Braughing
Braughing maps (2 available)
Map of Hertfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Braughing books (9 available)
- 4 photos on Braughing appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Braughing
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Braughing and Hertfordshire
Braughing memories
Read and share memories of Braughing and Hertfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Hertfordshire below.
Hertfordshire memories
The Picketts of Standon
The majority of my father's family lived in and around Standon from 1600 onwards and one of them was the Sexton of St. Mary's and another was the innkeeper of The Three Horseshoes at Farnham in 1881. My Grandfather was born in the Three Horsehoes. Does anyone have any connections with the Pickett family?
A memory of Standon contributed by Angela Kenny
The Bell Hotel, Hare Street, Buntingford
I have recently discovered that my Great Grandfather John Main originally from Devon (a shoe maker) and then in Brixton, London as a Dairy Manager owned the Bell Hotel in Hare Street around 1905.
My Grandmother lived there as a little girl and would often tell us stories as children about how it was haunted and about secret panels etc and of an old huntsman who would sit on the garden wall!
I have several old postcards of it and the Street. He was still there in 1916 when my Grandmother married and I think on into the 1920s.
I just wondered if The Bell was still there?
A memory of Buntingford contributed by Judith Irwin
My memories of Wyddial
My father's people were from Wyddial, their name was Pinner. I was baptized at St. Giles, along with my sister. (My parents felt I should be old enough to remember this event). The dish in the font was cracked. I later stayed with my cousin Angela, she lived in Buntingford, her parents were from Aspenden. For the six weeks I was with her I worked for Mr Hodge, of Hodges Farm, Wyddial. My dad had worked for the same farm as a boy. I worked at the duck farm.
A memory of Wyddial contributed by valerie stephens
A good time in Much Hadham
I spent about one year in Much Hadham as German prisoner of war, 1946 till July 1947, working for the Hertfordshire War Agricultural Executice Committee; I specially was engaged in our camp labour office as clerk, under Mr. Wooley and later Mr. Smolenski, two wonderful men. We enjoyed already a lot of liberty, and I really loved this little village, which I visited once again in the late sixties, when I still discovered some remainders of one of our old Nissen huts! These months in Hertfordshire had an immense positive influence on all my further life, especially when I then worked in out of school civic education. Thank you, Much Hadham!
Walter Scharnagl, Dechant-Heimbach-Str. 43, D-53177 Bonn, Germany.
A memory of Much Hadham contributed by Walter Scharnagl
Extracts From Braughing & Hertfordshire books
Gatesbury lies to the east of the B1368 close to the junction for Puckeridge. Although originally part of the parish of Westmill, Gatesbury is now firmly within the parish of Braughing; it is named after the Gatesbury family, who held the manor from the late 1100s up to the 1400s, when it was passed to the FitzHerberts. But the history of Gatesbury goes back further, for Braughing was a Roman industrial centre for the manufacture of pottery. Examples can be found all over Roman Britain. When the River Rib is in full flood, bricks, tiles and other more interesting artefacts from the Roman settlement are washed from its banks and deposited in the slow-moving, gravelly meanders.
An extract from from"Hertfordshire Living Memories".
The black-faced Maltings look out across the peaceful River Rib. Upstream, a few hundred yards before the river reaches the churchyard, the ford over the river is jealously guarded by the village ducks, geese and swans, who challenge pedestrians and motorists; usually, motorists take precedence, but not here at Braughing. St Mary’s was the site of the premature funeral of Matthew Wall. When he ‘died’ in 1574, one of the bearers slipped on the wet leaves, dropped his coffin and broke the lid. Out sprang Matthew, not dead but sleeping. He lived to a ripe old age, and when he finally died he left a legacy, still observed today, to pay for the path to be swept clear of leaves on the anniversary of his first funeral.
An extract from from"Hertfordshire Living Memories".
On the B1368 road a mile or so north of Braughing stands the small community of Hay Street. This tranquil group of cottages lies alongside what was the main road from London to Huntingdon, and probably takes its name from a corruption of 'High Street'. Today the traffic speeds past the cottages, and on occasions the boarded building in the foreground takes direct hits from heavy lorries. It has been rebuilt many times over the years, but still retains its original character. The house in the distance was once the village shop.
An extract from from"North and East Hertfordshire Photographic Memories".
Little has changed since this photograph was taken. The garage on the left has been replaced by two houses, but almost fifty years later, the post office still sports its black exposed timber on white rendering. Braughing is a favourite stopping-place for classic car runs, and the Morris 8 and Austin 10 would not appear out of place today on summer week-end afternoons. The enamel-faced letter box still survives, but it has now been blocked up, sad to say; today letters have to be posted in something more modern. The post office was once the Bell pub, and the sign, a solid wooden bell, is still in place under the porch.
An extract from from"North and East Hertfordshire Photographic Memories".
In 1901, Hermitage Road was a pleasant, open avenue. The building on the left in view
46642, left, is the Hermitage, home of Frederick Seebohm; very little of it still remains.
Windmill Hill is just visible in the background.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".