Stansted St Margarets, River Lee Navigation and Great Amwell
A river and canalside walk to a miniature landscaped garden
Google Maps Open Source Maps| Statistics and Files | ||
|---|---|---|
| Start: Stansted St Margarets | Distance: 4.4 miles (7.0 km) | Climbing: 56 metres |
| Grid Ref: TL 37964 11115 | Time: 2 hours | Rating: Easy |
| GPX Route File | Google Earth File | Stansted St Margarets |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Start: Stansted St Margarets | Distance: 4.4 miles (7.0 km) |
| Climbing: 56 metres | Grid Ref: TL 37964 11115 |
| Time: 2 hours | Rating: Easy |
| GPX Route File | Google Earth File |
Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000)
The Walk:
This delightful walk by the river and canal leads to Great Amwell, one of the prettiest villages in the county of Hertfordshire. The village, sited amongst trees, still maintains a unique rural atmosphere, despite being close to the three large towns of Hertford, Ware and Hoddeston.
The walk starts in the village of Stansted St Margaret's and passes the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Saint Margaret's. The small flint church has a 12th-century nave and carved heads flanking some of the windows. Henry Lawrence, a friend of the poet Milton, and related to the general and statesman Oliver Cromwell, was buried here before the altar. Lawrence lived next door in the Manor House. This has been much altered since his time; the once splendid gateway and wrought iron gates date from the 18th century.
Bridge over the River Lea, Stanstead St Margarets
River Lea Navigation near Stanstead Abbots
The walk continues along the bank of the River Lea/ Lee, made navigable here by locks. Gravel workings on the far side of the river have made possible the creation of the Amwell Nature Reserve, inhabited by a wide variety of birds, including kingfishers and owls.
The walk leaves the river, crosses the canal and climbs through woods and farmland to the charming village of Great Amwell, still a pleasant rural backwater. The path through the romantic hillside churchyard of St John the Baptist, with its eccentric monuments and stocks, leads past a number of large monuments that include the impressive temple vault of the Cathrow family and the imposing 19th-century Mylne mausoleum. Not far away is an unusual obelisk, a tall memorial erected in 1728 to a local family called Plover.
Several literary men are buried in the churchyard, including the poet William Warner, a contemporary of Shakespeare, and Isaac Reid, who published two editions of Shakespeare's works.
The interior of the church is as interesting as the churchyard. The unusual apse, the domed recess at the east end of the church is one of only three in the county. Much of the church is Norman, but the tower and west door date from the early 15th century.
St John the Baptist churchyard, Great Amwell
Memorial stone, Great Amwell
Below the wooded churchyard is a beautifully kept water garden. It resembles a fine 18th century landscape garden. The garden was created in 1800 by Robert Mylne, a local waterworks engineer and architect. It was built as a memorial to Sir Hugh Myddleton, who, in 1609, dug the New River that runs through the garden.
The New River is a linear reservoir, 40 metres long, designed to take drinking water to London. Mylne also designed the red and yellow brick waterworks buildings on the New River, which house the large water pumping engines.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
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