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Hertford

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This article is about Hertford in England. There are also Hertford, North Carolina and several other places named Hartford
Hertford
Parliament Square, Hertford Town Centre
Population24,180  (2001 Census)
OS grid referenceTL325125
• London19.2 mi (30.9 km) S
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHERTFORD
Postcode districtSG13, SG14
Dialling code01992
PoliceHertfordshire
FireHertfordshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
Websitewww.hertford.gov.uk
List of places
UK
England
Hertfordshire

Hertford (Template:Pron-en or /ˈhɑrfərd/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. In 2006 East Hertfordshire was ranked within the top 10 places to live in the UK following a survey commissioned by the Channel 4 TV station. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180.[1] Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000. The name is Anglo Saxon and means the ford frequented by harts or stags. The town of Meryton in the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice is thought to have been based on Hertford.[2]

Governance

Hertford has been the County Town of Hertfordshire since Saxon times when it was governed by the king's reeves. By the 13th century, these had been replaced by a bailiff, elected by the burgesses. Charters of 1554 and 1589 established a common council of eleven chief burgesses and a bailiff. Another charter of 1605 changed the bailiff's title to mayor. In 1835, Hertford became a Municipal Corporation; the ratepayers elected twelve councillors, who chose four aldermen, aldermen and councillors composing the council. This body elected the mayor[3].

Since 1974, Hertford has been within the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire.The headquarters of Hertfordshire County Council's is at County Hall in Hertford. East Herts District Council's offices almost adjoin County Hall, and there is also a Hertford Town Council based at Hertford Castle (see "Landmarks", below).

Geography

Hertford is at the confluence of four river valleys: the Rib, Beane and Mimram join the River Lea at Hertford to flow south toward the Thames as the Lee Navigation, after Hertford Castle Weir.The shared valley of the Lea and the Beane is called Hartham Common and this provides a large park to one side of the town centre running towards Ware and lying below the ridge upon which Bengeo is situated.

Hartham Common

The town centre still follows the medieval layout with many timber-framed buildings hidden under later frontages, particularly in St Andrew Street. Hertford suffers from traffic problems despite the existence of the 1960s A414 bypass called Gascoyne Way which passes close to the town centre. Plans have for long existed to connect the A10 with the A414, by-passing the town completely. Nevertheless, the town retains very much a country-town feel, despite lying only 19.2 miles (30.9 km) north of Central London. This is aided by its proximity to larger towns such as Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Stevenage where modern development has been focused.

History

The first mention of the town is in 673 A.D., the first Synod of all the Bishops in England was held in Hertford. It was called by Theodore of Tarsus; decisions included the calculation of the date of Easter[4]. In 912 AD, Edward the Elder built two burhs (earthwork fortifications) close by the ford over the River Lea as a defence against Danish incursions. By the time of the Domesday Book, Hertford had two churches, two markets and three mills. The Normans began work on castle, and Hertford Priory was founded by Ralph de Limesi[5]. King Henry II rebuilt the castle in stone, but in 1216, during the First Barons' War, it was beseiged and captured after 25 days by Prince Louis of France[6]. The castle was regularly visited by English royalty and in 1358, Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II, died there. The priory was dissolved in 1536 and subsequently demolished[7] and in 1563, the Parliament of England met at the castle because of an outbreak of plague in London. Hertford grew and prospered as a market and County town; communication was improved by the construction of the Lea Navigation Canal in 1767 and the arrival of the railway in 1843[8].

Economy

Employment in the town is centred on County Hall (Hertfordshire County Council), Wallfields (East Hertfordshire District Council) and McMullens Brewery, one of a dwindling number of independent brewers in the United Kingdom. Many residents commute to work in London.

In comparison with neighbouring towns Hertford differs with the absence of a modern shopping development (mall). However, it has most of the usual supermarkets. A Tesco store occupies part of the former Christ's Hospital Bluecoat Girls School, which closed down in 1985. Sainsburys plans to build a new store on part of the McMullens Brewery site. The local branch of Woolworths closed for good on 27 December 2008, after the collapse of that store chain. There are very few of the usual chain shops found in most high streets and this makes Hertford stand out from other "clone towns". There is a high number of independent shops in the town with a variety of boutiques and salons.

Hertford Castle
Church of St Leonard

People

  • Alfred Russel Wallace who proposed a theory of natural selection at the same time as Charles Darwin lived in Hertford between the ages of five and thirteen and attended Hertford Grammar School.
  • John Wilkes, the radical politician, was educated in Hertford.
  • Samuel Stone, Puritan Minister who established the American town of Hartford, Connecticut with Thomas Hooker. He lived in Fore Street, Hertford and was baptised at All Saints Church.
  • Jane Wenham was tried at the Hertford Assizes for witchcraft in 1712. The jury found her guilty, one of the last in England to be convicted of this offence. Judge Powell had no choice but to condemn her to death, but through his influence she was later given a Royal Pardon[9].
  • Henry Stout, a Quaker maltster of the White Lion in Fore Street, is said to have invented stout in the 1670s [1].
  • The band Deep Purple formed in Hertford in 1968.
  • Rupert Grint, the Harry Potter film star, comes from Hertford, and although he now lives outside the county town, he lived within Hertford when filming began on the Harry Potter series. He attended Richard Hale School before leaving after his GCSE exams in 2004. Other famous students at Richard Hale School are listed on that school's page.

Landmarks

  • In the town are the remains of the original Hertford Castle, principally a motte. The castle's gatehouse, the central part of which dates to a rebuild by Edward IV in 1463, is the home to Hertford Town Council. The Motte, from the original Motte and Bailey castle in Hertford, can be found just behind Castle Hall, a short distance from the modern castle.
  • There are several churches in the town, All Saints' and St Andrew's, are late and mid 19th century respectively, although both stand on the sites of medieval places of worship[10]. In the northern suburb of Bengeo lies St Leonard's, a two-celled Norman church of considerable architectural interest.
  • In Railway Street can be found the oldest purpose-built Quaker Meeting House in the world, in use since 1670.
  • The Parliament of England temporarily moved to Hertford during the Great Plague of London. This is why the main square in the town, Parliament Square, is so named, although it is a twentieth century creation.
  • The home of Alfred Russel Wallace (see above), now named Wallace House, can be found at 11 St. Andrew St. and is marked with a plaque.[11]
  • Built in 1779 the Shire Hall was designed by Robert Adam.[12] The ground floor houses Court Rooms.
  • The Hertford Corn Exchange was built on the site of a former gaol. After years in the doldrums it has now reverted to being a live entertainment venue.[13]
  • In Cowbridge, there is a Prince Albert Cottage.[14] The first of these cottages were originally built in Hyde Park by the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes in 1851 at the time of the Great Exhibition. Prince Albert was involved in their design and financing.
  • Hertford Museum is housed in a 17th century historic town house, with a Jacobean-style knot garden.

Transport

Hertford East railway station

Rail

Hertford serves as a commuter town for London, and has two stations :

Road

The A414 main road now bypasses the town centre to the south and runs east to Harlow, the M11 and Chelmsford and runs west to Hatfield, the A1, St Albans and the M1. Hertford also lies just west of the A10 and the Kingsmead Viaduct which links it south to London and the M25 and north to Royston and Cambridge.

Bus and coach

For all bus and coach timetables see here.

Education

There are numerous schools in Hertford: these include The Sele School, Richard Hale School and Simon Balle School at secondary level, with primaries of Hollybush JMI, Millmead Community School, Bengeo County Primary School, Morgans JMI, Abel Smith School, Wheatcroft School,St Andrew's School and St. Josephs RC School.

Private schools include St. Joseph's In The Park, Duncombe School (a preparatory school in Bengeo) and Haileybury College in Hertford Heath.

Entertainment

Hertford has many food, drink and entertainment establishments which have grown in number considerably since the eighties and nineties. It attracts people from nearby towns, and often the North London suburbs. There are approximately 25 pubs and clubs in the area,[15] and around 35 restaurants, takeaways and snack bars.[16] Hertford also hosts swimming pool and gym facilities, and has also recently acquired a small skatepark, based in Hartham Common.

Trivia

Town twinning

References

  1. ^ "Office for National Statistics, 2001 Census, Key Statistics for HCC settlements. Usual resident population (numbers)" (PDF).
  2. ^ Deirdre Le Faye, Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels, 2003, ISBN 0-7112-2278-9, p. 179: "... and it can be deduced later on that Meryton is, in fact, Hertford ..."
  3. ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43648
  4. ^ http://www.churchsociety.org/issues_new/history/iss_history_synodhertford.asp
  5. ^ http://www.hertford.net/history/priory.asp
  6. ^ http://www.johnbarber.com/tunnels/castle.html
  7. ^ http://www.hertford.net/history/priory.asp
  8. ^ http://www.hertford.net/history/histrail.asp
  9. ^ http://www.hertford.net/history/janewenham.asp
  10. ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43649
  11. ^ Wallace’s House
  12. ^ Shire Hall, Hertford
  13. ^ The Corn Exchange
  14. ^ Victoria and Albert Museum information on Prince Albert Cottages
  15. ^ http://www.hertford.net/leisure/pubs.htm Hertford.Net pub list
  16. ^ http://www.hertford.net/leisure/rest.htm Hertford.Net restaurant list
  17. ^ Guardian article on Hertford and the Holy Grail
  18. ^ Bowiewonderworld.com news June 2006, http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/bowienews/news0606.htm
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