Barkway
Barkway maps (2 available)
Map of Hertfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Hertfordshire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Barkway books (12 available)
Bishop's Stortford Town Walk Guide
Paperback
- 3 photos on Barkway appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Barkway
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Barkway and Hertfordshire
Barkway memories
Read and share memories of Barkway and Hertfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Hertfordshire below.
Hertfordshire memories
The Bell Hotel, Hare Street, Buntingford
I have recently discovered that my Great Grandfather John Main originally from Devon (a shoe maker) and then in Brixton, London as a Dairy Manager owned the Bell Hotel in Hare Street around 1905.
My Grandmother lived there as a little girl and would often tell us stories as children about how it was haunted and about secret panels etc and of an old huntsman who would sit on the garden wall!
I have several old postcards of it and the Street. He was still there in 1916 when my Grandmother married and I think on into the 1920s.
I just wondered if The Bell was still there?
A memory of Buntingford contributed by Judith Irwin
The Picketts of Standon
The majority of my father's family lived in and around Standon from 1600 onwards and one of them was the Sexton of St. Mary's and another was the innkeeper of The Three Horseshoes at Farnham in 1881. My Grandfather was born in the Three Horsehoes. Does anyone have any connections with the Pickett family?
A memory of Standon contributed by Angela Kenny
Letchworth Childhood
Seeing the fountain in this picture brings back childhood memories from the 1950/60s of sailing boats up and down the paddling pool at weekends or when your parents took you down on a sunny afternoon. Summer fetes and funfair on the grass area between the paddling pool and Norton Way South, last but not least playing in the small wood behind the paddling pool before the Council cut it down and spoilt it!
A memory of Letchworth Garden City contributed by Ian Griffin
Coopers
I remember this building being Handscombes Ironmongers. And one end of it being a pram shop in the early 80's I think . I bought my parents their 25th wedding anniversary present in Handscombes... a dinner service in a Poppy design. Full service with tureens etc only cost £24.99! This was in 1978. They held their party at the Bell in Stanstead.
A memory of Bishop's Stortford contributed by Sue Spooner
Extracts From Barkway & Hertfordshire books
In 1700s and 1800s, Barkway lay on the main coach route from London to Cambridge. The Angel Inn (later the Wheatsheaf) served as the main staging post for travellers. In the early 1800s, it was owned by William Woolard, whose Newfoundland dog, Neptune, guarded the gate at the far end of the building. William Phelps, alias Brighton Bill, the pugilist, died here after his brutal encounter with Owen Swift in 1838. The white milestone (centre) is the last of a series measuring the route to Cambridge. The stones were erected in the early 1700s by Drs Mouse and Hare of Cambridge University.
An extract from from"Hertfordshire Living Memories".
The school (left) was built in 1840, and provided education for the children of Barkway and Reed. This fine building is remarkably original, and stands on the site of the old Market Square. The white building (right) was the village butcher's shop - joints of meat were hung from the trees; beyond it is the three-gabled Town House. It is said that the ornate staircase in the Town House came from Standon Lordship. The white shed on the left stands next to the village pond where the villagers skated in winter.
An extract from from"North and East Hertfordshire Photographic Memories".
Barkway spanned the main route from London to Cambridge, and it was only the coming of the railways in the 1850s that transformed it into a countryside backwater. The building on the right with the tall brick chimneys is the Reading Room, erected in the 1860s to provide a respectable meeting place for the young men of the village. On the left, the Chaise and Pair, one of five inns still functioning in the village in 1965, offered fine beer and accommodation. It closed for business in 1993.
An extract from from"North and East Hertfordshire Photographic Memories".
In 1901, Hermitage Road was a pleasant, open avenue. The building on the left in view
46642, left, is the Hermitage, home of Frederick Seebohm; very little of it still remains.
Windmill Hill is just visible in the background.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
A view of St Marys church in 1931, with the War Memorial in the foreground. In 1752, the Rewd William Cole wrote that the tower was `one of the most clumsy and heavy ones I ever saw`. Perhaps `solid` is a kinder description.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".