Chapter X: Celebrated Men (5)

ST. ALBANS ABBEY.--The Abbey has been so repeatedly altered and restored that it may be said to illustrate every style of ecclesiastical architecture from Norman to the present time. Opinions differ widely as to the merits of that scheme of renovation and innovation completed under the direction and by the munificence of Lord Grimthorpe, and no attempt will be here made to criticise or extol the work of so great an expert. Such a description of the venerable Abbey as an architect might love to write would fill a volume in this series. After careful consideration I have decided to sketch its history in such a way as to show, however imperfectly, how it came to be what it is. I have been careful to compare many authorities and to follow the consensus of testimony wherever I have found discrepancy or contradiction.

It has already been stated that, according to Gildas, Bede and other authorities, a church was erected on Holmhurst Hill after the martyrdom of St. Alban. Concerning that church we know little more than that it was almost destroyed by the Saxons. In 793, or very near that date, Offa II., who had murdered the East Anglian King, Ethelbert, resolved to found a monastery, encouraged, as we learn from William of Malmesbury, by Charlemagne. The monastery was duly founded, for an abbot and 100 Benedictine monks, and the little church, renovated, became the original abbey of the foundation. Having discovered the bones of St. Alban and placed them in a costly reliquary, Offa conveyed them to this church, intending to erect a nobler edifice for their reception; but it is doubtful whether the design was carried out during his lifetime. Indeed, we know little as to that enlarging and adornment of the church which must surely have been effected in the days of the early abbots, and the first hints of the erection of the great abbey occur in the lives of Ealdred and Eadmer, eighth and ninth abbots, who collected immense quantities of red, tile-like Roman bricks from the ruins of Verulam; Matthew Paris tells us that Eadmer made some progress in the actual rebuilding of the church. The twelfth abbot, Leofstan (d. 1066), enriched the building with "certain ornaments"; but it was the fourteenth abbot, Paul de Caen (1077-97), who, using the vast stores of material collected by his predecessors, entirely rebuilt the church on a scale almost commensurate with its present size.

The rebuilding of the Abbey Church by Abbot Paul de Caen occupied eleven years. When completed, it was certainly one of the noblest and largest structures in the kingdom. The length of this cruciform Norman church was 426 feet. (The extreme length is now 550, due to additions presently mentioned.) On the E. side of either transept were two apsidal chapels, the one adjoining the presbytery aisle being in each case the larger of the two; there was also an apse at the E. end of the presbytery. A square, battlemented tower flanked the W. front on either side; but the chief glory of Abbot Paul's church was undoubtedly the enormous Norman tower of four stages, triforium, clerestory, ringing-floor and belfry, surmounted by parapets and flanked by angle turrets, of which such considerable portions yet remain. Visitors who saw the Abbey thirty years ago saw the E. portion of the nave, the transepts and the tower substantially as built by Abbot Paul de Caen. The new Abbey was dedicated 1115.

Geoffrey de Gorham, sixteenth abbot (1119-46), placed the relics of St. Alban in a new shrine.

Robert de Gorham, eighteenth abbot (1161-67), erected the _Chapter House_ and _Locutory_ (Abbot's Cloister); his successor, Symeon (1167-83), completed the erection and embellishment of the _Shrine of St. Alban_, raising its height so that it could be seen from the _High Altar_. During his abbacy the relics of St. Amphibalus were brought to St. Albans, and the shrine of that saint was eventually erected in the E. aisle. The _Chapel of St. Cuthbert_ in the _Baptistery_, built by Abbot Richard de Albini (1097-1119), was also dedicated about this time.

Warren de Cambridge, twentieth abbot (1183-95), placed the relics of St. Amphibalus in a feretry, enriching it with gold and silver ornamentation. He placed it behind the High Altar, near the feretry of St. Alban.

John de Cella, twenty-first abbot (1195-1214), commenced to rebuild the W. front, notably the three fine E.E. porches now replaced by those of Lord Grimthorpe, but the work was completed by his successor William de Trumpyntone (1214-35), who added the two flanking towers. This abbot erected the rood screen between the nave and choir, added the octagon above the tower after removing the Norman turrets and parapets, and probably built those E.E. bays on each side of the nave which are nearest to the W. front. He also restored portions of the S. transept and S. aisle, and rebuilt _St. Cuthbert's Chapel_ on the spot now partly occupied by the _Rood Screen_.

The E. end of the Abbey next received the attention of these architect-abbots. Commencing at the second bay E. from the tower, John de Hertford (1235-60) almost entirely replaced the Norman and E.E. work of his predecessors by work which merged into a graceful E. Dec. The work was carried on by his immediate successors, doubtless sadly hindered by the turbulent state of the times. John de Norton (1260-90) built the S. aisle of the _Retro-choir_, and part of the _Lady-chapel_, but his work was supplemented by that of John de Berkhampstead (1291-1302). John de Marinis (1302-8) removed the feretry and tomb of St. Alban to the position which it occupied until about the time of the Dissolution and spent 820 marks in the erection of a tomb of Purbeck marble. Hugh de Eversden (1308-26) built the five moulded Dec. bays of the S. aisle, replacing the Norman work, which had given way, and completed the _Lady-chapel_ at the extreme E., thereby greatly increasing the length of the entire building. There was subsequently, however, for a long period, a passage between the _Retro-choir_ and the _Lady-chapel_.

Abbot Michael de Mentmore (1335-49) completed the restoration of the S. aisle and repaired the _Cloister_. His successor, Thomas de la Mere, paved the W. floor, and no doubt minor restorations were almost continually in progress during the latter half of the fourteenth century; but a new chapter in the story of the Abbey commenced when John de Wheathampsted became abbot (1420-40 and 1451-64). This celebrated man, during the two periods of his abbacy, hardly rested in his efforts to beautify the Abbey. It is stated in a Cottonian MS. that this abbot constructed a little chapel near the shrine of St. Alban; this was perhaps the _Watching Loft_ (N. of _Saint's Chapel_) in which the keeper of the holy shrine and relics (Custos Feretri) spent much of his time. John de Wheathampsted also built the tomb of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (d. 1447), on the side of the chapel opposite the _Watching Loft_ (a few steps lead down to the coffin); prepared his own tomb W. from that of the duke; built the great Perp. window over the W. porches, now replaced by one Dec. in design, and the nine N. windows of _Nave_ and _Ante-Choir_; and was probably responsible for the paintings discovered on the choir ceiling, and for many of the embellishments of the _Lady-chapel_. Perhaps, however, his fame chiefly rests on the _High Altar Screen_, which he designed, but which was erected by the thirty-sixth abbot, William Wallingford (1476-84).

There were apparently few important features added to the Abbey, and but little restoration effected during the rule of the last four abbots (1492-1539). A few brief paragraphs concerning its modern restorations and present appearance must now be added.

Those modern restorations date largely from the middle of last century. Its condition, internally and externally, was at that time certainly discreditable to everybody concerned in its welfare. In 1856 a National Committee placed the matter in the hands of Sir Gilbert Scott, under whose direction the building was in part restored; but public funds presently failed and in 1879 the direction of the workers was undertaken by one who had at once the inclination and the funds necessary to its completion--Lord Grimthorpe.

The _Abbey_, from the W. porches to the E. end of the _Lady-chapel_ and the _Chapel of Transfiguration_, measures inside 520 feet, outside 550 feet; the entire _transept_ length from N. to S., on the floor, 177 feet; the _nave_, the longest Gothic one in the world, 292 feet × 75 feet 4 inches; the _Lady-chapel_, 57 feet × 24 feet; the great _Screens_ are rather less than 170 feet apart; the height of the _tower_ is 144 feet. Visitors will find some slight discrepancies as to measurements in the several guides which have been compiled; but the foregoing figures will assist them to realise the vast dimensions of the building. Its area is approximately 40,000 square feet. Of special interest are:--

(1) _The Tower_, which is seen to greater advantage since Sir Gilbert Scott removed the exterior plaster, thus exposing the wonderfully preserved Roman tiles with which it was faced by Abbot Paul de Caen. The four enormous piers upon which it rests were weakened by the ignorance of early restorers, who cut into them freely, and dug graves in such manner as to imperil their foundations. The most arduous work of Sir Gilbert Scott was the strengthening of these piers, effected piecemeal by partial reconstruction of the piers themselves and by laying a durable substratum of cement right down to the chalk. The fine ring of eight bells was rehung. Visitors will find the ascent of the spiral staircase long and arduous, but will be rewarded by the almost unrivalled view from between the merlons on its summit.

(2) _St. Alban's Shrine_ (in the Saint's Chapel between the Altar Screen and the Lady-chapel), already referred to (p. 188), disappeared about the time of the suppression of the monastery (1539), and all traces of it were lost except the fragment of Purbeck marble marking its former site on the chapel floor. Yet that shrine, its genuineness unquestioned, stands to-day on the site which it occupied centuries ago! Hundreds of fragments of Purbeck marble were discovered when the central arches of the Lady-chapel were opened by Dr. Nicholson previous to the restorations of Sir Gilbert Scott. Subsequently, other fragments were discovered and the whole collection, the importance of which was suspected, was pieced together with indefatigable ingenuity by the late John Chapple. The _feretry_ itself, mentioned by Matthew Paris, which was supposed to contain the relic of the martyr, has not, and probably never will be, discovered. The vaulted niches are of clunch, but the rest of the shrine is of Purbeck marble. Note the beautiful tracery of these groined niches, the cusps of the arches and crocketted pediments, and the carvings in the tympana, representing scenes from the martyrdom of SS. Alban and Amphibalus.

(3) _Shrine of St. Amphibalus_ (in N. aisle of presbytery). This was discovered in fragments and pieced together in the same manner as that of St. Alban. The whole, however, is of clunch, and, unfortunately, incomplete. Note the fret-like sculpture round the basement, and the name of the saint (imperfect) in carved capitals.

(4) _High Altar Screen_, or screen of Abbot Wallingford (restored at the expense of Lord Aldenham); is in point of size, as in beauty, perhaps unique in England. Note its resemblance to that at Winchester. It was much dilapidated, its many statues having been entirely destroyed at the time of the Reformation; but its restoration has been admirably executed, the figures of SS. Alban and Amphibalus being especially noticeable: the latter wears a _Celtic_, not a Roman tonsure. Note also the figures of our Lord and His apostles in alabaster, and those of Adrian IV., Bede, Hugh of Lincoln, St. Edmund and many others.

(5) Chantry Tombs of _Abbot Ramryge_ and _Abbot John Wheathampsted_, occupying respectively the last arches of N. and S. side of the Sanctuary. Note the fine late Perp. work of the former, and the Wheathampsted arms, three wheat-ears, on the latter.

(6) _The Lady-chapel_ (enter through Retro-choir). This formerly contained much of the finest work in the Abbey and traces of it are still retained, despite its repeated and entire restoration. The present vaulted roof of real stone replaces that of imitation stone built by Abbot Hugh de Eversden. In post-Reformation days it was long used as the Grammar School; but since the removal of the school to the Old Gate House (1869) the chapel has gradually been brought into its present state. Many of its most beautiful features--tracery, mouldings, statuettes, carvings, etc.--had, however, been completely destroyed by the boys. The marble pavement is new; the stained glass in the E. window was presented by the Corporation of London. Note the wonderful variety of carved flowers and fruits with which this chapel is embellished.

From Grose's _Antiquities_ (vol. viii.) I quote the following:--

"Mr. Robert Shrimpton, grandfather, by the mother's side, to Mrs. Shrimpton of St. Albans, was four times mayor of that town; he died about sixty years since, being then about 103 years of age. He lived when the Abbey of St. Alban flourished before the Dissolution and remembered most things relating to the buildings of the Abbey, the regimen of the house, the ceremonies of the church ... all of which he would often discourse in his life-time. Among other things, that in the Great Hall there was an ascent of fifteen steps to the abbot's table, to which the monks brought up the service in plate, and staying at every fifth step, which was a resting-place, at every of which they sung a short hymn. The abbot usually sat alone in the middle of the table; and when any nobleman or ambassador or stranger of eminent quality came thither they sat at his table towards the end thereof. When the monks had waited a while on the abbot, they sat down at two other tables, placed on the sides of the hall and had their service brought in by novices, who, when the monks had dined, sat down to their own dinner."

_First Battle of St. Albans._--On _May 23rd_, 1455, the forces of King Henry VI. assembled in the neighbourhood of St. Peter's Street, and were attacked by those of the Duke of York and Warwick the Kingmaker. Advancing from the fields E. of the town, Warwick's men appear to have approached from Key Fields and Sopwell Lane, and, finally, having fought their way into Holywell Hill, to have united with those of the Duke of York, who had forced the town barriers farther N. The battle was desperately contested; the bowmen, as usual in those times, playing a conspicuous part; Henry VI. was wounded in the neck, Humphrey Earl of Stafford in the right hand, Lord Sudley and the Duke of Buckingham in the face--all with arrows. The wounded king took refuge in the cottage of a tanner; here he was made prisoner and conducted by the Duke of York to the Abbey. The town was at the mercy of the Yorkist soldiers during the latter part of the day; many houses were looted and the Abbey was probably spared only because the royal prisoner had been conducted thither. Several illustrious persons slain in this battle were buried in the Lady-chapel: (1) Henry Percy, second Earl of Northumberland; (2) Edmund Beaufort, first Duke of Somerset; (3) John, Lord Clifford. Sir Robert Vere, Sir William Chamberlain, Sir Richard Fortescue, Kts., and many squires and other gentlemen also perished.

_Second Battle of St. Albans._--On Shrove Tuesday, 17th February, 1461, Queen Margaret defeated the Earl of Warwick, who retreated with considerable loss, the battle being mostly fought out on Bernard's Heath, N. from St. Peter's Church. This engagement also was stubbornly fought out. According to Stow and Hollinshead, the Lancastrians were thwarted in their efforts to pass through the town from S. to N., being repulsed by arrows in the Market Place, and eventually reached Bernard's Heath by a circuitous route from the W. If this is so, visitors who ramble down the High Street, turn right into Katherine Lane, coming out of Wellclose Street near St. Peter's Church, will probably tread in the footsteps of the troops of Margaret. After the fight had been decided the victorious Lancastrians poured back into the town, which was again plundered, and the Abbey also partially stripped. This was during the second abbacy of John Wheathampsted, and Stow records that the day after the battle Queen Margaret, and the King (Henry VI.) were led by the abbot and monks to the High Altar of the Abbey, where they returned thanks for the victory.

ST. MARGARET'S, on the river Lea, has a small church with several unimportant memorials. It was probably formed from one aisle of an older edifice.

_St. Margaret's_ is also the name of a few cottages a little N.W. from Great Gaddesden, near the site of the Benedictine convent of _Muresley_, the refectory of which was almost intact early last century.

ST. PAUL'S WALDEN (4 miles S.W. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a large and scattered parish; much of it is very picturesque. The church, which was restored twenty years ago, is of several styles, but contains little worthy of comment. Note the tablet on the W. wall of the chapel to Henry Stapleford and Dorothy his wife. "The said Henry was servant to Queen Elizabeth, King James and King Charles" (d. 1631). The manor was formerly called first _Waldene_, then Abbot's Walden, being the property of the abbots of St. Albans. _St. Paul's Walden Bury_, ½ mile S.W. from the church, is the seat of Lord Strathmore. Note the fine avenues in the park, commanding good views of the house. The walk S. to Whitwell, through the steep and twisted lane and across the bridge over the Maran, keeping the "bog" and cress beds on the right, is very pretty.

SANDON (3½ miles S.E. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R) has a flint church, probably late fourteenth century. Several features should be noted: (1) Perp. screen (oak) between nave and chancel; (2) old stained glass in windows of both aisles; (3) fine Jacobean oak pulpit; (4) old brass, with inscription which was imperfect 200 years back, to "Johannes Fitz Geoffery, Armiger" (d. 1480); (5) piscina in each aisle; (6) pinnacled and crocketted arches in chancel, over triple sedilia. The church was partially restored in 1875. The manor of _Sandone_ was owned by Saxon kings; Athelstan gave ten houses in the _vill_ to St. Paul's, London. The Old North Road to Royston is 2 miles E.

SANDRIDGE (2½ miles N.E. from St. Albans) is on the road to Wheathampstead, and is a thoroughly typical English village consisting, for the most part, of one street, with the parish church near its N.E. end. The parish stretches northwards to the Lea, and is very ancient; the _vill_ was given by Egfrith, a son of Offa, to St. Alban's Abbey. It owes its name to the nature of its soil. The church, one of the most ancient in the county, has known much restoration, but still retains Norman work. It was consecrated as a chapel a few years after the consecration of St. Alban's Abbey (1115); the chancel was rebuilt by Abbot John Moote (_circa_ 1400). The tower fell towards the end of the seventeenth century and the structure which took its place was pulled down and reconstructed in 1887. Note the old material in the apex, the Perp. windows in the aisles, the clerestoried Norman nave and the Norman font. There are N. and S. porches.

Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, derived his first title, Baron Sandridge, from this parish; the Jennings family, from which his wife Sarah was descended, possessed the manor for several generations. _Sandridge Bury_, N.W. from the village, is beautifully situated.

SARRATT (1½ mile N. from Chorley Wood Station, Met. Extension) is near the river Chess, on the Bucks border. The church is late Norman and is remarkable for the saddle-back roof of its tower, running N. and S., the only tower roof of its kind in Herts. The building is cruciform, of flint, dressed with Totternhoe and Caen stone, and has a square ambry, a very old piscina, and a double sedilia; the latter is E.E. Richard Baxter is said to have preached from the Jacobean pulpit. There are a few old memorials. The church is prettily situated, and a picturesque walk may be taken N.W. to Sarratt Bottom, thence N.E. to

SARRATT GREEN, which during the last two or three centuries has gradually outgrown Sarratt. Note the many fine old cottages on either side of the village green. Sarratt owes its name to Syret, a Saxon.

SAWBRIDGEWORTH (formerly Sabysford, Sabridgeworth, Saybrichesworth and now often called Sapsworth) lies at the S.E. extremity of the county, 4 miles S. from Bishop's Stortford. The district is not very diversified, but is open and pleasant. The history of the several old manor houses in the neighbourhood would fill a large volume; those of _Hyde Hall_ (E.) and _Pishiobury_ (S.) are engraved in Chauncy; the present mansion in Pishiobury[n] Park was built by Wyatt, and has a fine adjoining rosery. The church stands between the town and the station (G.E.R.); it has a good Perp. screen between the clerestoried Dec. nave and the chancel, and a large canopied piscina in the N. aisle. The brasses are numerous: note (1) to Sir John Leventhorpe (d. 1433) and Katherine his wife (d. 1431); the former was an executor to King Henry V.; (2) to several other members of the Leventhorpe family, too numerous to mention; (3) to Calpredus Jocelin (d. 147-), and his wives Katherine and Joan; (4) inscription on brass, which was long ago transcribed as follows:--

"Of your Charite
Sey a Pater Nostre and an Ave
For the Sowl of William Chaunce
On whose Sowl Jesu have Mercy".

Several monuments and brasses are to the memory of persons buried elsewhere. Note the marble altar-tomb in chancel to John Jocelin or Jocelyn (d. 1525) and Philippa his wife.

_Shafton End_ and _Shafton-Hoe_ lie a little E. from the Cambridge Road, on the Essex border, about 4 miles S.E. from Royston.

_Shaw Green_ is 4 miles S.E. from Baldock, near _Julians Park_.

SHEEPHALL (2 miles N.N.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) is a little E. from the Great North Road. It is a small village. The church, E.E., is approached through a good lich-gate, and contains many memorials, including two sixteenth-century brasses to members of the Nodes family, one of which was Sergeant of the Buckhounds to Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth (d. 1564).

SHENLEY (2 miles E. from Radlett Station, M.R.) is of interest to many for its fine old "lock-up," or cage, in the centre of the village. We are on high ground here, and the tower of St. Alban's Abbey is well seen above the trees to the N.W. The village is scattered along several converging roads, and the surrounding country is undulating and beautifully wooded. Turn down the lane opposite the Black Lion to reach the old church of St. Botolph, 1 mile N.N.W. from the cage. Note the venerable yews, and the quaint old grave-boards in the graveyard; also the altar-tomb to Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren, and the architect of St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street (d. at Shenley, 1736). The church was partly rebuilt in the middle of the eighteenth century, when the tower was demolished and a structure of timber, with quadrangular tiled roof, eventually erected in its stead. This has disappeared, and the "old parish church" is now an oblong building of flints, chalk-faced, with tiled roof. _Porters_, in the park, a little W., was the residence of Admiral Lord Howe. _Salisbury Hall_, a gabled manor house with massive chimneys, surrounded by a moat, is Jacobean, and stands on the spot occupied successively by the older houses of the Montacutes, and of Sir John Cutts, Treasurer and Privy Councillor to Henry VIII. Eugene Aram visited the neighbourhood.

_Sleap's Hyde_ (½ mile S.E. from Smallford Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet in the parish of Colney Heath.

_Smug Oak_, a few cottages, lies on the E. confines of Bricket Wood, ½ mile N.E. from that station, L.&N.W.R.

_Smyth's End_ adjoins Barley on the S. (_q.v._).

_Solesbridge Lane_, on the river Chess, is close to Chorley Wood.

_Southend_ and _Southend Green_ are hamlets, (1) adjoining Stevenage on the S., (2) ½ mile E. from Rushden.

_Spellbrook_ is a hamlet nearly midway between Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford.

_Stanborough_, on the Hatfield-Welwyn road, is midway between Hatfield and Brocket Hall Parks. The road which branches N.W. from the hamlet leads to the modern church at Lemsford (_q.v._).

STANDON has several claims to notice. It is a large village, 1 mile E. from the Old North Road. A little W., and on the other side of the railway, is the mansion which occupies the site of _Standon Lordship_, a fine old manor house, of which hardly a vestige remains. It was long owned by the Sadleir family, most illustrious of whom was Sir Ralph Sadleir (d. 1587), who fought at Pinkie. (See below.)

The church, largely Dec., still retains some Saxon foundations, and has singular features worthy of comment. The embattled tower is separate from the main structure, standing on the _S. side of the chancel_; the chancel is raised much higher than the nave, from which it is approached by a flight of steps; note the hagioscope on either side of the chancel arch. Within the chancel, on the S. side, stands the fine monument to Sir Ralph Sadleir, consisting of altar-tomb and marble effigy in armour, recumbent beneath a canopy supported by Corinthian pillars; note the relieved figures of his sons and daughters on the lower part of the tomb, also, suspended above, two helmets and other relics. The standard pole captured at Pinkie rests beside the effigy. There are also several old brasses. Close to the village, at Old Hall Green, are the Roman Catholic College, Chapel and Cemetery; the college was founded at Twyford, Hants, late in the seventeenth century, from whence it was removed, first to Standon Lordship, and then (1769) to Old Hall. The library is large and valuable.

STANSTEAD ABBOTS may be easily reached from St. Margaret's Station, G.E.R., ½ mile W. It was a place of considerable trade at the time of the Conquest. The old flint church is E.E., with a chapel on the N. side, built by Edward Baesh--whose monument it contains--in 1577. He was lord of the manor of Stanstead Abbots and "General Surveyor of the Victuals for the Navy Royal and Marine affairs within the Realms of England and Ireland" (d. 1587). He married Jane, a daughter of Sir Ralph Sadleir. (See Standon.) The six Baesh Almshouses were built and endowed by his son, Sir Edward Baesh. Several brasses, some mutilated, are in the church, notably one near the altar-rails to William Saraye or Saxaye, late of "Grais In" (d. 1581). _Stansteadbury_, a huge gabled mansion, largely rebuilt, stands in extensive grounds, and was the home of the Baeshs and of their successors, the Feildes.

_Stapleford_, a village on the river Beane, is 3 miles N.N.W. from Hertford. The church is Perp. with N. porch; it was enlarged nearly fifty years ago, when the present tower was added.

STEVENAGE, a town on the Great North Road, has shifted from its original position. It once stood farther N.E. and close to the church; but after a terrible fire which destroyed a large proportion of its houses the village was gradually rebuilt more directly on the famous old coaching road. The first paper mill in England is said to have been built in this parish. Several of its inns were standing when the regular coaches were on the road.

The old Church of St. Nicholas, ¾ mile N.E., is reached through an avenue of limes and chestnuts, headed by a new lich-gate. It is largely E.E. Note the octagonal pillars and pointed arches of the nave and the two small chapels attached to the chancel. The font at the W. end is under an Early Norman arch. There are several modern windows of stained glass, and a good brass, early sixteenth century, in the chancel. The church at the S. end of the town was designed by Sir A. W. Blomfield about sixty years back, but has since been much enlarged. Half a mile farther S. on the main road are six almost equidistant mounds, thought to be of Danish origin.

At the old Castle Inn, E. side of High Street, great numbers of persons have been shown on the rafters in a barn the coffin of Henry Trigg, whose will was proved in 1724; one of its provisions was that his body should not be buried, but disposed of in that way. Little more than a mile N.W. from the station, at Redcoats Green, stood, until 1893, "Elmwood House," the home of the Hermit of Hertfordshire. This man, James Lucas, was descended from a good family, but for reasons never satisfactorily explained he lived alone, and in a most filthy condition, from October, 1849, to April, 1874. A concise and reliable account of this peculiar man is issued by Messrs. Paternoster and Hales of Hitchin.

STOCKING PELHAM, on the Essex border (5½ miles N.E. from Braughing Station, G.E.R.), has an E.E. church dating from early fourteenth century; it has no tower. The chancel was restored in 1864. The manor is very ancient, and was held by Simon de Furneaux in the reign of Edward I., but the village now shows little of interest.

_Swangles_ (2¼ miles N.E. from Ware) is a small hamlet a little S. from the river Rib.

_Symonds Green_ (¾ mile S.W. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet between the Great North Road and the ruins of Minsden Chapel.

_Symonds Hyde_ Farm and Wood are in a pleasant district, very diversified, a little S.W. from Brocket Hall Park. Smallford and Hatfield Station (G.N.R.) are from 2 to 3 miles S. and S.W. respectively.

_Tea Green_, a hamlet near the Beds border, lies between Breachwood Green and Putteridge Bury.

_Tednambury_ and _Tednam Mill_ are on the river Stort and right on the Essex border. Sawbridgeworth Station (G.E.R.) is 1 mile S.

TEWIN (about 2 miles S.E. from Welwyn Station, G.N.R.) is most charmingly situated on high ground above the river Maran. The village is divided into the Upper and Lower Green; the church, ¼ mile from the latter, stands on a hill that slopes steeply to the river. Note the altar-tomb in churchyard to Lady Anne Grimston (d. 1710). The tomb is forced asunder by ash and sycamore trees growing together, a circumstance popularly attributed to the sceptical opinions of Lady Anne, who is said to have denied the doctrine of immortality, and to have expressed the wish that such a phenomenon should happen if the doctrine were indeed true. The church, which looks very old, is of flint, brick and rubble, with a large diamond-faced clock on one side of the tower. In the S. porch (entrance blocked up) is the marble monument to Sir Joseph Sabine (d. 1739); who fought under Marlborough. Note the pyramid, 15 feet high, and the recumbent effigy, dressed as a Roman soldier. There is also in the S. aisle a good brass to one Thomas Pygott (d. 1610), and a slab with an imperfect Lombardic inscription to Walter de Louthe. _Tewin Water_, in the park, N.W., is prettily surrounded by trees. Beautiful walks may be taken in almost any direction, especially in the trend of the river Maran towards Digswell and Welwyn.

_Tharbes End_ is 1½ mile N.W. from Sawbridgeworth.

THEOBALD'S PARK. (See Waltham Cross.)

THERFIELD (3 miles S.E. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R.) was, according to Dugdale's _Monasticon Anglicanum_, given to the church of Ramsey by Etheric, Bishop of Sherbourne, about 980, and Chauncy "guesses" that an abbot of Ramsey built Therfield church. The present church is a modern Dec. structure, a little W. from the centre of the scattered village. The _Icknield Way_ skirts the parish on the N. and many Roman relics have been discovered in the neighbourhood. There are also several tumuli in the parish, which lies on high, chalky soil.

THORLEY (2 miles S.W. from Bishop's Stortford) can show a good Norman doorway on the S. side of the little church; note the dog-tooth moulding and twisted nook-shafts. The remainder of the building is largely E.E.; there is a piscina in the chancel and--at the W. entrance--a niche for a holy water basin. The font, as at Bishop's Stortford, was a modern discovery. Thorley Wash and Thorley Street are between the church and the G.E.R.

THROCKING (2 miles N.W. from Buntingford Station, G.E.R.) stands on a hill. The church is E.E. and Dec., except the upper part of the tower, of brick, added in 1660. The monuments include one by Nollekens and one by Rysbrack, to members of the Elwes family, of whose manor house there are still some traces adjacent to the _Hall Farm_. The walk N.W. to Baldock, by way of Julians Park (7 to 8 miles), leads across open, breezy country.

THUNDRIDGE and WADE'S MILL are on the Old North Road, about 2 miles N. from Ware. The river Rib crosses the road at Wade's Mill. The present parish church, E.E. in style, was built about seventy years ago, close to the bridge over the Rib; the tower of the old church; "Little St. Mary's," with a Norman arch stands in the lower meadows ½ mile E. On the W. side of the Old North Road, close to Wade's Mill, a low obelisk marks the spot where Thomas Clarkson resolved to give his life to the cause of the abolition of slavery.

_Titmore Green_ is 1½ mile N.W. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.

_Tittenhanger._ (See London Colney.)

_Todd's Green_ adjoins Titmore Green.

_Tonwell_, on the main road from Ware or Stevenage, is a hamlet near the river Rib. It has a modern chapel-of-ease. Ware is 2½ miles S.E.

TOTTERIDGE, on the Middlesex border, is 1 mile W. from the Station (G.N.R.). Richard Baxter lived here for a short time. The neighbourhood is well wooded and very pleasing to the eye. The church, on the hill-top, dates only from 1790; but the site was occupied by an earlier structure. The memorials are of no historic interest; but near the enormous yew tree in the churchyard stands the tomb of the first Lord Cottenham (d. 1851). Near by, too, lies Sir Lucas Pepys, physician to George III. (d. 1830). _Totteridge Park_, W. from the village, was the residence of Baron Bunsen, and of the above-mentioned Lord Cottenham; the large, plain structure in which they lived, recently in part rebuilt, was erected about a century ago, taking the place of the fine old manor house, for some generations the home of the Lee family. At _Copped Hall_, near the church, the late Cardinal Manning was born in 1808.

TRING is the most westerly place of any importance in Herts. The station (L.&N.W.R.) is nearly 2 miles E. from the town, which is sheltered on the N.W. by the chalk hills, a fresh spur of which crops out 3 mile N.E. at Aldbury (_q.v._). The church (Perp.) stands near the centre of the town and is fortunate in having been restored under the direction of Mr. Bodley in 1882. It is an embattled, flint structure; the tower has a corner turret and is, like that at Hitchin, unusually massive. Note (1) the clustered columns of the nave, (2) the quaint corbels, (3) the large, imposing monument to Sir William Gore and his wife (d. 1707 and 1705 respectively); Sir William was Lord Mayor of London; (4) good Perp. windows in each aisle.

Tring was formerly a considerable centre of the straw-plait industry, which is still pursued to a less extent. The place is of great antiquity, _Treung_ hundred dating from the days of Alfred the Great. William I. gave it to Robert Earl of Ewe, and Stephen kindly bestowed it upon the monks of Faversham, "in perpetual Alms for the Health of the Souls of Maud his Queen and all faithful People". Edward II. granted to Tring market rights.

_Tring Park_ (property of Hon. N. C. Rothschild) is surrounded by perhaps the most exquisite woods--largely of beech--in the whole county. Much altered in modern times, it is said to have been designed by Wren, and to have been visited by Charles II. The park is well kept, and contains many living curiosities placed here by Lord Rothschild, a lover of natural history. The _Museum_, at the top of Akeman Street, containing a fine zoological collection, is the outcome of his lordship's energy and benevolence. The _Museum House_, to which it is attached, is a prettily designed structure of red brick, with gables.

_Tring, Little_, is a hamlet 1¼ mile N.W. from the town, and Tring Grove, a hamlet 1¼ mile N.E. The former is near the large reservoirs, upon which several of the rare birds mentioned in the Introduction (Section IV.) were observed.

_Trowley Bottom_ (3 miles N.W. from Redbourn Station, M.R.) is a hamlet a little S. from Flamstead, in one of the most thoroughly rural districts in the county. The Roman _Watling Street_ (St. Albans-Dunstable road) is 1 mile N.E.

_Turnford_ (1¼ mile S.W. from Broxbourne Station, G.E.R.) is a hamlet in Cheshunt parish, on the New River. _Broxbourne Bury Park_ is 1 mile N.

_Two Waters_ owes its name to its position at the junction of two small rivers--the Gade and the Bulbourne. It is in Hemel Hempstead parish, and about 1 mile E. from Boxmoor Station.

_Tyttenhanger._ (See Tittenhanger.)

_Upwick Green_ (4 miles N.W. from Bishop's Stortford) is a hamlet on the Essex border. _Hadham Hall_ (see Little Hadham) is 1 mile S.

VERULAM. Of the old Roman _municipium_ (_Verulamium_) there now remains above ground little more than some large fragments of crumbling wall in the valley of the Ver, immediately S.W. from St. Albans. Passing under the old Gatehouse and crossing the bridge at the Silk Mill the visitor, instead of turning right and following the course of the Ver, should keep straight on and pass the small gate into Verulam Woods. On his right as he follows the broad footpath will be the outer E. wall of the Roman city; on his left what appears a long gorge, overgrown by bushes and trees of many species, was once the _fosse_. Note the great thickness and solidity of the walls, and the tile-like bricks, similar to those in the Abbey tower, mingled with flints. Presently both wall and fosse turn sharply W. and may be followed in that direction for a considerable distance. The walls may also be traced at other spots farther W., particularly a large mass known as Gorhambury Block, believed to mark the boundary of the _municipium_ in that direction.

It has been mentioned in the Introduction (Section IX.) that the only Roman theatre known to have existed in England stood in this neighbourhood. Its remains were discovered rather more than seventy years ago in a field immediately W. from St. Michael's Church; nothing is now to be seen, for the excavations have been again covered. The discovery included that of the stage, somewhat narrow, the _auditorium_, with many rows of seats, and portions of the frescoed walls. Many coins were found among the ruins.

Mention must be made of the fact that the Roman _Verulamium_ was the scene of the awful massacre in the time of Boadicea, when the Queen of the Iceni, with a great number of followers, slew alike the British and Roman inhabitants and partially destroyed the city (A.D. 61). An account of this is in the _Annals_ of Tacitus. The place was subsequently rebuilt and occupied by the Saxons, who called it _Watlingceaster_, or _Werlamceaster_.

_Wade's Mill._ (See Thundridge.)

_Wakely_ (2 miles W. from Westmill Station, G.E.R.) is a hamlet in Westmill parish, consisting of a farm and a few cottages.

WALKERN (4½ miles E. from Stevenage) is a large village, with many picturesque nooks and cottages. The river Beane skirts it on the E. side. The manor is very ancient; Chauncy speaks of "Walkerne" as a town, and mentions a mill which stood in his day (1632-1719) at its S. end, presumably where Walkern Mill now stands. The church, on a knoll sloping to the Beane, is mostly Perp., but retains Norman work in the S. aisle; the chancel is modern, E.E. in style. The effigy in Purbeck marble in a recess of S. wall, of a knight in chain mail, is thought to represent one of the Lanvalei family. If so, it forms an interesting link with a remote past, for in the reign of King John one Alan Basset paid a hundred marks to that monarch, and gave him a palfrey "that his daughter might marry the heir of William de Lanvalley". There are also effigies on brass to the Humberstone family (sixteenth century). _Walkern Hall_ (1 mile S.E.) stands in a small but pretty park; _Walkern Bury_ (1 mile E.) can still show some remains of a castle.

WALLINGTON (3½ miles E. from Baldock) lies in one of the most quiet districts of the county, a district almost entirely agricultural. The village is small; a few cottages are ancient and picturesque, but there is little to notice. Take the lane opposite the Plough Inn to reach the church, which can show a good Perp. roof and screen, and some mutilated monuments and brasses in the chapel. The main structure is Dec.; but the chancel was rebuilt forty years ago. A walk affording views very characteristic of Herts may be taken from the footpath near the walled pond adjoining the church, by bearing S.S.E. to Red Hill, Rushden and Cottered.

_Walsworth_, a hamlet, is almost a suburb at the N.E. end of Hitchin, ½ mile from the station.

WALTHAM CROSS, on the London-Cambridge road, owes its name, as is well known, to the Cross which Edward I. erected to the memory of Queen Eleanor about 1¼ mile W. from Waltham Abbey. The cross stands a little W. from Waltham Station (G.E.R.), where the above-mentioned road meets that which leads E. to the Abbey. Although frequently restored it is perhaps even now more complete than any other Eleanor Cross still existing. (That erected at St. Albans, as already stated, was destroyed about 200 years ago.) It is, I believe, disputed as to whether it was designed by Pietro Cavalini or not; it was completed in 1294. It is hexagonal in shape, of three stages, diminishing from basement to summit; the details of its sculpture can be readily seized by examining Mr. New's drawing. The restoration of 1833 was worked in Bath stone; this was largely replaced by new material, in Ketton stone, only a few years ago, at which time the Old Falcon Inn, which projected almost to the cross, was pulled down, thus affording a view of the monument from all sides.

The Four Swans, close to the cross, dates from 1260, as is testified on the large, quaint sign-board which swings above the road; but only a few portions of the present structure are of any great antiquity. There is a modern church a little N. from the cross; but much of the district commonly called Waltham is in Essex. Of great interest to visitors, however, and about 1 mile W. from the Cross, is _Theobald's Park_, a brick mansion erected about 150 years back by Sir G. W. Prescott, Bart. At one of the entrances to the park stands Temple Bar, brought here from Fleet Street and erected in its present position in 1888. The house does not occupy the site of the historic manor house visited by so many sovereigns, which stood on a slight eminence some distance to the N.W. It was William Cecil, afterwards Lord Burghley, who commenced to build that famous mansion in 1560, and enlarged it considerably when he found it pleasant in the eyes of many persons of high degree. Queen Elizabeth was frequently a visitor at Theobalds. It was Burghley's son, Robert Cecil, who entertained James I. here as that monarch was on his way to London and the English Crown, and James became so pleased with the house and its surroundings that he obtained it from Cecil, giving him the royal manor of Hatfield in its stead. It was from _Theobalds_ that Charles I. set out to raise his standard at Nottingham (1642). The house was partially destroyed during the turmoil that ensued; after the Restoration it was given by Charles II. to George Monk. It was subsequently the property of the Earl of Portland and of several other persons.

WARE was for a long period, and is perhaps now, the centre of the malt trade in Herts, but brickmaking is also extensively carried on. The river Lea skirts the town on the S. side, and is crossed by an iron bridge near the Barge Inn. The High Street displays many new houses and shops, but by turning into the smaller by-ways visitors may find quaint cottages and picturesque nooks and corners. The town is very ancient, but contained only a few persons at the time of the Conquest.

The cruciform church of St. Mary has been much restored; the body of the present structure is Dec.; but the tower and chancel are Perp. Note (1) the carved oak screen separating the S. transept from the Lady-chapel; (2) sedilia, piscina and ambries in the chapel itself; (3) octagonal font (_temp._ Henry IV.), bearing figures of saints on its panels; (4) mural monument in S. transept to Sir Richard Fanshawe; (5) brass to W. Pyrry or Pyrey (d. 1470) and his wives Agnes and Alice, the inscription was apparently never completed; (6) curious brass figure near pulpit. There is also a modern church in the New Road, E.E. in style, of Kentish Rag and Bath Stone.

There was a Franciscan Priory a little W. from the church, which, although sometimes said to have been founded by Margaret, Countess of Leicester (_temp._ Henry III.), was probably of much earlier foundation, though doubtless enlarged by that lady. It fell into decay after the Dissolution, but some remains of the old buildings are still to be seen at _Ware Priory_, a mansion occupying the site. The property formed a separate manor, which was given to the Countess of Richmond by her son, Henry VII.

Ware is not without literary association. The Johnny Gilpin, on the road to Amwell, commemorates the hero of Cowper's ballad; Pepys mentions his visits to the town on several occasions; Dick Turpin, as the story runs in Ainsworth's _Rookwood_, passed through Ware in his famous ride to York; Godwin, who figures so largely in the Lamb literature, was for some years the Independent minister of the town. By a long ascent N. from the town, we reach, by turning right, the hamlet of _Ware Side_, picturesquely scattered over a slight depression close to _Widford_ (_q.v._). W. from the town is _Ware Park_, a mansion on a beautiful eminence.

_Warren's Green_ (about 4 miles N.E. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a small hamlet.

_Water End_, on the river Gade, is on the S.W. confines of Gaddesden Park. There are also hamlets of the same name (1) close to Ayot Station, G.N.R.; (2) at the E. extremity of Mimms Park, 2 miles N.W. from Potter's Bar Station (Middlesex).

_Waterford_ and _Waterford Marsh_ are in Bengeo parish, on the river Beane. On the marsh is some grazing common, free to all parishioners.

_Waterside_ is the name of a few cottages (1) on the river Gade, near King's Langley village; (2) at Mill Green, 1 mile N.E. from Hatfield.

WATFORD, including its quickly rising suburbs, is much the largest town in Hertfordshire. The Colne crosses the high road where it dips before rising towards Bushey, and Chauncy says that the town derives its name from the Wet Ford by which the river is crossed. The building of the Junction Station (L.&N.W.R.), N.E. from the High Street, did much to facilitate the growth of Watford and extend its trade; the railroad diverges S.W. to Rickmansworth only, and N.E. to Bricket Wood, Park Street and St. Albans; the main line from London passes through a long tunnel before reaching King's Langley Station. The antiquities of the town itself are less interesting and indeed less known than those of other towns in the county, and Chauncy, _e.g._, finds little to say about it. The manor was long held by the abbots of St. Albans; then it became Crown property, and after several changes of ownership passed to William, fourth Earl of Essex, whose descendants are still lords of the manor.

The parish church, on a small yard adjoining the S. side of the High Street, is Perp., and was well restored about fifty years ago; with its _Katherine-_ and _Essex Chapels_ it forms a large and imposing structure. The latter chapel was built in 1595 by Bridget, Countess of Bedford. Its monuments are very numerous and comprise (1) to Sir Charles Morison, Kt. (d. 1599), and Dorothy his wife; note the fine kneeling effigies; (2) to Sir Charles Morison, K.B., son of the foregoing (d. 1628), and the Hon. Mary (Hicks) his wife, with recumbent effigies one above the other, and attendant figures of a daughter and two sons (note the Corinthian columns which support the canopy overshadowing the whole); both these Morison monuments were the work of Nicholas Stone, mentioned in Walpole's _Anecdotes_; (3) altar-tomb to the founder of the chapel (d. 1600); (4) altar-tomb with Tuscan columns and recumbent effigy to Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Russell (d. 1611). Among the brasses are those to (1) Henry Dickson (d. 1610); George Miller (d. 1613) and Anthony Cooper, "servants to Sir Charles Morryson, Kt."; (2) imperfect, Hugo de Holes, Justice of the King's Bench (d. 1415), and Margaretta his wife (d. 1416); (3) Henry Baldwyn of Reedheath (d. 1601), Alice, his wife, and three children; (4) James Moss, a messenger to George II. (d. 1758).

There are modern churches: (1) St. John's, in the Sutton Road, a Gothic edifice completed in 1893; (2) St. Andrew's, near the Junction, E.E. in design, with a good stained glass window in the S. aisle, and a beautiful Roman Catholic church by Bentley, architect of Westminster cathedral. In Beechen Grove is one of the finest Nonconformist (Baptist) chapels in the county; it dates from 1878 and is Italian in design. Market day is on Tuesday.

CASHIOBURY PARK stretches from the N.W. end of Watford, reaching--together with Grove Park, which it joins--to the parting of the ways at Langleybury Church (4 miles N.W. from Watford Old Church). It is crossed from N. to S. by the river Gade. The present mansion dates from 1800; it was built by Wyatt for the fifth Earl of Essex. Disposed around an open courtyard, its many handsome apartments make a noble appearance; what was formerly part of the N. wing of the old mansion built by Sir Richard Morrison and his son Charles in the sixteenth century is still retained, although that house was largely rebuilt by the first earl, from designs furnished by Hugh May. There is a fine library, and three smaller ones, the collection of books being very valuable; but in the estimation of many the pictures are still more so. Among them may be named: (1) Arthur Lord Capel and his family, C. Janssens; this was the Capel who defended Colchester and was beheaded in 1649; (2) Charles II., by Lely; (3) fifth Earl of Essex as a boy with his sister, by Reynolds, in frame carved by Grinling Gibbons; (4) Countess of Ranelagh, full length, by Kneller; (5) portrait by Rubens, probably of Charlotte de la Tremouille, afterwards Countess of Derby; (6) "Moll Davis" (actress), by Lely. There are many others, especially further portraits of the Capel family. The park and grounds are beautifully laid out. The park is open to the public; but the house is shown only by special request.

WATTON or WATTON AT STONE is a large village on the Hertford-Stevenage road and the river Beane, 3½ miles S.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R. Its position is very central, the roads from Ware, Hertford, Great and Little Munden, Walkern, Stevenage, Welwyn and Tewin all converging within the area of the main street. The church, at the S. end of the village, is Perp.; it was entirely restored in 1851. Note (1) piscina and triple sedilia in chancel; (2) doors formerly leading to rood loft; (3) curious tombstone, E.E., in the churchyard; (4) E. window of stained glass, dating from the Restoration; (5) memorial window in the S. aisle to Lady Catherine Barrington. The brasses are unusually old and interesting, _e.g._, (1) with canopied effigy, to Sir Philip Peletot (d. 1361); (2) to Sir E. Bardolf (d. 1455); the effigy is that of his wife, his own having been long missing; (3) to John Boteler (Butler) and family (1514). The Boteler family, to whom there are many other memorials in the church, lived for many generations in the manor house of Woodhall, burnt in 1771. The house stood on high ground in the beautiful _Woodhall Park_, E. from Watton Church, on the site occupied by the present fine mansion (Abel Smith, Esq., J.P.). The Beane flows through the park and has been widened to form a large sheet of water S. from the house.

_Welham Green_ is between Hatfield- and Mimms Parks, 2 miles S. from Hatfield Station.