Everything about Hertford England totally explained
Hertford (standard pronunciations /'hɑːtֽfəd/ and /'hɑːֽfəd/; local pronunciation /'[h]ɑːʔֽfəd/)? (pronounced Hartford) is an affluent
county town of
Hertfordshire,
England, and is in the
East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a
civil parish, it has a population today of about 24,180 and boasts a wide selection of boutiques, bars and cafes.
In 2006 East Hertfordshire primarily Hertford was ranked within the top 10 places to live in the UK following a survey commissioned by
Channel 4. This was in turn due to its small country-town feel, excellent transport links and high standards set by most of its schools.
The name is
Anglo Saxon and means the
ford frequented by
harts or
stags.
The rivers
Rib,
Beane and
Mimram join the
River Lea at Hertford to flow south toward the
Thames as the
Lee Navigation after
Hertford Castle Weir.
Employment in the town is centred on County Hall (
Hertfordshire County Council), Wallfields (
East Hertfordshire District Council) and
McMullens Brewery, one of a dwindling number of independent
brewers in the
United Kingdom.
Governance
The
Council of Hertford met in the year 673 at the instigation of Archbishop
Theodore of Tarsus, as the first
Synod of the whole Church in England, on the site which is now St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. It was at this meeting that the Roman and Celtic churches came to an agreement on the date to celebrate
Easter.
Since 1974, Hertford has lain within the
East Hertfordshire district of
Hertfordshire.
Geography
The town retains very much a country-town feel, despite lying only north of
Central London. This is aided by its proximity to larger towns such as
Harlow,
Bishop's Stortford and
Stevenage where modern development has been focused.
The town is beset by traffic despite the existence of the 1960s bypass called Gascoyne Way. The town centre is still a labyrinth of medieval streets with many timber-framed buildings hidden under later frontages, particularly in St Andrew Street.
The shared valley of the
Lea and the
Beane is called
Hartham Common and this provides a large attractive park to one side of the town centre running towards Ware and lying below the ridge upon which
Bengeo is situated.
To the south of Hertford, the
Horns Mill estate lies, and on the north-western edge is
Sele Farm.
Nearby places
Economy
In terms of supermarkets there's a
Waitrose, a
Marks and Spencer Simply Food and
Tesco in the town as well as two
Co-Ops on the town's outskirts in Bengeo and Sele Farm.
Sainsbury's have submitted designs for store in the town which will be on the old McMullens Brewery site.
Iceland has said it's looking for a new site in Hertford, having sold its previous location to M&S. Other national shops include
Boots,
Lloyds Pharmacy,
WH Smith,
Clintons,
Woolworths.
These retailers aside, there are very few of the usual chain shops found in most high streets and this makes Hertford stand out from other "
clone towns". The
McDonald's in the town centre closed in September 2006 and relocated outside the town, on the
A10/
A414 junction in
Rush Green. There are many pubs and the usual banks and building societies.
Landmarks
In the town are the remains of
Hertford Castle, principally a motte. The castle's gatehouse, the central part of which dates to a rebuild by
Edward IV in 1463, is the home to Hertford Town Council. The Motte: From the original Motte and Bailey castle in Hertford, can be found just behind Castle Hall, a short distance from the modern castleThere are several churches in the town,
All Saints' and
St Andrew's, are late and mid 19th century respectively. In the northern suburb of
Bengeo lies
St Leonard's, a two-celled Norman church of considerable architectural interest.
Hertford contains the oldest purpose-built
Quaker Meeting House in the world, in use since 1670.
The
Parliament of England temporarily moved to Hertford during the
Great Plague of London. This is why the main square in the town, Parliament Square, is so named, although it's a twentieth century creation.
Conspiracy theories link Hertford to the
Knights Templar and the
Holy Grail.
Transport
Rail
Hertford serves as a
commuter town for
London, and has two stations :
Hertford East (on the Hertford East Branch Line) provides a half hourly service to London Liverpool Street (taking 52 minutes), via Tottenham Hale and operated by National Express East Anglia.
Hertford North (on the Hertford Loop Line) has a service every 20 minutes off-peak to London Moorgate station (taking 50 minutes), via Finsbury Park (change for King's Cross) and hourly northwards to Stevenage (for onward connections via the East Coast Main Line) and Letchworth (change for Cambridge), services operated by First Capital Connect.
Road
The A414 trunk road now bypasses the town to the south and runs east to Harlow, the M11 and Chelmsford and runs west to Hatfield, the A1, St Albans and the M1.
Hertford also lies just west of the A10 which links it south to London and the M25 and north to Royston and Cambridge.
Bus and Coach
The town's bus services are run by a number of companies, most running from the bus station on Bircherley Green, destinations include Bishop's Stortford, Royston, Stevenage and Waltham Cross. Many of these routes receive subsidy from Hertfordshire County Council.
The town also lies on the 724 coach route (operated by Arriva the Shires) which provides an hourly service from Harlow through the town and on to Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, St Albans, Watford and Heathrow.
Although bypassed by most National Express routes Hertford (Mill Road) is served by the 767 service which operates from Nottingham to Stansted Airport via Leicester and Luton Airport.
For all bus and coach timetables see here
.
Education
There are numerous schools in Hertford: these include the The Sele School, Richard Hale School and Simon Balle School at secondary level, with primaries of Hollybush JMI, Millmead Community School, Bengeo County Primary School, Morgans JMI, Abel Smith School, Wheatcroft School, and St Andrew's School.
Private schools include Duncombe School (a preparatory school in Bengeo) and Haileybury College in Hertford Heath; a short distance to the north of Hertford on the A10 is St Edmund's College.
Entertainment
Hertford has many food, drink and entertainment establishments which have grown in number considerably since the eighties and nineties. It attracts people from nearby towns, and often the North London suburbs. There are approximately 25 pubs and clubs in the area (External Link), and around 35 restaurants, takeaways and snack bars (External Link).
Hertford also hosts a swimming pool and gym facility based in Hartham Commons, and has also recently acquired a small Skatepark, also based in Hartham.
Trivia
The town of Meryton in the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice is thought to have been based on Hertford .
Harry Potter film star Rupert Grint comes from Hertford, and although he now lives outside the county town, he lived within Hertford when filming began on the Harry Potter series. He attended Richard Hale School before leaving after his GCSE exams in 2004, to concentrate on the Harry Potter films.
Successful BBC Soap Eastenders has filmed in the town twice. Firstly for character Dan Sullivan's trial for shooting Phil Mitchell and again for Sharon and Dennis' marriage. Letitia Dean, who played the character of Sharon, was born in a village about 5 miles to the south of Hertford called Wildhill (Potters Bar). Eastenders is filmed about 20 miles from Hertford in Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Herts.
The band Deep Purple formed in Hertford in 1968.
Dani Filth, singer of Cradle of Filth was born in Hertford, but grew up in Ipswich
John Wilkes was educated in Hertford
The Black Sisters, two sisters that sing based on the Harry Potter series come from Ware, near Hertford.
Town twinning
Évron, France
Wildeshausen, Germany
Hartford, ConnecticutFurther Information
Get more info on 'Hertford England'.
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