Hertford Heath is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

near the county town of Hertford in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,672.

Geography

It is located on a

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

above the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

valley, on its south side. Almost all of the village is 90 metres (300 feet) above sea level, with most of the surrounding fields being arable farm land, or cattle and horse grazing.

History

Hertford Heath was once a settlement of the

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their ...

tribe, before

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

invaded in 54 BC. The original hamlet of Hertford Heath was the southern part of the modern village along London Road, and was in the parish of

Great Amwell Great Amwell is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is southeast of Ware and about north of London. History On a hill above the church there are some traces of an Iron Ag ...

. A separate village and parish called Little Amwell was centred on a village green a short distance to the north of Hertford Heath. During the twentieth century the urban areas of the two villages merged and the combined village became known generally as Hertford Heath. In 1956 builders laying concrete for the garages in Trinity Road, came across a

Belgic Belgic may refer to: * an adjective referring to the Belgae, an ancient confederation of tribes * a rarer adjective referring to the Low Countries or to Belgium * , several ships with the name * Belgic ware Aylesford-Swarling pottery is part of a ...

grave from about the 40–50 AD period, early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

pottery was discovered and remnants are available to view in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. More extensive historical facts can be foun
here
extrapolated from a note written by Esme Nix of Rush Green (an area nestled in the corner of Downfield Road, Hoe Lane, Gallows Hill and the A10, giving the service station and A10 junction its name.)

Governance

Hertford Heath is part of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

East Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and the other main towns are Ware, Bunti ...

and the county of

. The

of Hertford Heath was created on 1 April 1990 from the former parish of Little Amwell, which was abolished, and parts of the neighbouring parishes of

, Stanstead St Margarets, and

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada * Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom * Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire * Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County ...

. The parish is administered by Hertford Heath Parish Council. Whilst the civil parish is called Hertford Heath, the ecclesiastical parish which covers the area is called "Holy Trinity, Little Amwell".

Shops and facilities

The village has modest amenities including a convenience store, numerous public houses and eateries and a service station. * The Silver Fox on London Road is a centrally located country pub with a small garden. It offers home cooked food and a wide selection at the bar. Hertford Heath village green 2

* The Goat Inn at the junction of Vicarage Causeway and Downfield Road is the oldest building in the village, with cartography dating pre-1756 showing its location and existence. It is another country pub serving food and boasting an exterior seating area overlooking the village green and the

pétanque Pétanque (, ; oc, petanca, , also or ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls ...

court. Local legend suggests that Dick Turpin may have patronised The Goat Inn. * The College Arms (formerly the Jolly Pindar, and prior to that, the East India College Arms – linked to the then

East India Company College The East India Company College, or East India College, was an educational establishment situated at Hailey, Hertfordshire, nineteen miles north of London, founded in 1806 to train "writers" (administrators) for the Honourable East India Company ( ...

805 __NOTOC__ Year 805 ( DCCCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Siege of Patras: Local Slavic tribes of the Peloponnese lay siege t ...

now

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ** Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an internatio ...

) is a modern

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David ...

* The Galley Hall, located in Hailey Lane is a

freehouse A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

pub offering home-cooked food. * Hertford Heath Motors are a small MOT test centre and workshop and used car dealer located centrally on London Road. * Haileybury Motor Works offer garage services, repairs, mechanics and equipment, and are located on the southern edge of the village by

ee Schools below

Schools

Hertford Heath Junior Mixed Infant (JMI) School caters for children from Nursery up to Year 6 (leavers for Secondary Education).

, a private boarding school (formerly the

Imperial Service College 845and United Services College

874 __FORCETOC__ Year 874 ( DCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Salomon, duke ('king') of Brittany, is murdered by a faction which includ ...

is on the south-east boundary of the village. It offers facilities to the village and public at large who are able, subject to availability, to use its modern sports complex which includes: * a 25-metre deck level indoor heated swimming pool * an 8-court badminton hall * 4 squash courts * all-weather surface (with floodlights) * a state-of-the-art fitness suite * 8 tennis courts (summer only)

Notable locations and buildings

Holy Trinity Church, Hertford Heath - geograph

* The Village Hall – plays host to events such as the local farmers' market and the Annual Horticultural Society show * Holy Trinity Church (Little Amwell) led by the Rev. Nick Sharp. It was built in 1863 to the design of

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

in the

Early English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ...

style. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013. *

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...

, the former

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from London to York, runs from the rear of Hertford Heath Motors to Goose Green near

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

and onwards to London (it is now a

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding horses, riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now s ...

to the South. The former route across the village through what is now Hogsdell Lane, on to Rush Green, has been bisected by the main route through Hertford Heath (B1197) and the development of housing across the village. * The Hertford Heath nature reserve and Balls Wood nature reserve cover nearly 80 hectares of surrounding countryside and woodland. Hertford Heath is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, and both sites are managed by the

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust manages over 40 nature reserves covering nearly north of London, in Hertfordshire and the historic county of Middlesex, part of which is divided between the London boroughs of Barnet, Enfield, Harrow and Hill ...

. Balls Wood was purchased by the Trust from the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

following a successful campaign.

Notable residents

* Florence L. Barclay (1862-1921): a

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

ist and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer. She was the wife of Reverend Charles W. Barclay, who was the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Holy Trinity from 1881 to 1920. *

Vera Barclay Vera Charlesworth Barclay (1893–1989) co-founder of Cubs 1916, was an English pioneer of Scouting and an author. She was an early exponent of female leadership in the Scout movement and played a leading role in the introduction of the Wolf C ...

(1893–1989): the daughter of Florence and Charles Barclay. She was a pioneer of female leadership in the

Scout Movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpackin ...

and was instrumental in the establishment of the Wolf Cub programme in the United Kingdom and France. She later became a prolific author on a range of subjects, especially children's stories.

Freedom of the Parish

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Parish of Hertford Heath.

Individuals

* Frederick "Fred" Harrington. * Lilly Bean. * Gerald Nix: January 2000. * Robert "Bob" Akers.

References

External links

Hertford Heath Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire District