Hertfordshire Heritage Attractions

Heritage sites such as castles, Roman remains, stately homes & gardens, cathedrals, country houses, historic monuments, etc in Hertfordshire...

Since the stone age, man has been creating majestic structures that we still marvel at today. Whether you are interested in ancient monuments, battlefield sites, re-enactments, Roman and Norman forts and castles, stately homes, country houses, historic cathedrals, ruined abbeys etc, this is the page that should give you the information you need.

Here we try to list properties in private ownership but open to the public (even if only occasionally) as well as those in the care of the organisations like National Trust or English/Scottish Heritage. Please help us make this guide comprehensive by sending us details of missing attractions.

Hertfordshire Ancient Monuments, Castles, Roman Forts, Battlefield Sites, etc

THE WAFFLE HOUSE - KINGSBURY WATERMILL

Watermill & Waffle House

St. Michaels Street, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4SJ

Kingsbury Watermill is a 16th Century watermill located on the River Ver, in the historic village of St. Albans. The watermill has been restored and is continually maintained to this very day. The Waffle House can be found within the mill and specialises in sweet and savoury Belgian Waffles, individually cooked to order using many organic and free range ingredients.

Tel: 01727 853502
E-mail: thewafflemanager@yahoo.co.uk
Web: www.wafflehouse.co.uk

Shaw's Corner

Ayot St. Lawrence, nr Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 9BX
Tel/Fax: 01438 820307
E-mail: shawscorner@nationaltrust.org.uk

Shaw's Corner Hertfordshire Photo © Vernon Dunhill
Shaw's Corner Hertfordshire -
Photo: Vernon Dunhill CCL

Home of famous Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. George Bernard Shaw lived in this Edwardian Arts & Crafts-influenced house from 1906 until his death in 1950. The rooms remain much as he left them, with many literary and personal effects evoking the individuality and genius of this great dramatist. The kitchen and outbuildings are evocative of early 20th-century domestic life.

Shaw’s writing hut is hidden at the bottom of the garden, which has richly planted borders and views over the Hertfordshire countryside.

Hertford Castle

Hertford Town Council, The Castle, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 1HR
Tel: 01992 552885 Fax: 01992 505876
E-mail: town.clerk@hertford.gov.uk
Web: www.neton8.co.uk

Built on the site of a Norman Castle and surrounded by the 12thC flint and stone curtain wall, Hertford Castle, a grade 1 listed building, is at present, the offices of the town council. Tours can be arranged and rooms are available to hire.

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium

Bluehouse Hill, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6AE
Tel: 01727 835035
E-mail: stalbans@struttandparker.co.uk
Web: www.romantheatre.co.uk

The ruins of a unique Roman Theatre, built with a stage rather than the usual amphitheatre, in approximately 140AD. The ruins of the theatre were originally unearthed in 1847.

Hertfordshire Stately Homes, Country Houses & Gardens

HATFIELD HOUSE & GARDENS

Stately Home & Gardens

The House Office, Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 5NQ

Hatfield House is just 20 miles from central London and a few minutes from the A1/M25. The celebrated Jacobean House and Tudor Old Palace are steeped in Elizabethan and Victorian political history. Completed in 1607 Hatfield House has been the home of the Cecil family for 400 years. The Royal Palace of Hatfield (c1485) in the West Garden is where Elizabeth I spent her childhood and held her first Council in 1558. Moore at Hatfield: Hatfield House is delighted to announce a major exhibition of outdoor sculpture by British artist, Henry Moore. The exhibition, the largest of the artist’s work ever held at an English historic house.

Tel: 01707 287010
E-mail: visitors@hatfield-house.co.uk
Web: www.hatfield-house.co.uk

Knebworth House, Park and Gardens

The Estate Office, Knebworth House, Knebworth, Hertfordshire, SG3 6PY
Tel: 01438 812661 Fax: 01438 811908
E-mail: info@knebworthhouse.com
Web: www.knebworthhouse.com

The famous gothic mansion, home of the Lytton family since 1490 and venue for rock concerts in recent years. Attractions include the gardens, complete with Maze, Dinosaur Trail, Indian Raj Exhibition, Adventure Playground, Miniature Railway, Gift Shops and Garden Terrace Tea Room.

The Gardens of The Rose

The Royal National Rose Society, Chiswell Green, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 3NR
Tel: 01727 850 461 Fax: 01727 850360
E-mail: mail@rnrs.org.uk
Web: www.rnrs.org

The new Gardens of the Rose, run by the Royal National Rose Society is currently being redeveloped and will open to the general public in the summer of 2007. Garden highlights include: the history of the rose, styles of planting, small model gardens - inspiration for growing roses in small spaces. The newly replanted Queen Mother garden.

Hertfordshire Cathedrals, Historic Churches, Abbeys

Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Alban

St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 1BY
Tel: 01727 860780 Fax: 01727 850944
E-mail: mail@stalbanscathedral.org.uk
Web: www.stalbanscathedral.org.uk

Open from 8.00am to 5.45pm, all year round, the church was built from recycled Roman brick between 1077 - 1115 on the execution site of Alban, Britain's first martyr.

Tring: The Town the Rothschilds (Re)Built

This charming Hertfordshire parish has been listed as a market town since 1315, although Tring Manor was first recorded almost one thousand years ago, in the Domesday Survey of 1086.

Just over thirty miles North of London, Tring is nestled within a fold of the glorious Chiltern Hills, where the ancient Icknield way crosses paths with the Roman road Akeman Street. More...

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