As to the meaning of the name Hertford, there has been some difference of opinion among archaeologists. In that extremely ancient chronicle, “Domesday Book,” the name, it appears, is spelt Herudsford, which is interpreted as meaning “the red ford.” The more general and obvious interpretation is, however, that of “hart’s-ford,” from the Anglo-Saxon _heort_, a hart, or stag; and this explanation is supported by the occurrence in other parts of the country of such names as Oxford, Horseford, Gatford (= goat’s-ford), Fairford (= sheep’s-ford), and Swinford. Writing on this subject in a paper on Hertfordshire place-names published in 1859, the Rev. Henry Hall, after alluding to the custom of naming fords after animals, concluded as follows:--“At all events, the custom is so prevalent, and the word hart so common for Anglo-Saxon localities, as Hart’s-bath, Hartlepool (the Hart’s pool), Hartly--that though several other derivations have been given for the capital of the county, none seems so simple, or so satisfactory, as that which interprets it to mean the hart’s ford.” This interpretation has been adopted by that division of His Majesty’s local forces formerly known as the H_a_rtfordshire Militia. Possibly it is supported by the title of a neighbouring village, Hertingfordbury, that is to say, the stronghold near Hertingford,--the ford at the hart’s meadow. Whether or not it has anything to do with the matter, it may be worthy of mention that red-deer antlers occur in considerable abundance buried in the peat of Walthamstow, lower down the Lea valley, in Essex. 2. General Characteristics of the County. [Illustration: Modern Hertfordshire: Station Road, Letchworth] Hertford is an inland county, situated in the south-eastern portion of England, and cut off from the nearest sea by the whole width of Essex, which forms the greater portion of its eastern border. Neither has it any great river of its own communicating with the ocean; although the Lea, which is navigable below Hertford, and falls into the Thames at Barking in Essex, affords the means of transporting malt (the great output of Ware) and other products to London and elsewhere by water. As to canal communication, this will be discussed in a later section. [Illustration: Ancient Hertfordshire: Thatched Cottages, Harpenden]