HEETFOEDSHIRE. 1G3 



Lord Bacon derived his title, there remain now only insignificant vestiges, though 

 at one time it was the most populous Roman town in the south of England. Its 

 chief interest now centres in the church of an abbey founded in 793 by Offa, King 

 of the Mercians, in expiation of the share he took in the murder of Ethelbert. The 

 abbey was dedicated to St. Alban, the protomartyr of England, who was executed 

 here in 803 for having sheltered a Christian priest. The abbey church, recently 

 restored, is the largest and one of the grandest edifices of the kind in England, and 

 its oldest portions date back to the eleventh century. In 1875 St. Albans became 

 the seat of a bishopric. Gorhambury, the seat of the Earl of Verulam, which 

 was purchased in 1550 by the father of the great Chancellor, stands near the town, 

 in the midst of a fine park. 



Watford, on the Colne, consists of a long street, and carries on the manufacture 

 of paper. Near it is Cassiohury, the seat of the Earl of Essex, with a valuable 

 library, an interesting collection of portraits, and one of the finest parks in 

 England. Ascending the valley of the Gade, along which the Grand Junction 

 Canal takes its course, we reach the market towns of Hemel-Hempstead, Berkham- 

 sfcd, and Tring, the latter at an elevation of 420 feet above the level of the sea. 

 Malting and the manufacture of straw plait and of chairs are carried on at these 

 places. Berkhamsted was the birthplace of Cowper, the poet. Hiclimanswoiih, 

 near the junction of the Chess with the Colne, has important paper-mills. Straw- 

 plaiting and horsehair weaving are among the domestic occupations, and water- 

 cress is largely grown for the London market. 



Hatfield is the first town washed by the river Lea in its course through the 

 county. It is a quiet, old-fashioned place, with a church of Norman foundation, 

 overshadowed by the magnificent Jacobean mansion of the Marquis of Salisbury. 

 The surrounding park abounds in noble trees, and a carefully kept vineyard is 

 amongst its curiosities. Hertford, the county town, on the Lea, carries on a 

 brisk trade in corn and malt. It has the remains of an old castle and a branch 

 school of Christ's Hospital. Near it is Panshangcr, the seat of Earl Cowper, 

 with a valuable collection of paintings, more especially rich in examples of the 

 Florentine school. Ware, also on the Lea, is the largest malting town in England, 

 and malt-houses form its most conspicuous feature. In its southward course the 

 Lea flows past Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, and Waltham Cross, beyond 

 which latter it enters the county of Middlesex. Broxbourne and Rye House, near 

 Hoddesdon, are the best fishing stations on the river. Rye House is a favourite 

 goal of London excursionists. It was the scene of the plot of 1683 for setting 

 aside the succession of the Duke of York. Cheshunt is a straggling village, with 

 extensive nurseries, and here the New River Company has a reservoir which stores 

 75,000,000 gallons of water. 



Bishop Sforfford, on the Stort, an affluent of the Lea, and close to the eastern 

 border of the county, has malting-houses, breweries, and tan-yards. Chipping or 

 High Bar net, in a commanding position to the west of the Lea, is noteworthy on 

 account of a battle fought there in 1471, which cost Warwick the King-maker his 

 life. An obelisk marks the site of this memorable event. 



