Amwell (Great and Little) is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Ware and about 20 miles (32 km) north of London. Great Amwell is also the name of the civil parish within East Hertfordshire district.
Amwell | |
---|---|
Parish church of St John the Baptist, Great Amwell | |
Amwell Location within Hertfordshire | |
Population | 2,353 (2011 Census. Great Amwell Parish)[1] |
OS grid reference | TL365125 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WARE |
Postcode district | SG12 |
Dialling code | 01920 |
Police | Hertfordshire |
Fire | Hertfordshire |
Ambulance | East of England |
Description
The Anglican church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The East India College was founded here in 1806, for the education of young men intended for the civil service of the East India Company in India. It is now a public school, Haileybury College.
The New River runs through the village.
On a hill above the church is an ancient mound, the remains of a fortification; and to the west, on the road to Hertford, is a large tumulus.
A hamlet called Amwell also exists a mile south west of Wheathampstead, also in Hertfordshire.
Transport
The village has no railway station, the nearest being Ware or St Margarets both of which are on the Hertford East branch line which passes through the parish. There are a few bus routes, these are:
- Arriva Shires & Essex route 310 Hertford-Waltham Cross which operates every 30 minutes Monday to Friday daytime and,[2]
- Arriva Shires & Essex route 311 Hertford-Waltham Cross which operates every 30 minutes Monday to Friday daytime and,[3]
- Centrebus route 351 Hertford-Bishops Stortford which operates every two hours Monday to Saturday Daytime and hourly Monday to Friday peak hours,[4]
- SM Coaches route 524 Harlow-Hertford which operates hourly Monday to Saturday daytime
- Arriva Shires & Essex Green Line route 724 Harlow-Heathrow Airport which operates hourly daily.
Notable people
Great Amwell has been the residence of some celebrated literary characters, among whom are:
- Izaak Walton , (1593–1683) the noted angler .
- John Scott of Amwell , (1730–83), author of several poems and tracts , who built a grotto containing several apartments, which still exists.
- John Hoole , (1727–1803), the distinguished translator of Tasso , and biographer of John Scott of Amwell .
- Rev Robert Scott Mylne FRSE FSSA FSA (1854-1920) antiquarian, vicar of Amwell (buried in the Mylne vault there)
Others buried in Amwell include:
- William Warner , (1558?-1609), the poet and historian;
- Alexander Small (1710-1794) Scottish surgeon and frequent correspondent of Benjamin Franklin ;
- Harold Abrahams in 1978, the Olympian who was depicted in Chariots of Fire .
Richard Warren (d. 1628), a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620, who settled in Plymouth Colony and co-signed the Mayflower Compact, was married on 14 April 1610 at Great Amwell to Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Augustine Walker. Richard and Elizabeth are the ancestors of two U.S. Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
See also
- The Hundred Parishes
References
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Arriva Bus Timetable". Route 310 Timetable. Arriva. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Arriva Bus Timetable". Route 311 Timetable. Arriva. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Intalink Bus Timetable". Route 351 Timetable. Intalink. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
Further reading
- Heath, Cyril The Book of Amwell Barracuda Books Limited, 1980 ISBN 0-86023-085-6
- Doree, Stephen and Perman, David Amwell and Stanstead's Past in Pictures Publisher: The Rockingham Press 1997, ISBN 1-873468-57-1
External links
- Local Amwell amenities list Provided by Hertfordshire County Council - Accessed February 2007
- Amwell (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)
- A Brief History of Hertford Heath based on a note written by Esme Nix of Rush Green and describing Little Amwell