Of fine old houses now forming farm-homesteads there are many examples on the western side of the county. Among these is Turner’s Hall, to the north-west of Harpenden, now considerably modernised.
Water End Farm near Wheathampstead
(Elizabethan Manor-House)]
Another very interesting building of this type is Water End Farm, in the parish of Sandridge, situated on the banks of the Lea about two miles from Wheathampstead, and stated to have been built about 1610. It is constructed of brick and has the straight-gabled, mullioned style characteristic of the later part of the reign of Elizabeth and the commencement of that of James I. Like many other houses of Elizabethan times it is constructed in the form of the letter E, and its three stacks of brick chimneys, with octagonal shafts and moulded brick caps and bases, are especially characteristic of the style of this period.
Christ’s Hospital School, Hertford
Of later date are the Marlborough Buildings, or Almshouses, St Albans, erected by Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough in 1736, and affording a fine example of the brick architecture of that period in an excellent state of preservation. Here also may be mentioned the Blue-Coat School at Hertford, and the Boys’ Grammar School at Hitchin.
The Grammar School, Hitchin