This time took my road warrior skills to go again to jolly England with the Le Shuttle train service (see post), and my Ford ; towing along my good boys and wonderful Rex! It was a very nice trip going into the countryside and seeing several towns of wonderul architecture and history, This one is a first and sadly came very late and no time to see the castle so will keep this post as a reminder to come back, eventually to Berkhamstead, Therefore, let me tell you on this is Berkhamstead in England !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Berkhamsted is a historic town in the Dacorum district of western Hertfordshire in England, It is situated between the towns of Tring and Hemel Hempstead (see posts). It lies 34 miles (54 km) from London, 11 miles (17 km) from our home base near Amersham on Amersham Road or A416 road passing by Cresham and entering town by Kings Road ; the main A41 road now passes near the town, while the Grand Union Canal runs through the town centre. The town’s name has been spelled in various ways over the years; its current spelling dates from 1937.
The former City/Town Hall, located on the High Street, is designed in the Victorian Gothic Revival style with a red brick facade and stone details. Built in 1859 by a local charity, the ground floor has housed restaurant signs over the years. The current building was commissioned to replace a 16C town hall in Church Lane which still stands and is now known as the Court House, The new building, in the Gothic Revival style was financed by public subscription and completed in 1859, On the first floor there was an octagonal turret with lancet windows and a spire on the left, a set of three two-light windows with a gable above in the centre, and a three-light ogee-shaped oriel window with tracery and a gable above on the right. A projecting clock was erected on the outside of the building, The former City/town hall served as the meeting place of Berkhamsted Parish Council until 1898, During WWII the town experienced a surge in the size of the local population, and the town hall served as a British Restaurant providing meals for needy people, many of whom had been evacuated from London, The town hall was restored in the 1980s and the market hall on the ground floor was officially opened for commercial use as a shopping arcade by the actor Bernard Miles in December 1983. After the shopping arcade fell out of use, the market hall was converted for restaurant use in 1998, and after some years as “Cafe Uno” and then being re-branded as “Brasserie Chez Gérard” in 2007, it became “Carluccios” in 2012 and “the Copper House” in 2019. It re-opened again as Prime Steak & Grill in September 2023
Other things to see here are the Berkhamsted Castle, a Norman castle originally built by William the Conqueror’s engineers in 1066 to secure Norman troops during the Conquest. It is located near the current railway station. It served as a royal residence, housing figures such as Henry II, Edward of Woodstock (the Black Prince), Henry III, and Richard III. Two of its constables were Thomas Becket and Geoffrey Chaucer. Two French kings are associated with the castle: Louis VIII attacked it in 1216, and John II was held prisoner there in 1359. The castle was abandoned in 1495. The castle ruins are managed by the Berkhamsted Castle Trust, in partnership with English Heritage, on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall. I really came to see this but night time fell and time ran out so we just did a quick loop around the town and took one picture to do this post for the memories of always, we will be back !
The majority of Berkhamsted‘s 85 listed or scheduled historical sites are half-timbered houses on the High Street; others are located on Castle Street, which originated as the medieval lane connecting the High Street to the royal castle’s drawbridge. At the other end of the lane stood the parish church of St Peter’s on the High Street, is one of the largest churches in Hertfordshire. Two other Anglican churches in the town are St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) with an original building dating to 1886 and All Saints’ Church & St Martha’s built in 1906 on Rectory Lane.
The town’s literary connections include the 17C hymn writer and poet William Cowper, the 18C writer Maria Edgeworth, and the 20C novelist Graham Greene. Arts institutions in the town include The Rex ,a highly regarded independent cinema, and the British Film Institute’s National Archive at King’s Hill, which is one of the world’s largest film and television archives.
A bit of history I like tell us that Berkhamsted was first mentioned in 970, and was recorded as a *burbium* (ancient borough) in the Domesday Book of 1086, following the invasion of England by William the Conqueror. In the 13-14C, the town was a wool trading centre with a bustling local market. The oldest-known extant jettied timber-framed building in Great Britain, built between 1277 and 1297, survives as a shop on the town’s high street From the 12C to the 15C, the town continued to develop separately on the old Akeman Street 0.4 miles (0.6 km) to the south of the castle and to the west of St Peter’s Church. In 1156, Henry II officially recognized Berkhamsted as a town in a royal charter, which confirmed the conditions enjoyed under Edward the Confessor, and also decreed that no market could be set up within 7 miles (11 km) of the town
The town of Berkhamstead on its history :https://www.berkhamsted-tc.gov.uk/our-community/town-history/
The Chilterns National Landscapes on Berkhamstead : https://www.chilterns.org.uk/visit-chilterns/market-towns/berkhamsted/
There you go folks , do dare drive in jolly England, it’s an adventure of a lifetime, and you will be back !!! as we have lol! Until another round chasing Sherlock we will be saying elementary my dear Watson to you all. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Berkhamstead in England !! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
