Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire sits immediately north of London, forming a ceremonial county in the East of England. Its borders were roughly fixed by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 which eliminated exclaves. The boundary was amended when, in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, East Barnet Urban District and Barnet Urban District were abolished. Their area was transferred to form part of the present-day London Borough of Barnet. The Potters Bar Urban District of Middlesex was transferred to Hertfordshire during this same period.
The county has an area of approximately 1,629 square kilometers. It centres on the headwaters and upper valleys of the rivers Lea and the Colne. Both flow south and each is accompanied by a canal. Elevations are higher in the north and west, reaching more than 200 meters in the Chilterns near Tring. The highest point in the county is at 247 meters AOD on the Ridgeway long distance national path. This peak lies on the border of Hastoe near Tring with Drayton Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire.
At the 2011 census, among the county's ten districts, East Hertfordshire had the lowest population density. That figure stood at 290 people per km2. Watford held the highest density at 4210 per km2. Compared with neighbouring Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire lacks large towns or cities on the scale of Luton or Milton Keynes. Those two counties have populations exceeding 200,000. Yet Hertfordshire's overall population reached 1.2 million in 2021.
Evidence of human life in Hertfordshire stretches back to the Mesolithic period. It was first farmed during the Neolithic period and permanent habitation appeared at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, the Catuvellauni tribe accepted peace and adapted to Roman life. This resulted in the development of several new towns including Verulamium which is now St Albans.
In 57 AD the first recorded British martyrdom is traditionally believed to have taken place at Verulamium. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill. His martyr's cross of a yellow saltire on a blue field is reflected in the flag and coat of arms of Hertfordshire as the yellow field to the stag or Hart representing the county. He remains the Patron Saint of Hertfordshire today.
With the departure of the Roman Legions in the early 5th century, the now-unprotected territory was invaded and colonised by the Anglo-Saxons. By the 6th century, the majority of the modern county was part of the East Saxon kingdom. This relatively short-lived kingdom collapsed in the 9th century ceding the territory of Hertfordshire to the control of the West Anglians of Mercia. The region finally became an English shire in the 10th century on the merger of the West Saxon and Mercian kingdoms.
King Edward the Elder established a burh or fort in Hertford during his reconquest of Norse-held lands in what was to become England. This fortress was designed to curb Norse activities in the area. His father King Alfred the Great established the River Lea as a boundary between his kingdom and that of the Norse lord Guthrum. The north and eastern parts of the county were within the Danelaw.
There is little evidence however of Norse placenames within this region and many of the Anglo-Saxon features remained intact to this day. The county suffered from renewed Norse raids in the late 10th to early 11th centuries. Armies led by Danish kings Swein Forkbeard and Cnut the Great harried the country as part of their attempts to undermine and overthrow English king Aethelred the Unready.
A century later William of Normandy received the surrender of some senior English Lords and Clergy at Berkhamsted before entering London unopposed. He was crowned at Westminster. Hertfordshire was used for some of the new Norman castles at Bishop's Stortford and at King's Langley which served as a staging post between London and the royal residence of Berkhamsted.
The greatest boost to Hertfordshire came during the Industrial Revolution after which the population rose dramatically. In 1903 Letchworth became the world's first garden city while Stevenage became the first town to redevelop under the New Towns Act 1946. This legislation carried the reference number 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 68.
Letchworth in the far north has served as the prototype garden city since 1903. It is the site of the first planned Green Belt and the UK's first roundabout. The area hosted a number of experiments in early town planning and house and factory design. Stevenage represents a mix of post-WWII new town planning amidst its prior incarnation as a smaller town. The Old Town in Stevenage reflects this historic core with many shops and buildings from before World War II.
Hatfield was where de Havilland developed the first commercial jet liner known as the Comet. Now the site is a business park and new campus for the University of Hertfordshire. This major employment site notably hosts EE, Computacenter and Ocado groceries and other goods e-commerce.
From the 1920s until the late 1980s the town of Borehamwood was home to one of the major British film studio complexes including the MGM-British Studios. Many well-known films were made here including the first three Star Wars movies IV V and VI. American director Stanley Kubrick not only used to shoot in those studios but also lived in the area until his death.
Big Brother UK and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire have been filmed there. EastEnders is filmed at Elstree. Hertfordshire has seen development at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden since the 2000s. The Harry Potter series was filmed here and the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.
Services have become the largest sector of the county's economy. Hertfordshire has the main operational and/or headquarters UK site of some very large employers. Watford hosts national companies such as J D Wetherspoon Camelot Group Bathstore and Caversham Finance BrightHouse. It is also the UK base of multi-nationals Hilton Worldwide TotalEnergies TK Maxx Costco JJ Kavanagh and Sons Vinci and Beko.
Hertfordshire is a home county with many towns forming part of the London commuter belt. It has some of the principal roads in England including the A1 A1(M) A41 A414 M1 M11 and the M25. Four principal national railway lines pass through the county.
The West Coast Main Line runs from London to the Midlands North Wales the North West England and Scotland. Avanti West Coast operates high speed intercity services via this route. Local commuter and regional services are provided by West Midlands Trains. The East Coast Main Line provides local commuter and regional services by Govia Thameslink Railway. London North Eastern Railway runs high speed intercity services via this line to the east coast of Northern England and Scotland.
Three commuter lines operated by Transport for London enter the county. These include the Lea Valley Lines which run from Liverpool Street to Cheshunt via Seven Sisters. The Watford DC Line runs from Euston to Watford Junction. Five stations on the London Underground Metropolitan line serve the area as well. Stansted Airport and Luton Airport are both within 30 miles of the county's borders in Essex and Bedfordshire respectively.
Common questions
Where is Hertfordshire located in relation to London?
Hertfordshire sits immediately north of London, forming a ceremonial county in the East of England. Its borders were roughly fixed by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 which eliminated exclaves.
When was the boundary of Hertfordshire amended in 1965?
The boundary was amended when, in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, East Barnet Urban District and Barnet Urban District were abolished. Their area was transferred to form part of the present-day London Borough of Barnet while the Potters Bar Urban District of Middlesex was transferred to Hertfordshire during this same period.
What is the highest point elevation in Hertfordshire?
The highest point in the county is at 247 meters AOD on the Ridgeway long distance national path. This peak lies on the border of Hastoe near Tring with Drayton Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire.
Who is the Patron Saint of Hertfordshire and when did he die?
Saint Alban remains the Patron Saint of Hertfordshire today after his martyrdom took place at Verulamium in 57 AD. He was beheaded on Holywell Hill where his yellow saltire on a blue field is reflected in the flag and coat of arms of Hertfordshire as the yellow field to the stag or Hart representing the county.
When did Letchworth become the world's first garden city?
Letchworth became the world's first garden city in 1903 while Stevenage became the first town to redevelop under the New Towns Act 1946 which carried the reference number 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 68.