Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire | |
---|---|
13th of 48 | |
Density | 721/km2 (1,870/sq mi) |
Non-metropolitan county | |
County council | Hertfordshire County Council |
Executive | Conservative |
Admin HQ | Hertford |
Area | 1,643 km2 (634 sq mi) |
• Ranked | 21st of 21 |
Population | 1,200,620 |
• Ranked | 6th of 21 |
Density | 731/km2 (1,890/sq mi) |
ISO 3166-2 | GB-HRT |
ONS code | 26 |
GSS code | E10000015 |
ITL | UKH23 |
Website | hertfordshire |
Districts | |
Districts of Hertfordshire | |
Districts |
Hertfordshire (/ˈhɑːrtfərdʃɪər/ ⓘ HART-fərd-sheer or /-ʃər/ -shər; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Watford, and the county town is Hertford.
The county has an area of 634 square miles (1,640 km2) and had a population of 1,198,800 at the 2021 census.[2] After Watford (131,325), the largest settlements are Hemel Hempstead (95,985), Stevenage (94,470) and the city of St Albans (75,540).[3] For local government purposes Hertfordshire is a non-metropolitan county with ten districts beneath Hertfordshire County Council.
Elevations are higher in the north and west, reaching more than 800 feet (240 m) in the
Since 1903,
History
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
There is evidence of human life in Hertfordshire from the
Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, the Catuvellauni tribe 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
In the midst of the Norse invasions, Hertfordshire was on the front lines of much of the fighting. King
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
In the later Plantagenet period, St. Albans Abbey was an initial drafting place of what was to become 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
The first shooting-down of a zeppelin over Great Britain during WW1 happened in Cuffley.[4]
From the
On 17 October 2000, the Hatfield rail crash killed four people with over 70 injured.[6] 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 travelling 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
Geography
Hertfordshire is located in the south-eastern part of England and is the county immediately north of London. It is officially part of the
The county's boundaries were roughly fixed by the
The highest point in the county is at 244 m (801 ft) (
At the 2011 census, among the county's ten districts, East Hertfordshire had the lowest population density (290 people per km2) and Watford the highest (4210 per km2). Compared with neighbouring Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire lacks large towns or cities on the scale of Luton or Milton Keynes, whose populations exceed 200,000, but its overall population (1.2 million in 2021) is greater than those of the two aforementioned counties.
The River Lea near Harpenden runs through Wheathampstead, Welwyn Garden City, Hertford, Ware, and Broxbourne before reaching Cheshunt and ultimately the River Thames. The far west of the county is the most hilly, with the Chiltern Hills surrounding Tring, Berkhamsted and the Ashridge estate. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty runs from near Hitchin in the north to Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
Many of the county's major settlements are in the central, northern and southern areas, such as Watford, Hemel Hempstead,
Hertfordshire's eastern regions are predominantly rural and arable, intermixed with villages and small to medium-sized towns. Royston, Buntingford and
An unofficial status, the purple star-shaped flower with yellow stamens, the
Geology
The rocks of Hertfordshire belong to the great shallow
Natural resources and environment
Much of the west – and much more in the east – have richly diverse countryside.[13] These range from beech woods of the Chilterns, clayland buffer zone countryside of Braughing and the Hadhams across to ancient hornbeam coppices west of the upper Lea valley.[13] The county has sweeping panoramas of chalklands near Royston, Baldock, Hexton and Tring.[13]
Large parts of the county are used for agriculture.
Some quarrying of sand and gravel occurs around St Albans. In the past, clay has supplied local brick-making and still does in Bovingdon, just south-west of Hemel Hempstead. The chalk that is the bedrock of much of the county provides an aquifer that feeds streams and is also exploited to provide water supplies for much of the county and beyond. Chalk has also been used as a building material and, once fired, the resultant lime was spread on agricultural land to improve fertility. The mining of chalk since the early 18th century has left unrecorded underground galleries that occasionally collapse unexpectedly and endanger buildings.[14]
Fresh water is supplied to London from
Hertfordshire affords habitat for a variety of flora and fauna. A bird once common in the shire is the
Urban areas
Economy
This is a table of trends of regional gross value added of Hertfordshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.[17]
Year | Regional Gross Value Added[n 1] | Agriculture[n 2] | Industry[n 3] | Services[n 4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 11,742 | 96 | 3,292 | 8,354 |
2000 | 18,370 | 77 | 4,138 | 14,155 |
2003 | 20,937 | 82 | 4,348 | 16,507 |
Hertfordshire has the main operational and/or headquarters UK site of some very large employers. Clockwise from north:
In
produces satellites.Hatfield was where de Havilland developed the first commercial jet liner, the Comet. Now the site is a business park and new campus for the University of Hertfordshire. This major employment site notably hosts EE, Computacenter and Ocado groceries and other goods e-commerce.
.The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the trade association for UK pharmacies, is based in St Albans.
Rickmansworth hosts Skanska.
Television
Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC London & ITV London, however northern parts of the county receive BBC East & ITV Anglia from Norwich.
Radio
Local Radio programmes are provided by BBC Three Counties Radio, Heart Hertfordshire, Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts (formerly Mix 96), Mix 92.6 (formerly Radio Verulam St. Albans) and Community Radio Dacorum (Hemel Hempstead).
Sport
In 2012, the
Football
As of the 2021–22 season, there are four professional football teams in Hertfordshire: Watford F.C., Stevenage F.C., Arsenal W.F.C. and Boreham Wood F.C.
Since 1922, Watford play their home games at Vicarage Road.[19] The club joined the Football League in 1920 as a founding member of the Third Division[20] and first played in the First Division of English football in 1982, finishing as runners-up to champions Liverpool.[20] Watford was promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2020–2021 season. After spending one season in the Premier League, they were relegated to the Championship again for the 2022-2023 season.[21]
Stevenage F.C. was formed in 1976 as Stevenage Borough and have played at
Arsenal F.C., whilst based at the Emirates Stadium in the London Borough of Islington, has long held a training ground in the county. Until 1999, it held the London Colney University of London facility, until it built a new purpose-built compound adjacent to it. Watford FC currently utilises the old Arsenal training area as its training facility.
Arsenal W.F.C. play at
Hertfordshire has many semi-professional and amateur clubs. The highest placed are Hemel Hempstead Town and St Albans City, who play in the National League South and Bishop's Stortford F.C. who play in the National League North.
Rugby
Rugby league
Rugby union
The Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Hertfordshire and is responsible for any interested parties involved in rugby.[31]
Tring Rugby play matches at Cow Lane, Tring.[32] The first XV currently play in the Regional 1 South East,[33] League. A level 5 league.
GAA
Landmarks
Below is a list of notable visitor attractions in Hertfordshire:
- Aldenham Country Park
- National Trustland.
- Bridgewater Monument, built in 1832 in memory of Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater. 108 feet (33 m) tall and open to the public to ascend to the top
- Berkhamsted Castle
- Cedars Park, Broxbourne– historic park once the site of James I's favourite residence, Theobalds Palace. Maintained by Broxbourne Services and the Friends of Cedars Park.
- de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, between London Colney and South Mimms
- Frogmore Paper Mill, Apsley
- Hatfield
- Hatfield House – Jacobean house, gardens and park
- Mill Green Watermillin Hatfield
- University of Hertfordshire – a public research university based in Hatfield
- Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham – sculpture park on the work of Henry Moore
- Knebworth House, 250 acres (1.0 km2) of country park, venue of many rock and pop festivals
- Leavesden Film Studios, home of the Warner Bros. Making of Harry Potter studio tour
- Green Belt, the UK's first roundabout, and a number of experiments in early town planning and house and factory design
- Spirella Building
- Magic Roundabout (Hemel Hempstead) – a complex road junction
- Royston Cave – in Royston town centre
- )
- St Albans
- Beech Bottom Dyke – large-scale Iron Age defensive or boundary ditch
- Sopwell Nunnery
- St Albans Cathedral
- Verulamium – Roman town remains, including museum of Roman life and the remains of a Roman amphitheatre
- Scott's Grotto, Ware
- Shaw's Corner, Ayot St Lawrence – home of George Bernard Shaw
- Stevenage – the first UK New Town
- Therfield Heath – a local nature reserve in the north of the county
- Welwyn Roman Baths
- Welwyn Viaductto the north of Welwyn Garden City
- Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring– a museum-annotated collection of dead mammals, birds, reptiles and insects
- Watford Museum, fine art and local artefacts
Main footpaths
- The Ridgeway
- Icknield Way
- Grand Union Canal Walk
- Harcamlow Way
- Hertfordshire Way
- Hertfordshire Chain Walk
Transport
Hertfordshire is a
Four principal national railway lines pass through the county:
- the provides local commuter and regional services.
- the East Coast Main Line from London King's Cross. Local commuter and regional services are provided by Govia Thameslink Railway. London North Eastern Railway runs high speed intercity services via Stevenage to the east coast of Northern England and Scotland
- the Midland Main Line which forms part of the Thameslink route between Bedford and Brighton via Central London with services are provided by Govia Thameslink Railway. East Midlands Railway provide intercity services along the line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands and Yorkshire
- the Greater Angliamainly in the east of the county
A number of other local rail routes also cross Hertfordshire:
- the London Marylebone runs via Rickmansworth and Chorleywood
- the Abbey Line, a local line from Watford to St Albans Abbey
- the
Three commuter lines operated by Transport for London enter the county:
- the Seven Sisters
- the Watford DC Line, a suburban metro line from Euston to Watford Junction
- five stations on the London Underground Metropolitan line
The distance travelled by buses in Hertfordshire has reduced by 56.5% since 2017.[34]
The Grand Union Canal passes through Rickmansworth, Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring.
Education
Hertfordshire has 26 independent schools and 73 state secondary schools. The state secondary schools are entirely comprehensive, although 7 schools in the south and southwest of the county are partially selective (see Education in Watford). All state schools have sixth forms, and there are no sixth form colleges. The tertiary colleges, each with multiple campuses, are Hertford Regional College, North Hertfordshire College, Oaklands College and West Herts College. The University of Hertfordshire is a modern university based largely in Hatfield. It has more than 23,000 students.
Literature
Hertfordshire is the location of
The location of Mr Jarndyce's Bleak House in Charles Dickens's Bleak House is near St Albans.[36]
The eponymous residence in E. M. Forster's novel Howards End was based on Rooks Nest House just outside Stevenage.[37]
George Orwell based Animal Farm on Wallington, Hertfordshire, where he lived between 1936 and 1940. Manor Farm and The Great Barn both feature in the novel.[38][39][40]
See also
- Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire
- High Sheriff of Hertfordshire
- Custos Rotulorum of Hertfordshire – Keeper of the Rolls
- Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency) – Historical list of MPs for Hertfordshire constituency
- List of Jewish communities in Hertfordshire
- Hertfordshire GAA
- The Hundred Parishes
Notes
References
- ^ "No. 63644". The London Gazette. 17 March 2022. p. 5082.
- ^ "Census 2021 Profile for Hertfordshire". Herts Insight. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "Zeppelin Raids - Herts at War". hertsatwar.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "Leavesden Studios". Film London. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ "Hatfield train crash remembered". BBC News. 17 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ Lewis, Katy (11 December 2015). "I thought a plane had landed on us". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ Staff and agencies (11 December 2005). "Fuel depot blaze 'will last for days'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Buncefield blast companies sentenced to pay £9m". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "The East of England". East of England Local Government Association. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-84-953239-6.
- ^ "Wild Plants: Pasqueflower" Archived 26 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Plantlife. Retrieved 26 February 2015
- ^ ISBN 978-1-909291-02-7.
- ^ "About the chalk mines". Dacorum Borough Council. 2008. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ "Sir Hugh Myddleton New River". Intriguing History. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- ^ "Parishes: Hemel Hempstead". A History of the County of Hertford. Originally published by Victoria County History, London. Vol. 2. British History Online. 1908.
- ^ Regional Gross Value Added Archived 1 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Office for National Statistics, pp. 240–253.
- ^ Charlie Skelton (2 June 2013). "The week ahead: Bilderberg 2013 comes to ... the Grove hotel, Watford". The Guardian.
- ^ "Vicarage Road - Watford - The Stadium Guide". stadiumguide.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Watford Football Club archive 1881-2017". watfordfcarchive.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Watford relegated from the Premier League after failing to beat Crystal Palace". The Mirror. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "The Lamex Stadium - Stevenage Football Club". stevenagefc.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Kidderminster 2-3 Stevenage". 12 May 2007. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Managerial change". Stevenage F.C. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Meadow Park, home to Boreham Wood, Arsenal Ladies". footballgroundmap.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ Conn, David (7 April 2011). "Women's Super League aims to step out of men's shadow | David Conn". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Hertfordshire Rugby League Clubs". rugbyclubs.info. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "Find Us - Hemel Stags - Rugby League Team". Hemel Stags. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "World famous Bradford Bulls are on their way to Pennine Way this Sunday". Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "National League Division One Table - Rugby Union". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union - News - Fullerians RFC". fullerians.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ Caminsky, Spencer. "Area Guide: Scenery, culture and a manageable commute, Tring has it all". Herts Advertiser. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "London & SE Division". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Hertfordshire: Covid was catalyst for bus service reduction". BBC News. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "Pride and Prejudice - the Hertford connection". Our Hertford and Ware. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Charles Dickens". Herts Memories. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ Forster, E. M. (Edward Morgan) (1 November 2001). "Howards End" – via Project Gutenberg.
- ^ "At the gates of Animal Farm". The Telegraph. 24 September 2003. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Over the road from Animal Farm". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "All villages are equal". The Guardian. 24 May 1999. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.