(The figures in brackets after each name give the population in 1901, and those at the end of the sections give the references to the text.)

Abbot’s Langley (3342), a village situated on the Gade, with a station on the North-Western Railway; it was bestowed in the time of Edward the Confessor upon the then abbot of St Albans, whence its name. Hunton Mill, on the Gade, was granted to Sir Richard Lee in 1544, and both this and Nash Mills were farmed from the abbot of St Albans between 1349 and 1396. The present church, dedicated to St Lawrence, cannot be traced farther back than the close of the twelfth century. A west tower was added about 1200. (pp. 72, 90, 105, 149.)

Aldenham (2437), a village and manor lying to the north-east of Watford. It has a grammar school; and near by is Aldenham Abbey, the seat of Lord Aldenham. In 1898 two Roman kilns were discovered in the parish. The church, which has been restored, contains one small twelfth-century window; no trace of the chancel remains.

The Amwells—Great Amwell (1421), and Little Amwell (930)—small villages not far from the Rye House. Amwell is associated with the name of the Quaker poet, John Scott, who lived there for some time after 1740. Near by is Haileybury, formerly the training college for the officials of the East India Company, but now a public school. (p. 135.)

Ashridge, a domain in Little Gaddesden parish, situated on the Buckinghamshire border of the county, and celebrated for its splendid beech woods. It was formerly the property of the Dukes of Bridgewater, being acquired by the Egertons in 1604, but it is now owned by Earl Brownlow. A building, formerly the porter’s lodge, includes some remains of an old monastic college. The present house, which stands partly in Buckinghamshire, was built by the eighth Earl of Bridgewater. (pp. 115, 142.)

Ashwell (1281), a village on the Cambridgeshire border of the county, with a station some distance away on the Royston and Cambridge branch of the Great Northern Railway. Ashwell, which was formerly a town, had a fair and a market in the time of William the Conqueror. It was severely visited by the plague. Its church-tower is the only one in the county built wholly of stone. (pp. 92, 113.)

Baldock (2057) is a market-town on the Icknield Way, to the north-west of Hitchin, with a station on the above-mentioned branch of the Great Northern Railway. It dates from Norman times, when it was known as Baudok. During the Crusades, Baldock, like St Albans, Berkhampstead, and Hoddesdon, had a lazar-house for lepers, who were at that time numerous all over England. The list of Rectors is complete from the days of the Knights Hospitallers in 1317. The church contains much Decorated and Perpendicular work. (pp. 90, 94, 128.)

Barkway (661), originally Berkway, is a small town and manor situated a few miles to the north-east of Buntingford. (p. 96.)

Barnet, or Chipping Barnet, originally Chipping Bernet (7876), a large and important market-town near the Middlesex border of the county, with a station (High Barnet) on a branch of the Great Northern Railway. Near by are New Barnet and East Barnet, with a station on the main line, and having a population of 10,024. The name Barnet is a corruption of the Saxon Bergnet, signifying a little hill; the site of the town then forming a small rising in the midst of the great forest; the prefix Chipping = market is a word of Scandinavian origin, represented in the Swedish JonkÖping and the Danish KjØbenhavn = (Copenhagen). Barnet was the scene of a battle in 1471, when the Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians, killing their leader, Warwick the king-maker. The market was famous for its cattle; and in addition to this there is an annual horse-fair, which formerly attracted dealers from all parts of the country. (pp. 9, 53, 54, 82, 99, 128.)

East Barnet (2867), known as La Barnette in the thirteenth century, and Low Barnet in the fifteenth century, is situated on the stream known as Pymmes’ Brook, on the western side of the valley of which stands the almost deserted old parish church.

Bayford (330), a village nearly midway between Hatfield and Hoddesdon. In the churchyard is buried William Yarrell the naturalist. Bayfordbury is celebrated for its collection of portraits of members of the Kitcat Club painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller. (p. 147.)

Bengeo (3063), formerly Bengehoo, a village in the valley of the Beane one mile north of Hertford. The old church, now little used, is one of the oldest in the county, dating apparently from the early Norman period. Together with Great Wymondley church, it is peculiar, so far as Hertfordshire is concerned, in having an apsidal chancel. In place of a tower, it has a wooden bell-cote. Panshanger, formerly the property of the late Lord Cowper, is near by.

Bennington (522), a market-town and manor, situated on the Beane, from which it takes its name; it was an important place in the ninth century, when it was the residence of the kings of Mercia. The church is fourteenth century. (pp. 53, 54, 56, 78, 111.)

Berkhampstead, or Berkhampstead Magna (5140), an important market-town[3] on the London and North-Western Railway and Grand Junction Canal, and one of the oldest in the county, the castle dating from Norman times, and being possibly on the site of an earlier Saxon edifice. It was here that the crown of England was offered to William the Conqueror. The manor and castle were granted first to Piers Gaveston and subsequently to Edward the Black Prince, but were afterwards annexed to the Duchy of Cornwall. Berkhampstead, which is now a petty-sessions town, and has an ancient grammar school, formerly returned burgesses to Parliament. Its almshouses were built in 1684. Cowper was born here. Berkhampstead Parva and Berkhampstead St Mary’s—the latter now generally known as Northchurch—are villages in the neighbourhood. The church dates from the thirteenth century; it contains the beautiful Torrington tomb. (pp. 2, 7, 63, 80, 81, 82, 91, 92, 109, 111, 131, 132, 141.)

Bishop’s Stortford (7143) is the most important town on the Essex border of the county, and has a station on the main line of the Great Eastern Railway, and a bridge over the Stort. The town, which has a market, possessed a considerable trade in Saxon times, and was the property of the Bishop of London, and to protect this, and for the purpose of consolidating his own rights, William the Conqueror built a small castle here. Bishop’s Stortford has a grammar school, and formerly returned members to Parliament. The church, which dates from the tenth century, is an imposing Perpendicular edifice, and stands on the site of an earlier building. (pp. 23, 24, 79, 92, 112, 132, 144.)

Boxmoor (1127), a small town on the Grand Junction Canal and North Western Railway. A Roman villa was discovered here some years ago. (pp. 132, 133.)

Braughing (930), a village to the north-west of Stortford, on the Cambridge road, with a station on the Great Eastern Railway, situated in the valley of the Quin. It dates from Saxon times, when it was known as Brooking; and it was granted a market by Stephen. A Roman sarcophagus and many Roman coins have been discovered in the parish. (pp. 22, 113, 136.)

Broxbourne (748) is also a village on the Great Eastern Railway, to the south of Hoddesdon: it contains an almshouse for poor widows founded in the year 1728. The village is intimately connected with the Rye House Plot. (pp. 128, 142.)

Buntingford (1272) is a market-town, with almshouses, on a branch of the Great Eastern Railway running northwards from Stortford. It was granted a market by Edward III. (pp. 54, 128.)

Bushey (2838), a parish in the south of the county, separated from Watford about 1166. The village is now the site of the Herkomer Art School. The church was “restored” in 1871, when a late Gothic window was removed.

Bygrave (148), a small market-town a short distance north-east of Baldock.

Cassiobury, a park and mansion at the north-west of Watford which has for many generations been the residence of the Earls of Essex. The present house is modern. (pp. 20, 21, 45, 84, 85, 136.)

Cheshunt (12,292) is a large market-town in the south-eastern corner of the county, nearly north-west of Waltham Abbey, with a station on the Great Eastern and some distance from the town itself. It is celebrated for its nursery gardens, roses being especially cultivated. Within Cheshunt parish is situated Theobald’s Park, at one time a royal residence. Cheshunt Park is on the opposite, or north side of the town; and near by are the remains of an old nunnery. (pp. 43, 99, 100, 128.)

Codicote (1145), a small village to the north-west of Welwyn. The church was an ancient one, but a drastic “restoration” in 1853 destroyed much of the evidence of the age of its constituent portions. (pp. 43, 128, 130.)

Elstree (1323), a village on the southern border of the county lying a little west of the Midland Railway, on which it has a station. It is rapidly becoming a suburb of London. (pp. 7, 11, 52, 126, 132.)

Flamstead (1039), a village near the Watling Street to the north of Redbourn. The name is supposed to be a corruption of Verlampstead, the Ver flowing in the valley below the village. The Thomas Saunders almshouses were built in 1669. Beechwood, the seat of the Sebright family is in the parish.

Great Gaddesden (746), a village in Dacorum Hundred to the north of Hemel Hempstead. Gaddesden Place, which was burnt down in 1905 and rebuilt, is the seat of the Halsey family, who possessed the neighbouring “Golden Parsonage” so long ago as 1544. The church probably dates from the twelfth century. (pp. 19, 35, 42.)

The Hadhams—Much Hadham (1199), Little Hadham (655)—two villages lying respectively to the south-west and north-west of Bishop Stortford, and known to have been in existence in the time of the Conqueror. The manor of Hadham Hall was granted by the crown to the Bishops of London at the time when the survey recorded in Domesday books was made. (pp. 12, 117.)

Harpenden (4725), a large village or small town on the Midland Railway, almost exactly half-way between St Albans and Luton. During the last twenty years Harpenden (“the valley of nightingales”) has nearly doubled in size, and is rapidly increasing. Within the parish is the agricultural experiment-station of Rothamsted; the laboratory being situated on the borders of the village itself. About a mile to the north is Shire-Mere, a small green partly in Hertfordshire and partly in Bedfordshire, and in consequence a favourite site for prize-fights in the old days. Harpenden has branch-lines connected with the Great Northern and the North-Western Railways. With the exception of the more modern tower, the church, which was largely Norman, was pulled down and rebuilt in the sixties. A Norman arch remains in the tower. (pp. 7, 36, 37, 38, 43, 45, 47, 66, 67, 75, 96, 117, 130, 132.)

Hatfield, or King’s Hatfield (4330), is a small town on the main line of the Great Northern Railway, chiefly noteworthy on account of its connection with Hatfield House, the seat of the Cecils, Marquises of Salisbury. As mentioned above, Hatfield was at one time a royal palace; but the original building is now used as a stable and riding-school, the present house being of Jacobean date. The residence at Hatfield of Queen Elizabeth is connected with the old palace. Among the features of Hatfield House are the marble hall, its oak-panelled walls hung with tapestry, and its panelled ceiling painted; the grand staircase, hung with portraits; the long gallery, with its armour and pictures; King James’s drawing-room, a magnificently decorated apartment; the great dining-room, with a bust of Lord Burleigh; the armoury; and the beautiful chapel, with its exquisite Flemish window and a marble altar-piece. Hatfield is an important railway centre for the county, the Great Northern having branches to Hertford, St Albans, and Harpenden and Luton. Petty sessions are held in the town. In the church are the monuments of the Cecil family, and a statue of the late Lord Salisbury, erected by county subscription, stands at the park entrance. (pp. 20, 23, 31, 34, 43, 83, 115, 116, 128, 132, 142.)

Hemel Hempstead (11,264) is an ancient borough and market-town on the western side of the county connected with the main line of the North-Western Railway at Boxmoor, and also served by a branch joining the main line of the Midland at Harpenden. In addition to a mayor, Hempstead has a borough official known as the high bailiff[4]. The town, which is situated in the Gade valley, and formerly returned members of its own to Parliament, is remarkable for the length of its main street—part of which is known as Marlowes. Its market-day is Thursday, and there is an annual wool-sale. Corn and cattle are its chief trade, the straw-plait industry having nearly died out; but near by is Nash Mills, the site of a large paper factory. The church, which stands to the west of the main street, is a fine example of a cruciform twelfth-century parish church; it was commenced about 1140 and finished some 40 years later. There is no evidence of any earlier building on the site. (pp. 43, 47, 101, 102, 122, 131, 132, 133, 138, 147.)

Hertford (9322), although by no means the largest town as regards the number of its population, occupies the first place, as being the county-town, and the only one in Hertfordshire where assizes are held. It is also a market-town and borough (with a mayor and corporation), and formerly returned members of its own to Parliament, although now it is only the centre of a parliamentary division of the county. In addition to the assizes for the whole county, quarter-sessions for the eastern division of Hertfordshire are held in the Shire Hall. The site of Hertford Castle—a building of great antiquity—is now used as the Judges’ lodgings in assize time. Hertford has branches of Christ’s Hospital, for both boys and girls; and within a short distance is Haileybury College, now a public school, but formerly the training-place for the civil service of the old East India Company. Hertford is served by branches of both the Great Eastern and Great Northern Railways, and has also water communication with London by way of the Lea. It is a centre of the waning malting industry. The old church was burnt down some years ago. (pp. 3, 20, 31, 34, 79, 81, 84, 92, 94, 111, 126, 134, 136, 138, 139, 141, 147.)

Hertingfordbury (733), a village on the railway to the west of Hertford, dating from Norman times. The manor of Roxford was granted by William the Conqueror to Goisfrede de Beck for good service rendered.

Hexton (155), a village in a small parish of Cassio Hundred on the north border of the county jutting into Bedfordshire. Ancient coins have been found in the parish, which includes the old earthwork known as Ravensburgh Castle. Hexton seems to have been granted on two occasions to the monastery of St Alban.

Hitchin (10,072) is one of the most ancient towns in the county, and is now an important railway centre, as it is the starting point of the Royston and Cambridge branch of the Great Northern Railway, on the main line of which the town itself is situated. Hitchin is one of the four parliamentary centres of the county, and is noted for its corn and cattle market, and also as being one of the few places in England where lavender is cultivated for commercial purposes. Hitchin preserves the remnant of an ancient monastery in the almshouses known as the Biggin, and teems with buildings and sites of antiquarian interest. Petty sessions are held in the town. The parish church is one of great beauty and interest, mainly of the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. A picture of the Adoration of the Magi presented in 1774 is believed to be by Rubens. (pp. 14, 68, 69, 74, 105, 106, 108, 120, 128, 136, 141, 142, 145, 149.)

Hoddesdon (4711), an ancient market-town on the eastern border of the county, approached from either the Broxbourne or Rye House stations of the Great Eastern Railway. It is intimately connected with the story of the Rye House Plot (see page 85). It may be mentioned here that the “great bed of Ware” is now preserved at the Rye House. (pp. 85, 86.)

The Hormeads—Great Hormead (376), Little Hormead (128)—two villages, near the Quin about two miles east of Buntingford, while the latter is about half a mile south of the same. Both date from the time of the Conqueror.

Ippolits or Hippolits (840), a village in the Hundred of Hitchin, dedicated to St Hippolytus patron saint of horses. Travellers used to take their horses to the high altar, where miracles were performed on untamed colts.

Kensworth (516), a small and ancient village in Dacorum Hundred dating from the time of Edward the Confessor, and formerly belonging to St Paul’s Cathedral. The small church dates from about the year 1100, although the tower is later. (pp. 88, 90, 98.)

King’s Langley (1579), a village on the North-Western Railway notable as the site of the ancient Tudor Palace of Langley, and of a friary of which portions still remain. The royal palace and park date at least from 1299. The friary belonged to the Dominican order. (pp. 81, 82, 107, 141.)

Layston (983); the original village is now represented only by the ruined church of St Bartholomew, situated a short distance from Buntingford, and of great antiquity.

Letchworth, till recently a very small village on the Great Northern Railway a little north of Hitchin, has now sprung into importance as the site of the “Garden City”; an endeavour to aid in bringing the population back to the land.

North Mimms (1112), a village on the North road, situated some distance to the south-east of St Albans. A manor of North Mimms was in existence at the Conquest. The parish includes three large parks, Brookman’s, Potterells, and North Mimms. The church, which is rich in monuments, dates from the fourteenth century.

Offley (1001), or Great Offley, which lies on the Bedfordshire border of the county, between Luton and Hitchin, takes its name from Offa II, king of Mercia, who died there in his palace. The church of St Mary Magdalene is built in the Perpendicular style, with an apsidal chancel. Mrs Thrale, the friend of Dr Johnson, lived as a girl at Offley Place. (pp. 14, 105, 128, 141, 147.)

Redbourn (1932), a village on the Chester and Holyhead road, in the valley of the Ver, about four miles north-west of St Albans; it has a station on the Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead branch of the Midland Railway. The manor of Redbourn was given to St Albans’ Abbey in the reign of Edward the Confessor. The church, which is some distance from the main street, was dedicated between 1094 and 1109, but the chancel appears to have been rebuilt about 1340. Near Church End are the ancient earthworks known as the Aubreys. (pp. 12, 67, 72, 126.)

Rickmansworth (5627), at the junction of the Colne, Gade, and Chess rivers, is a town in the south-western corner of the county, close to the Bucks and Middlesex borders. It has several ancient almshouses, of which one dates from 1680. Immediately to the south-east is Moor Park, the seat of Lord Ebury, where Lord Anson formerly lived. This once belonged to the abbots of St Albans, but was given by Henry VII to the Earl of Oxford, and in the reign of Henry VIII was the property of Cardinal Wolsey. The present house is of comparatively modern date. The Bury is an excellent specimen of an early seventeenth century mansion. The church appears to have been rebuilt in the fifteenth century. Rickmeresworth was the old name of the town. There are a number of manors in the parish. (pp. 20, 31, 71, 73, 131, 132.)

Royston (3517) is situated on the Icknield Way, actually on the Cambridgeshire border, and is served by a station on the Cambridge branch of the Great Northern. The town, which has a market, stands just at the foot of the chalk downs; it has the honour of giving the name to one of the species, or races, of British birds, to wit, the Royston crow. The church is that of an Augustinian priory now demolished. James I had a hunting seat here. (pp. 32, 33, 45, 93, 128.)

St Albans (16,019), situated about twenty miles north-west of London by rail, enjoys the distinction of being the only town in Hertfordshire entitled to style itself a “city.” It is the direct modern successor of the Roman city of Verulamium, lying on the opposite side of the Ver, and itself dates from Saxon times, its ancient monastery having been founded by the Mercian king Offa II in 793, in memory of Alban, the first English Christian martyr. The city has a mayor and corporation, and was formerly a parliamentary borough in its own right, although at the present day it forms the centre of an electoral district returning one member to the House of Commons. It is also the centre of the western division of Hertfordshire;—a division corresponding in the main to the old Liberty of St Albans, the area lying within the jurisdiction of the abbot. Quarter-sessions for the western division of the county are held in the Court House, and likewise petty-sessions for the St Albans division of the county, as well as city petty-sessions for St Albans itself. At these last the city magistrates sit; the cases being brought before them by the local police force, which is distinct from that of the county. The city is the see of the bishopric of St Albans, and its crowning glory is its Abbey, now raised to the dignity of a cathedral. Offa’s abbey was attacked and plundered by the Danes, and a rebuilding of the monastic church was contemplated by Ealdred, the eighth abbot, who collected building materials from Verulam. The long-deferred work, on a new site, was however not undertaken till the time of Paul of Caen, the first Norman abbot (1077–93). This abbot rebuilt the church and nearly all the monastic buildings with the materials collected by his predecessor; and apparently made a clean sweep of the original structures. Although the fabric appears to have been completed by Abbot Paul, the consecration did not take place till 1115. Between 1195 and 1214 Abbot John de Cella commenced a new west front, but only part of the original design was carried out. In 1257 the eastern end was in a dangerous condition, and the two easternmost bays were pulled down; and eventually a presbytery and a Lady Chapel with vestibule were added. Extensive alterations and rebuilding were carried out previous to 1326, and again between 1335 and 1340. Other works were carried out by John de Wheathampstead between 1451 and 1484, including the rebuilding of St Andrew’s chapel. In 1553 the abbey was sold to the Mayor and Burgesses as a parish church, when the Lady Chapel was cut off from the rest of the building by a public passage and used as a grammar school. This passage remained till about 1870, when the Lady Chapel was once more rejoined to the main fabric. About this time a restoration of portions of the building was undertaken by a county committee, when the low-pitched roof of the nave was replaced by a high-pitched one on the lines of a much earlier structure. Soon after, the tower was in danger of collapsing, owing to crush in the supporting pillars, and the whole structure had to be shored up previous to underpinning. Finally, the late Lord Grimthorpe undertook the completion of the “restoration,” which was carried out in substantial but drastic style. His most notable work comprised the complete rebuilding of the west front in a peculiar style, the repointing of the tower, and the replacing of its brick turrets by stone “pepper-pots.”