HERTFORD HUNDRED 



west from the High Street, Lord Street {formerly 

 Lard's Lane), the most northerly, leading past High 

 Leigh, the residence of Mr. Robert Barclay, J. P. 

 Opposite Lord's Lane was the old market cross which 

 stood at least until the end of the 17th century. A 

 little south of the cross was the market-house, built 

 about 1634. The market-place occupied the space 

 between the cross and the present clock-house. The 

 market-house was pulled down in 1 8 3 3, and the market 

 soon after ceased to be held. The cattle market now 

 held on a site to the south of the old cross was founded 

 in 1886. B " Eastwards from the High Street Conduit 

 Lane runs down to Lynch mill pond, from which the 

 stream called the Lynch flows to the Lea. Lynch 

 mill pond is mentioned in I 569 as 'a pond anciently 

 called "le Liuce" where is now built a water mill.' Bb 

 The Wollans Brook, which flows through Box Wood 

 and the north of the parish, falls into the Lea. 



In the High Street are many old houses. Rawdon 

 House, now St. Monica's Priory, a convent of the 

 canonesses of the Augustinian order, on the east side 

 was built by Sir Marmaduke Rawdon in 1622, as 

 appears from a stone over the porch and many rain- 

 water heads bearing this date and the initials M.R. 

 The house is a large red brick rectangular building 

 with stone dressings and a tiled roof, to which a wing 

 was added in 1880. It is of two stories with an 

 attic and has a porch and bay windows, both of two 

 stories, in front, and a central tower, in which is the stair- 

 case, at the back. The hall has a ceiling ornamented 

 with fleurs de lis, roses, &c, and a fireplace with 

 plaster figures. There are a fine oak staircase with 

 heraldic figures and some good old doors and panel- 

 ling, but many of the original fittings were sold by the 

 canonesses, three of the fireplaces being purchased by 

 Sir Charles Wittewronge and set up at Rothamsted 

 House, Ha rpen den. A little to the north of St. Monica's 

 Priory on the same side of the road is Stanboroughs 

 House, now the Conservative club, the main part of 

 which was built about 1 600 of timber and plaster work 

 and a wing of brick added in 1637, according to a 

 date upon the rain-water heads. A good deal of the 

 woodwork within is original, including a fine oak stair- 

 case in the added wing and some oak panelling and 

 doors. On the same side of the road is Hogges Hall, 

 originally built probably in the 15 th century. The 

 exterior of the house is modern, but some of the 

 internal details, including the timber ceiling of the 

 hall and a wooden doorway, are of the 1 5th century. 

 There is also some 16th and 17th-century panelling 

 which is not in its original position. 



On the west side of the road is the Grange (once 

 an inn called the 'Cock'), a brick house of two 

 stories, built in 1657, but almost rebuilt in the 18th 

 century. It contains some 17th century panelling 

 and an overmantel of the same period, together with 

 three doors of the early part of that century. 



There have always been many inns in the town. 

 The ' Black Lion ' (now the ' Salisbury Arms ') was 

 held in the 16th century of the manor of Geddings. 6 

 Henry Barrell orBurwell, serjeant-at-arms and tenant 

 of the 'Black Lion,' died in 1562, leaving a widow 



s ' Tngelln, Hitt. a/ Hcddisdon, 24.3 



et seq. _ 



3b Ibid. 252, where a history of the 



6 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Sir. 2), cli, 59 ; dii, 



BROXBOURNF, 

 WITH HODDESDON 



Jane, who afterwards married Christopher Lyster. 

 His son Henry Barrell entered upon the tenement 

 at his father's death, but died in 1566 and was suc- 

 ceeded by his brother George. 7 Another inn called 

 the 'George' was held before 1464 by Richard 

 Riche 8 and remained in his family until 1528, 

 when it was sold by Thomas son of Thomas and 

 Rachel Riche to Sir Thomas Baldry, alderman, and 

 John Garwey, mercer of London." In the 17th 

 century it was held by George Taylor and afterwards 

 by John Marshall. In 1702 it was sold by Matthew 

 Clarke to Edward Browne. 10 The Golden Lion Inn 

 stands on the west side of the High Street and is a 

 two-storied house of plastered timber and brick with 

 an overhanging srary built in the early part of the 

 17th century, but much altered at a later date. The 

 Old Swan Inn is a similar house built in the latter 

 part of the 17th century, and the Grithn Hotel 

 contains some woodwork possibly of the same century. 

 Another inn called the 'Bull,' the front of which 

 appears to date from the [8th century, projects over 

 the pathway, the two upper floors being carried on 

 Ionic columns. Near the southern end of High Street 

 is some good Georgian work. A house on the east 

 side three stories in height, with a moulded brick 

 string-course and cornice, has a good Doric doorcase 

 with elaborate fretwork in the metope of the frieze 

 containing in Roman characters the date 1746. 



At Connals Farm is the stone conduit-head pre- 

 sented to the town by Sir Marmaduke Rawdon in 

 the early part of the 17th century. It formerly 

 stood at the town well in the High Street, and repre- 

 sents the three-quarter length figure of a woman carry- 

 ing a pitcher. The old 'Thatched House,' immor- 

 talized by Izaak Walton, stood on the site of the 

 brewery offices of Messrs. Christie 5: Co., adjoining 

 the brewery in the High Street. The clock-house 

 itself stands on the site of the ancient chapel of St. 

 Catherine. In it is hung a bell, probably from that 

 chapel, which was cast by Thomas Bullisdon at the 

 beginning of the 1 6th century and bears the inscrip- 

 tion 'Sancta Ana ora pro nobis.' 11 



In the west of the parish, which is thickly wooded, 

 runs the Ermine Street, a Roman way, which crosses 

 the Spital Brook and passes through the Hoddesdon 

 Woods. There is a tumulus at Hoddesdonbury on 

 the south side of the road. The hospital of St. Laud 

 and St. Anthony, of which the first record seems 

 to be in the 14th century, has left its name in 

 Spital Brook, near which it stood. The hospital 

 (which survived the Dissolution) fell into decay 

 towards the end of the 16th century, and the Spital 

 House was then adapted for the use of the free 

 grammar school founded by Queen Elizabeth by 

 charter of 4 January 1559-60. By the same charter 

 the queen incorporated the town of Hoddesdon 

 under the style of a bailiff and warden of the 

 town and school, and eight assistants, and granted 

 the tolls of the market and of two fairs to the cor- 

 poration. The school, however, was apparently 

 discontinued before 1595, and nothing further is heard 

 of the corporation. 118 



11 For an account of many other houses 

 and inns see chapter on Roads and Ways 

 and Inns and their Signs in Tregelles's 

 Hiti. efjiadiadsn. 



