a Steward and Councillor to King John, and the
other, during the reign of Henry VII., to John Lambard mentioned above.
This manor was called Pulter; and the old house (now _Hinxworth Place_,
½ mile S. from the village) was once inhabited by some Cistercian monks
of the Monastery of Pipewell (Northants). Note the clunch walls and
mullioned windows, in one of which, designed in stained glass, are the
armorial bearings of three former owners. Two hundred years ago the
village consisted of thirty-five dwellings, three of which were
almshouses.
[Illustration: HITCHIN]
HITCHIN is an ancient town, full of interest, 32 miles N. from King's
Cross, G.N.R. It was formerly called Hitche, very probably from the
little river Hiz, which rises at Well Head, about 1½ mile S.W. from the
centre of the town. Roman coins and pottery, and even prehistoric
implements have been found in great quantities in the neighbourhood, and
there are traces of a prehistoric lake bed, to the S.E. _The Priory_,
immediately S. (R. H. J. Delmé-Radcliffe, Esq., J.P.), occupies the site
of a Carmelite monastery and Conventual church founded in the reign of
Edward II.; and the Biggin Almshouses, close to the church, still
preserve some of the old fabric of the Gilbertine Nunnery, founded in
the reign of Edward III. The Church of St. Mary (formerly St. Andrew),
just off the N.E. corner of the market-place, is thought to be the
largest parish church in the county, the other claimant for that honour
being St. Peters, Great Berkhampstead. The whole structure is embattled.
The square W. tower is of unusual size, but low in proportion. Entering
by the fine old S. porch we notice the niches for statues, none of which
remain, and the vaulted roof, badly battered and marred by--as is
supposed--the zealous iconoclasts of Cromwell's army. Opposite, over the
N. porch, hangs a painting of the Adoration of the Magi, believed to be
by Rubens; it was formerly over the communion table. The church has been
restored at intervals since 1858; but the fine Perp. aisle-roofs still
remain. The font, of Ketton stone, is ancient, and formerly had statues
of the twelve Apostles in niches; these, however, have been mutilated
almost beyond recognition; the beautiful oak canopy is new. Note the
effigy in stone lying in the recess of the first window of the N. aisle,
believed to be that of Bernard de Baliol, founder of the Preceptory of
Knights Templars at Temple Dinsley (3 miles S.), and the mosaics of the
reredos, representing the Last Supper, Christ and the woman of Samaria,
Moses striking the rock, and other subjects from Scripture. The screens
of carved oak, between the aisles and chancel aisles, are among the
finest in the county. Memorials are numerous; some ancient brasses
having been brought to light during restoration. Among the brasses are
one (1) to John Beel, Margary his wife, and their eight children (1477);
this is near the pulpit; (2) to James Hert, B.D. (d. 1498); (3) to John
Pulter, a draper (d. 1421), and his wife Alice, the effigies almost
obliterated; (4) to Nicholas Mattok, and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1485);
this Nicholas was a fishmonger of London, and a merchant of the staple
of Calais; (5) portion of a brass, near the chancel steps, to John
Sperehawke, D.D., Canon of Wells (d. 1474).
Adjoining the W. end of the churchyard is Golden Square, once the
residence of Eugene Aram, from which we may pass into Bancroft, one of
the widest thoroughfares in the county. Close by is Tilehouse Street;
the Baptist Chapel, on the left, some way up the street, was restored in
1894: it stands on the site of the building in which Bunyan preached; a
chair which he gave is still shown in the vestry. It may here be
mentioned that George Whitefield and George Fox are both known to have
visited Hitchin during their missionary wanderings. A little farther W.
is Mount Pleasant, thought to be the birthplace of George Chapman, the
translator of Homer. That he finished his translation in this
neighbourhood is matter of knowledge; but what is told of his family
connections with Hitchin is little more than conjecture.
Between the town and the station, G.N.R., stands a modern church of red
brick, dressed with Bath stone, E. Dec. in style. There are good oak
stalls and a sedile in the chancel.
Hitchin was noted during the sixteenth century for its trade in wood and
malt. There were at one time tan-yards beside the Hiz, and the
buckle-makers of Bucklersbury gave that street its name. The
malting-yards occupied much of the ground on both sides of Bancroft. The
making of lavender water in the town is referred to in the Introduction.
HOCKERIL is now the E. suburb of Bishop's Stortford, the bridge over the
Stort, near the Old Black Lion, connecting it with the town. It has a
modern Gothic church. The E. extremity of Hockeril is almost on the
border line between Hertfordshire and Essex.
HODDESDON (1½ mile N. from Broxbourne Station, G.E.R.) is an ancient
market town, lying on high ground among beautifully diversified
surroundings. It is known, at least by name, to all readers of _The
Complete Angler_; but the old Thatched House, to which Izaak Walton
often resorted, has long been a thing of the past. The Bull Inn still
remains where it stood in the time of Prior, whose allusion to it in his
_Down Hall_ is invariably quoted in local handbooks:
"Into an old inn did this equipage roll,
At a town they call Hod'sdon, the sign of the Bull,
Near a nymph with an urn that divides the highway,
And into a puddle throws mother of tea".
The stone figure to which Prior refers is no longer to be seen. At the
S. end of the High Street, on the right when entering the town from
Broxbourne, stands _Rawdon House_, an embattled Jacobean mansion of red
brick, built by Sir Marmaduke Rawdon in 1622. It was restored in 1877,
and the stucco with which it was formerly coated was removed. A tower,
with cupola roof, is at the rear of the house, which is now a convent
for Augustinian nuns.
The Church of St. Catherine, close to the site of the old Thatched
House, but W. from the opposite side of the High Street, dates from
1732; the tower was added in 1888. It is a large building of red-brick,
in mixed styles, with small windows of stained glass in the chancel. It
is not interesting.
_Hollesmore End_ (2 miles W. from Redbourn Station, M.R.) is a small
hamlet.
HOLWELL is a village and parish transferred from Bedfordshire to
Hertfordshire in 1897. It is about 1½ mile N.E. from Pirton (_q.v._);
the nearest station is Henlow, M.R., 2 miles N. The Church of St. Peter,
very much restored, was originally Perp. There is a xii century holy
water basin, and a very curious old brass to Robert Wodehouse, a priest
(1515), with figures of two _wodehowses_ (wild forest men) and of a
chalice and paten.
_Hook's Cross_ (2 miles E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet
on the main road from Hertford to Stevenage. _Frogmore Hall_ stands in
a small park ½ mile E.; it is a large modern mansion of red brick and
stone facings. The grounds are very picturesque, and are divided by the
river Beane.
HORMEAD, GREAT (2½ miles E. from Buntingford), has a restored fifteenth
century church, perhaps 1400-20, containing a brass to a benefactor, one
William Delawood (1694) and a mural monument to Lieut.-Col. Stables,
killed at Waterloo. The village is close to the river Quin, which flows
between the church and Hare Street on the Cambridge Road.
_Hormead, Little_ (½ mile S. from the above), has a quaint little Norman
and E.E. church on the hill crest overlooking Hare Street. Leaving the
Cambridge Road at the S. end of that village, and crossing the river
Quin, the rounded arch of the Norman doorway on the N. side of the nave
catches the eye as we approach the village. The door itself is partly of
wrought iron work, seventeenth century; an engraving of it is in
Cussans' _History of Hertfordshire_. There is excellently preserved work
in the Norman nave. It has been surmised that "Hormede" was formerly one
_vill_, that it was divided soon after 1100, and the two churches built
on the hill less than ½ mile apart. Ralph Baugiard and Eustace, Earl of
Boulogne, together held the manor of "Hormede" at the time of the Great
Survey, and the names Hormead Magna and Hormead Parva are of later
origin.
_Horse Shoes_ (½ a mile N. from Smallford Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet
in the parish of Colney Heath.
_Howe Green_, a small hamlet, is 1¼ mile S. from Cole Green Station,
G.N.R. Pretty walks may be taken S. to Bedwell Park, or N.W. to the mill
on the Lea, Rye Croft, and Mill Green.
HUNSDON (2 miles N.E. from Roydon Station, Essex) is a very ancient
village. The E. Perp. church of flint is thought to date from 1400, and
the N. porch of oak is probably coeval with the main structure. Note the
finely carved Jacobean screen which divides the Cary Chapel in the S.
transept from the nave, and, in the chapel, the imposing monument and
alabaster effigies to Sir John Cary (d. 1617) and his wife. The monument
is built into the wall; behind it is a rather long, but historically
important inscription:--"Here resteth in Peace Sir John Cary, Knight,
Baron of Hunsdon (being the fourth Son to the Right Honorable Henry
Baron of Hunsdon) and the Lady Mary Hunsdon his Wife, Daughter to
Leonard Hide of Throcking in the county of Hertford, Esq.; The Said Sir
John Cary was sent to Barwick by the late Queen Elizabeth of Famous
Memory, in the Year of our Lord, 1593, to be Marshall of the Town of
Barwick, and Captain of Norham; afterwards he was made Governor of the
said Town and Garrison of Barwick, and Lord Warden of the East Marches
of England,... Scotland, and so he remained until he returned into
England with the most famous King James, where he entered into the
Possession of the Crown of England; and so having two Sons and two
Daughters ended this transitory Life, in an assured Hope to rise again
in Christ." In the chancel windows are some white roses, and a badge of
the House of York; note also the canopies in these windows, and the
figures of Apostles in the W. window. On the N. wall of nave is a fine
brass to James Gray, showing a man shooting at deer with a crossbow;
this Gray was gamekeeper for thirty-five years at _Hunsdon House_.
Bishop Ridley preached from the pulpit on several occasions.
_Hunsdon House_ stands between the church and Gilston Park. During the
reign of Edward IV., Sir John Oldhall "built here a fair House after the
mode of a Castle ... which building, 'tis said, cost £7,222". This would
be an enormous sum of money in those days. The original structure had a
high tower and large courtyard. Henry VIII. made the house a palace, and
in so doing appears to have almost rebuilt it; it is known that his
children were often here, as the King had a high opinion of
Hertfordshire air. Queen Elizabeth gave the estate to Sir Henry Cary,
Kt., her cousin, and created him Baron Hunsdon. The "palace" was
surrounded by a moat, crossed by two bridges; the grand entrance and
lofty clock tower, the outhouses and grounds are elaborately depicted in
a print in Chauncy's _History_. The present house was erected at the
beginning of this century, partly on a fresh site, but some portions of
what was the W. extremity of the old palace are built into the E. wing.
Two fine Jacobean chimney-pieces still remain; but little else is left
of the old Tudor home, and the moat has been levelled. The present
house, however, is an imposing, even noble structure of red brick, and
its position, backed by the grand old elms in the park, is very
picturesque. N.E. stood Hunsdon Lodge, the hunting lodge of Queen
Elizabeth.
HUNTON BRIDGE is a pleasant little village at the meeting of the roads
from Watford, King's Langley, and St. Albans, on the Grand Junction
Canal. The nearest station is King's Langley (L.&N.W.R.), 1¼ mile N.
There is a good modern inn and many pretty cottages, and folk in search
of rest and quiet might journey farther and find less suitable
retirement. The nearest church is at Langleybury (_q.v._).
ICKLEFORD, formerly Ickleton, is a village on the Roman Icknield Way,
which at this spot fords the little river Hiz; hence its name. It is 2
miles N. from Hitchin. The church was restored in 1860; but portions of
the ancient fabric have been carefully retained, and a small chapel
added to the chancel. The tower is Norman, as are also part of the nave
arcade and the S. doorway. The chancel arch, pointed, is finely carved;
the stairs to the rood-loft still remain; there is a piscina in the
chancel. Note brass to Thomas Somer and his wife (_circa_ 1400). S. from
the church is _Ickleford Manor_, in a small park, for some years the
residence of Commander H. C. Dudley Ryder, R.N. It is not of historic
interest.
IPPOLLITTS or St. Ippolitts (2 miles S.E. from Hitchin) was formerly
called Hippolits, Eppalets or Pallets, according to the taste of the
speaker. It was thought by Norden to owe its name to Hippolits, a
supposed Saint, who was very skilful in the treatment of horses. After
the Saint's death a shrine was placed to his honour in the parish
church, and to this shrine near the high altar divers persons brought
their ailing steeds to be healed by the attendant priest with the help
of relics of the Saint. The relics were of efficacy commensurate with
the gifts of those who desired the Saint's blessing! "The horses," says
one writer, "were brought out of the North Street, through the North
Gate, and the North Door of the Church, which was boarded on purpose to
bring up the horses to the Altar." The church was restored in 1878; it
is of flint and rubble, and is now chiefly Perp. and Dec. with a few
older portions. Note (1) ambry and double piscina in the chancel; (2)
brass in N. transept to Robert Poydres (d. 1401); (3) brasses in
chancel, with effigies, to the Hughes family, one of whom, Alice, was
daughter of Thomas Bybsworth, "an ancient dweller in this parish"; she
died 1594. There is a tumulus about 1 mile S.
KELSHALL (2½ miles S.E. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R.) has a restored,
but interesting church, dedicated to St. Faith, partly Perp. and partly
Dec. Over the S. porch is a small chamber, and in the N. aisle is a
recess, the nature of which is not quite understood, but it was probably
used for the safe-keeping of banner-staves, crosses and other
pre-Reformation ornaments. There is a brass with two effigies to
"Rychard Adane and Maryon his Wyff" (d. 1400 and 1435 respectively). In
the churchyard is an old sundial on the shaft of a stone cross. John
Janeway, a young divine of astonishing spirituality, whose _Life_, by
his brother James, was subsequently prefaced by Robert Hall, was buried
here in 1657: Richard Baxter was one of his admirers. The Manor of
_Chelesell_ was the property of the Abbot of Ely at the time of the
Conquest, having been given to that ancient foundation by the father of
Edward the Confessor.
_Kensworth_ was transferred to Bedfordshire in 1897.
KIMPTON (about 2¾ miles N. from Wheathampstead Station) lies between the
hills that lead N. to Whitwell and S.E. to Ayot St. Lawrence. The
village is very ancient, and was called _Kimeton_ in Saxon days. The
church, a little N. from the centre of the village, has been much
restored: the N. aisle was added in 1861; the tower and the N. porch
(over which is a parvise, as at Kelshall) were restored in 1887-8; the
chancel in 1890, when the reredos was added. The building is E.E. Note
the finely carved oak screen separating the S. aisle from the Dacre
Chapel, formerly the rood screen, the piscina in the chapel itself, and
the stained glass in the E. window to Thomas, twenty-second Baron Dacre
(d. 1890), to whom the reredos is also a memorial. _Kimpton Hoo_, in a
beautiful park of about 250 acres, is 1 mile N.E. from the village. It
is the seat of Viscount Hampden. Pretty walks may be taken E. _viâ_
Kimpton Mill to Codicote, N. to Bendish and Whitwell, W. to Peter's
Green, or S. to Lamer Park.