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Map of England with the old extent of Hertfordshire shown in red
Ancient extent of Hertfordshire
Quote

The history of Hertfordshire includes such a number of events of primary importance that it is somewhat difficult to make a selection of those most fitted to appear in the limited space available.—Richard Lydekker.[1]

Not to be confused with History of Herefordshire.

Hertfordshire is an English county forged in the Norse–Saxon wars of the ninth century and developed through commerce serving London. It is a land-locked county in the heart of England, well-protected from invasion, though it certainly saw battles during the various English and British civil wars, and action in its skies during the two world wars. Nowadays, with a population slightly over 1 million, it retains much of its historic character, but its industry and commerce have changed radically.

Although Hertfordshire is numbered among the historic counties of England, it was not created until the early tenth century. Since then, its development has been intimately tied with that of London, which lies on its southern border. London is easily the largest city in Western Europe;[Notes 1] it requires an enormous tonnage of supplies each day and Hertfordshire grew wealthy on the proceeds of trade because no less than three of the old Roman roads serving the capital run through it,[Notes 2] as do the Grand Union Canal and other watercourses.

Early history

Image of a dry ditch overgrown with mature trees
Beech Bottom Dyke

The land now called Hertfordshire has probably been occupied since about 12,000 years ago in the Mesolithic period.[2] Hertfordshire contains several Iron Age hill forts, including the largest example in Eastern England at Ravensburgh Castle in Hexton.[3] There is a wealth of Iron Age burial sites in Hertfordshire, making it a place of international importance in the study of the period.[3] Before the Roman invasion of Britain, a Celtic tribe called the Catuvellauni lived there. Their capital was Verlamion, where their king Cunobelinus built Beech Bottom Dyke, a defensive earthwork.[4] When the Romans took over control in the first century CE, the settlement—described by archaeologist Barry Cunliffe as an oppidum[4]—became known as Verulamium. Alban, a Roman army officer who became Britain's first Christian martyr, died in the third or fourth century and gave his name to the modern town of St Albans; there has been a movement to have him replace Saint George as England's patron saint.[5] After the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain, the Saxons partitioned the area between the Kingdom of Mercia and the Kingdom of Essex.[6]

Early Middle Ages

Origins

Map of Great Britain indicating the various ancient kingdoms
Great Britain around the year 800

The first reference to Hertfordshire (as "Heoroford") appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's entry for 1011.[7] However, the county's true origins lie about a century earlier, with the establishment of the two burhs of Hertford by Edward the Elder in 912 and 913 respectively.[8][Notes 3]

Hertfordshire clearly did not exist in the late ninth century. At that time, in the war between Saxon and Norseman, Hertfordshire was on the front line. When, after the Saxon victory in the Battle of Ethandun in 878, the Saxon King Alfred the Great and Norse King Guthrum the Old agreed to partition England between them, the dividing line between their territories split what was to become Hertfordshire almost through the middle, along the line of the River Lea.[6] Their agreement survives in the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum which establishes the extent of the Danelaw. It seems the land now comprising Hertfordshire was then partly in the Kingdom of Essex (nominally under Norse control, though still populated by Saxons) and partly in the Kingdom of Mercia (which remained Saxon).[8][Notes 4]

Alfred died in 899, and his son Edward the Elder worked with Alfred's son-in-law, Æthelred, and daughter, Æthelflæd, to re-take parts of southern England from the Norse.[8] During these campaigns he built the two burhs of Hertford as already noted. Their sites have not been found, and probably lie beneath the streets of Hertford itself.[9] From Hertford, together with Stafford, Tamworth and Witham, Edward and Æthelflæd pushed the Danes back to Northumbria in a series of battles. Anglo-Saxon Hertford is an example of town planning as demonstrated by its organised rectangular grid street pattern.[10]

Tenth century

The next substantial piece of evidence about Hertfordshire survives in the will of Æthelgifu, from the late 980s. She seems to have been a Christian Saxon noblewoman who lived in the county, and her will is an important document.[Notes 5] It reveals that Æthelgifu had substantial holdings in Hertfordshire, including three large estates. She left much of her land to the monks of St Albans, and her will shows the importance of Hitchin as a legal and administrative centre at that time.[11] Hitchin probably remained in royal hands into the tenth century.[12] Both Edward the Martyr (from 975 to 978) and Æthelred the Unready (from 978 to 1016) minted coins in Hertford.[13] Abbot Ulsinus founded St Albans School in the tenth century, probably in 948, making it Hertfordshire's oldest school, remaining operational to the present day.[14]

High Middle Ages

A river flowing towards some trees
The River Lea below Kings Weir

Hertfordshire is largely situated on a clay sub-soil, and much of its land, though rich, was "heavy" and not naturally well-suited to crop cultivation with a medieval plough.[15] However, the county did grow good barley which later became important for the brewing trade;[16] as a result, Hertfordshire developed more through commerce than through agriculture, which drove most of England's economy during this period.

In the High Middle Ages, the county was relatively urbanised by medieval standards, but because it had many small roads rather than a few large ones, the towns followed the same pattern: lots of villages and small towns rather than a central conurbation.[17][Notes 6] This seems to be because travellers used a variety of routes, so towns formed in a variety of places to service them, which had the effect of dispersing the population.

Eleventh century

Æthelred famously made several very bad decisions during his reign,[Notes 7] but the St Brice's Day massacre was among the worst. In 1002, King Æthelred ordered the St Brice's Day massacre[Notes 8] which is thought to have started at Welwyn in Hertfordshire.[18] The massacre was to be a great slaughter of the Norse in England, including women and children. It is likely that not many Norse were actually put to death, but one of those executed was Gunhilde, the sister of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, and he invaded England the next year in retaliation.[19] Forkbeard's assault on England lasted ten years, until 1013, when Æthelred was forced to flee to the continent. Forkbeard became King of England on Christmas Day, but only reigned for five weeks before dying. History does not record the cause of death. At his death, Æthelred returned to reclaim his crown.[Notes 9] As already mentioned, the first reference to Hertfordshire appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 1011.[7]

After the Norman Invasion, Edgar the Ætheling (the successor to Harold Godwinson) surrendered to William the Conqueror at Little Berkhamsted.[20][Notes 10] The Domesday Book, completed in 1086, lists 168 settlements in Hertfordshire.[21] Hertfordshire's population grew quickly from then until the Black Death reached the county in 1349.[22] The Norman church at St Albans Abbey was finished in 1088.[23]

Twelfth century

Commerce grew in Hertfordshire from the start of the twelfth century;[24] the number of markets and fairs rose steadily from about 1100 until the Black Death.[Notes 11]

The Knights Templar built Baldock, starting around 1140.[26] In 1185, a survey of the Knights' holdings showed Baldock had 122 tenants on 150 acres of land.[27] It also had a number of skilled craftsmen. King John gave the Knights a fair and market at Baldock in 1199, to be held annually. It was to begin on St Matthew's Day and last five days in all.[28]

King Stephen held court at St Albans in 1143. He arrested Geoffrey de Mandeville, who held shrievalty of London, Middlesex and Hertfordshire. De Mandeville was forced to surrender his castles, including the one he had recently built at South Mimms.[29] He went on to become a noted outlaw and bandit.

Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman ever to have been elected Pope (in 1154), was born in Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire,[30] probably around 1100. He was elected Pope on 2 December 1154, and died in 1159.[31]

Thirteenth century

The first draft of the Magna Carta was written at St Albans Abbey in 1213. Two years later, King John was in St Albans when he learned of the Archbishop's suspension.[32] Though John signed the Magna Carta, he did not hold up his side of the bargain, and Hertfordshire was the main battlefield in the civil war that followed.[33] On 16 December 1216, Hertford Castle surrendered in the face of a siege from Dauphin Louis (later Louis VIII of France).[32] Berkhamsted Castle surrendered around the same time.[34] In 1261 King Henry III held parliament in the county.[34] In 1295, another parliament was held in St Albans,[35] and in 1299, King Edward I gave Hertford Castle to his wife Margaret of France on her wedding day.[35]

During this century, Hertfordshire's commerce grew still further. The county traded in butter and cheese, and to a lesser extent meat, hides and leather. Much of this produce was bound for London.[36] The county also developed its inns and other services for travellers to and from London.[37]

Late Middle Ages

Fourteenth century

In 1302, King Edward I granted Kings Langley to the Prince of Wales.[38] King Edward II's "favourite", Piers Gaveston, was much enamoured of the palace at King's Langley and he was buried there after his death in 1312.[34]

Hertford Castle was used as a gaol for a series of important captives during the Hundred Years War. Queen Isabella was imprisoned in Hertford Castle in 1330,[39][Notes 12] as were King David II of Scotland and his queen in 1346, after the Battle of Neville's Cross. King John II of France was imprisoned there in 1359[40] in considerable luxury.[Notes 13]

The Black Death midway through the fourteenth century massively reduced Hertfordshire's population. The number of residents probably fell by 30%–50%, and likely took until the sixteenth century to recover.[22] This meant many of the settlements in Hertfordshire were abandoned, particularly in the north and east of the county where agricultural yields were poor. Near Tring, a cluster of deserted medieval villages can still be seen.[22] However, the residents who survived grew richer.[41] The reduced population meant workers could demand higher wages and better conditions, despite laws such as the Ordinance of Labourers of 1349 and the Statute of Labourers of 1351.[42] These changed economic conditions were contributory factors to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, in which Hertfordshire's people were deeply involved.[43] After Wat Tyler's execution, King Richard II went to St Albans in person to quell the rebels.[43]

Fifteenth century

Outside of a timber-framed English pub
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, a fifteenth century public house in St Albans

King Henry IV moved his government temporarily to St Albans early in his reign for fear of public opinion in London.[44] He married Catherine of France on 2 June 1420, and gave her Hertford Castle.[45]

Two important battles of the Wars of the Roses took place in Hertfordshire. At the First Battle of St Albans on 22 May 1455, which was the first major battle of the Wars of the Roses,[46] Richard of York and Neville the Kingmaker defeated the Lancastrians, killed their leader, Edmund Beaufort[Notes 14] and captured King Henry VI. The Lancastrians recaptured the King at the Second Battle of St Albans on 12 February 1461.[47]

The Battle of Barnet took place on 14 April 1471. Neville the Kingmaker advanced on London. He camped on Hadley Green, and King Edward IV's army met him there. After confusion in the early morning mist, in which the Yorkists seem to have ended up fighting each other, the Lancastrians won the battle. The Kingmaker was captured and executed, and Edward's authority was never again seriously challenged.[48]

England's first recorded paper mill, which was the property of one John Tate,[Notes 15] stood in Hertford from near the very end of the fifteenth century.[49]

England's oldest surviving pub is in Hertfordshire and dates to this period. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks,[Notes 16] which is in St Albans, was rebuilt in 1485. Some of the foundation stones are even older, allegedly going back to the eighth century.

Renaissance

Sixteenth century

Under Queen Mary, who earned the sobriquet "Bloody Mary", three "heretics" (that is, protestants who refused to become catholic) were burnt at the stake in Hertfordshire. William Hale, Thomas Fust, and George Tankerville, were executed at Barnet, Ware, and St Albans respectively. In 1554, Queen Mary granted the town of Hertford its first charter for a fee of thirteen shillings and fourpence, due annually at Michaelmas.[50]

Queen Elizabeth I lived at Hatfield House near Hatfield as a girl. Legend has it that she was seated beneath an oak tree (which though now dead, can still be seen at Hatfield House) when she learned she had become Queen. When plague ravaged London, she held parliaments at Hertford Castle[51] in 1564 and 1581.[52] The law courts moved to St Albans for the same reason.[52] During her reign, Hertfordshire was specifically commended for its soldiers' efficiency.[53] In the mobilisation of 1588 for the Anglo-Spanish War, the county sent twenty-five lances and sixty light horse to Brentwood, a thousand infantry to Tilbury, a thousand to Stratford-at-Bow, and five hundred to guard Her Majesty's person.[53] The Arms of Hertfordshire were granted next year.[54]

Edward Seymour was appointed Earl of Hertford in 1559. He married Lady Catherine Grey, who was Lady Jane Grey's sister, in 1560. As Catherine was in line for the throne, she needed Queen Elizabeth's permission to wed, and because this was not sought, the marriage was held clandestinely with Edward's sister, Lady Jane Seymour, being the only witness. The Earl of Leicester betrayed the marriage to Elizabeth, so the Earl and Countess of Hertford ended up interned at the Tower of London. An angry Elizabeth also annulled their marriage.[Notes 17]

Seventeenth century

Quote

...a county every where abounding with fertile fields, fat pastures, shady groves and pleasant rivolets.—James Brome, writing in 1700.[55]

King James I was often in Hertfordshire.[56] He ordered substantial works to be carried out in the county. He built Theobalds Park, enclosing a large tract of southern Hertfordshire in a wall.[Notes 18] Parts of the wall still exist.[51] He was also instrumental in creating the New River, which was the brainchild of Welsh entrepreneur, Hugh Myddelton: an artificial watercourse that anticipated the construction of England's canal network by over a century.[51]

James I, who was a confirmed dog-lover, also built a huge kennel (about 46 feet long) and dog-yard (over half an acre in size) at Royston.[58] He seems to have loved Royston and spent considerable time there, hunting and feasting and enjoying himself—so much so that his favourite dog, Jowler, returned one evening with a note tied to his collar. The note read:

Good Mr Jowler, we pray you to speak to the King (for he hears you every day and so he doth not us) that it will please His Majesty to go back to London, for else the country will be undone; all our provision is spent already and we are not able to entertain him longer.[59]

Mixed media image of a blonde woman in 17th century dress
Sarah Churchill

On 29 April 1617, Sir Richard Hale of Kings Walden was granted licence to found a grammar school in Hertford.[60] The Richard Hale School is still a prominent school in Hertfordshire.

During the civil war, the county was mainly parliamentarian.[54] St Albans was an especially parliamentary stronghold.[54] The county suffered during this war from the depredations of deserters and mutineers from the various encamped armies, as a result of which the Chilterns were ravaged, Ashridge was plundered, Little Gaddesden Church was rifled and the tombs broken open. In 1645, a dozen men of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army were hanged for outrages against the people of the county.

In 1647, the parliamentary army, still unpaid after their victory in the First English Civil War, camped on Thriploe Heath near Royston. They sent a letter to Parliament demanding their pay.[54] This led to a clash between Cromwell's army and the Levellers at Cockbush Field, near Ware, on 15 November 1647.[61] Cromwell captured and imprisoned the Levellers' "agitators" and a number were sentenced to death, but only one was actually put to death.[62]

In the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, many children were sent to Hertfordshire: 62 were sent to Ware, and 56 arrived in Hertford.[63]

Sarah Churchill, one of the most influential women in English history, was born as Sarah Jennings in St Albans in 1660.[64] She married the Duke of Marlborough, rose to very high favour with the Crown, then fell out with the Queen and was dismissed, but invited back to Court after the Queen's death. She argued with many very important Englishmen and women in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, grew stupendously rich, toured the continent and built Blenheim Palace.[65] Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales were both descended from her.

A new title, the Earl of St Albans, was created in 1628.[Notes 19] The earldom had a short and undistinguished history and was effectively wiped out in the civil war shortly thereafter. Rather than revive the Earldom, Charles Beauclerk, illegitimate son of King Charles II and Nell Gwyn, was made Duke of St Albans in 1684.[66] This peerage was a great deal more successful, and as of 2024 St Albans is on its fourteenth duke.

In 1683, there was a plot to assassinate Charles II and his brother as he passed through Rye House in Hertfordshire. Unfortunately for the plotters, the Royal party was early, so the opportunity was missed; when the plot was discovered, it became a pretext for a purge of the Whig leaders.[62]

Modern era

An old map of Hertfordshire
Map of Hertfordshire (with north to the right) in Gray's Book of Roads, George Carrington Gray (1824)

In the last two centuries, Hertfordshire's population has multiplied a hundredfold. Around the end of the eighteenth century, its population was around 95,000.[67] In 1821, it was just under 130,000.[67] In 1881 it was just over 203,000,[67] and by 1921 it was just over 333,000.[67] By the 2001 census, it was 1,033,977.[68]

Eighteenth century

During the eighteenth century brewing rose to prominence as an industry in Hertfordshire.[69]

Accusations of witchcraft were still being made in Hertfordshire in the eighteenth century. Jane Wenham, of Walkern, was convicted of witchcraft in 1712 in one of the last witch trials recorded. The accused was over the age of 70 at the time.[70] Queen Anne pardoned Wenham, who "lived on in a cottage at Gilston". In 1751, John and Ruth Osborne of Gubblecot, Tring, were accused of witchcraft. A mob dragged them through the village pond until Ruth drowned.[71] One Thomas Colley, a chimney sweep and apparently the ringleader, was hanged as a result; but the people disapproved of the hanging, and stayed away, so few watched Colley swing.[71]

Smallpox broke out in Hertford gaol in 1729, and spread into the town. The next year, smallpox hit Hitchin, killing 158 people.[72]

The River Lea Navigation Act of 1739 led to the river being improved, becoming navigable as far as Ware. Locks were built in Ware, Broxbourne, and "Stanstead"[73] (presumably Stanstead Abbotts rather than Stansted Mountfitchet, which is not on the Lea). By 1797, the Grand Junction Canal (now called the Grand Union Canal) was being cut. Its highest point is the Tring Summit in Hertfordshire, which was formed in 1799.[74] Because a canal barge can contain so much more than a wagon, the waterways expansions led to a massive increase in the quantity of supplies that could reach London (and an equal increase in the amount of refuse and manure that could be carted away). Their impact on trade and commerce in Hertfordshire is hard to overstate.

John Scott, the Quaker poet and writer, moved to Great Amwell in 1740.[Notes 20] He is now mainly remembered for Scott's Grotto which was restored in the 1990s and is the largest grotto in the United Kingdom. It is owned by East Hertfordshire District Council and open to the public.[75]

Hertfordshire was affected by mobilisation for the Seven Years War. In 1756, the sum of £350 was paid to the inns and public houses of Ware for the troops staying with them.[76] The next year, Pitt's army reforms made Hertfordshire liable to provide 560 officers and men.[76]

The county also contributed soldiers to the French Revolutionary Wars. On 7 May 1794, the lists opened for the Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry Regiment, which was to consist of five troops of cavalry drawn from the county.[77] The Loyal Hemel Hempstead Volunteers formed in 1797.[78] Two further troops of volunteers were raised in 1798, at Borehamwood and Sawbridgeworth,[79] and the same year, the Hitchin Volunteers were also raised, but their duty was only to defend land within three miles of Hitchin.[79][Notes 21]

Of local interest, Stephen Austin of Fore Street, Hertford, published a newspaper called the Hartford Mercury in 1772, priced at two and a half pence.[78] A newspaper called The Mercury still circulates in Hertfordshire.

In 1795, one Dr Walker wrote a report on agriculture and forestry within the county. He said "Herts is justly deemed the first and best corn county in the kingdom",[78] an assessment that may not be entirely free from local bias. It nevertheless shows how more advanced farming techniques and soil improvement programmes had enabled farmers to work Hertfordshire's "heavier" soils to better effect over the centuries since the Saxon–Norse wars.

Nineteenth century

Thanks to a rapidly-increasing population and improved record-keeping practices, the volume of paper records available for Hertfordshire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is huge. Many of these documents are written or printed on paper made locally, at a time when paper-making joined brewing as another dominant industry in the county.[51]

Black and white image of a Victorian railway station
Berkhampstead Railway Station in 1838

In 1809, John Dickinson purchased Apsley Mills in Hemel Hempstead for his newly-patented paper-making machine.[81] In a dispute with the Society of Paper-Makers in 1821, he dismissed the men involved and trained replacements.[82] By 1825, Apsley and Nash Mills in Hemel Hempstead were using steam power to produce paper.[83] Dickinson patented his silk threadpaper in 1829, which was used, among other things, for Exchequer Bonds, and had to be made under supervision from two excise men.[84] He built Croxley Mills, near Rickmansworth, in 1830[84] and Abbots Hill, Nash Mills, in 1836.[85]

In 1840, the Uniform Penny Post came in. Dickinson made paper for the stamps, and also for the Mulready envelopes.[86] He built a private gas works at Apsley in 1851.[87] In March 1886, John Dickinson & Co. Ltd. was incorporated with £500,000 in capital and ten acres of glass houses.[88] By 1900, the company had 264 acres of glass houses in the Cheshunt area.[88]

A large red-brick country manor house with trees in the foreground
Hatfield House in 1880

Meanwhile, the Bulwer-Lytton family was resident at Knebworth House. It passed to Mrs Bulwer-Lytton in 1809[89] and in 1811, she demolished three sides of its quadrangle, altering the remaining one into Gothic style.[89] Edward Bulwer-Lytton succeeded to the Knebworth Estate in 1843. He entertained various authors, including Charles Dickens and Benjamin Disraeli, there.[90] In November 1850, Bulwer-Lytton and Dickens formed a Guild of Literature and Art, buying houses for Stevenage artists, but the scheme flopped.[91] Bulwer-Lytton was elected Member of Parliament for the county in 1852.[92] His estranged wife denounced him to the crowds on polling day, 1857,[93] but she failed to prevent him remaining in office until 1866.[92] Bulwer-Lytton was neither the only literary figure, nor the only major politician, to emerge in Hertfordshire during the nineteenth century. In 1867, Anthony Trollope retired from the Post Office to write; five of his books were written in Waltham Cross.[94] E. M. Forster was brought to live in Stevenage at the age of nine, in 1888.[95] Robert Arthur Gascoyne Talbot Cecil was born at Hatfield House on 3 February 1830.[84] He also died there, 73 years later.[96] In a distinguished political career, he would go on to become the Prime Minister three times and Foreign Secretary four times.[84] William Lamb, another Prime Minister, lived in Hertfordshire and died at Brocket Hall.[97]

The nineteenth century was also a busy period for the military. Ten corps of Volunteer Infantry were formed in 1803.[98] In 1804, the clock tower in St Albans signalled news of the Battle of Trafalgar by semaphore.[81] The Duke of Wellington earned the freedom of the borough of St Albans after Napoleon's defeat in 1814.[99] The Hertfordshire Regiment became the fourth battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1891,[100] and in March 1900, the 42nd (Hertfordshire) Company of the Imperial Yeomanry landed at Cape Town.[101]

Cecil Rhodes, who founded De Beers and the state of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), was born in South Street, Bishops Stortford, in 1853. The house is still standing, and has been adapted into a museum.[102] He spent much of his youth in South Africa, but returned to Bishops Stortford in 1873.[103]

The first branch railway line in England was the Aylesbury one, which opened in 1839. It had a station in Hertfordshire, at Marston Gate.[104] Another rail line grew out from London towards Cambridge, reaching Broxbourne in 1840,[105] Harlow in 1841,[105] and Bishops Stortford in 1842.[105] A branch to Hertford opened in 1843.[105] The London Underground rail line reached Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire in 1887.[106]

As a result of the Local Government Act 1888, the first County Councillors in Hertfordshire were elected on 17 January 1889.[95]

Twentieth century

The two flagship garden cities of Welwyn and Letchworth were central to the development of town planning in England.[51]

Outside of an old-style brick cottage
Shaw's corner

The first Garden City Company formed in 1903, with £300,000 of capital, and by 1914, Letchworth had a population of around 10,000.[107] Ebenezer Howard bought nearly 1,500 acres in 1919, and the first house in Welwyn Garden City was occupied in 1920.[107]

In 1910, George Bernard Shaw moved to Shaw's Corner in Ayot St Lawrence from his former home in Harmer Green, near Welwyn.[108]

Early in the century, the Marquis of Salisbury let Hertford Castle to the town for a peppercorn rent.[108]

First World War

Main article: World War I

Hertfordshire contributed to the two World Wars, as did every county in England. In the First World War, the Hertfordshire Yeomanry mobilised in September 1914 and were almost immediately deployed to Egypt.[109] The 2nd London Division of the Territorial Army had their headquarters at St Albans,[109] and the North Midland Territorial Division was billeted there as well.[109] The 1st Hertfordshire Regiment landed at Le Havre in November, and saw action in the Ypres Salient that month.[109]

The Hertfordshire Volunteer regiment formed on 15 May 1915.[110] On 13 October of that year, a Zeppelin raid hit North Road in Hertford, destroying houses there.[110] In 1916, the Hertfordshire Regiment was transferred to 39th Division and fought at St Julien.[110] Two Victoria Crosses were awarded to Hertfordshire men in 1916: one to Corporal A. A. Burt[110] and one to Lieutenant Leefe Robinson, who shot down a Zeppelin over Cuffley.[110] 2nd Lieutenant Wulfstan Tempest shot down another on 2 October of that year, and it came down in Potters Bar.[110] The 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment fought near Achiet-le-Grant in 1918, and then at the Battle of Havrincourt. It also fought in the advance to Ghissignies. Hertfordshire's last Victoria Cross of the First World War was granted in December 1918, after the war had finished: a posthumous VC for Lieutenant Frank Young of Hitchin.[111]

Second World War

Main article: World War II

With the outbreak of war in September 1939, 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Hertfordshire Regiment were mobilised.[112] Together with the 6th Battalion of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, they made up 162nd Infantry Brigade of the East Anglian Division.[112] 2nd Battalion would later be at Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy in support of the D-Day landings.

In May 1940, there was a meeting at County Hall, Hertford (which was then newly-built, having only opened in 1939)[112] to consider forming the Hertfordshire Local Defence Volunteers. Nineteen companies formed at once.[112] They became the Hertfordshire Home Guard in December of that year.

In 1942, the 191st (Hertfordshire and Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed for an anticipated campaign in Northern Europe.[113]

Hertfordshire was intimately connected with aircraft manufacture in the Second World War. De Havilland designed their Mosquito in Hatfield[Notes 22] and made it at Leavesden, together with Halifax bombers.[115] Many RAF pilots were trained at Panshanger.[115] In 1940, No. 2. Army Co-Operation Squadron formed at Sawbridgeworth; its purpose was to carry agents into Europe in Tomahawks and Mustangs.[112]

About four thousand bombs, 107 V-1 flying bombs, and 47 V-2 rockets fell on Hertfordshire during the Second World War.[115] American Flying Fortresses raided the continent from Nuthampstead. The USAF used Bovingdon Airfield as a training station and the US Fighter HQ was at RAF Bushey Hall.[115]

Post-War

After the war, Stevenage was the first town to be redeveloped under the New Towns Act 1946. Hatfield remained closely connected with the aircraft industry, and about ten percent of the aircraft workers in England worked in Hertfordshire in the 1960s.[116] The county's boundaries were revised in the reforms accompanying the Local Government Act 1972, at which time Royston became fully a part of Hertfordshire.[Notes 23]

During the Second World War, sculptor Henry Moore moved to the village of Perry Green in Hertfordshire when his former home was bombed. The Henry Moore Foundation still operates from the village.[Notes 24]

The character of Hertfordshire changed in the later part of the twentieth century. In 1992, it was resolved to close the aircraft manufacturing site in Hatfield.[116] At the start of the century, eighty-three percent of the workforce were involved in agriculture, but by the end, only one percent remained so employed.[116] Only one brewery, McMullens, remains open and there are no longer any commercial maltings or mills.[116] Nowadays, Hertfordshire has become a service and administrative centre containing the head offices of a significant number of important companies (see here) and a dormitory for London. A growing trend is research and development, notably for Glaxo and at the University of Hertfordshire which, from relatively humble beginnings as Hatfield Polytechnic, now has over 23,000 students.

Elstree Studios has risen to prominence; some landmark films and television have been produced there, including the first and second Star Wars films (chronologically, i.e. Episodes IV and V), Indiana Jones, and Superman, and British television shows Dancing on Ice, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and Big Brother.[118] Also, parts of the Harry Potter film series production took place at Leavesden Film Studios.

Twenty-first century

Main article: Hertfordshire

The 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire at Buncefield, Hemel Hempstead, was a major disaster. Hertfordshire's Chief Fire Officer, Roy Wilsher, said it was "possibly the largest in peacetime Europe."[119] About sixty million gallons of petrol burned[119] and the smoke darkened skies in neighbouring towns for two days before it could be extinguished.

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ In the 21st century, London is bigger than the next two European cities, Berlin and Madrid, put together; see Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits for sources and citations. It was probably the largest city in Western Europe for almost all of Hertfordshire's history.
  2. ^ They are the Watling Street, the Ermine Street, and the Icknield Way. Royston is at the junction of the latter two roads.
  3. ^ Williamson notes that it is unusual to have two burhs in one town, and offers various speculations about the possible reasons why.
  4. ^ This is the conventional view. It is only fair to note that Dumville (1992) has a different and more complex view of the division. In essence, he sees the eastern side of Hertfordshire as Saxon and the western side as Norse; Williamson (2000) assesses this as persuasive because it solves some puzzling questions involving place-names, but not without difficulties of its own.
  5. ^ Æthelgifu's will is one of only seventeen extant wills in Old English, and it is by far the most extensive of the seventeen. It gives a great deal more detail on slave- and land-ownership in this period than any other document, and it shows that a woman could have holdings of considerable size. The will is written in vellum in a minuscule hand, and the original still exists; an American consortium bought it in 1969 and it is presently in New Jersey. See Whitelock (1968) for a detailed analysis including a translation of the full text.
  6. ^ St Albans is technically a city, but important though it was (and is), it has never been large.
  7. ^ His Saxon title, Æthelred Unræd, means "Æthelred the Ill-Advised".
  8. ^ St. Brice's memorial day is November 13.
  9. ^ Æthelred was king for another two years. His son Edmund Ironside succeeded him in 1016, but died that same year. Sweyn's son Canute was next on the throne. Canute ruled England, Denmark, Norway and part of Sweden for many years and was by all accounts an excellent king.
  10. ^ Little Berkhamsted is just east of Hatfield.
  11. ^ Sixteen new markets were created between 1100 and 1200, and a further 19 appeared between 1200 and 1350. About a third of these had disappeared by 1500.[25]
  12. ^ She died at Hertford Castle in 1358.
  13. ^ See ransom of King John II of France for further information on this interesting tale.
  14. ^ Beaufort was buried at St Albans Abbey.
  15. ^ Tate was a Lord Mayor of London's son.
  16. ^ That is to say, England's oldest pub according to the Guinness Book of Records. The matter is hotly disputed.
  17. ^ Though Edward Seymour was styled "First Earl of Hertford", this was in fact the fourth time the said Earldom was created. The original Earl of Hertford was appointed in 1096. The title is now "Marquess of Hertford", switched from Earl in 1793. The present title-holder is Henry Seymour, the ninth Marquess.
  18. ^ By 1621, the estate included 117 acres of arable land, 99 of meadow, 86 of woodland and 82 of pasture. Over nine miles of brick wall were built around it all.[57]
  19. ^ Francis Bacon had previously been Viscount St Alban.
  20. ^ He was nine years old at the time, so it is unlikely he made the decision to move on his own. Sources give various different reasons for the family leaving London for Amwell, including "cleaner air" and a desire to become established in the malting trade.
  21. ^ There is an interesting insight into literacy rates in Hertfordshire around this time to be gained here. Of those who signed the muster roll for the Hitchin Volunteers between 1803 and 1809, 68% could sign their own name. The recruiting officer placed a cross beside the names of those who could not.[80]
  22. ^ They had moved to Hatfield from Edgeware in 1933.[114]
  23. ^ Before this, Royston was split such that part of it lay in Hertfordshire and part in Cambridgeshire.
  24. ^ In 2005, one of Moore's statues—weighing 2.1 tonnes and worth in excess of £3 million—was stolen from there.[117]
Citations
  1. ^ Lydekker 1909, p. 76.
  2. ^ "The Early Mesolithic Period", Hertfordshire County Council, retrieved on 9 August 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Tribes and Chieftains: The Iron Age", Hertfordshire County Council, retrieved on 9 August 2009.
  4. ^ a b Cunliffe 2005, p. 161.
  5. ^ Daily Mail, retrieved 9 August 2009.
  6. ^ a b Williamson 2000, p. 85.
  7. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 12.
  8. ^ a b c Williamson 2000, p. 90.
  9. ^ Williamson 2000, p. 92.
  10. ^ "The Later Anglo-Saxon Period", Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved on 31 July 2009.
  11. ^ Whitelock 1968, p. 14.
  12. ^ Williamson 2000, p. 107.
  13. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 11.
  14. ^ History, St Albans School website. Retrieved on 1 August 2009.
  15. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 81.
  16. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 375.
  17. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p.103.
  18. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 12.
  19. ^ Stenton 1971, p. 380.
  20. ^ Rook 1984, p. 33.
  21. ^ Rook 1984, p. 37.
  22. ^ a b c "The Medieval Period", Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved on 31 July 2009.
  23. ^ Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Saint Albans by Thomas Perkins, p. 8, retrieved from Project Gutenberg on 1 August 2009.
  24. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 48.
  25. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 57.
  26. ^ Rook 1984, p. 60.
  27. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 20.
  28. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 21-22.
  29. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 18.
  30. ^ Rook 1984, p. 51.
  31. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 19.
  32. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 24.
  33. ^ Rook 1984, p. 39.
  34. ^ a b c Lydekker 1909, p. 81.
  35. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 31.
  36. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 53.
  37. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 63.
  38. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 32.
  39. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 34.
  40. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 38.
  41. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 61.
  42. ^ Black Death: Political and Social Changes, Dr Mike Ibeji, writing for the BBC. Retrieved on 3 August 2009.
  43. ^ a b Lydekker 1909, p. 82.
  44. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 56.
  45. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 43.
  46. ^ Rook 1984, p. 67.
  47. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 45.
  48. ^ Rook 1984, p. 72.
  49. ^ Rook 1984, p. 67.
  50. ^ Scan of Turnor, Lewis, History of the Ancient Town and Borough of Hertford. St Austin and Sons 1830, p. 71. Retrieved on 6 August 2009.
  51. ^ a b c d e "The Post-Medieval and Modern Periods", Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved on 31 July 2009.
  52. ^ a b Lydekker 1909, p. 84.
  53. ^ a b Rook 1984, p. 83.
  54. ^ a b c d Rook 1984, p. 84.
  55. ^ Quoted in Tomkins 1998, p. 35.
  56. ^ Jones-Baker 1991, p. 93.
  57. ^ Jones-Baker 1991, p. 95.
  58. ^ Jones-Baker 1991, p. 98.
  59. ^ Quoted in Rook 1984, p. 79.
  60. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 63.
  61. ^ Robinson 1992, p. 70.
  62. ^ a b Rook 1984, p. 85.
  63. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 75
  64. ^ Page, William (editor) (1908). "The City of St. Alban" in: Victoria County History A History of the County of Hertford: volume 2, pages 469–477 british-history.ac.uk, retrieved on 4 August 2009.
  65. ^ Biography of Sarah Jennings, retrieved 5 August 2009.
  66. ^ RBH Biography, retrieved on 5 August 2009.
  67. ^ a b c d Tomkins 1922, p. 24.
  68. ^ 2001 census webpage, retrieved on 4 August 2009.
  69. ^ Slater & Goose 1992, p. 375.
  70. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 81.
  71. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 85.
  72. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 83.
  73. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 84.
  74. ^ Rook 1984, p. 87.
  75. ^ East Herts District Council, retrieved on 5 August 2009.
  76. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 86.
  77. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 92.
  78. ^ a b c Robinson 1978, p. 93.
  79. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 94.
  80. ^ Hertfordshire Archive, retrieved 4 August 2009.
  81. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 95.
  82. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 98.
  83. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 99.
  84. ^ a b c d Robinson 1978, p. 100.
  85. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 102.
  86. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 104.
  87. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 109.
  88. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 116.
  89. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 96.
  90. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 105.
  91. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 108.
  92. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 109.
  93. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 110.
  94. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 112.
  95. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 117.
  96. ^ Downing Street Website, retrieved on 4 August 2009.
  97. ^ Rook 1984, p. 124.
  98. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 94.
  99. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 97.
  100. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 118.
  101. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 120.
  102. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 109.
  103. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 114.
  104. ^ Rook 1984, p. 102.
  105. ^ a b c d Rook 1984, p. 103.
  106. ^ Rook 1984, p. 104.
  107. ^ a b Rook 1984, p. 128.
  108. ^ a b Robinson 1978, p. 123.
  109. ^ a b c d Robinson 1978, p. 124.
  110. ^ a b c d e f Robinson 1978, p. 125.
  111. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 126.
  112. ^ a b c d e Robinson 1978, p. 130.
  113. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 131.
  114. ^ Robinson 1978, p. 129.
  115. ^ a b c d Rook 1984, p. 130.
  116. ^ a b c d Rook 1984, p. 132.
  117. ^ BBC, retrieved 5 August 2009.
  118. ^ Elstree Studios website, retrieved 5 August 2009.
  119. ^ a b BBC, retrieved 6 August 2009.
Bibliography
  • Burley, Elliott & Watson, The Battles of St Albans, Pen & Sword, 2007. ISBN 9781844155699
  • Burne, A.H. The Battlefields of England, Classic Penguin, 2002. ISBN 0141390778
  • Churchill, Winston A History of the English speaking peoples, Vol. 1, Cassell and Co. 1956. ISBN 0304295000
  • Cunliffe, Barry Iron Age communities in Britain, Routledge 2005 (4th ed). ISBN 9780415347792
  • Dumville, David. Wessex and England from Alfred to Edgar: Six Essays in Political, Cultural and Ecclesiastical Revival. Boydell & Brewer, 1992. ISBN 0851153315
  • Jones-Baker, Doris (ed.) Hertfordshire in History. Originally published by Hertfordshire Local History Council, 1991; citations from the 2004 edition by the University of Hertfordshire Press. ISBN 0954218949.
  • Lydekker, Richard. Hertfordshire. University Press, 1909; citations are from the 2008 scan on Google Books. ISBN 978-1409704348.
  • Robinson, Gwennah. Barracuda Guide to County History, Vol III: Hertfordshire. Barracuda Books Ltd., 1978. ISBN 0860230309.
  • Rook, Tony. A History of Hertfordshire. Philmore & Co. Ltd., 1984. ISBN 1860770150.
  • Slater, Terry & Goose, Nigel (eds.) A County of Small Towns. University of Hertfordshire Press, 1992. ISBN 978-1905313440.
  • Stenton, Sir Frank. Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford University Press, 1971. ISBN 0192801392.
  • Tomkins, Herbert. Hertfordshire. Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1903, revised 1922; citations are from the scan on Project Gutenberg. No ISBN.
  • Tomkins, Malcolm. So That Was Hertfordshire: Travellers' Jottings 1322-1887. Hertfordshire Publications, 1998. ISBN 0901354872.
  • Whitelock, Dorothy. (ed.) The Will of Æthelgifu. Roxburghe Club, Oxford, 1968. No ISBN.
  • Williamson, Tom. The Origins of Hertfordshire. Manchester University Press, 2000. ISBN 9780719044915.
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