North HertfordshireNorth Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Part of the district lies within the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
St Mary's Church, HitchinSt Mary's Church is a Church of Englandparish church in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. St Mary's Church is the largest parish church in Hertfordshire, and is remarkably large for a town of the size of Hitchin — this has been cited as evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade. The present church stands on the site of two previous churches and dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, with its tower dating from around 1190.
HertfordshireCounty of EnglandNon-metropolitan and ceremonial county in EnglandHertfordshire ( , ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. 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. The county has an area of 634 square miles (1,640 km) and had an estimated population of 1,236,191 in 2024.
Hitchin PrioryHitchin Priory in Hitchin in Hertfordshire is today a hotel built in about 1700 on the site of a Carmelitefriary founded in 1317, which was closed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Parts of the original priory are incorporated in the existing building, which has been a Grade I listed building on the Register of Historic England since 1951.
HertfordHertford (, ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. It lies 20 miles (32 km) north of Charing Cross in central London. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 29,418 and the built up area had a population of 28,800. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, near its confluences with the rivers Mimram, Beane, and Rib. The Lea is navigable from the Thames up to Hertford.
Chiltern HillsThe Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns () are a chalkescarpment in southern England to the north-west of London, covering 660 mi (1,700 km) across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The hills stretch 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the south-west to Hitchin in the north-east, and are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest.
River HizThe River Hiz is a chalk river with a length of 13 km (8.1 mi). Its headwaters rises south of the village of Charlton, the river winds its way through the county of Hertfordshire, moving its way into and through a northeastern direction into Hitchin, to its confluence with the River Purwell, then flows north through its confluence with the River Oughton at Ickleford. The Hiz joins at its confluence of the River Ivel near the village of Henlow.
LondonLondon is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.14 million people in 2025. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.4 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years.
Market townIn Europe a market town is a settlement that obtained a market right (by custom or royal charter) in the Middle Ages, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or a city. In Great Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, and this is sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market, Market Rasen, or Market Drayton).
Districts of EnglandThe districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. They are officially categorised by the Office for National Statistics as "local authority districts" (LADs). Although the City of London Corporation and the Council of the Isles of Scilly are sui generis local authorities, the Office for National Statistics officially categorises both the City of London and the Isles of Scilly as LADs for statistical purposes.
7th centuryThe 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622. After Muhammad's death in 632, Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula under the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) and the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750).
County townIn Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in England in 1889, the headquarters of the new councils were usually established in the county town of each county; however, the concept of a county town pre-dates these councils.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.