WARE

'Ware' is a town of around 18,000 people in Hertfordshire, England, close to Hertford (the county town).

Contents

History

Features

Twinning

Notable Residents

Nearby communities

External links

History

Archaeology has shown that Ware has been occupied since at least the Mesolithic period (which ended about 4,000 BC). The Romans had a sizeable settlement here and foundations of several buildings, including a temple, have been found. A well preserved Roman skeleton of a teenage girl has been found as well. Ware was on Ermine Street, the Roman road from London to Lincoln.
The modern name of the town dates from the Anglo-Saxon period when 'weirs' were built to stop the invading Vikings from escaping in their longships after defeat by Alfred the Great in a battle near Ware. In the Domesday survey of 1085 it was the second largest town in Hertfordshire. It was also a great coaching town, being on the Old North Road, less than a day's journey from London. In the seventeenth century Ware became the source of the New River, constructed to bring fresh water to London. England's first turnpike (toll) road ran from Wadesmill to Ware. The town was once a centre of malting.

Features

It has a fourteenth-century priory, now the local council offices and a conference centre. Recent restoration work has shown that the 'priory' - it was really a friary - dates from the thirteenth century. Opposite the priory is the large fourteenth century parish church of St. Mary. It is known for its elaborate font with large carved stone figures. The town is also famous for its many 18th Century riverside gazebos, several of which have been restored recently. It is also famous for the Great Bed of Ware, which was mentioned by Shakespeare and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Ware is also mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. GlaxoSmithKline has a large plant in the town.
Today the town's main employer is GlaxoSmithKline, but there are also many other small factories. It is also a commuting town for London, with regular rail services between Ware railway station and London Liverpool Street.
Ware is home to Scott's Grotto, built for John Scott, an 18th Century poet who owned Amwell House from 1768. The grotto, the largest in the UK, is a series of chambers extending over 65ft into the chalk hillside. The chambers are decorated with shells, stones such as flint and coloured glass. The Grotto is owned by East Herts District Council and was restored in 1990 by the Ware society.
During two weeks of the summer, Ware Council holds the 'Ware Festival' culminating in the 'Rock at the Priory' a one day open air Music Festival that grows each year in popularity.
The motto on the town's coat-of-arms is a pun on the town's name; 'Cave' is Latin for 'beware'.

Twinning

★ Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France

★ Wülfrath, Germany

Notable Residents

★ Nigel Hawthorne lived in the nearby village of Cold Christmas.

Nearby communities

★ Dane End

External links

★ Ware Online - Official town website

★ A guide to the town

★ Scouting in Ware

★ Pre-Schools in Ware

★ Scotts Grotto site by Peter Watson