B E R 



282 



B E R 



BERKII AMPSTEAD, or more properly, BERK II AM 

 STKD, or. at length, BEKRHAMMKD >l 

 market-i >,\n situati-d in a deep valley, on the south-west 

 side of the river Bulborn and the Grain! Junction Canal. 

 which here run together in a line parallel to the high road : 

 it u in the county of Hertford and hundred of 1) K- 'ium. 

 twenty-six ami a half miles N.W. from London. Tin- town 

 Mom* t j b of Saxon origin: the name is certainly Saxon. 

 Nonlen a> s that (be Saxons called U Uerahamstedi because 

 it was seated among the hills, lierg signiu ing < hill, Ham a 

 town, and Stedt a neat; or we may consider il compounded 

 of the words Burg, a fortified place, and llum-Stede, the 

 fortified Hamslede (homestead), to distinguish it from 

 Hehan Haiupstede, now corrupted to Heine. Hampstede, a 

 town in the neighbourhood. The addition of St. I'ctcr s 

 distinguishes this Berkhamsted from Berkhamstcd St. 

 Mary, otherwise Northchurch, also in this neighbourhood. 

 The king* of Mercia had certainly a palace or castle at this 

 place, and to this we may attribute the growth, if not the 

 origin, of the town. William the Conqueror came to Berk- 

 hamsted on his way through Wallingfonl to London after the 

 battle of Hastings, and was obliged to make some stay there, 

 hi* further progress having been intercepted by Frederic, ab- 

 bot of St. Allian's, who caused the trees that grew by the road 

 side to be cut down and thrown across the way. A grand 

 meeting was afterwards held at Berkhamsted between \\ il- 

 U-uu aiid the nobles and prelates who belonged to the power- 

 ful confederacy which this abbot, who was of the royal blood 

 of the Saxons, had organised with tue object either of com- 

 pelling the Normau to rule according to the antieut laws 

 aud cuttuus of the country, or else of doing their utmost 

 to raise Edgar Athchng to the throne. William thought 

 it prudent to take the required oath, which was adminis- 

 tered by Frederie, upon the relies of St. Alban. It is 

 well known bow William neglected this uath when he was 

 firmly seated on the throne. In the distribution of territory 

 among his followers which then took place, the eartle and 

 tuanor of llcrkhumsteU were given to his half-brother the 

 earl of Morctm. Domesday Book informs us that tho 

 property was rated at thirteen hides, aud that it was 

 worth twenty-four pounds in the time of King Edward, 

 twenty pounds hen bestowed oil the earl, but only sixteen 

 pound* at the then present time. Among other curious 

 particulars in this acoouut, it U mentioned that the land 

 contained two arpends of vineyards. There were in tho 

 borough at this time fifty -two burges.ses who paid four pounds 

 a-year for toll, and had half a hide, aud two mills of the 

 annual rant of -20*. The earl enlarged ami strengthened 

 tlie castle ; but in the time of his son it was seized by Henry 

 L, aud. according to most accounts, razed to the ground, 

 ami tue town aud manor reverted to the crown. Henry 11. 

 held bis court there at one time, aud granted very valuable 

 privilege* ' to the men and merchants of the Honour of 

 Wallingiurd aud Berkhamsted St. Peter's.' Among them 

 it was granted that they should have ' firm peace in all his 

 land ot EugUuid aud Normandy, wheresoever they shall be,' 

 with the mijoviuenl of all the laws and cusliini.-, which they 

 bad in the iiiue of King Edward the Confessor, ami Kmi; 

 Henry hi- grandfather. He alsu granted that when 



uiiii their merchandises to buy or sell 

 through all England. Normandy, Anjou, aud Aquitauie, 

 they Mumld be tree from all loll and all secular customs 

 aud exactions, and all servile works ; and should any nun 

 ex or disturb them, he rendered himself liable to a penalty 

 of ton pounds. 



Robert Moreton, the Conqueror's brother, was Earl of 

 Cornwall ; and we find that the honour of Berkhamstcd 

 almost invariably accompanied every -iiU. qnent grant of 

 that earldom. The castle was rebuilt in the reign of King 

 John, and was afterwards besieged by L<m <iphin 



of France, who had come over 

 borons. The besieged held imt till the king sent 

 order* to surrender. When Ed in] 111 in tb 

 Of his reign, advanced his eld Hlack 



to the title and dignity uf Duke of Cornwall, the 

 cattle and manor of Berkbunuted were given to him, ' to 

 bold to him, and the heirs of him. and t) 

 the kings of England, and the dukes of the - 

 Accordingly, the property has sine. 



crown to Uie Micoewtve |. , , t i, L . 



mid dukes of Cornwall, under whom it has for the 

 last three centuries bc> ,t person*. 



The plate seems altogether to have declined m import- 



ance itncc it ceased to be even occasionally a royal rcsi 

 deuce. The castle appears to have been gradual!) ruined 

 li) neglect. The mansion house, now called Bcrkham 

 Place, U said to have been erected out of the ruins of the 

 castle, early in the seventeenth century. The greatest part 

 nt this mansion was destroyed by fire about ir,ul, aud only 

 about a third part was afterwards repaired, which lorms the 

 present residence. The castle itself was situated to the 

 east of the town, and though the buildings arc now reduced 

 to a few massive fragments of wall, enough remains to 

 evince the anticnl strength and importance of t!. 

 The works are of a circular form, approaching t 

 of an ellipsis, and include about eleven acres. It w. ; - 

 fended on the north-west side by a double and <n. 

 other sides by a triple moat; these moats arc still in some 

 parts wide and deep. The original entrance was at the 

 south-east angle. On the hank between the second aud 

 third moat, from the outside, are two rude ] - >nry, 



between which the entrance probably lay over draw- bridges 

 connecting the several moats. The space inclosed ; 

 inner uioat is surrounded by a wall constructed with Hints 

 coarsely cemented together, within which stood the habitable 

 part of the castle. Strongly as this < i rtified, it 



could not have been tenable after the invention of cannon ; 

 a- its site, though elevated, is commanded by still higher 

 eminences on the north and north-cast. 



At the parliaments holdcn at Westminster in the llth 

 aud 13th of Edward III., Bcrkhamstcd had two representa- 

 tives, Imt there is no record of such return from tins 

 on any other occasions. So also its charter of incorporation, 

 granted by James I., scarcely survived the reign of In 

 Charles, who is said to have had a great afl'eetion for the 

 place, in consequence of having been nursed at the manor- 

 house with his elder brother Henry, under the care ol 

 Murray. It is certain that the place was much diMinm 

 by the favour of Charles, both before and after 

 sion to the throne. When James I. was about to im 

 rate the town, many of the inhabitants petitioned a.: 

 the measure under the apprehension that the i, 

 might impair or destroy some of the important pn\ 

 which they already enjoyed under auticnt grants. A Her 

 the Restoration an attempt was made to revive the corpo- 

 rations, but it did not succeed. The petty sessions for the 

 Berkhamsted division are held in the town. There is a 

 market on Saturday, and fairs are held on Shrove-M 

 and Whit- Monday for cattle; 5th August for cheese. 

 September and 1 ith October, the two last being the statute 

 fairs. The parish contained 484 houses in 1. <:>!, with a 

 population of 2369 persons, of whom. 1287 were females. 



The town of Berkhamsted consists of two streets. The 

 principal, called the High Street, extends about half a mile 

 along the high road : the other, which is smaller, branches 

 out from the church towards the site ol the castle, and is 

 hence called Castle Street. The houses are mostly ol brick, 

 and irregularly built, hut are interspersed \\ilh a fair pro 

 portion ul handsome residences. The church, which is de- 

 i to St. IVter, stands ill the middle of the town, and 

 is built ill the form of a CIMSS, with a square embattled 

 tower rising from the intersection. This tower contains 

 four handsome Gothic windows, and has at the 

 angle a projecting octagonal staircase. On the outside of 

 i r, next the st sculpture of an angel 



supporting u shield, on which the arms of England impale 

 those of the church of St. 1'aul. The nave i-, divided from 

 the aisles by five columns ami two half columns on each 

 side, sustaining plain pointed arches, over each of which is 

 a pointed arched window. The western window is large and 

 ramified; all the others arc like it, in the pointed slylf, but 

 vary in si/e and description. Various .-mall chapels and 

 chantries were founded here in Catholic tin 

 partially divided from the Ixxly ol the church. It contains 



number of bcpulrhr i winch are 

 -rimis and interesting. One (if the ! 



in memory of the mother oj'Cowpcr the poet, who ua- li ini 



u,t the parsonage house on the 26th November, N. S., )7.il, 



lii- lather. Dr. John ('owner, being then rector of the 



The living, which ix a rectory in the diocese of 



t of the crown, and its pre-enl ave- 



t iucome is 333/. The church accommodates licit; 



'IIS. 



which have been made to this parish for 



"!' aim-houses, and otherwise fur the relief of 



r, are so numerous, but of so little consequence sepa- 



