BARKWAY (4 miles S.E. from Royston station, G.N.R.) was a village of some importance in the old coaching days, for it is on the main road from Ware to Cambridge. It was partly burnt in 1592. There are many quaint houses in the neighbourhood, and one or two inns seem to still retain something of the atmosphere of the old regime. Near the village, at a spot called Rokey Wood, a small bronze statue of Mars was discovered some years ago. It is of Roman workmanship and is now in the British Museum. Cyclists riding northwards or eastwards from Barkway will find many hills to test their powers; but the air is exceptionally good and the district decidedly worth visiting. The church (flint, with stone quoins) is Perp. with embattled and pinnacled western tower; it was restored in 1861. Several memorials are worth noticing: (1) marble sarcophagus, with bust by Rysbrach, to Admiral Sir John Jennings (d. 1743); (2) brass on N. wall, found in the flooring during restoration, to Robert Poynard (d. 1561), his wives Bridget and Joan, and his four daughters; (3) monuments to Chester and Clinton families in chancel. The once annual Pedlars' Fair has been discontinued; as has also the Tuesday market, which dated from the days of Henry III. In Saxon times the village was called Bergwant, _i.e._, the way over the hill. BARLEY, a village on the Essex border, is 2 miles N.E. from Barkway, and lies on the same high road. The Church of St. Margaret was restored in 1872, in fourteenth century Gothic, but the tower, which is Norman, still stands. During the restoration some curious jars, of ancient make, were found in the chancel walls, but were broken in the efforts to dislodge them. There is a brass to Andrew Willet, D.D., rector of the parish and author of _Synopsis Papismi_ (d. 1621). Some interesting data for a book on the antiquities of Barley are preserved in the pre-Reformation "Parish Hutch". I may mention the "towne house ... tyme out of mynde used and employed for the keeping of maides' marriages," and the "Playstoe" or "common playinge place for the younge people and other inhabitants of the said towne". This "towne house" may still be seen near the church. _Barleycroft End_ is S.E. from Furneaux Pelham (_q.v._). It almost adjoins that village.