Amwell, Hertfordshire
Encyclopedia
Amwell is a village in the county of Hertfordshire
, England
, located 1½ miles (S.E. by S.) from Ware, and about 20 miles north of London. Great Amwell is also the name of the civil parish
within East Hertfordshire
district.
The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The East India College was founded here in 1806, for the education of young men intended for the civil service of the East India Company
in India. It is now a public school, Haileybury College.
The New River
runs through the village.
On a hill above the church is an ancient mound, the remains of a fortification; and in Barrow field, on the road to Hertford
, is a large barrow.
Great Amwell has been the residence of some celebrated literary characters, among whom are:
Also buried here in 1978 was Harold Abrahams
, the Olympian
who was depicted in Chariots of Fire
.
Richard Warren
(d 1628) a passenger on the Mayflower
in 1620, who settled in Plymouth Colony
and co-signed the Mayflower Compact
, married on April 14, 1610 at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, Great Amwell, Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Augustine Walker. Richard and Elizabeth are the ancestors of two U.S. Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
A hamlet called Amwell also exists a mile south west of Wheathampstead
, also in Hertfordshire
.
or St Margarets both of which are on the Hertford
-London Liverpool Street line which passes through the parish. There are a few bus routes, these are Route 310 (Arriva
) Hertford
-Waltham Cross
which operates every 30 minutes Monday to Friday Daytime and, Route 311 (Arriva
) Hertford
-Waltham Cross
which operates every 30 minutes Monday to Friday Daytime and, Route 351 (Centrebus
) Hertford
-Bishops Stortford which operates every two hours Monday to Saturday Daytime and hourly Monday to Friday peak hours, Route 524 (SM Coaches
) Harlow
-Hertford
which operates hourly Monday to Saturday Daytime, Route 724
(Arriva
Green Line Coaches
) Harlow
-Heathrow Airport which operates hourly Daily.
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located 1½ miles (S.E. by S.) from Ware, and about 20 miles north of London. Great Amwell is also the name of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
within East Hertfordshire
East Hertfordshire
East Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council has offices in Bishop's Stortford and Hertford ....
district.
The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The East India College was founded here in 1806, for the education of young men intended for the civil service of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in India. It is now a public school, Haileybury College.
The New River
New River (England)
The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea and from Amwell Springs , and other springs and wells along its course....
runs through the village.
On a hill above the church is an ancient mound, the remains of a fortification; and in Barrow field, on the road to Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
, is a large barrow.
Great Amwell has been the residence of some celebrated literary characters, among whom are:
- Izaak WaltonIzaak WaltonIzaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
, (1593–1683) the noted angler. - John Scott of AmwellJohn Scott of AmwellJohn Scott , known as Scott of Amwell, was a poet and writer on the alleviation of poverty.He was a wealthy Quaker who lived at Amwell near Ware in Hertfordshire, England...
, (1730–83), author of several poems and tracts, who built a grotto, containing several apartments, which still exists. - John HooleJohn HooleJohn Hoole was an English translator, the son of watch-maker and inventor, Samuel Hoole and Sarah Drury. He was born in London, and worked in India House , of which he rose to be principal auditor...
, (1727–1803), the distinguished translator of TassoTasso-People:*Torquato Tasso, the famous Italian 16th-century poet, author of Gerusalemme liberata**Tasso, Lament and Triumph, a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt based on the poet*Bernardo Tasso, his father, also a poet...
, and biographer of Scott. - The remains of William WarnerWilliam Warner (poet)William Warner was an English poet.-Life:William Warner was born in London about 1558. He was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, but left the university without taking a degree. He practised in London as an attorney, and gained a great reputation among his contemporaries as a poet...
, (1558?-1609), the poet and historian, are interred in the churchyard.
Also buried here in 1978 was Harold Abrahams
Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams, CBE, was a British athlete of Jewish origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
, the Olympian
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
who was depicted in Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
.
Richard Warren
Richard Warren
Richard Warren was a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620. He settled in Plymouth Colony and was among ten passengers of the Mayflower landing party with Myles Standish at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620...
(d 1628) a passenger on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
in 1620, who settled in Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
and co-signed the Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower...
, married on April 14, 1610 at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, Great Amwell, Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Augustine Walker. Richard and Elizabeth are the ancestors of two U.S. Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
A hamlet called Amwell also exists a mile south west of Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England. It is north of St Albans and in the Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary constituency....
, also in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Transport
The village has no railway station, the nearest being WareWare railway station
Ware railway station is in Ware in Hertfordshire, England. It is on the Hertford East Branch Line, and train services are provided by National Express East Anglia, who also manage the station...
or St Margarets both of which are on the Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
-London Liverpool Street line which passes through the parish. There are a few bus routes, these are Route 310 (Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
) Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
-Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross is the most southeasterly town in Hertfordshire, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London and immediately north of the M25 motorway, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London.-Geography:It is...
which operates every 30 minutes Monday to Friday Daytime and, Route 311 (Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
) Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
-Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross is the most southeasterly town in Hertfordshire, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London and immediately north of the M25 motorway, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London.-Geography:It is...
which operates every 30 minutes Monday to Friday Daytime and, Route 351 (Centrebus
Centrebus
Centrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
) Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
-Bishops Stortford which operates every two hours Monday to Saturday Daytime and hourly Monday to Friday peak hours, Route 524 (SM Coaches
SM Coaches
S.M. Coaches is a bus and coach operating company based in Harlow, Essex in the United Kingdom. They mostly operate local services around Harlow, as well as school services and private hire. Olympian Coaches is also a part of the business, operating school services, private hire and commuter...
) Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
-Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
which operates hourly Monday to Saturday Daytime, Route 724
Green Line route 724
Green Line route 724 is a high-profile limited-stop express bus service, currently operated by Arriva Shires & Essex as part of the large Green Line Coaches network. It operates between Harlow and Heathrow Airport, and is partly funded by airport operator BAA...
(Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
Green Line Coaches
Green Line Coaches
Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s...
) Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
-Heathrow Airport which operates hourly Daily.
Further reading
- Heath, Cyril The Book of Amwell Barracuda Books Limited, 1980 ISBN 0860230856
- Doree, Stephen and Perman, David Amwell and Stanstead's Past in Pictures Publisher: The Rockingham Press 1997 , ISBN 1873468571
External links
- Local Amwell amenities list Provided by Hertfordshire County Council - Accessed February 2007
- Amwell (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)
- A Brief History of Hertford Heath based on a note written by Esme Nix of Rush Green and describing Little Amwell