Clophill House

Ampthill

Ampthill is a pretty and unspoilt Georgian market town. Its charter was granted by King Henry III in 1219 but the town is most closely associated with King Henry VIII who was a regular visitor and tried to build a palace there. He imprisoned his first wife Katherine of Aragon at Ampthill Castle while the divorce proceedings were in happening. Ampthill has many Tudor to Georgian buildings. It was also the birthplace of Richard Nicolls who took over New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664 and renamed it New York after his patron the Duke of York. He died at the Battle of Solway Bay in 1672 when a Dutch cannonball killed him. The ball is in his monument in Ampthill Park: 'instrumentum mortis et immortalitatis'.

www.ampthillhistory.co.uk
www.ampthill.org.uk
www.ampthillimages.com

Hitchin

The earliest part of Hitchin's history begin with King Offa of Mercia, who founded a religious house in AD792 on land occupied by the Hicce tribe. This was the beginning of Hitchin's parish church, second only in size to St Albans Abbey in the county. In the Domesday Book of 1086 Hitchin is recorded as a Royal Manor and by medieval times it was a thriving town on the banks of the River Hiz. Today it still gives an air of peace and prosperity.

After the 17th century, Hitchin became a frequent staging post for London coaches and many of the inns from that time, with their picturesque courtyards, can still be seen in Hitchin's narrow streets. By the middle of the 19th century the railway had arrived, and with it a new way of life for Hitchin. The Corn Exchange was built in the Market Place and within a short time Hitchin established itself as a major centre for grain trading.

Nikolaus Pevsner described Hitchin as being, after St Albans, the most visually satisfying town in the county. It continues to satisfy the visitors who come to rejoice in this pleasant, compact market town so rich in beautiful things and one that delights in welcoming those who come to share them.

Links:
Wikipedia Entry
Hertfordshire Towns Guide
www.hitchin.net

Milton Keynes

Built in the 1960s as a completely new 'modern' city, Milton Keynes looks to a utopian vision of the future rather than the past. Visitors arriving by car can find it quite bewildering as the grid of roads and roundabouts are separated from the buildings by avenues of trees and hedges, making navigation harder. This is because the city is designed to be explored on foot or bicycle with a network of foot and cycle paths linking it together and lots of green spaces around and between the buildings, with cars kept at a distance.

Milton Keynes offers excellent shopping, recreation and cultural activities.

Woburn

Woburn has been described in guidebooks as "A Georgian town of village proportions". The village is noted for its fine architecture, individual shops, tea rooms and restaurants and the countryside and parkland that surrounds it.

Over the years Woburn is fortunate to have maintained its character and charm. Today more than 200 listed buildings can be found in the village, many of which line the main thoroughfare.

Links:
www.woburn-village.co.uk
www.woburnvillage.co.uk