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. [Illustration: 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. [Illustration: The Grammar School, Hitchin] Forty years ago the county abounded in picturesque brick-and-timber cottages, roofed with either tiles or thatch; but these are disappearing yearly under the hand of the speculative builder, to be replaced by hideous box-like buildings of brick and slate. Some, however, still survive, either in the towns or the smaller hamlets, such as picturesque Amswell, near Wheathampstead, which may be cited as an ideal example of one of the smaller Hertfordshire villages. As has been well remarked in another volume of the present series, the great difference between these ancient cottages and houses and the great majority of their modern successors is that while the former harmonise with their surroundings, reflect not a little of the spirit of the builder, and improve, like good wine, with age, the latter are altogether out of keeping, and are likely to become, if possible, still more offensive and objectionable with the advance of time. [Illustration: An Old Malting House, Baldock] While most of the old Hertfordshire cottages were of brick and timber, others were built of flint with brick facings, or more rarely of rounded pebbles from the Woolwich and Reading beds, or with brick courses and window-mullions; some were of feather-edge boarding, and others again of rubble and plaster. [Illustration: Chequer’s Yard, Watford]