n).
Among monuments note (1) figured brass, representing an armed man, to
Robert Albyn and Margaret his wife (1480); the inscription I transcribe
from Chauncy:--

"Robert Albyn gist icy
Et Margareta sa femme oubike luy
Dieu de lez almes eyt mercy";

(2) monument to Sir Astley Paston Cooper (d. 1841).

Hemel Hempstead, according to Norden, owed its name (Heanhamsted) to
the high hemp-land on the E. side of the town. Offa, King of the
Mercians, gave six houses at _Hemelhamstede_ to the Abbey of St. Albans;
but the remainder of the _vill_ remained in the hands of Saxon Kings
until it was given to Earl Moreton by William I. The entry in _Domesday
Book_ is in this case unusually interesting; the property held by Earl
Moreton is thus described: "Earl Moreton held Hamelhamstede in Treung
hundred, it was rated for 10 hides ... there are two Frenchmen born,
with thirteen Bordars, ... there are eight Servants, and four Mills of
seven and thirty Shillings and four Pence Rent by the Year, and three
hundred Eels wanting five and twenty, Meadow four Carucates, Common of
Pasture for the Cattle, and two Shillings Rent by the Year, Wood to feed
one thousand and two hundred Hogs; in the whole value it is worth two
and twenty Pounds, when he received it five and twenty Pounds, and Rent
in the time of King Edward (the Confessor). Two were Brethren, Men of
Earl Lewin, they held this mannor." From Priory Hill, W. from the
church, a fine view may be obtained of the town below and the cornfields
beyond. _Bury Mill_ is on the river Gade, at the foot of the hill.
_Gadesbridge Park_ is on the left as you pass from High Street to
Piccott's End; the House is on a beautifully wooded slope, W. from the
Gade; it is the residence of Sir Astley Paston Paston Cooper, Bart.,
J.P., etc. A good deal of straw plait is still made by the women of
this neighbourhood.

_Heronsgate_ (3 miles W. from Rickmansworth) is a hamlet on the Bucks
border, with a small chapel-of-ease to St. Peter's, Mill End, 11/4 mile E.
The building is modern, with one window of stained glass.

[Illustration: HERTFORD]

HERTFORD, the county town, is of immemorial antiquity. The origin of the
name has elicited much learned conjecture, and Hertford is one of
several places held to be the _Durocobrivis_ mentioned by Antonine. It
is the _Herudsford_ (_i.e._ red ford) of the Venerable Bede. That it was
a town of some importance on the river Lea even in the days of the
Tri