Produced by Louise Pryor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net {Transcriber's note: Some misprints have been corrected, as noted at the end of the e-text. All material added by the transcriber is between braces {}. Text in bold in the original is surrounded by =equals signs=.} HERTFORDSHIRE [Illustration: ST. ALBAN'S ABBEY CHURCH] HERTFORDSHIRE _By_ HERBERT W. TOMPKINS F.R.Hist.S. _With Illustrations by_ EDMUND H. NEW AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND TWO MAPS "Hearty, homely, loving Hertfordshire" --CHARLES LAMB LONDON METHUEN & CO. LTD. _36 Essex St. Strand_ _Second Edition, Revised_ _First Published March 1903_ _Second Edition, Revised 1922_ TO MY WIFE PREFACE In the following pages I have endeavoured to give a brief description of Hertfordshire on the lines of Mr. F. G. Brabant's book in this series. The general features of the county are briefly described in the Introduction, in sections approximately corresponding to the sections of the volume on Sussex. I have thought it wise, however, to compress the Introduction within the briefest limits, in order that, in the Gazetteer, I might have space for more adequate treatment than would otherwise have been possible. I have visited a large proportion of the towns, villages and hamlets of Hertfordshire, and have, so far as possible, written from personal observation. I desire to thank Mr. John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., etc., for his kindness in writing the sections on _Climate_ and _Botany_; Mr. A. E. Gibbs, F.L.S., F.R.H.S., for his permission to make use of several miscellanies from his pen, and Mr. Alfred Bentley of New Barnet for his courtesy in placing some photographs from his collection at the disposal of Mr. New. VERULAM, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, 1903. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 I SITUATION, EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES 1 II PHYSICAL FEATURES 2 III CLIMATE 11 IV FLORA AND FAUNA 15 V POPULATION 23 VI COMMUNICATIONS 25 VII INDUSTRIES 28 VIII HISTORY 31 IX ANTIQUITIES 33 X CELEBRATED MEN 39 DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN HERTFORDSHIRE ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY 45 INDEX TO PERSONS 235 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS THE RAILWAYS OF HERTFORDSHIRE _Front Cover_