Part 27

"King Etheldred ... willing to relieve his people from the barbarous usuage and the inhuman actions of the insulting Danes ... sent instructions to the Governors of all cities, boroughs and towns in his dominions, commanding, that at a certain hour upon the feast of St. Brice, all the Danes should be massacred; and common fame tells us that this massacre began at a little town called Welwine in Hertfordshire, within twenty-four miles of London, in the year 1012, from which Act, 'tis said this Vill received the name of Welwine, because the Weal of this county (as it was then thought) was there first won; but the Saxons long before called this town Welnes, from the many springs which rise in this Vill; for in old time Wells in their language were term'd Welnes."

One of the springs in the neighbourhood, now disused, was famous in Young's day for its chalybeate waters.

West End is a hamlet 2 miles S.W. from Cole Green Station, G.N.R. It lies close to the N.W. corner of Bedwell Park, with the river Lea 1 mile N.

West Hyde, in the extreme S.W. of the county, near the river Colne, has a modern cruciform church, Italian in style.

WESTMILL, a church and picturesque cluster of cottages in a hollow a little W. from the Buntingford Road, is 11/2 mile S. from that town. The river Rib runs between the church and the station (G.E.R.). The manor is ancient; it was given by William I. to Robert de Olgi. Nathanial Salmon, author of a History of Hertfordshire published in 1728, was once curate here.

The church very probably dates from the end of the thirteenth century, and is an E.E. flint structure. There are some old slabs in the chancel to the Bellenden family, and one on the nave floor bearing an inscription to one Thomas de Leukenor (?).

Westmill Green is a hamlet 11/2 mile S.W. from Westmill Station, G.E.R.

WESTON, a large village 3 miles S.E. from Baldock, has an interesting, restored church, dating from about 1200. It has a N. transept, in which are two good Norman windows; a piscina, E.E., is in the nave. The massive embattled tower, which carries an octagonal, N.E. turret, was rebuilt in 1867. In the churchyard may be seen two small stones, about four yards apart, which, according to local tradition, mark the grave of the Weston giant. The church was once a property of the Knights Templars. There is what seems a second village just where a narrow footpath leads from the Lufen Hall Road to the church, which stands 1/2 mile E. from the long main street. Many folk may still be noticed plaiting in the neighbourhood.

Weston Dane End (11/2 mile S. from the above village) is a hamlet on the road to Walkern.

Westwick Row (2 miles S.E. from Hemel Hempstead) is a hamlet near Leverstock Green, in a charming neighbourhood.

WHEATHAMPSTEAD lies in a hollow, in the valley of the Lea. Cyclists approaching the village from St. Albans by way of Sandridge and No Man's Land must beware of the steep descent from the Old Red Cow to the Swan Inn. The place undoubtedly owes its name to the fine wheat grown in the neighbourhood; it is very picturesque, particularly around the church and vicarage, and by the waterside towards Brocket Hall.

The cruciform church, W. from the centre of the village, is E.E. and Dec. with a few Perp. features. A doorway in the Brocket Chapel is supposed to be Saxon, but I cannot say whether the supposition is correct; the chapel also contains an altar-tomb with effigies of Sir John Brocket and his wife, Margaret, bearing date 1543, and a piscina in the S. wall. A brass of much interest is that to Hugh Bostock and his wife, Margaret (circa 1450), showing their figures in robes. These persons were the parents of John de Wheathampsted. (See St. Albans.) An old marble tablet is to John Heyworth (d. 1558) and his wife Joan. Note also the monumental effigies in N. transept to Sir John Garrard, Bart. (d. 1637), and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1632). The reredos is very fine.

Forty years ago the village was truly rural, but the rebuilding of the old mill between the church and station (G.N.R. branch from Hatfield to Dunstable) and the erection of several modern shops in the main street has altered its appearance. Wheathampstead House, close to the station, is the seat of Earl Cavan; Lamer Park, a little N., slopes pleasantly towards the fine home of A. G. B. Cherry-Garrard, Esq.

Mention must be made of the curious bronze vessel of the Anglo-Saxon period, resembling a teapot, found in the neighbourhood some years ago. It is figured and described in the recently published Victoria History of Hertfordshire.

Wheathampstead Cross (11/2 mile S.E. from Harpenden Station, M.R.) is 2 miles S.W. from the above village. It contains nothing but a few cottages.

Whempstead, a hamlet in the centre of the county, is not easily reached, being about 5 miles E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R., and rather farther N.W. from Ware. The so-called Whempstead Chapel, recently demolished, was a small cottage, but it doubtless stood near the site of an old chapel "founded and endowed about the beginning of the thirteenth century by the family of Aguillon".

White Barns, near the Essex border, is a hamlet 3/4 mile N. from Furneaux Pelham (q.v.).

Whitwell (41/2 miles S.W. from Stevenage) is strictly a hamlet, but is a place of some size, scattered along the S. bank of the river Maran. The nearest parish church is at St. Paul's Walden (q.v.), but there is a modern Baptist chapel near the centre of the main street, and a small church on the Bendish Road, formerly owned by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection; it is now partially disused. The mill at the E. end of the village, near the old tan-yard, was burnt down many years ago, but has since been rebuilt.

Widbury is 1 mile E. from Ware.

WIDFORD, so interesting in the eyes of all lovers of Charles Lamb, is a small village on the river Ash, with a station (G.E.R.) a few minutes W. from the church. Visitors, however, must remember that much in the neighbourhood has changed since Lamb's day. He himself recorded the demolition of the old house "Blakesware" or, as he wrote it, "Blakesmoor," which he knew so well as a child; the church spire, mentioned in his verses "The Grandame," was rebuilt many years back; the cottage at Blenheim close by, immortalised in Rosamund Gray, was long ago rebuilt.

The church is Dec. and Perp.; there are sedilia in the chancel, the roof of which was finely painted by Miss Gosselin forty years ago, and there is a piscina in the nave. The circular stone staircase that formerly led to the old rood-loft was built up during restoration. The present E. window is to the memory of John Eliot--the missionary to the Indians--born at Nazing early in the seventeenth century. There are very few memorials; one might almost repeat the words written of the church two centuries ago, "In this church are no gravestones". The manor is very ancient and was held in the reign of William I. by the Bishop of London.

Wigginton lies on very high ground, commanding splendid views. The village is about 11/2 mile S.W. from Tring Station, L.&N.W.R.; the church, near the parting of the roads at its S.E. extremity, is a small flint structure, E.E. in style, with a modern N. aisle. It has no tower. Champneys, near Wigginton Common (1 mile S.), is a prettily situated mansion, rebuilt in 1874. It was formerly the residence of the Valpy family.

Wilbury Hill, between Ickleford and Baldock, is crossed by the Roman Icknield Way. The vallum, through which the Way passes, is thought to mark the site of a Roman camp; Stukeley's suggestion that it was probably the site of a British oppidum is questioned by Salmon (History of Hertfordshire, 1728). Roman coins have been found in some abundance in the neighbourhood, notably a silver Faustina.

Wild Hill is between Hatfield and Bedwell Parks.

Willian, formerly Wylie (2 miles N.E. from Hitchin Station, G.N.R.), is very ancient, mention of it as a property dating from the times of the Mercian kings. The village lies 1 mile W. from the Great North Road. The church is thought to date from the Conquest, but only an arch in the chancel is Norman. Note (1) the monument to "Edvardus Lacon" (d. 1625), and Joanna his wife (d. 1624); (2) small brass to Richard Goldon, a former vicar (d. 1446--? 1417). A tiny graveyard surrounds the church. Roxley Court (1/2 mile S.) is the property of Colonel Mortimer Hancock.

Wilstone, near the Aylesbury Canal, lies in a hollow 2 miles S.E. from Marston Gate Station, L.&N.W.R. It has a modern church, E.E. in style, consisting of nave only.

Windridge, a ward of St. Stephen's parish, is 11/2 mile S.W. from the L.&N.W.R. Station at the foot of Holywell Hill, St. Albans.

Winter Green is on the N.W. confines of Knebworth Park, about 1 mile from the church and 2 miles from the station (G.N.R.). The neighbourhood is on high ground.