Codicote (1145), a small village to the north-west of Welwyn. The church was an ancient one, but a drastic “restoration” in 1853 destroyed much of the evidence of the age of its constituent portions. (pp. [43], [128], [130].)
Elstree (1323), a village on the southern border of the county lying a little west of the Midland Railway, on which it has a station. It is rapidly becoming a suburb of London. (pp. [7], [11], [52], [126], [132].)
Flamstead (1039), a village near the Watling Street to the north of Redbourn. The name is supposed to be a corruption of Verlampstead, the Ver flowing in the valley below the village. The Thomas Saunders almshouses were built in 1669. Beechwood, the seat of the Sebright family is in the parish.
Great Gaddesden (746), a village in Dacorum Hundred to the north of Hemel Hempstead. Gaddesden Place, which was burnt down in 1905 and rebuilt, is the seat of the Halsey family, who possessed the neighbouring “Golden Parsonage” so long ago as 1544. The church probably dates from the twelfth century. (pp. [19], [35], [42].)
The Hadhams—Much Hadham (1199), Little Hadham (655)—two villages lying respectively to the south-west and north-west of Bishop Stortford, and known to have been in existence in the time of the Conqueror. The manor of Hadham Hall was granted by the crown to the Bishops of London at the time when the survey recorded in Domesday books was made. (pp. [12], [117].)
Harpenden (4725), a large village or small town on the Midland Railway, almost exactly half-way between St Albans and Luton. During the last twenty years Harpenden (“the valley of nightingales”) has nearly doubled in size, and is rapidly increasing. Within the parish is the agricultural experiment-station of Rothamsted; the laboratory being situated on the borders of the village itself. About a mile to the north is Shire-Mere, a small green partly in Hertfordshire and partly in Bedfordshire, and in consequence a favourite site for prize-fights in the old days. Harpenden has branch-lines connected with the Great Northern and the North-Western Railways. With the exception of the more modern tower, the church, which was largely Norman, was pulled down and rebuilt in the sixties. A Norman arch remains in the tower. (pp. [7], [36], [37], [38], [43], [45], [47], [66], [67], [75], [96], [117], [130], [132].)
Hatfield, or King’s Hatfield (4330), is a small town on the main line of the Great Northern Railway, chiefly noteworthy on account of its connection with Hatfield House, the seat of the Cecils, Marquises of Salisbury. As mentioned above, Hatfield was at one time a royal palace; but the original building is now used as a stable and riding-school, the present house being of Jacobean date. The residence at Hatfield of Queen Elizabeth is connected with the old palace. Among the features of Hatfield House are the marble hall, its oak-panelled walls hung with tapestry, and its panelled ceiling painted; the grand staircase, hung with portraits; the long gallery, with its armour and pictures; King James’s drawing-room, a magnificently decorated apartment; the great dining-room, with a bust of Lord Burleigh; the armoury; and the beautiful chapel, with its exquisite Flemish window and a marble altar-piece. Hatfield is an important railway centre for the county, the Great Northern having branches to Hertford, St Albans, and Harpenden and Luton. Petty sessions are held in the town. In the church are the monuments of the Cecil family, and a statue of the late Lord Salisbury, erected by county subscription, stands at the park entrance. (pp. [20], [23], [31], [34], [43], [83], [115], [116], [128], [132], [142].)
Hemel Hempstead (11,264) is an ancient borough and market-town on the western side of the county connected with the main line of the North-Western Railway at Boxmoor, and also served by a branch joining the main line of the Midland at Harpenden. In addition to a mayor, Hempstead has a borough official known as the high bailiff[4]. The town, which is situated in the Gade valley, and formerly returned members of its own to Parliament, is remarkable for the length of its main street—part of which is known as Marlowes. Its market-day is Thursday, and there is an annual wool-sale. Corn and cattle are its chief trade, the straw-plait industry having nearly died out; but near by is Nash Mills, the site of a large paper factory. The church, which stands to the west of the main street, is a fine example of a cruciform twelfth-century parish church; it was commenced about 1140 and finished some 40 years later. There is no evidence of any earlier building on the site. (pp. [43], [47], [101], [102], [122], [131], [132], [133], [138], [147].)
[4] The office of high bailiff of Hemel Hempstead is held by the mayor.