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England > East of England > Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a wonderful and picturesque county, conveniently close to London and offering pleasant walking and cycling. You can catch a train from London to Hertford and set out by bicycle through countryside where every twist and turn seems to offer some point of interest: disused Victorian railway lines, ancient churches, out-of-the-way pubs, medieval monuments and pleasant trails past overhanging trees.

Hertfordshire has traditionally been a magnet for creative talent. Novelist Graham Greene was born and educated at Berkhamsted. Scottish dramatist Sir James Barrie often visited friends in Berkhamsted, and the five sons of the household he visited became the inspiration for Peter Pan. Barrie, by the way, invented the popular female name Wendy in 1904 as the heroine of his play Peter Pan. Before that, the name did not exist.

George Orwell wrote The Road to Wigan Pier while living in the village of Wallington, Hertfordshire. The fictitious "Manor Farm, Willingdon" (setting of Orwell's Animal Farm), is said to be based on Manor Farm, Wallington, virtually next door to his house. Sculptor Henry Moore had his studio at Perry Green, and for 44 years George Bernard Shaw used to write in the summerhouse of his home in a woodland clearing at Ayot St Lawrence. Shaw's house, now owned by the National Trust, is kept as it was when Shaw died in 1950. As a result, it seems as if Shaw could return at any time. His hats are in the hall and his pens are still on his desk, poised for action.

Click on the headings to find out more: Hatfield House is one of England's finest and largest Jacobean mansions, built mainly between 1607 and 1611 for the statesman Robert Cecil. It's still owned by his descendants. Hatfield House incorporates a wing of the Tudor Hatfield Palace, where Queen Elizabeth I spent much of her childhood, and where she held her first Council of State when crowned in 1558. When Queen Elizabeth I suffered her last illness in March 1603, Robert Cecil, her secretary of state, advised her that she "must go to bed". "Must! Is must a word to be addressed to princes?" bellowed the Queen. "Little man, little man! Thy father, if he had been alive, durst not have used that word." Cecil's father William (Lord Burghley) had also been secretary of state to Elizabeth I. The Queen inherited some of the temper of her father, Henry VIII. Fortunately for Cecil, she was not quite so fond of cutting people's heads off.


Gorhambury, in the village of the same name, is a classical-style mansion built from 1777 to 1784 by Sir Robert Taylor, filled with historic portraits, 16th Century enamelled glass and 17th Century carpet. Let's face it - any carpet still around 200 years after it was woven has got to be pretty good.


Knebworth House Gardens and Park in Knebworth has hosted a fair few rock concerts. The gothic home of colourful Victorian novelist Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton played host to the Rolling Stones in July 1976 (the band stayed there, grooving on the curious architecture and colourful surroundings) and Knebworth Park has hosted many concerts since. Bands have ranged from Led Zeppelin to Oasis. Perhaps Sir Edward had some premonition of what his house would become. "Happy is the man who hath never known what it is to taste of fame," he once remarked. "To have it is a purgatory, to want it is a Hell!" A lot of rock musicians would agree. Batman might agree as well - the 1990 version of Batman, starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton, was filmed at Knebworth.


Royston Cave at Royston is a mysterious place, this man-made cave is decorated with medieval carvings by the Knights Templar, dating from about the end of the 13th century. The Knights Templar were an order founded in 1118 to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land during the Second Crusade. The Order, suppressed in 1312, was said to be involved in the occult. This cave is considered a possible secret meeting place for their initiation rituals - shiver!


Bishop's Stortford is the birthplace of Cecil John Rhodes, one of Britain's great Empire builders, who strode into Africa in the 19th Century, becoming Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890. When forced to resign in 1896 after trying to overthrow the Boer regime in the Transvaal, he went on to set up Rhodesia (named after him), a country that always seemed rather more prosperous than its successor, Zimbabwe. (More prosperous for some citizens, anyway.) "So little done, so much to do," restless Rhodes muttered on his deathbed. His birthplace consists of two Victorian villas converted into one, with 15 rooms of photos and memorabilia. Fascinating browsing for imperialists.


Mill Green Museum and Mill at Hatfield is an 18th Century water mill, restored to working order. A museum in the adjoining miller's house displays local and social history, craft tools, archaeological finds and a well-stocked Victorian kitchen.


Ashridge Estate, between Northchurch and Ringshall, just off the B4506, offers a huge expanse (about 4500 acres) of woodland, heath and downs, including the 700ft Ivinghoe Deacon and the Bridgewater Monument.
The city of St Albans, a thriving market town that has become part of London's commuter belt, was a regional capital of ancient Britain. Verulamium, just outside St Albans city centre, is the site of Britain's third-largest Roman city. You can see the remains of Roman walls and the Hypocaust set in a charming riverside park.
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