Place:Hertfordshire, England


NameHertfordshire
Alt namesHertfordsource: Family History Library Catalog
Hertssource: BIAB Online (1999-2000) accessed 16 Dec 2002; Curious Fox: UK Counties and Shires [online] (2002). accessed 16 Dec 2002; Gazetteer of Great Britain (1999) xvii; Royal Mail: PAF Digest [online] (2002) accessed 16 Dec 2002
Herts.source: Oxford English Reference Dictionary (1996)
HRTsource: Curious Fox: UK Counties and Shires [online] (2002). accessed 16 Dec 2002
TypeHistoric county, Administrative county, Modern county
Coordinates51.75°N 0.333°W
Located inEngland
Contained Places
Ancient parish
Royston
Borough (municipal)
Hemel Hempstead
Hertford
St. Albans
Watford
Chapelry
Flaunden ( 1800 - )
Ickleford ( 1844 - )
Oxhey
Totteridge ( - 1965 )
Civil parish
Ardeley
Ashwell
Barkway
Barley
Bengeo Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Braughing
Brickendon
Buntingford
Bushey Rural ( 1894 - 1906 )
Coleshill ( - 1844 )
Cottered
Eastwick
Elstree
Essendon
Gilston
Great Amwell
Great Berkhamstead Rural (parish) ( 1898 - )
Harpenden Rural ( 1898 - )
Hatfield
Hertford St. Andrew Rural ( 1894 - 1924 )
Hertford St. John Rural ( 1894 - 1929 )
High Wych ( 1901 - )
Hitchin Urban ( 1894 - 1974 )
Hoddesdon Rural ( 1894 - 1935 )
Holwell ( 1897 - )
Humbershoe ( 1897 - )
Ickleford ( 1844 - )
Langley
Layston ( - 1937 )
Little Hormead ( - 1937 )
Meesden
Nettleden with Potten End ( 1937 - present )
North Royston ( 1896 - 1897 )
Offley
Redbourn
Rickmansworth Rural ( 1898 - 1935 )
Royston
Shephall ( - 1946 )
South Bassingbourn ( 1896 - 1897 )
South Kneesworth ( 1896 - 1897 )
South Melbourn ( 1896 - 1897 )
St. Albans Abbey
St. Michael Rural (parish) ( 1894 - )
St. Peter Rural (parish) ( 1894 - 1947 )
St. Stephen (parish) ( 1894 - )
Standon
Stanstead Abbots
Throcking ( - 1955 )
Totteridge ( - 1965 )
Tring Rural (parish) ( 1898 - 1974 )
Wakeley
Ware Rural (parish) ( 1894 - )
Watford Rural (parish) ( 1894 - 1974 )
Wymondley
District municipality
Broxbourne District ( 1974 - )
Dacorum District ( 1974 - )
East Hertfordshire District ( 1974 - )
Hertsmere District ( 1974 - )
North Hertfordshire District ( 1974 - )
St. Albans District ( 1974 - )
Stevenage District ( 1974 - )
Three Rivers District ( 1974 - )
Watford District ( 1974 - )
Welwyn Hatfield District ( 1974 - )
Hamlet
Eastwick
Humbershoe ( 1897 - )
Potten End
Wakeley
Hundred
Braughing Hundred
Broadwater Hundred
Cashio Hundred
Dacorum Hundred
Edwinstree Hundred
Hertford Hundred
Hitchin and Pirton Hundred
Odsey Hundred
Inhabited place
Barkway
Borehamwood
Bourne End
Buntingford
Cheshunt
Coleshill ( - 1844 )
Cottered
Elstree
Great Amwell
Hatfield
Hertford
Hitchin
Hoddesdon
Leavesden
Leverstock Green ( 1849 - )
Little Amwell
Nettleden ( 1895 - present )
Potters Bar ( 1965 - present )
Rickmansworth
St. Albans
Waltham Cross
Watford
Welwyn Garden City ( 1921 - )
Parish
Abbots Langley
Albury
Aldbury
Aldenham
Anstey
Arkley ( - 1965 )
Aspenden
Aston
Ayot St. Lawrence
Ayot St. Peter
Baldock
Barnet Vale ( 1894 - 1965 )
Barnet ( - 1965 )
Bayford
Bengeo
Benington
Berkhamsted
Bishop's Hatfield ( - 1951 )
Bishop's Stortford
Bovingdon
Bramfield
Brent Pelham
Broadfield ( - 1955 )
Broxbourne
Buckland
Bushey
Bygrave
Caddington ( - 1897 )
Caldecote
Cheshunt
Chorleywood
Clothall
Codicote
Colney Heath ( 1947 - )
Datchworth
Digswell
Flamstead
Flaunden ( 1800 - )
Furneux Pelham
Graveley
Great Gaddesden
Great Hormead
Great Munden
Great Wymondley ( - 1937 )
Hadley ( 1894 - 1965 )
Harpenden
Hemel Hempstead
Hertford St. Andrew
Hertford
Hertingfordbury
Hexton
Hinxworth
Hitchin
Hoddesdon
Hormead ( 1937 - )
Hunsdon
Kelshall
Kensworth ( - 1897 )
Kimpton
King's Walden
Kings Langley
Knebworth
Letchworth
Lilley
Little Berkhamsted
Little Gaddesden
Little Hadham
Little Munden
Little Wymondley ( - 1937 )
London Colney ( 1947 - )
Markyate
Meppershall ( - 1844 )
Monken Hadley ( 1889 - 1965 )
Much Hadham
Newnham
North Mymms
Northaw
Northchurch
Norton ( - 1908 )
Nuthampstead ( 1866 - )
Pirton
Preston
Puttenham
Radwell
Reed
Rickmansworth
Ridge
Rowley ( - 1965 )
Rushden
Sacombe ( - 1974 )
Sandon
Sandridge
Sarratt
Sawbridgeworth
Shenley
South Mimms Urban ( 1894 - 1965 )
South Mimms ( 1965 - present )
St. Albans St. Michael's
St. Albans St. Peter's
St. Albans
St. Ippolyts
St. Paul's Walden
Stanstead St. Margaret
Stapleford
Stevenage
Stocking Pelham
Studham ( - 1897 )
Tewin
Therfield
Thorley
Thundridge
Tring
Walkern
Wallington
Ware
Watford
Watton at Stone
Welwyn
Westmill
Weston
Wheathampstead
Whipsnade ( - 1897 )
Widford
Wigginton
Willian ( - 1930 )
Wormley
Wyddial
Parish (ancient)
Ardeley
Ashwell
Barley
Braughing
East Barnet ( - 1965 )
Elstree
Essendon
Gilston
Hertford All Saints
Holwell ( 1897 - )
Layston ( - 1937 )
Little Hormead ( - 1937 )
Meesden
Offley
Redbourn
Shephall ( - 1946 )
St. Albans Abbey
St. Stephen (parish) ( 1894 - )
Standon
Stanstead Abbots
Throcking ( - 1955 )
Parochial area
Royston
Registration district
Barnet Registration District (early) ( 1837 - 1851 )
Barnet Registration District (late) ( 1946 - 1965 )
Barnet Registration District ( 1946 - 1965 )
Berkhampstead Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
Berkhamsted Registration District ( 1939 - 1974 )
Bishops Stortford Registration District ( 1837 - 2008 )
Broxbourne Registration District ( 1974 - 2008 )
Buntingford Registration District ( 1837 - 1838 )
Dacorum Registration District ( 1974 - 2008 )
Elstree and Potters Bar Registration District ( 1965 - 1996 )
Hatfield Registration District ( 1837 - 2008 )
Hemel Hempstead Registration District ( 1837 - 1974 )
Hertford Registration District ( 1837 - 1974 )
Hertford and Ware Registration District ( 1974 - 2008 )
Hertfordshire Registration District ( 2008 - )
Hitchin Registration District ( 1837 - 1996 )
Hitchin and Stevenage Registration District ( 1996 - 2008 )
Royston Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
St. Albans Registration District ( 1837 - 2008 )
Stevenage Registration District ( 1974 - 1996 )
Ware Registration District ( 1837 - 1974 )
Watford Registration District ( 1837 - 2008 )
Rural district
Ashwell Rural ( 1894 - 1935 )
Barnet Rural ( 1894 - 1941 )
Berkhamsted Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Bishop's Stortford Rural ( 1894 - 1895 )
Braughing Rural ( 1935 - 1974 )
Buntingford Rural ( 1894 - 1935 )
Elstree Rural ( 1941 - 1974 )
Hadham Rural ( 1895 - 1935 )
Hatfield Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Hemel Hempstead Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Hertford Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Hitchin Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Holwell Rural ( 1897 - )
Kensworth Rural ( 1894 - 1897 )
Royston Rural ( 1894 - 1897 )
St. Albans Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Studham Rural ( 1894 - 1897 )
Ware Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Watford Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Welwyn Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Suburb
Apsley
Cockfosters ( - 1965 )
Leavesden
Leverstock Green ( 1849 - )
Oxhey
Walsworth
Unknown
Jenynsbury
Urban district
Baldock
Barnet ( - 1965 )
Berkhamsted
Bishop's Stortford
Bushey
Cheshunt
Chorleywood
East Barnet ( - 1965 )
Harpenden
Hitchin
Hoddesdon
Letchworth
Potters Bar ( 1965 - present )
Rickmansworth
Royston
Sawbridgeworth
Stevenage
Tring
Ware
Welwyn Garden City ( 1921 - )
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Hertfordshire (; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region.

Hertfordshire covers . It derives its name – via the name of the county town of Hertford – from a hart (stag) and a ford, as represented on the county's coat of arms and on the flag. Hertfordshire County Council is based in Hertford, once the main market town and the current county town. The largest settlement is Watford.

Since 1903 Letchworth has served as the prototype garden city; Stevenage became the first town to expand under post-war Britain's New Towns Act of 1946.

In 2013 Hertfordshire had a population of about 1,140,700, with Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Watford and St Albans (the county's only city) each having between 50,000 and 100,000 residents. Welwyn Garden City, Hoddesdon and Cheshunt are close behind with around 47,000 residents.

Elevations are higher in the north and west, reaching more than in the Chilterns near Tring. The county centres on the headwaters and upper valleys of the rivers Lea and the Colne; both flow south, and each is accompanied by a canal. Hertfordshire's undeveloped land is mainly agricultural, with much of it protected by green-belt policies. Services have become the largest sector of the county's economy. Hertfordshire is well served with motorways and railways for access to London, the Midlands and the North.

See the List of places in Hertfordshire and also List of settlements in Hertfordshire by population articles for extensive lists of local places and districts.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The county's landmarks span many centuries, ranging from the Six Hills in Stevenage built by local inhabitants during the Roman period, to Leavesden Film Studios. The volume of intact medieval and Tudor buildings surpasses London, in places in well-preserved conservation areas, especially in St Albans, which includes remains of the Roman town of Verulamium.

In 913, Hertfordshire was the area assigned to a fortress constructed at Hertford under the rule of Edward the Elder. Hertford is derived from the Anglo-Saxon heort ford, meaning deer crossing (of a watercourse). The name Hertfordshire is first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1011. Deer feature in many county emblems. Many of the names of the current settlements date back to the Anglo-Saxon period, with many featuring standard placename suffixes attributed to the Anglo-Saxons: "ford", "ton", "den", "bourn", "ley", "stead", "ing", "lett", "wood", and "worth", are represented in this county by Hertford, Royston, Harpenden, Redbourn, Cuffley, Wheathampstead, Tring, Radlett, Borehamwood and Rickmansworth.

There is evidence of human life in Hertfordshire from the Mesolithic period. It was first farmed during the Neolithic period and permanent habitation appeared at the beginning of the Bronze Age. This was followed by tribes settling in the area during the Iron Age.

Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, the aboriginal Catuvellauni quickly submitted and adapted to the Roman life; resulting in the development of several new towns, including Verulamium (St Albans) where in c. 293 the first recorded British martyrdom is traditionally believed to have taken place. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill. His martyr's cross of a yellow saltire on a blue field is reflected in the flag and coat of arms of Hertfordshire as the yellow field to the stag or Hart representing the county. He is the Patron Saint of Hertfordshire.

With the departure of the Roman Legions in the early 5th century, the now-unprotected territory was invaded and colonised by the Anglo-Saxons. By the 6th century, the majority of the modern county was part of the East Saxon kingdom. This relatively short-lived kingdom collapsed in the 9th century, ceding the territory of Hertfordshire to the control of the West Anglians of Mercia. The region finally became an English shire in the 10th century, on the merger of the West Saxon and Mercian kingdoms.

In the midst of the Norse invasions, Hertfordshire was on the front lines of much of the fighting. King Edward the Elder, in his reconquest of Norse-held lands in what was to become England, established a "burh" or fort in Hertford, which was to curb Norse activities in the area. His father, King Alfred the Great, established the River Lea as a boundary between his kingdom and that of the Norse lord Guthrum, with the north and eastern parts of the county being within the Danelaw. There is little evidence however of Norse placenames within this region, and many of the Anglo-Saxon features remained intact to this day. The county however suffered from renewed Norse raids in the late 10th to early 11th centuries, as armies led by Danish kings Swein Forkbeard and Cnut the Great harried the country as part of their attempts to undermine and overthrow English king Athelred the Unready.

A century later, William of Normandy received the surrender of the surviving senior English Lords and Clergy at Berkhamsted, resulting in a new Anglicised title of William the Conqueror, before entering London unopposed and being crowned at Westminster. Hertfordshire was used for some of the new Norman castles at Bishop's Stortford, and at King's Langley, a staging post between London and the royal residence of Berkhamsted.

The Domesday Book recorded the county as having nine hundreds. Tring and Danais became oneDacorumfrom Danis Corum or Danish rule harking back to a Viking not Saxon past. The other seven were Braughing, Broadwater, Cashio, Edwinstree, Hertford, Hitchin and Odsey.

In the later Plantagenet period, St. Albans Abbey was an initial drafting place of what was to become the Magna Carta. And in the later Wars of the Roses, St. Albans was the scene of two major battles between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.

In Tudor times, Hatfield House was often frequented by Queen Elizabeth I. Stuart King James I used the locale for hunting and facilitated the construction of a waterway, the New River, supplying drinking water to London.

As London grew, Hertfordshire became conveniently close to the English capital; much of the area was owned by the nobility and aristocracy, this patronage helped to boost the local economy. However, the greatest boost to Hertfordshire came during the Industrial Revolution, after which the population rose dramatically. In 1903, Letchworth became the world's first garden city and Stevenage became the first town to redevelop under the New Towns Act 1946.

The first shooting-down of a zeppelin over Great Britain during WW1 happened in Cuffley.

From the 1920s until the late 1980s, the town of Borehamwood was home to one of the major British film studio complexes, including the MGM-British Studios. Many well-known films were made here including the first three Star Wars movies (IV, V, & VI). The studios generally used the name of Elstree. American director Stanley Kubrick not only used to shoot in those studios but also lived in the area until his death. Big Brother UK and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? have been filmed there. EastEnders is filmed at Elstree. Hertfordshire has seen development at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden; the Harry Potter series was filmed here and the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.

On 17 October 2000, the Hatfield rail crash killed four people with over 70 injured. The crash exposed the shortcomings of Railtrack, which consequently saw speed restrictions and major track replacement. On 10 May 2002, the fourth of the Potters Bar rail accidents occurred killing seven people; the train was at high speed when it derailed and flipped into the air when one of the carriages slid along the platform where it came to rest.

In early December 2005, the 2005 Hemel Hempstead fuel depot explosions occurred at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal.

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