Facts about Hertfordshire

The town St Albans has been named after a person called Alban who was killed for looking after a Christian who was trying to escape being attacked. Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire in 325; there were bishops at Lincoln, London and York from this time. You can visit a museum about life in Roman Britain at St Albans, which is a short distance north of London.  

Tring is a small market town. It is 30 miles (50km) north west of London. Tring lies at the extreme western edge of Hertfordshire - an area known as the Tring Salient because it sticks out from the rest of the county. Tring is 5 miles from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, and 8 miles from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, so when looking for local attractions or places to stay, don't just look in Hertfordshire; many places in Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire are close. While Tring is surrounded by countryside, it is also within an hour's train journey of central London.

Sir Stirling Moss, the famous racing driver lives in Tring.

The Grand Union Canal

On 7th November 1901 - 9 months after the death of Queen Victoria - The King Harry Coffee Tavern closed after 20 years of business in Hemel Hempstead's old high street. It had been the headquarters of the Hemel Hempstead Coffee Tavern Company, a temperance society founded by quakers in 1880 to promote the consumption of tea and coffee - particularly amongst the young people of the borough. At the time there were around 50 public houses in the town and drunkenness was a problem.

Penny tokens were minted by the company (probably at William Cranstone's foundry just across the road) which could be exchanged for 'one pennyworth of refreshment' at the tavern, and these were distributed to the worthy through the local parish churches.

One of the principal benefits of membership was the use of the members' club-room where lunch was served daily to what must have become a rather cliquey gentleman's club. The ladies' club-room was -of course! - located separately in the next room. The tavern was situated only a short stroll from the old Town Hall and Corn Exchange and was undoubtedly a popular venue amongst the ruling classes, particularly as they could always round off a wholesome three-course lunch (cooked in the extensive basement kitchens and winched up to the first floor) with a surreptitious glass or two of port at either the White Hart pub immediately next door, the Rose and Crown across the road, or the Half Moon next door but one to the south.

The building still stands today at No.28, although the ground floor and basement were altered considerably by London & County Bank who bought the property at auction in February 1902, later becoming National Westminster Bank plc. The Half Moon pub and the shop next door were re-built in 1938 as one of the first 'Burtons Gentleman's Outfitters' and is currently Danta pine shop. The town centre was relocated in 1947 to an area called Marlowes - when Hemel Hempstead re-invented itself as an experimental post-war 'New Town' - leaving the old high street behind largely unchanged. It remains with as one of the most attractive and historic conservation areas in Hertfordshire. The King Harry Coffee Tavern has re-opened

More Facts

Hertfordshire was the area assigned to a fortress built at Hertford during the reign of Edward the Elder in 913.

In 1011 the name Hertfordshire is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle .

Letchworth was the world's first ‘ Garden City' .

The first Hertfordshire town to redevelop under the New Towns Act of 1946 was Stevenage

Hertfordshire has over 1,800 miles of public paths and rights of way. This includes the ‘The Hertfordshire Way', a footpath 166 miles long running in a circular pattern.

The Hemel Hempstead fuel explosion occurred in December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal .

The Grand Union Canal runs through Hemel Hempstead, Watford and Berkhamsted.

A large proportion of the county is given over to arable land.

Sand and gravel quarrying occurs in the St Albans area.

Ware is the starting point of the New River , a man made watercourse, opened in 1613, which supplies London with fresh water. Most of Hertfordshire's own supply of water comes from the chalk aquifer.

The highest point in the county is 803 feet (245m) above sea level, near the village of Hastoe near Tring.

The county motto, is "Trust and fear not" .

Much of Hertfordshire is part of the London commuter belt and therefore is a popular place to live.

The largest town in Hertfordshire is Watford .

Brian Johnston, the famous BBC presenter and commentator, known the world over as 'The Voice of Cricket' was born in Hertfordshire.

Very detailed Survey Report

If you book a survey with 1st Associated you will find that we take great pride in the quality of our surveys and produce a very detailed survey report. We use plain English to explain any problems with the property to ensure that you understand the problems and how to resolve them.

'Right person for the job' – We are Independent Chartered Surveyors

If you are planning to book a building survey on a property you are purchasing then we would like to assure you that we always send a suitably qualified and experienced surveyor to carry out the job. This ensures that you get expert advice on any issues that we may find with the property we are surveying. All our surveyors are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - RICS - and are Independent Chartered Surveyors. Being 'independent' means that they are working for you and you alone; they do not work for a mortgage company or an estate agents, so they have your best interests at heart.