Hertfordshire
County of southeast England, to the north of London.
Area
1,630 sq km/629 sq mi
Towns and cities
Hertford (administrative headquarters), Bishop's Stortford, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Letchworth (the first
garden city in 1903; followed by Welwyn in 1919), Stevenage (the first new town, designated in 1946), St Albans, Watford, Hitchin
Physical
rivers Lea, Stort, Colne; part of the Chiltern Hills
Features
Hatfield House; Knebworth House (Tudor house with 19th-century fascia, home of Lord Lytton); Brocket Hall (1760, on 13th-century site, home of Palmerston and Melbourne); home of George Bernard
Shaw at Ayot St Lawrence; Berkhamsted Castle (Norman); Rothamsted agricultural experimental station
Agriculture
barley for brewing industry, dairy farming, market gardening, horticulture
Industries
aircraft, computer electronics, electrical goods, engineering, paper and printing, plastics, pharmaceuticals, tanning, sand and gravel worked in the south
Population
(2001) 1,034,000
Famous people
Henry Bessemer (engineer), Graham Greene (author), Cecil Rhodes (founded Rhodesia)
Topography Hertfordshire is bounded to the north by Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, and Luton; to the east by Essex; to the south by Greater London; and to the west by Buckinghamshire. The landscape is hilly, with parks and woodlands. The rocks, principally chalk, date mainly from the Upper Cretaceous period. The Grand Union Canal passes through part of the county. |
History In 896 a battle took place in Hertfordshire between Alfred and the Danes. During the Wars of the Roses the battles of St Albans and Barnet were fought here. Elizabeth I was at Hatfield palace when she heard of her accession. |
