ross, dates from 1260, as is testified on
the large, quaint sign-board which swings above the road; but only a few
portions of the present structure are of any great antiquity. There is a
modern church a little N. from the cross; but much of the district
commonly called Waltham is in Essex. Of great interest to visitors,
however, and about 1 mile W. from the Cross, is _Theobald's Park_, a
brick mansion erected about 150 years back by Sir G. W. Prescott, Bart.
At one of the entrances to the park stands Temple Bar, brought here from
Fleet Street and erected in its present position in 1888. The house does
not occupy the site of the historic manor house visited by so many
sovereigns, which stood on a slight eminence some distance to the N.W.
It was William Cecil, afterwards Lord Burghley, who commenced to build
that famous mansion in 1560, and enlarged it considerably when he found
it pleasant in the eyes of many persons of high degree. Queen Elizabeth
was frequently a visitor at Theobalds. It was Burghley's son, Robert
Cecil, who entertained James I. here as that monarch was on his way to
London and the English Crown, and James became so pleased with the house
and its surroundings that he obtained it from Cecil, giving him the
royal manor of Hatfield in its stead. It was from _Theobalds_ that
Charles I. set out to raise his standard at Nottingham (1642). The house
was partially destroyed during the turmoil that ensued; after the
Restoration it was given by Charles II. to George Monk. It was
subsequently the property of the Earl of Portland and of several other
persons.

WARE was for a long period, and is perhaps now, the centre of the malt
trade in Herts, but brickmaking is also extensively carried on. The
river Lea skirts the town on the S. side, and is crossed by an iron
bridge near the Barge Inn. The High Street displays many new houses and
shops, but by turning into the smaller by-ways visitors may find quaint
cottages and picturesque nooks and corners. The town is very ancient,
but contained only a few persons at the time of the Conquest.

The cruciform church of St. Mary has been much restored; the body of the
present structure is Dec.; but the tower and chancel are Perp. Note (1)
the carved oak screen separating the S. transept from the Lady-chapel;
(2) sedilia, piscina and ambries in the chapel itself; (3) octagonal
font (_temp._ Henry IV.), bearing figures of saints on its panels; (4)
mural monument in S. transep