Trip Ideas - Heritage
Roman Trail
The highlight must be St Albans, Britain's third largest Roman City where you will discover how the Romans lived in Britain. Its Roman Heritage is preserved through the Verulamium Museum, with its recreated Roman rooms, original fine mosaics and wall plasters. Verulamium Park houses the hypocaust, the bath suite of a secondary century villa and Britain's best preserved Roman theatre is also in St Albans. Also at nearby Welwyn there is a fine example of a third century Roman bathing suite, the one surviving feature of a Roman Villa. Close to Welwyn is Letchworth where you can find Letchworth Museum which houses displays of Roman archaeology.
Also See: Roman Tour
Tudor Trail
At St Albans is Sopwell Nunnery, this romantic ruin is all that remains of the tudor mansion built around 1560 by Sir Richard Lee, a soldier and royal engineer, granted the land by henry VIII in 1540. Close by is Kingsbury Mill an Elizabethan working watermill which houses artefacts and farm implements and Waffle House restaurant.
Follow in the footsteps of Elizabeth I at Hatfield House, built between 1607 and 1611 by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of and now home to the 7th Marques of Salisbury. Hatfield was once the residence of Henry VIII's children Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. Hatfield is most associated with Elizabeth who spent much of her childhood happily there in company with her young brother Edward. Elizabeth was reading in the park under an old oak tree, when the news of her accession was brought to her.
Close by is Knebworth House, home of the Lytton family since 1490. The Lyttons have lived here for 500 years. Sir Robert Lytton fought with Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Also See: Tudor Tour
Pilgrim Trail
Discover that few parts of Britain have such an impressive spiritual heritage as Hertfordshire. Visit the city named for the first Christian martyr, St Alban, with its majestic Cathedral and Abbey Church.
The strong Quaker connections in Hitchin, Letchworth, Rickmansworth where William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania in the USA was born and Hertford, home to the oldest purpose built quaker meeting place in the world.
Also See: Pilgrim Tour
