Thursday 26 November 2015

Much Hadham



Much Hadham in Hertfordshire is one of those picture-perfect English villages with ancient half-timbered houses lining its main street. And such perfection comes at a price; the cost of housing here is the highest in the area, though a number of grand mansions like the one below certainly boost the average....

The Hall - recently available to rent at just £6,500 per month!

The village has always been a sought-after location, even back in the tenth-century when the Bishops of London were bequeathed lands in the village. They built their palace next to the church and it was there that Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, was born in 1431. Or it could have been at Hadham in Bedfordshire, but don't breathe a word of it in Much Hadham.


The village used to be known as Great Hadham but no one seems to be sure why it changed to the peculiar, but much more memorable, Much Hadham.


No alcohol was consumed during the creation of the above photograph. Honest!


Most people would say that the village is strung out along the road, however a landscape historian might point out that the road itself also runs parallel to the little River Ash, which would have served as a water supply to the houses in times gone by. This historian might add that the Bishops of London had the good sense (and the power and influence) to live upsteam from the bulk of the population and so monopolised the cleanest water.


And who might this landscape historian be? Well, yours truly, though I'm certain that others will have reached the same conclusions. How I came to be interested in this at all is an interesting study in chance and decision-making. 


You see, I'd always preferred Geography to History, "maps" rather than "chaps". But in my second year studying the subject at university I was faced with the fact that if I wanted to attend lectures on Political Geography, which at the time I thought I did, I'd have to hang around all day on Friday for a lecture late in the afternoon. Very inconvenient. If, on the other hand, I chose to do Historical Geography I could have a three-day weekend. The rest, as they say, is History.


So I continued on my way down the street, snapping away at gardens, houses and details, crossing and re-crossing the road at great risk to life and limb.


Thinking about the River Ash and its influence on the layout of the village reminded me that I was actually on a walk, part of whose purpose was to follow the Ash valley. I soon slipped down a back alley towards the river, but not before I'd had a look around the church of course.



Take care.



14 comments:

  1. Nice to meet another landscape historian, meaning in my case someone with an interest in landscape and history! And a bit more in the geography of a place than the people. (And of course avoiding Friday lectures was a great bonus!) those genuine half-timbered houses do really look wonky sometimes!

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  2. It´s like Holidays to read here...picturesque.
    Annette

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  3. Some charmingly "bendy" houses there. Or, as you say, drunk ones.

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  4. The "drunk" house seems to speak to why the village is so expensive to live in. It has to cost a fortune to maintain such an old dwelling. Much Hadham, indeed!

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  5. I am still thinking of having to walk across the road several times a day to fetch a pail of water. I guess at the time they were considered fortunate not having to travel even further for water.

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  6. Oh, John, I really enjoyed this stroll...have youtube waiting with 'thatching a roof' as the subject. That one in the photo above just looks so perfect. I don't know why I haven't googled and youtubed them before.

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  7. I enjoyed the visit to such a beautiful village John. Like you, I always preferred Geography to History and have maintained that interest throughout my life - I think that is one reason I get such pleasure from your
    blog John.

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  8. What a cute village! Love the little houses.

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  9. Might be hard to convince an apprentice carpenter about the value of a plumb line when such crooked houses have lasted so long. Great little village.

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  10. Haha! Jenny's comment made me smile, I was thinking the same thing :) wHY would they change the name from Great to Much, that's just too quirky English :) Upstream would have absolutely been the prime location.. I'm hoping we're going to have a look inside the church with you?

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  11. A lovely well preserved village. I'm always interested in how communities developed over the years. I wonder why some village cottages have been so well looked after and some have been destroyed to make room for more modern (and ugly) buildings.

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  12. That third to last photo of the garden is so lovely - that's the kind of place I hope to live at someday - quiet and green! Like you I much preferred Geography, hence why I became a Geographer and now a GIS person - love making digital maps and the potential for it, but of course, being outside and learning about a place is the ideal way to spend it all. Beautiful photos, as always, and I loved the history behind it too! - Tasha

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  13. I enjoyed your tour of this interesting place. It's good to see the old places are still there, even if they are quite pricey. I'm sure many choices of education were based on convenience!!

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  14. Just came back across to say thank you for the lovely comments! - Tasha

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