Steve's World Blog Information and articles on cities, towns and villages around the world.

A town and parish located in the county of Hertfordshire, England, Hertford has a population of around 24,000 and a history going back to Anglo-Saxon times, when it acquired its name which no doubt refers to its position on a ford over the River Lea, where harts (or stags) would have crossed. First recorded as a town in 673, Hertford was a significant town by the time of the Norman conquest, having mills, churches and markets already established. The Normans built a castle in the town and there was also a priory erected, which remained until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. Hertford grew prosperous over the centuries and especially after the arrival of a canal in 1767 and the railway in the mid-nineteenth century. Hertford has been the county town of Hertfordshire since Saxon times, and has retained its importance in the affairs of the county. Major landmarks in the town include Hertford Castle, with some original sections, the Robert Adam designed Shire Hall (1779), Wallace House, the Corn Exchange and the Hertford Museum. Hertford lies at the confluence of four rivers, them main one being the River Lea, and when the weather is fine there can be no better way to spend a few hours than to take a stroll along the river, or even hire a boat and cruise along the river itself.