Libraries and leisure

The Post Medieval and Modern Periods (from AD 1500)

Post-medieval Hertfordshire is noted for the large number of archaeological remains and surviving buildings that were created by the aristocracy and the landed gentry settled in the county. Many of these families lived primarily in London, but used their Hertfordshire properties as country retreats for recreation, and particularly for hunting.

Queen Elizabeth I also held a Parliament at Hertford Castle, when the plague was rampant in London. Amongst the many mansions and stately homes of Hertfordshire there are several palaces of particular archaeological and historical importance which were used by the Tudor and Stuart royal families.

These include Hunsdon House in east Hertfordshire (where Edward VI spent much of his childhood), Ashridge, in Dacorum, and Hatfield House, which is one of the finest Tudor buildings in England. There are also the remains of Cardinal Wolsey’s palace at the Manor of the More near Rickmansworth, the medieval royal palace at Kings Langley, and the site of Theobalds Palace at Cheshunt, which was used extensively by James I.

The other great legacy of Hertfordshire’s medieval and post-medieval landed gentry is the hunting parks - more than 70 are known and many are still visible in its rural landscape Hertfordshire probably contains the highest density of hunting parks of any county in England. The largest by far is Theobalds Park, which was created by James I and when originally constructed, enclosed a large part of southern Hertfordshire within a wall or ‘park pale’, some of which can still be seen today.

James I also had a role in the building of the ‘New River’, an artificial canal which was used to supply London with fresh water directly from the river Lea at Hertford. The New River is a unique monument, and its construction was in its day a major technological achievement, predating, as it did, the industrial barge canals by more than 100 years.

In more recent centuries Hertfordshire is especially noted for its paper-making and brewing industries. The latter was based on the ample supplies of good quality water and malting barley in the Lea valley, and the proximity of the large market for beer in London. For a time in the 19th century the scale of malting and brewing in eastern Hertfordshire made it one of the largest centres of the industry in western Europe. Some of Hertfordshire’s 20th century industrial heritage is of considerable significance, especially the aircraft and film industries, which are both of national importance.

Hertfordshire also contains a wealth of remains of the Second World War, including many airfields and defensives structures such as pillboxes (below) and gun emplacements.

Lastly, Hertfordshire is famous the world over as the birthplace of the Garden City Movement, and the two Garden Cities at Letchworth and Welwyn are of fundemental importance in the history of town and country planning.