the
tombs of a man and woman named Hutchinson, which, singularly enough,
have been riven apart and almost destroyed by three sycamore trees about
a century old. The Church of St. John the Baptist is largely Perp. with
earlier portions, and is worth a visit, if only for the oaken nave-roof,
believed to date from about 1480, and for the font of Purbeck marble,
probably 750 years old. An object of greater interest in some eyes is
the fine parish chest, formed from one massive piece of oak nearly ten
feet in length, and furnished with iron clamps and hinges of great
size; there are few finer old parish chests in England. Note also (1)
the triple sedilia in chancel; (2) the many brasses dating from 1450,
several of which are to the Cary family; (3) two palimpsest brasses in
the vestry, one of which bears a portion of a mutilated inscription to
one Long, an alderman of London, who died in 1536. The church was
restored in 1882 by Sir A. W. Blomfield, F.S.A. _Aldenham House_,
property of Lord Aldenham, dates from the days of Charles II., and
stands in a park of about 300 acres.

_Aldenham Abbey_, once known as Wall Hall, stands close to the parish
church; it is about a century old, and belongs to the Stuart family.

_Aldwick Farm_ is 1 mile N.E. from Marston Gate Station, L.&N.W.R.

_Allen's Green_, a hamlet 2 miles N.W. from Sawbridgeworth, contains
little of interest.

_Almshoebury_ (11/2 mile W. of Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is about fifteen
minutes' walk from the ruins of _Minsden Chapel_ (_q.v._).

AMWELL is a tiny hamlet 1 mile S.W. of Wheathampstead Station, G.N.R.

AMWELL, GREAT, a parish and village 11/2 mile S.E. of Ware Station,
G.E.R., is very prettily situated near the New River, and is known by
name to many who have never visited the neighbourhood, for the village
is frequently mentioned in the essays and letters of Charles Lamb. The
church stands on a wooded slope; near by are the village stocks, the
tiny island upon which stands a monument to Sir Hugh Myddelton, the
projector of the New River, and the stone bearing some lines written by
John Scott, the Quaker. The grotto constructed by the poet may still be
seen near the railway station at Ware. The church is an architectural
conglomeration, with several stained windows, one of which was
contributed by the children of the parish as an Easter offering nearly
seventy years ago. The structure was restored in 1866. There is a
piscina in the chancel, and one in