Chapter 14
WALLINGTON (3½ miles E. from Baldock) lies in one of the most quiet districts of the county, a district almost entirely agricultural. The village is small; a few cottages are ancient and picturesque, but there is little to notice. Take the lane opposite the Plough Inn to reach the church, which can show a good Perp. roof and screen, and some mutilated monuments and brasses in the chapel. The main structure is Dec.; but the chancel was rebuilt forty years ago. A walk affording views very characteristic of Herts may be taken from the footpath near the walled pond adjoining the church, by bearing S.S.E. to Red Hill, Rushden and Cottered.
_Walsworth_, a hamlet, is almost a suburb at the N.E. end of Hitchin, ½ mile from the station.
WALTHAM CROSS, on the London-Cambridge road, owes its name, as is well known, to the Cross which Edward I. erected to the memory of Queen Eleanor about 1¼ mile W. from Waltham Abbey. The cross stands a little W. from Waltham Station (G.E.R.), where the above-mentioned road meets that which leads E. to the Abbey. Although frequently restored it is perhaps even now more complete than any other Eleanor Cross still existing. (That erected at St. Albans, as already stated, was destroyed about 200 years ago.) It is, I believe, disputed as to whether it was designed by Pietro Cavalini or not; it was completed in 1294. It is hexagonal in shape, of three stages, diminishing from basement to summit; the details of its sculpture can be readily seized by examining Mr. New's drawing. The restoration of 1833 was worked in Bath stone; this was largely replaced by new material, in Ketton stone, only a few years ago, at which time the Old Falcon Inn, which projected almost to the cross, was pulled down, thus affording a view of the monument from all sides.
The Four Swans, close to the cross, dates from 1260, as is testified on the large, quaint sign-board which swings above the road; but only a few portions of the present structure are of any great antiquity. There is a modern church a little N. from the cross; but much of the district commonly called Waltham is in Essex. Of great interest to visitors, however, and about 1 mile W. from the Cross, is _Theobald's Park_, a brick mansion erected about 150 years back by Sir G. W. Prescott, Bart. At one of the entrances to the park stands Temple Bar, brought here from Fleet Street and erected in its present position in 1888. The house does not occupy the site of the historic manor house visited by so many sovereigns, which stood on a slight eminence some distance to the N.W. It was William Cecil, afterwards Lord Burghley, who commenced to build that famous mansion in 1560, and enlarged it considerably when he found it pleasant in the eyes of many persons of high degree. Queen Elizabeth was frequently a visitor at Theobalds. It was Burghley's son, Robert Cecil, who entertained James I. here as that monarch was on his way to London and the English Crown, and James became so pleased with the house and its surroundings that he obtained it from Cecil, giving him the royal manor of Hatfield in its stead. It was from _Theobalds_ that Charles I. set out to raise his standard at Nottingham (1642). The house was partially destroyed during the turmoil that ensued; after the Restoration it was given by Charles II. to George Monk. It was subsequently the property of the Earl of Portland and of several other persons.
WARE was for a long period, and is perhaps now, the centre of the malt trade in Herts, but brickmaking is also extensively carried on. The river Lea skirts the town on the S. side, and is crossed by an iron bridge near the Barge Inn. The High Street displays many new houses and shops, but by turning into the smaller by-ways visitors may find quaint cottages and picturesque nooks and corners. The town is very ancient, but contained only a few persons at the time of the Conquest.
The cruciform church of St. Mary has been much restored; the body of the present structure is Dec.; but the tower and chancel are Perp. Note (1) the carved oak screen separating the S. transept from the Lady-chapel; (2) sedilia, piscina and ambries in the chapel itself; (3) octagonal font (_temp._ Henry IV.), bearing figures of saints on its panels; (4) mural monument in S. transept to Sir Richard Fanshawe; (5) brass to W. Pyrry or Pyrey (d. 1470) and his wives Agnes and Alice, the inscription was apparently never completed; (6) curious brass figure near pulpit. There is also a modern church in the New Road, E.E. in style, of Kentish Rag and Bath Stone.
There was a Franciscan Priory a little W. from the church, which, although sometimes said to have been founded by Margaret, Countess of Leicester (_temp._ Henry III.), was probably of much earlier foundation, though doubtless enlarged by that lady. It fell into decay after the Dissolution, but some remains of the old buildings are still to be seen at _Ware Priory_, a mansion occupying the site. The property formed a separate manor, which was given to the Countess of Richmond by her son, Henry VII.
Ware is not without literary association. The Johnny Gilpin, on the road to Amwell, commemorates the hero of Cowper's ballad; Pepys mentions his visits to the town on several occasions; Dick Turpin, as the story runs in Ainsworth's _Rookwood_, passed through Ware in his famous ride to York; Godwin, who figures so largely in the Lamb literature, was for some years the Independent minister of the town. By a long ascent N. from the town, we reach, by turning right, the hamlet of _Ware Side_, picturesquely scattered over a slight depression close to _Widford_ (_q.v._). W. from the town is _Ware Park_, a mansion on a beautiful eminence.
_Warren's Green_ (about 4 miles N.E. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a small hamlet.
_Water End_, on the river Gade, is on the S.W. confines of Gaddesden Park. There are also hamlets of the same name (1) close to Ayot Station, G.N.R.; (2) at the E. extremity of Mimms Park, 2 miles N.W. from Potter's Bar Station (Middlesex).
_Waterford_ and _Waterford Marsh_ are in Bengeo parish, on the river Beane. On the marsh is some grazing common, free to all parishioners.
_Waterside_ is the name of a few cottages (1) on the river Gade, near King's Langley village; (2) at Mill Green, 1 mile N.E. from Hatfield.
WATFORD, including its quickly rising suburbs, is much the largest town in Hertfordshire. The Colne crosses the high road where it dips before rising towards Bushey, and Chauncy says that the town derives its name from the Wet Ford by which the river is crossed. The building of the Junction Station (L.&N.W.R.), N.E. from the High Street, did much to facilitate the growth of Watford and extend its trade; the railroad diverges S.W. to Rickmansworth only, and N.E. to Bricket Wood, Park Street and St. Albans; the main line from London passes through a long tunnel before reaching King's Langley Station. The antiquities of the town itself are less interesting and indeed less known than those of other towns in the county, and Chauncy, _e.g._, finds little to say about it. The manor was long held by the abbots of St. Albans; then it became Crown property, and after several changes of ownership passed to William, fourth Earl of Essex, whose descendants are still lords of the manor.
The parish church, on a small yard adjoining the S. side of the High Street, is Perp., and was well restored about fifty years ago; with its _Katherine-_ and _Essex Chapels_ it forms a large and imposing structure. The latter chapel was built in 1595 by Bridget, Countess of Bedford. Its monuments are very numerous and comprise (1) to Sir Charles Morison, Kt. (d. 1599), and Dorothy his wife; note the fine kneeling effigies; (2) to Sir Charles Morison, K.B., son of the foregoing (d. 1628), and the Hon. Mary (Hicks) his wife, with recumbent effigies one above the other, and attendant figures of a daughter and two sons (note the Corinthian columns which support the canopy overshadowing the whole); both these Morison monuments were the work of Nicholas Stone, mentioned in Walpole's _Anecdotes_; (3) altar-tomb to the founder of the chapel (d. 1600); (4) altar-tomb with Tuscan columns and recumbent effigy to Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Russell (d. 1611). Among the brasses are those to (1) Henry Dickson (d. 1610); George Miller (d. 1613) and Anthony Cooper, "servants to Sir Charles Morryson, Kt."; (2) imperfect, Hugo de Holes, Justice of the King's Bench (d. 1415), and Margaretta his wife (d. 1416); (3) Henry Baldwyn of Reedheath (d. 1601), Alice, his wife, and three children; (4) James Moss, a messenger to George II. (d. 1758).
There are modern churches: (1) St. John's, in the Sutton Road, a Gothic edifice completed in 1893; (2) St. Andrew's, near the Junction, E.E. in design, with a good stained glass window in the S. aisle, and a beautiful Roman Catholic church by Bentley, architect of Westminster cathedral. In Beechen Grove is one of the finest Nonconformist (Baptist) chapels in the county; it dates from 1878 and is Italian in design. Market day is on Tuesday.
CASHIOBURY PARK stretches from the N.W. end of Watford, reaching--together with Grove Park, which it joins--to the parting of the ways at Langleybury Church (4 miles N.W. from Watford Old Church). It is crossed from N. to S. by the river Gade. The present mansion dates from 1800; it was built by Wyatt for the fifth Earl of Essex. Disposed around an open courtyard, its many handsome apartments make a noble appearance; what was formerly part of the N. wing of the old mansion built by Sir Richard Morrison and his son Charles in the sixteenth century is still retained, although that house was largely rebuilt by the first earl, from designs furnished by Hugh May. There is a fine library, and three smaller ones, the collection of books being very valuable; but in the estimation of many the pictures are still more so. Among them may be named: (1) Arthur Lord Capel and his family, C. Janssens; this was the Capel who defended Colchester and was beheaded in 1649; (2) Charles II., by Lely; (3) fifth Earl of Essex as a boy with his sister, by Reynolds, in frame carved by Grinling Gibbons; (4) Countess of Ranelagh, full length, by Kneller; (5) portrait by Rubens, probably of Charlotte de la Tremouille, afterwards Countess of Derby; (6) "Moll Davis" (actress), by Lely. There are many others, especially further portraits of the Capel family. The park and grounds are beautifully laid out. The park is open to the public; but the house is shown only by special request.
WATTON or WATTON AT STONE is a large village on the Hertford-Stevenage road and the river Beane, 3½ miles S.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R. Its position is very central, the roads from Ware, Hertford, Great and Little Munden, Walkern, Stevenage, Welwyn and Tewin all converging within the area of the main street. The church, at the S. end of the village, is Perp.; it was entirely restored in 1851. Note (1) piscina and triple sedilia in chancel; (2) doors formerly leading to rood loft; (3) curious tombstone, E.E., in the churchyard; (4) E. window of stained glass, dating from the Restoration; (5) memorial window in the S. aisle to Lady Catherine Barrington. The brasses are unusually old and interesting, _e.g._, (1) with canopied effigy, to Sir Philip Peletot (d. 1361); (2) to Sir E. Bardolf (d. 1455); the effigy is that of his wife, his own having been long missing; (3) to John Boteler (Butler) and family (1514). The Boteler family, to whom there are many other memorials in the church, lived for many generations in the manor house of Woodhall, burnt in 1771. The house stood on high ground in the beautiful _Woodhall Park_, E. from Watton Church, on the site occupied by the present fine mansion (Abel Smith, Esq., J.P.). The Beane flows through the park and has been widened to form a large sheet of water S. from the house.
_Welham Green_ is between Hatfield- and Mimms Parks, 2 miles S. from Hatfield Station.
_Wellbury_ is 3 miles W. from Hitchin. _Wellbury House_ (modern) stands in a small park; two small places of few inhabitants, called "Old" and "New" Wellbury, lie on the N.E. outskirts of the Park.
WELWYN, a small town in the Maran Valley, can show little of interest beyond many quaint cottages, and the church, famous as that in which Dr. Edward Young, author of _Night Thoughts_, officiated from 1730 to 1765. He was buried in the church; the mural memorial to him was erected by his son. The church is Dec., with E.E. portions; the piscina in the chancel is ancient, the sedilia is modern. An inventory of the church furniture, taken in 1541, shows that there were formerly three altars in it. The avenue of limes in the rectory grounds was planted by Young; there is a Latin inscription to the poet on a pedestal at its upper end. His son was visited here by Dr. Johnson and James Boswell.
The walk S.E. to the station (1¼ mile) commands a fine view of the Great Northern viaduct of forty arches over the deeper portion of the Maran Valley. On the opposite (left) side of the road is _Locksleys_, a good mansion by the river side, surrounded by charming grounds. One mile S. is _The Frythe_, long the residence of the Wilshere family; at a rather less distance N. is _Danesbury_, a prettily designed mansion in a small park.
"King Etheldred ... willing to relieve his people from the barbarous usuage and the inhuman actions of the insulting Danes ... sent instructions to the Governors of all cities, boroughs and towns in his dominions, commanding, that at a certain hour upon the feast of St. Brice, all the Danes should be massacred; and common fame tells us that this massacre began at a little town called Welwine in Hertfordshire, within twenty-four miles of London, in the year 1012, from which Act, 'tis said this Vill received the name of Welwine, because the Weal of this county (as it was then thought) was there first won; but the Saxons long before called this town Welnes, from the many springs which rise in this Vill; for in old time Wells in their language were term'd Welnes."
One of the springs in the neighbourhood, now disused, was famous in Young's day for its chalybeate waters.
_West End_ is a hamlet 2 miles S.W. from Cole Green Station, G.N.R. It lies close to the N.W. corner of _Bedwell Park_, with the river Lea 1 mile N.
_West Hyde_, in the extreme S.W. of the county, near the river Colne, has a modern cruciform church, Italian in style.
WESTMILL, a church and picturesque cluster of cottages in a hollow a little W. from the Buntingford Road, is 1½ mile S. from that town. The river Rib runs between the church and the station (G.E.R.). The manor is ancient; it was given by William I. to Robert de Olgi. Nathanial Salmon, author of a _History of Hertfordshire_ published in 1728, was once curate here.
The church very probably dates from the end of the thirteenth century, and is an E.E. flint structure. There are some old slabs in the chancel to the Bellenden family, and one on the nave floor bearing an inscription to one Thomas de Leukenor (?).
_Westmill Green_ is a hamlet 1½ mile S.W. from Westmill Station, G.E.R.
WESTON, a large village 3 miles S.E. from Baldock, has an interesting, restored church, dating from about 1200. It has a N. transept, in which are two good Norman windows; a piscina, E.E., is in the nave. The massive embattled tower, which carries an octagonal, N.E. turret, was rebuilt in 1867. In the churchyard may be seen two small stones, about four yards apart, which, according to local tradition, mark the grave of the Weston giant. The church was once a property of the Knights Templars. There is what seems a second village just where a narrow footpath leads from the Lufen Hall Road to the church, which stands ½ mile E. from the long main street. Many folk may still be noticed plaiting in the neighbourhood.
_Weston Dane End_ (1½ mile S. from the above village) is a hamlet on the road to Walkern.
_Westwick Row_ (2 miles S.E. from Hemel Hempstead) is a hamlet near Leverstock Green, in a charming neighbourhood.
WHEATHAMPSTEAD lies in a hollow, in the valley of the Lea. Cyclists approaching the village from St. Albans by way of Sandridge and No Man's Land must beware of the steep descent from the Old Red Cow to the Swan Inn. The place undoubtedly owes its name to the fine wheat grown in the neighbourhood; it is very picturesque, particularly around the church and vicarage, and by the waterside towards _Brocket Hall_.
The cruciform church, W. from the centre of the village, is E.E. and Dec. with a few Perp. features. A doorway in the _Brocket Chapel_ is supposed to be Saxon, but I cannot say whether the supposition is correct; the chapel also contains an altar-tomb with effigies of Sir John Brocket and his wife, Margaret, bearing date 1543, and a piscina in the S. wall. A brass of much interest is that to Hugh Bostock and his wife, Margaret (_circa_ 1450), showing their figures in robes. These persons were the parents of John de Wheathampsted. (See St. Albans.) An old marble tablet is to John Heyworth (d. 1558) and his wife Joan. Note also the monumental effigies in N. transept to Sir John Garrard, Bart. (d. 1637), and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1632). The _reredos_ is very fine.
Forty years ago the village was truly rural, but the rebuilding of the old mill between the church and station (G.N.R. branch from Hatfield to Dunstable) and the erection of several modern shops in the main street has altered its appearance. _Wheathampstead House_, close to the station, is the seat of Earl Cavan; _Lamer Park_, a little N., slopes pleasantly towards the fine home of A. G. B. Cherry-Garrard, Esq.
Mention must be made of the curious bronze vessel of the Anglo-Saxon period, resembling a teapot, found in the neighbourhood some years ago. It is figured and described in the recently published _Victoria History of Hertfordshire_.
_Wheathampstead Cross_ (1½ mile S.E. from Harpenden Station, M.R.) is 2 miles S.W. from the above village. It contains nothing but a few cottages.
_Whempstead_, a hamlet in the centre of the county, is not easily reached, being about 5 miles E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R., and rather farther N.W. from Ware. The so-called _Whempstead Chapel_, recently demolished, was a small cottage, but it doubtless stood near the site of an old chapel "founded and endowed about the beginning of the thirteenth century by the family of Aguillon".
_White Barns_, near the Essex border, is a hamlet ¾ mile N. from Furneaux Pelham (_q.v._).
_Whitwell_ (4½ miles S.W. from Stevenage) is strictly a hamlet, but is a place of some size, scattered along the S. bank of the river Maran. The nearest parish church is at St. Paul's Walden (_q.v._), but there is a modern Baptist chapel near the centre of the main street, and a small church on the Bendish Road, formerly owned by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection; it is now partially disused. The mill at the E. end of the village, near the old tan-yard, was burnt down many years ago, but has since been rebuilt.
_Widbury_ is 1 mile E. from Ware.
WIDFORD, so interesting in the eyes of all lovers of Charles Lamb, is a small village on the river Ash, with a station (G.E.R.) a few minutes W. from the church. Visitors, however, must remember that much in the neighbourhood has changed since Lamb's day. He himself recorded the demolition of the old house "Blakesware" or, as he wrote it, "Blakesmoor,"[o] which he knew so well as a child; the church spire, mentioned in his verses "The Grandame," was rebuilt many years back; the cottage at _Blenheim_ close by, immortalised in _Rosamund Gray_, was long ago rebuilt.
The church is Dec. and Perp.; there are sedilia in the chancel, the roof of which was finely painted by Miss Gosselin forty years ago, and there is a piscina in the nave. The circular stone staircase that formerly led to the old rood-loft was built up during restoration. The present E. window is to the memory of John Eliot--the missionary to the Indians--born at Nazing early in the seventeenth century. There are very few memorials; one might almost repeat the words written of the church two centuries ago, "In this church are no gravestones". The manor is very ancient and was held in the reign of William I. by the Bishop of London.
_Wigginton_ lies on very high ground, commanding splendid views. The village is about 1½ mile S.W. from Tring Station, L.&N.W.R.; the church, near the parting of the roads at its S.E. extremity, is a small flint structure, E.E. in style, with a modern N. aisle. It has no tower. _Champneys_, near Wigginton Common (1 mile S.), is a prettily situated mansion, rebuilt in 1874. It was formerly the residence of the Valpy family.
_Wilbury Hill_, between Ickleford and Baldock, is crossed by the Roman Icknield Way. The _vallum_, through which the Way passes, is thought to mark the site of a Roman camp; Stukeley's suggestion that it was probably the site of a British _oppidum_ is questioned by Salmon (_History of Hertfordshire_, 1728). Roman coins have been found in some abundance in the neighbourhood, notably a silver _Faustina_.
_Wild Hill_ is between Hatfield and Bedwell Parks.
_Willian_, formerly Wylie (2 miles N.E. from Hitchin Station, G.N.R.), is very ancient, mention of it as a property dating from the times of the Mercian kings. The village lies 1 mile W. from the Great North Road. The church is thought to date from the Conquest, but only an arch in the chancel is Norman. Note (1) the monument to "Edvardus Lacon" (d. 1625), and Joanna his wife (d. 1624); (2) small brass to Richard Goldon, a former vicar (d. 1446--? 1417). A tiny graveyard surrounds the church. _Roxley Court_ (½ mile S.) is the property of Colonel Mortimer Hancock.
_Wilstone_, near the Aylesbury Canal, lies in a hollow 2 miles S.E. from Marston Gate Station, L.&N.W.R. It has a modern church, E.E. in style, consisting of nave only.
_Windridge_, a ward of St. Stephen's parish, is 1½ mile S.W. from the L.&N.W.R. Station at the foot of Holywell Hill, St. Albans.
_Winter Green_ is on the N.W. confines of Knebworth Park, about 1 mile from the church and 2 miles from the station (G.N.R.). The neighbourhood is on high ground.
_Woodend_ (3½ miles S.W. from Westmill Station, G.E.R.) has a numerous population, but is, I believe, a hamlet in Ardeley parish. The modern Chapel of St. Alban the Martyr is built largely of small stones, and has a S. porch. _Walkern Park_ is ¾ mile S.W.
_Woodhall_ (1½ mile N.N.E. from Hatfield) is a scattered hamlet between Stanborough and Hatfield Hyde. Two farms and several cottages bear the name. Woodhall Woods are a little farther N.
_Woodhill_ (about 3½ miles S.E. from Hatfield) is prettily situated, with _Brookmans_, _Hatfield_ and _Bedwell_ Parks all within a short walk. St. Mark's Chapel-of-Ease was rebuilt in 1880, although originally erected only in 1852 by the then Marquess of Salisbury.
_Woodside_ is the name of at least three small places, (1) in the neighbourhood of Hatfield, where Upper and Lower Woodside are at the S.E. side of the park; (2) a ward in the parish of Cheshunt; (3) in the parish of Leavesden.
_Woollen's Brook_, on the Hoddesdon-Hertford road, has a tiny Mission Church. It is a small hamlet, a little S. from Haileybury College.
_Woolmer Green_ lies on the Great North Road, 1 mile S.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R. The roads from Welwyn, Stevenage and Bramfield meet at the S. end of the street. The hamlet is considerable.