the village, near the old tan-yard, was burnt down many years
ago, but has since been rebuilt.

_Widbury_ is 1 mile E. from Ware.

WIDFORD, so interesting in the eyes of all lovers of Charles Lamb, is a
small village on the river Ash, with a station (G.E.R.) a few minutes W.
from the church. Visitors, however, must remember that much in the
neighbourhood has changed since Lamb's day. He himself recorded the
demolition of the old house "Blakesware" or, as he wrote it,
"Blakesmoor,"[o] which he knew so well as a child; the church spire,
mentioned in his verses "The Grandame," was rebuilt many years back; the
cottage at _Blenheim_ close by, immortalised in _Rosamund Gray_, was
long ago rebuilt.

The church is Dec. and Perp.; there are sedilia in the chancel, the roof
of which was finely painted by Miss Gosselin forty years ago, and there
is a piscina in the nave. The circular stone staircase that formerly led
to the old rood-loft was built up during restoration. The present E.
window is to the memory of John Eliot--the missionary to the
Indians--born at Nazing early in the seventeenth century. There are very
few memorials; one might almost repeat the words written of the church
two centuries ago, "In this church are no gravestones". The manor is
very ancient and was held in the reign of William I. by the Bishop of
London.

_Wigginton_ lies on very high ground, commanding splendid views. The
village is about 11/2 mile S.W. from Tring Station, L.&N.W.R.; the church,
near the parting of the roads at its S.E. extremity, is a small flint
structure, E.E. in style, with a modern N. aisle. It has no tower.
_Champneys_, near Wigginton Common (1 mile S.), is a prettily situated
mansion, rebuilt in 1874. It was formerly the residence of the Valpy
family.

_Wilbury Hill_, between Ickleford and Baldock, is crossed by the Roman
Icknield Way. The _vallum_, through which the Way passes, is thought to
mark the site of a Roman camp; Stukeley's suggestion that it was
probably the site of a British _oppidum_ is questioned by Salmon
(_History of Hertfordshire_, 1728). Roman coins have been found in some
abundance in the neighbourhood, notably a silver _Faustina_.

_Wild Hill_ is between Hatfield and Bedwell Parks.

_Willian_, formerly Wylie (2 miles N.E. from Hitchin Station, G.N.R.),
is very ancient, mention of it as a property dating from the times of
the Mercian kings. The village lies 1 mile W. from the Great North Road.
The chur