This post features: St Albans, Harpenden, Buntingford, Cottered, Hertford, Bishop’s Stortford, Royston, Tring, Furneux Pelham, Little Hormead, Hoddesdon and St Ippolyts
St Albans
The Cathedral:
The City:
Harpenden
The Green:
The Churches:
St Nicholas dwarfed by the two Sequoia standing as sentinels…The parish Church of St Nicholas – locked up and closed to visitorsThe Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes with its traditional Hertfordshire spike…
Rothamsted:
Buntingford
The Town:
St Peter’s Church dates from 1615 and is one of the oldest brick built churches in England…Because of its architectural importance and some valuable artefacts inside – the church is locked most of the time…Whereas, despite its architectural heritage and valuable artefacts, The Crown has most agreeable opening hours…This little shelter – erected in 1897 – covers a water pump that dates from 1690… The old Ermine Street, Buntingford is now bypassed by the A10 The old Ermine Street, Buntingford is now bypassed by the A10 A Hertfordshire spike…The Starship Enterprise emerges from warp speed over Buntingford…The little boy in the cloud above Buntingford…
River Green:
River Green, BuntingfordMurky Monday in Buntingford – despite the moon being at its perigee (although the two aren’t connected)…We have rain – for the first time in over 50 days – we also got hail – huge chunks of ice that have stripped the flowers and set off many a car alarm (27.07.18)…
The River Rib:
The River Rib is one of Hertfordshire’s beleaguered chalk streams – the local water company extracts so much water from the aquifer that the river is now pretty much dead…The River Rib on June 21st, 2017 – not sure why it looks purple…The River Rib – bone dry in July 2018
Jack:
Jack waiting for his walkLucy & Jack on a walkJack exploringJack waiting patiently at the end of his morning walk…
The Car Show:
At the annual Buntingford car show: a Jowett Jupiter – built in BradfordA tame Impala…Car show day in Buntingford – usually held on the first Saturday in September…An Allis Chalmers tractor – possibly a CA dating from the 1950’s – resplendent in Rotary Hoes orange (from pre-Pantone days) (1963 in case you’re wondering)…
Cottered
The house in Cottered where Dr Sun Yat-Sen used to stay when he came to England; a quotation and a picture of his memorial in Taipei.
Hertford
Walkabout in HertfordThe castle dates from 1463…The good folk of Hertford were reluctant supporters of William III’s window tax – or “daylight robbery” as it was knownMcMullen’s Brewery – the company was founded in 1827 and this brewery dates from 1891…All Saints – but not all souls: doors locked, unfortunatelyA statue of the Reverend Samuel Stone, born in Hertford in 1602 and co-founder of Hartford, Connecticut
Bishop’s Stortford
Bishop’s StortfordBishop’s StortfordBishop’s StortfordBishop’s StortfordA Peel P50 – made on the Isle of ManThe Peel P50 – the world’s smallest production car. It weighs around 59kg…
Royston
John O’Groats is 472 miles awayLands End is 281 miles away in that directionClaude Monet’s lost masterpiece: “Les Fleurs Sauvage de Royston” – the embankment at Royston station has been left to allow these lovely wildflowers to bloom…
Tring
Well – I didn’t know that Tring has a museum – a Natural History Museum – laid out in a similar way to the excellent Pitt Rivers in Oxford – the Tring museum has an astonishing collection of animals, birds, fish and reptiles – a taxidermist’s idea of heaven, I would imagineThe parish church of St Peter and St Paul
Ferneux Pelham
The old Rayments brewery in Furneux Pelham – bought by Greene King in 1928 – who then closed it in 1987…It is now a housing developmentThe site of the old Rayment’s breweryA master thatcher in Furneux PelhamSt Mary the Virgin in Furneux Pelham – intriguing inscriptions on the clock…Decorative ceilingJack and I were invited to join the villagers for coffee in the church – nice that they were happy for dogs to come into the church – we didn’t stay as I had a feeling Jack would have eaten all of their biscuits… Furneux Pelham is a pretty villagePronounced “furnux” with the vowels almost swallowed – the Victorians decided that what the village really needed was an “a”…The villagers – and pretty much everyone else – spell it “Furneux” – but the owners of “The Hall” paid for the village sign and they insisted on this spelling…
Little Hormead
The sweet little church at Little Hormead – shut outside of servicesThe Church of St Mary’s, Little Hormead, was built over several years during the 11th and 12th centuries, The church has no means of lighting, apart from brought-in oil lamps and candles. The parish was combined with Great Hormead in 1886 and, while still consecrated, it has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) since 1995. St Mary’s is still used for occasional services.
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon has a nicer town centre than you might imagine and includes an historical gem. The clock tower was built in 1836 on the site of the Chapel of St Katherine and is owned by the Diocese of St Albans – atop the tower is an intriguing weather vane that, heroically, this picture fails to capture…Hoddesdon Museum is free to wander around and has interesting displays of local life and history…As is often the way in English towns, some of the oldest and most interesting buildings are pubs – the White Swan dates from the 1590’s…The Deer Café, Hoddesdon…The Golden Lion dates from 1535The Bell dates from 1546 although it didn’t become a pub until 1615Intriguing relief showing 2 boys holding a bunch of grapes – this building was once the home of the Christie family, owners of the brewery (sold in 1928). Hoddesdon is now home to the New River Brewery… The Star dates from 1448 and was restored and re-opened by Wetherspoon in 2014Wetherspoon has done a fantastic job of not just restoring this building but leaving areas untouched so that you can see the structure…This glass panel protects a series of Elizabethan wall paintings – a dreadful photograph but this frieze is just astonishing – quite remarkable…
St Ippolyts
St Ippolyts – named in honour of one of three saints – no one is certain which one. It could be St Hippolytus of Rome or it could be St Hippolyts of Pronto while the third contender is St Hippolytes – another Roman. The church celebrates August 13th as its festival day, however, and this is dedicated to St Hippolytus…The spelling of St Ippolyts was adopted in the 19th century; prior to that it was St Ippollitts, which was how the name was spelled in 1518, while in 1283 it was St Yppollitus…There has been a church here since 1087, reaching its present size around 1320 and then underwent rebuilding in 1878/9. Henry VIII gave the church to Trinity College, Cambridge in whose care it remains…A lot of history in such a little place…
