County town: Hertford
Hertfordshire was established as a shire in the early 10th century, centred on Hertford where Edward the Elder built a burh to defend against the Danes. Its northern and western boundaries follow the chalk Chilterns.
Hertfordshire is a small county immediately north of London, its valleys drained by the Lea, Mimram, Colne, and Beane. Its proximity to the capital made it a county of substantial estates and retreats for the powerful from the medieval period onward. St Albans, built over the Roman Verulamium, was the site of England's first Christian martyr and home to one of the wealthiest abbeys in medieval England. The county's position on routes between London and the Midlands meant its roads and inns were well-used from the earliest times. The New River, dug in 1613 to bring fresh water to London, passes through it.
Hertfordshire was surveyed in the Domesday Book of 1086, William the Conqueror's great census of England. The survey recorded 173 settlements in the county, with details of their lords, landholders, population, and resources.
Browse 173 Domesday settlements in HertfordshireEngland's 39 historic counties, established between the 9th and 12th centuries, are the framework through which English local history, legal records, and landscape have been organised for a thousand years. Most survive today as ceremonial counties, their boundaries deeply embedded in place identity.
An Aubrey report for a specific location in Hertfordshire draws on historical maps, archaeological records, Domesday data and landscape history to tell the full story of any site in the county.
Start your Aubrey report