Part 4

The Rivers of Hertfordshire are many, if we include several so small as hardly to deserve the name. They are the Ash, Beane, Bulbourne, Chess, Colne, Gade, Hiz, Ivel, Lea, Maran, Purwell, Quin, Rhee, Rib, Stort and Ver.

1. The Ash rises near Little Hadham, and, passing the village of Widford, joins the Lea at Stanstead.

2. The Beane, rising in the parish of Cottered, runs to Walkern, where it passes close to the church, and flows from thence past Aston and Watton, and into the Lea at Hertford.

3. The Bulbourne rises in the parish of Tring, passes N.E. of Berkhampstead and S.W. of Hemel Hempstead and unites with the Gade at Two Waters.

4. The Chess enters the county from Buckinghamshire at Sarratt Mill, and flowing past Loudwater joins the Gade at Rickmansworth. The Valley of the Chess is one of the prettiest districts in the shire.

5. The Colne rises near Sleap's Hyde, is crossed by the main road from Barnet to St. Albans at London Colney, and by the main road from Edgware to St. Albans at Colney Street. Thence it passes between Bushey Hall and Bushey Lodge, flows through Watford to Rickmansworth where, uniting with the Gade and Chess, it enters Middlesex near Stocker's Farm.

6. The Gade rises near Little Gaddesden, skirts Hemel Hempstead Church on the W. side, and passing King's Langley and Hunton Bridge, flows through Cassiobury Park and joins the Chess and Colne at Rickmansworth.

7. The Hiz, rising at Well Head, S.W. of Hitchin, crosses that town, joins the Purwell at Grove Mill and leaves the county at Cadwell.

8. The Ivel rises near Baldock, flows to Radwell Mill and shortly afterwards enters Bedfordshire.

9. The Lea is the largest river in Hertfordshire. It rises near Leagrave (in Bedfordshire) and flows through the county from N.W. to S.E. Entering Hertfordshire at Hide Mill, it flows past Wheathampstead, Hatfield, Hertford, Ware, and, leaving the county near Waltham Abbey, enters the Thames at Blackwall. Its entire length is about 50 miles. The waterway known as the Lea and Stort Navigation is navigable to Bishop's Stortford.

10. The Maran, or Mimram, rises in the parish of King's Walden, skirts Whitwell on the N., running parallel with the village street, and passing through Welwyn and near Tewin enters the Lea at Hertingfordbury.

11. The Purwell, or Pirall, rises in the parish of Ippollits and passing W. of Great Wymondley runs to Purwell Mill, and joins the Hiz at Grove Mill.

12. The Quin rises in the neighbourhood of Wyddial, and passing Quinbury, unites with the Rib at Braughing.

13. The Rhee, rising a little E. of Ashwell, has but a few miles to flow before it enters Cambridgeshire.

14. The Rib rises at Corney Bury, flows E. of Buntingford, thence turning W. it flows under the bridge at the Adam and Eve, runs to Westmill, Standon and Thundridge, finally uniting with the Lea at Hertford.

15. The Stort enters Hertfordshire from Essex at a point near Cannon Wood Mill, and after passing through Bishop's Stortford forms the extreme E. boundary of the county for some distance before quitting it near Cheshunt.

16. The Ver rises near Flamstead, is crossed by the Dunstable Road, N.W. of Redbourn, then recrossed by it. It then skirts St. Albans on the S. and joins the Colne near Park Street.

In addition to the cutting of the Lea and Stort Navigation already mentioned, there are other artificial waterways:--

The Aylesbury Canal (a branch of the Grand Junction Canal) crosses the extreme western neck of the county, from S. of Puttenham to S. of Gubblecote.

The Grand Junction Canal is largely utilised by barges traversing the W. of Hertfordshire. It is conspicuous at Rickmansworth, Boxmoor, and Berkhampstead; it enters Bedfordshire near Marsworth Reservoir.

The New River was constructed by Sir Hugh Myddelton, a London goldsmith, in 1609-13, and is largely fed by springs at Chadwell near Hertford. Its course in Hertfordshire is mostly close to and parallel with that of the Lea. The New River caused the financial ruin of its projector; one of its shares is now worth a large fortune. The whole story of this undertaking is very interesting; but as the New River was cut in order to bring water to London that story belongs to a volume on Middlesex.

III. CLIMATE

The chief elements of climate are temperature and rainfall. A general idea of the mean temperature and rainfall of Hertfordshire, both monthly and annual, may be gained from an inspection of Bartholomew's Atlas of Meteorology (1899). From that work it appears that the mean annual temperature of the county, if reduced to sea-level (that is, the theoretical mean for its position) would be 50 deg. or a little above it, but that the actual mean varies from 46 deg.-48 deg. on the Chiltern Hills to 48 deg.-50 deg. in the rest and much the greater part of Hertfordshire; also that the mean annual rainfall is between 25 and 30 inches, the latter amount only being approached towards the Chilterns. Thus altitude is seen to have a great effect on both these elements of climate.

Hertfordshire is hilly though not mountainous, a great extent of its surface being considerably elevated above sea-level, with a general south-easterly inclination; it has a dry soil; is well watered with numerous rivers of clear water--already enumerated--chiefly derived from springs in the Chalk; is well but not too densely wooded; and its atmosphere is not contaminated by manufacturing towns. It thus maintains the reputation for salubrity which it gained more than three centuries ago, our earliest county historian, Norden, remarking on the "salutarie" nature of the "aire".

Observations taken at the following meteorological stations during the twelve years 1887 to 1898 have been printed annually in the Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society, and a brief summary of some of the chief results will here be given.

Royston (London Road): lat. 52 deg. 2' 34'' N.; long. 0 deg. 1' 8'' W.; alt. 301 feet; observer, the late Hale Wortham, F.R.Met.Soc.

Berkhampstead (Rosebank): lat. 51 deg. 45' 40'' N.; long. 0 deg. 33' 30'' W.; alt. 400 feet; observer, Edward Mawley, F.R.Met.Soc.

St. Albans (The Grange): lat. 51 deg. 45' 9'' N.; long. 0 deg. 20' 7'' W.; alt. 380 feet; observer, John Hopkinson, Assoc.Inst.C.E.