Great Amwell
Great Amwell 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!
Great Amwell books (12 available)
Great Amwell memories
Read and share memories of Great Amwell and Hertfordshire inspired by Frith photos
Nineteen years pleasurable living in Great Amell.
My family of four childen, my husband and I, moved into part of a large country house known as 'Ravenscourt', standing in 3 acres of land: we named our semi "Little Ravenscourt'. Within our back garden stood a beautiful large 'Indian Bean Tree' (catelpa), which the children loved to climb on: in the spring it was covered in small orchid-like scented flowers which attracted many bees ~ some of which would fall drunk onto the lawn. The flowers were the forerunner of long bean-like growths: hence its name. Opposite the house was a narrow lane, which led to a thickly grown bluebell wood. Near to the village Church (where one of our daughters was married) was Amwell Pool, ...read more here
Contributed by Edith Wood-Smith
Hertfordshire memories
Nineteen years pleasurable living in Great Amell.
My family of four childen, my husband and I, moved into part of a large country house known as 'Ravenscourt', standing in 3 acres of land: we named our semi "Little Ravenscourt'. Within our back garden stood a beautiful large 'Indian Bean Tree' (catelpa), which the children loved to climb on: in the spring it was covered in small orchid-like scented flowers which attracted many bees ~ some of which would fall drunk onto the lawn. The flowers were the forerunner of long bean-like growths: hence its name. Opposite the house was a narrow lane, which led to a thickly grown bluebell wood. Near to the village Church (where one of our daughters was married) was Amwell Pool, ...read more here
A memory of Great Amwell contributed by Edith Wood-Smith
The Crown Inn
Not really a memory - rather a request for information. My grandfather, Alfred Pain, was licensee of the Crown Inn from possibly the late 1920s through to the middle 1930s. If anyone has any memories/information/photos of the public house and/or my grandfather's time there, I would be most grateful to hear them.
Incidentally, my mother, Doris Bird, used to live in Hoddesdon Road and it was through working at the Crown that she met my father. Any memories of her or her parents, Florence and Arthur Bird would also be gratefully received
A memory of Stanstead St Margarets contributed by Colin Pain
Easneye Children's Home
I have a sketchy memory of my childhood in Easneye, between the ages of around 3-5 years old. I remember my mother dropping me off and being terrified. She said I was having a holiday but never came back for me. All I can remember of my time was the dormitory, just a row of unfriendly beds, and the "farm" with the white wood swing gate that we kids got told off for climbing on. I don't remember much more than having to eat spinach because I got painful leg boils! Apparently this was common in undernourished children of that time. I still hate all vegetables to this day. Does anyone know what this building might have been called? The Mansion ...read more here
A memory of Stanstead Abbotts contributed by Jackie Macklin
Extracts From Great Amwell & Hertfordshire books
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".
In the 1960s, the Sun Hotel’s yard did not include
fire escapes from the upstairs rooms, as it does now.
Otherwise, there is little but the parked cars to give
a clue to the date of this photograph. The timber-
framed buildings, on the left, are believed to date
from the 16th century.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
This 1908 view of the churchyard from the south shows the gates that once protected the dead from body snatchers. J Shipley Slipper, a
dentist, held a surgery at Waldock’s on the left, but only on alternate market days - a long wait if you’d just missed him. George Savage’s
draper’s shop is by the gates on the right, and next door to him is Allsop’s, trading as a cash tailor under the slogan: ‘The Novelty House
for Neckwear’. The façade of his shopfront has been rendered, and scoured with lines to give the impression that it is built of stone.
Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll and the render is slowly falling off. Halsey’s is on the right: an advertisement in the window
draws attention to ‘Halsey’s Dog Food’ - packets of puppy biscuits surround it. Strictly speaking, the buildings from Savage’s to Halsey’s are
in the Market Place, whilst those on the other side are in the Churchyard.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
The view looking north in the Churchyard in the mid 1950s was much
the same then as it is today. In 1963, a well was found in the premises fac-
ing us, then Wendy’s Hat Shop. Believed to be early medieval, it was lined
with a soft chalky stone, and contained 15 feet of clear water. A bakery
now occupies the premises.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".