A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



In the southern part of the parish, where the roads 

 from 1 litchin to Gravel ey and from Little Wymondley 

 to Willian cross, lies the village, at the east end of 

 which is the church. In the village are the former Green 

 Man Inn, a picturesque little thatched house, and one 

 or two late 16th-century or early I yth-century timber 

 and plaster cottages. On the east side of the road 

 from Willian to Little Wymondley are three ponds. 

 Adjoining the churchyard on the east side are the 

 remains of a mount and bailey type of castle. Like 

 the other smaller castles of Hertfordshire it was 

 probably only in use for a short time, and was 

 defended merely by a timber keep on the mount and 

 stockades around the bailey. There is no evidence of 

 any masonry works. It may have been thrown up by 

 John de Argentein, an adherent of King Stephen, in 

 the time of the anarchy as a manorial stronghold, 

 Wymondley being the head of the Argentein barony 

 in Herts. It was probably destroyed as an adulterine 

 or unlicensed castle in the reign of Henry II. 

 Adjoining are indications of Roman occupation. 1 



The Manor Farm is a 16th-century three-gabled 

 and plastered house situated at the left-hand corner 

 where the road from Hitchin enters the village. 

 There is a tradition that James I once slept there. 

 It has a line yew hedge of great age penetrated by 

 arches. The house is a rectangular building, with 

 a central porch, the inner doorway to which has the 

 original oak frame and door. There arc also one or 

 two original fireplaces in the house. 



Delamere House, now a farm-house, the residence 

 of Mr. Hailey, stands a little south of the village. 

 Only the central part of the old building remains, 

 flanked on either side by modern additions. No part 

 of it appears to be earlier than the end of the 16th 

 or beginning of the 17th century. It measures about 

 44ft. in length by 33 ft. in width. The south or 

 garden front is built of red brick z in. thick, and 



Dr.lA-lKRF. . CRRAT \WA\ONPLETt- 



the building consists of two stories and attics. All 

 the windows have mullions, and the lower have 

 transoms as well. There is a modern doorway in the 

 centre, not apparently part of the original design. 

 Over the first floor windows is a brick moulded cornice 

 with dentil course running the whole length of the 

 building, above which are two brick gables, the upper 

 parts of which are semicircular, and resemble those 

 at Rawdon House, Hodde.-don, a building erected in 

 l6zj. The north front seems to have been built at 



3 Mi. F. Seebohm think) thit the in- of about 15 jugcra 

 closure with the site of the Roman mumtici, 431). 



a somewhat later period, but probably before the 

 middle of the 17th century. There arc two gables 

 on this front also, of different sizes, both being straight 

 and steep, the smaller having kneelcrj at its springing. 

 The windows, which are placed irregularly, have all 

 stone mullions, the upper having a small moulded 

 cornice over them. The entrance doorway has 

 splayed stone jambs and lintel, and a small fanlight 

 over. The oak door is original and is studded with 

 iron nails. This entrance adjoins the old main stair, 

 which is an unusual position, but the plan may have 

 been governed by the arrangement of the previous 

 building. Under the stair is an old built-up door- 

 way with a four-centred arch, which gave access to 

 the cellars which were under the old west wing, now 

 destroyed. A part of the original wall still exists in 

 the modern cellar, in which is a little shallow niche 

 about 9 in. wide, with arched head. Similar niches 

 exist in the old cellars at Watton Place and Little 

 Wymondley Bury. The drawing room is panelled 

 with old oak up to the ceiling, and has a good oak 

 chimney-piece. The lower part of this, together 

 with the fireplace, is modern, but the upper part has 

 two arched panels, with the nail-head ornament, the 

 panels being flanked and separated by Ionic columns 

 which support the projecting entablature. The 

 architrave and cornice are moulded and the frieze is 

 carved with a flat pattern, which is carried round the 

 frieze of the room. The arrangement is very similar 

 to the panelling at Turner's Hall, Harpenden, and 



Har 



s Fan 



The brickwork of the chimney is of considerable 

 thickness, and affords space for a small closet between 

 the chimney breast and the outer south wall. This 

 closet is lighted by a large window in the south wall, 

 and there is a small bricked-up window in the west 

 wall, which seems to show that the west wing did not 

 project southwards, although old foundations have 

 been dug up to the south. 



In an old house, now pulled down, in the hamlet 

 of Redcoats Green resided James Lucas, the ' hermit 

 of Hertfordshire.' His mother's death in 184.9, ty 

 which he inherited the family estate at Redcoats 

 Green, seems to have greatly accentuated his eccen- 

 tricities. He barricaded his house and henceforth 

 lived in the kitchen, where he slept on a bed of 

 cinders and clothed himself in a blanket. He pro- 

 tected himself by an iron grille from unwelcome 

 visitors, but was fond of children, to whom he would 

 give sweets. He died of apoplexy in 1874, having 

 hoarded a considerable sum of money in his living 



The inclosure award, dated 1814, is in the custody 

 of the clerk of the peace. The Authorizing Act was 

 passed in 181 i. s 



The subsoil of the parish is chalk, with a thick de- 

 posit of boulder clay above it. On the surface clay is 

 mixed with gravel, penetrated by occasional bosses of 

 chalk. There is an old chalk-pit near the Purwcll. 

 The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats alternating 

 with clover, sainfoin, turnips, mangolds and beans. 



In the time of King Edward the Con- 



M4N0R fessor 8 hides in GREAT WYMONDLEY 



were held by the church ol St. Mary 



of Chatteris, Cambs., but three years before King 



[E*gl. VilUgt Com- * Dht. Nat. Biog. 



