The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

HEETFOEDSHIEE. 163
Lord Bacon derived his title, there remaia now onl}- insignificant vestiges, thouo-h
at one time it was the most populous Roman town in the south of England. Its
chief iuterest now centres in the church of an abbey founded in 793 by OflFa, King
of the ilercians, in expiation of the share he took in the murder of Ethelbert. The
abbey was dedicated to St. Alban, the protomartyr of England, who was executed
here in 303 for having sheltered a Christian priest. The abbey church, recently
restored, is the largest and one of the grandest edifices of the kind in England, and
its oldest portions date back to the eleventh century. In 1875 St. Albans became
the seat of a bishopric. Gorhamhunj, the seat of the Earl of Yerulam, which
was purchased in 1550 by the father of the great Chancellor, stands near the town,
in the midst of a fine park.
Watford, on the Colne, consists of a long street, and carries on the manufacture
of paper. Near it is Cassiohury, the seat of the Earl of Essex, with a valuable
library, an interesting collection of portraits, and one of the finest parks in
England. Ascending the vaUey of the Gade, along which the Grand Junction
Canal takes its course, we reach the market towns of Hemcl-Hempstead, Bcrkham-
sfed, and Tring, the latter at an elevation of 420 feet above the level of the sea.
Malting and the manufacture of straw plait and of chairs are carried on at these
places. Berkhamsted was the birthplace of Cowper, the poet. JRuJcmaiisicortk,
near the junction of the Chess with the Colne, has important paper-mills. Straw-
plaiting and horsehair weaving are among the domestic occupations, and water-
cress is largely grown for the London market.
Haffickl is the first town washed by the river Lea in its course through the
county. It is a quiet, old-fashioned place, with a chiu'ch of Norman foundation,
overshadowed by the magnificent Jacobean mansion of the Marquis of Salisbury.
The surrounding park abounds in noble trees, and a carefully kept vineyard is
amongst its curiosities. Hertford, the county town, on the Lea, carries on a
brisk trade in corn and malt. It has the remains of an old castle and a branch
school of Christ's Hospital. Near it is Panshanger, the seat of Earl Cowper,
with a valuable collection of paintings, more especially rich in examples of the
Florentine school. Ware, also on the Lea, is the largest malting town in England,
and malt-houses form its most conspicuous feature. In its southward course the
Lea flows past Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, and "\^'altham Cross, beyond
which latter it enters the county of iliddlesex. Broxbourne and Ei/e House, near
Hoddesdon, are the best fishing stations on the river. Rye House is a favourite
goal of London excursionists. It was the scene of the plot of 1683 for setting
aside the succession of the Duke of York. Cheshunt is a straggling village, with
extensive nurseries, and here the New River Company has a reservoir which stores
75,000,000 gallons of water.
BisJwp Sforfford, on the Stort, an afBuent of the Lea, and close to the eastern
border of the county, has malting-houses, breweries, and tan-yards. Chipping or
Htfjh Barnet, in a commanding position to the west of the Lea, is noteworthy on
account of a battle fought there in 1471, which cost Warwick the King-maker his
life. An obelisk marks the site of this memorable event.