Hertford Heath
Hertford Heath village green
Hertford Heath Location withinHertfordshire
Population	2,672 (2011 Census)
Civil parish	Hertford Heath
District	East Hertfordshire
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Hertford
Postcode district	SG13
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Hertford and Stortford
List of places UK England Hertfordshire 51°47′N0°3′W / 51.783°N 0.050°W /51.783; -0.050

Hertford Heath is a village andcivil parish near the county town ofHertford inHertfordshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,672.^[1]

It is located on aheath above theRiver Lea valley, on its south side. Almost all of the village is 90 metres (300 feet) above sea level, with most of the surrounding fields being arable farm land, or cattle and horse grazing.

Hertford Heath was once a settlement of theCatuvellauni tribe, beforeJulius Caesar invaded in 54 BC.

The original hamlet of Hertford Heath was the southern part of the modern village along London Road, and was in the parish ofGreat Amwell. A separate village and parish calledLittle Amwell was centred on a village green a short distance to the north of Hertford Heath. During the twentieth century the urban areas of the two villages merged and the combined village became known generally as Hertford Heath.^[2]

In 1956 builders laying concrete for the garages in Trinity Road, came across aBelgic grave from about the 40–50 AD period, earlyIron Age pottery was discovered and remnants are available to view in theBritish Museum.

More extensive historical facts can be foundhere extrapolated from a note written by Esme Nix ofRush Green (an area nestled in the corner of Downfield Road, Hoe Lane, Gallows Hill and the A10, giving the service station and A10 junction its name.)

Hertford Heath is part of thedistrict ofEast Hertfordshire and the county ofHertfordshire. Thecivil parish of Hertford Heath was created on 1 April 1990 from the former parish ofLittle Amwell, which was abolished, and parts of the neighbouring parishes ofGreat Amwell,Stanstead St Margarets, andWare. The parish is administered by Hertford Heath Parish Council.^[3] Whilst the civil parish is called Hertford Heath, the ecclesiastical parish which covers the area is called "Holy Trinity, Little Amwell".^[4]

• The Goat Inn at the junction of Vicarage Causeway and Downfield Road is the oldest building in the village, with cartography dating pre-1756 showing its location and existence. Local legend suggests that Dick Turpin may have patronised The Goat Inn.
• The College Arms (formerly the Jolly Pindar, and prior to that, the East India College Arms – linked to the thenEast India Company College [1805], nowHaileybury College) is now a moderngastropub.

The village has other modest amenities including a convenience store, public houses, eateries and a service station among others.

Hertford Heath Junior Mixed Infant (JMI) School caters for children from Nursery up to Year 6 (leavers for Secondary Education).

Haileybury College, a private boarding school (formerly theEast India Company College [1805], Imperial Service College [1845] and United Services College [1874]) is on the south-east boundary of the village. It offers facilities to the village and public at large who are able, subject to availability, to use its modern sports complex^[5] which includes:

• a 25-metre deck level indoor heated swimming pool
• an 8-court badminton hall
• 4 squash courts
• all-weather surface (with floodlights)
• a state-of-the-art fitness suite
• 8 tennis courts (summer only)

• The Village Hall – plays host to events such as the local farmers' market and the Annual Horticultural Society show
• Holy Trinity Church (Little Amwell) led by the Rev. Nick Sharp.^[6] It was built in 1863 to the design ofEwan Christian in theEarly English Gothic style. It is a Grade IIlisted building.^[7] The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013.
• Ermine Street, the formerRoman Road from London to York, runs from the rear of Hertford Heath Motors to Goose Green nearHoddesdon and onwards to London (it is now abridleway to the South. The former route across the village through what is now Hogsdell Lane, on to Rush Green, has been bisected by the main route through Hertford Heath (B1197) and the development of housing across the village.
• TheHertford Heath nature reserve andBalls Wood nature reserve cover nearly 80 hectares of surrounding countryside and woodland. Hertford Heath is aSite of Special Scientific Interest,^[8][9] and both sites are managed by theHerts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.^[10][11] Balls Wood was purchased by the Trust from theForestry Commission following a successful campaign.^[12]

• Florence L. Barclay (1862–1921): aromance novelist andshort story writer. She was the wife of Reverend Charles W. Barclay, who was thevicar of Holy Trinity from 1881 to 1920.
• Vera Barclay (1893–1989): the daughter of Florence and Charles Barclay. She was a pioneer of female leadership in theScout Movement and was instrumental in the establishment of theWolf Cub programme in the United Kingdom and France. She later became a prolific author on a range of subjects, especiallychildren's stories.^[13]

The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Parish of Hertford Heath.

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(July 2021)

• Frederick "Fred" Harrington.
• Lilly Bean.
• Gerald Nix: January 2000.
• Robert "Bob" Akers.

^[14]

• Hertford
• Hertfordshire
• Lea Valley

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHertford Heath.

• Hertford Heath Parish Council

51°47′N0°3′W / 51.783°N 0.050°W /51.783; -0.050

• Villages in Hertfordshire
• Civil parishes in Hertfordshire
• East Hertfordshire District

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