Besides the laboriousCape Observations, Sir John Herschel was the author of several books, one of which at least,On the Study of Natural Philosophy(1830), possesses an interest which no future advances of the subjects on which he wrote can obliterate. In 1849 came theOutlines of Astronomy, a volume still replete with charm and instruction. His articles, “Meteorology,” “Physical Geography,” and “Telescope,” contributed to the 8th edition of theEncyclopaedia Britannica, were afterwards published separately. When he was at the Cape he was more than once assisted in the attempts there made to diffuse a love of knowledge among men not engaged in literary pursuits; and with the same purpose he, on his return to England, published, inGood Wordsand elsewhere, a series of papers on interesting points of natural philosophy, subsequently collected in a volume calledFamiliar Lectures on Scientific Subjects. Another less widely known volume is hisCollected Addresses, in which he is seen in his happiest and most instructive mood.See also Mrs John Herschel, “Memoir of Caroline Herschel,”Month. Notices Roy. Astr. Society, xxxii. 122 (C. Pritchard);Proceedings Roy. Society, xx. p. xvii. (T. Romney Robinson);Proceedings Roy. Society of Edinburghvii. 543 (P. G. Tait);Natureiv. 69; E. Dunkin,Obituary Notices, p. 47;Report Brit. Association(1871), p. lxxxv. (Lord Kelvin);The Times. (May 13, 1871); R. Grant,History of Phys. Astronomy; A. M. Clerke,Popular Hist. of Astronomy; A. M. Clerke,The Herschels and Modern Astronomy; J. H. Mädler,Geschichte der Himmelskunde, Bd. ii.;Mémoires de la Société Physique de Genève, xxi. 586 (E. Gautier). Reductions, based on standard magnitudes of 919 southern stars, observed by Herschel in sequences of relative brightness, were published by W. Doberck in theAstrophysical Journal, xi. 192, 270, and inHarvard Annals, vol. xli., No. viii.
Besides the laboriousCape Observations, Sir John Herschel was the author of several books, one of which at least,On the Study of Natural Philosophy(1830), possesses an interest which no future advances of the subjects on which he wrote can obliterate. In 1849 came theOutlines of Astronomy, a volume still replete with charm and instruction. His articles, “Meteorology,” “Physical Geography,” and “Telescope,” contributed to the 8th edition of theEncyclopaedia Britannica, were afterwards published separately. When he was at the Cape he was more than once assisted in the attempts there made to diffuse a love of knowledge among men not engaged in literary pursuits; and with the same purpose he, on his return to England, published, inGood Wordsand elsewhere, a series of papers on interesting points of natural philosophy, subsequently collected in a volume calledFamiliar Lectures on Scientific Subjects. Another less widely known volume is hisCollected Addresses, in which he is seen in his happiest and most instructive mood.
See also Mrs John Herschel, “Memoir of Caroline Herschel,”Month. Notices Roy. Astr. Society, xxxii. 122 (C. Pritchard);Proceedings Roy. Society, xx. p. xvii. (T. Romney Robinson);Proceedings Roy. Society of Edinburghvii. 543 (P. G. Tait);Natureiv. 69; E. Dunkin,Obituary Notices, p. 47;Report Brit. Association(1871), p. lxxxv. (Lord Kelvin);The Times. (May 13, 1871); R. Grant,History of Phys. Astronomy; A. M. Clerke,Popular Hist. of Astronomy; A. M. Clerke,The Herschels and Modern Astronomy; J. H. Mädler,Geschichte der Himmelskunde, Bd. ii.;Mémoires de la Société Physique de Genève, xxi. 586 (E. Gautier). Reductions, based on standard magnitudes of 919 southern stars, observed by Herschel in sequences of relative brightness, were published by W. Doberck in theAstrophysical Journal, xi. 192, 270, and inHarvard Annals, vol. xli., No. viii.
(C. P.; A. M. C.)
HERSCHELL, FARRER HERSCHELL,1st Baron(1837-1899), lord chancellor of England, was born on the 2nd of November 1837. His father was the Rev. Ridley Haim Herschell, a native of Strzelno, in Prussian Poland, who, when a young man, exchanged the Jewish faith for Christianity, took a leading part in founding the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, and, after many journeyings, settled down to the charge of a Nonconformist chapel near the Edgware Road, in London, where he ministered to a large congregation. His mother was a daughter of William Mowbray, a merchant of Leith. He was educated at a private school and at University College, London. In 1857 he took his B.A. degree at the University of London. He was reckoned the best speaker in the school debating society, and he displayed there the same command of language and lucidity of thought which were his characteristics during his official life. The reputation which Herschell enjoyed during his school days was maintained after he became a law-student at Lincoln’s Inn. In 1858 he entered the chambers of Thomas Chitty, the famous common law pleader, father of the late Lord Justice Chitty. His fellow pupils, amongst whom were A. L. Smith, afterwards master of the rolls, and Arthur Charles, afterwards judge of the queen’s bench division, gave him the sobriquet of “the chief baron” in recognition of his superiority. He subsequently read with James Hannen, afterwards Lord Hannen. In 1860 he was called to the bar and joined the northern circuit, then in its palmy days of undividedness. For four or five years he did not obtain much work. Fortunately, he was never a poor man, and so was not forced into journalism, or other paths of literature, in order to earn a living. Two of his contemporaries, each of whom achieved great eminence, found themselves in like case. One of these, Charles Russell, became lord chief justice of England; the other, William Court Gully, speaker of the House of Commons. It is said that these three friends, dining together during a Liverpool assize some years after they had been called, agreed that their prospects were anything but cheerful. Certain it is that about this time Herschell meditated quitting England for Shanghai and practising in the consular courts there. Herschell, however, soon made himself useful to Edward James, the then leader of the northern circuit, and to John Richard Quain, the leading stuff-gownsman. For the latter he was content to note briefs and draft opinions, and when, in 1866, Quain donned “silk,” it was on Herschell that a large portion of his mantle descended.
In 1872 Herschell was made a queen’s counsel. He had all the necessary qualifications for a leader—a clear, though not resonant voice; a calm, logical mind; a sound knowledge of legal principles; and (greatest gift of all) an abundance of common sense. He never wearied the judges by arguing at undue length, and he knew how to retire with dignity from a hopeless cause. His only weak point was cross-examination. In handling a hostile witness he had neither the insidious persuasiveness of a Hawkins nor the compelling, dominating power of a Russell. But he made up for all by his speech to the jury, marshalling such facts as told in his client’s favour with the most consummate skill. He very seldom made use of notes, but trusted to his memory, which he had carefully trained. By this means he was able to conceal his art, and to appear less as a paid advocate than as an outsider interested in the case anxious to assist the jury in arriving at the truth. By 1874 Herschell’s business had become so good that he turned his thoughts to parliament. In February of that year there was a general election, with the result that the Conservative party came into power with a majority of fifty. The usual crop of petitions followed. The two Radicals (Thompson and Henderson) who had been returned for Durham city were unseated, and an attack was then made on the seats of two other Radicals (Bell and Palmer) who had been returned for Durham county. For one of these last Herschell was briefed. He made so excellent an impression on the local Radical leaders that they asked him to stand for Durham city; and after a fortnight’s electioneering, he was elected as junior member. Between 1874 and 1880 Herschell was most assiduous in his attendance in the House of Commons. He was not a frequent speaker, but a fewgreat efforts sufficed in his case to gain for him a reputation as a debater. The best examples of his style as a private member will be found inHansardunder the dates 18th February 1876, 23rd May 1878, 6th May 1879. On the last occasion he carried a resolution in favour of abolishing actions for breach of promise of marriage except when actual pecuniary loss had ensued, the damages in such cases to be measured by the amount of such loss. The grace of manner and solid reasoning with which he acquitted himself during these displays obtained for him the notice of Gladstone, who in 1880 appointed Herschell solicitor-general.
Herschell’s public services from 1880 to 1885 were of great value, particularly in dealing with the “cases for opinion” submitted by the Foreign Office and other departments. He was also very helpful in speeding government measures through the House, notably the Irish Land Act 1881, the Corrupt Practices and Bankruptcy Acts 1883, the County Franchise Act 1884 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. This last was a bitter pill for Herschell, since it halved the representation of Durham city, and so gave him statutory notice to quit. Reckoning on the local support of the Cavendish family, he contested the North Lonsdale division of Lancashire; but in spite of the powerful influence of Lord Hartington, he was badly beaten at the poll, though Mr Gladstone again obtained a majority in the country. Herschell now thought he saw the solicitor-generalship slipping away from him, and along with it all prospect of high promotion. Lord Selborne and Sir Henry James, however, successively declined Gladstone’s offer of the Woolsack, and in 1886 Herschell, by a sudden turn of fortune’s wheel, found himself in his forty-ninth year lord chancellor.
Herschell’s chancellorship lasted barely six months, for in August 1886 Gladstone’s Home Rule Bill was rejected in the Commons and his administration fell. In August 1892, when Gladstone returned to power, Herschell again became lord chancellor. In September 1893, when the second Home Rule Bill came on for second reading in the House of Lords, Herschell took advantage of the opportunity to justify the “sudden conversion” to Home Rule of himself and his colleagues in 1885 by comparing it to the duke of Wellington’s conversion to Catholic Emancipation in 1829 and to that of Sir Robert Peel to Free Trade in 1846. In 1895, however, his second chancellorship came to an end with the defeat of the Rosebery ministry.
Whether sitting at the royal courts in the Strand, on the judicial committee of the privy council, or in the House of Lords, Lord Herschell’s judgments were distinguished for their acute and subtle reasoning, for their grasp of legal principles, and, whenever the occasion arose, for their broad treatment of constitutional and social questions. He was not a profound lawyer, but his quickness of apprehension was such that it was an excellent substitute for great learning. In construing a real property will or any other document, his first impulse was to read it by the light of nature, and to decline to be influenced by the construction put by the judges on similar phrases occurring elsewhere. But when he discovered that certain expressions had acquired a technical meaning which could not be disturbed without fluttering the dovecotes of the conveyancers, he would yield to the established rule, even though he did not agree with it. He was perhaps seen at his judicial best inVaglianov.Bank of England(1891) andAllenv.Flood(1898). Latterly he showed a tendency, which seems to grow on some judges, to interrupt counsel overmuch. The case last mentioned furnishes an example of this. The question involved was what constituted a molestation of a man in the pursuit of his lawful calling. At the close of the argument of counsel, whom he had frequently interrupted, one of their lordships, noted for his pretty wit, observed that although there might be a doubt as to what amounted to such molestation in point of law, the House could well understand, after that day’s proceedings, what it was in actual practice. In addition to his political and judicial work, Herschell rendered many public services. In 1888 he presided over an inquiry directed by the House of Commons with regard to the Metropolitan Board of Works. He acted as chairman of two royal commissions, one on Indian currency, the other on vaccination. He took a great interest in the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, not only promoting the acts of 1889 and 1894, but also bestowing a good deal of time in sifting the truth of certain allegations which had been brought against the management of that society. In June 1893 he was appointed chancellor of the university of London in succession to the earl of Derby, and he entered on his new duties with the usual thoroughness. “His views of reform,” according to Victor Dickins, the accomplished registrar of the university, “were always most liberal and most frankly stated, though at first they were not altogether popular with an important section of university opinion. He disarmed opposition by his intellectual power, rather than conciliated it by compromise, and sometimes was perhaps a little masterful, after a fashion of his own, in his treatment of the various burning questions that agitated the university during his tenure of office. His characteristic power of detachment was well illustrated by his treatment of the proposal to remove the university to the site of the Imperial Institute at South Kensington. Although he was at that time chairman of the Institute, the most irreconcilable opponent of the removal never questioned his absolute impartiality.” With the Imperial Institute Herschell had been officially connected from its inception. He was chairman of the provisional committee appointed by the prince of Wales to formulate a scheme for its organization, and he took an active part in the preparation of its charter and constitution in conjunction with Lord Thring, Lord James, Sir Frederick Abel and Mr John Hollams. He was the first chairman of its council, and, except during his tour in India in 1888, when he brought the Institute under the notice of the Indian authorities, he was hardly absent from a single meeting. For his special services in this connexion he was made G.C.B. in 1893, this being the only instance of a lord chancellor being decorated with an order.
In 1897 he was appointed, jointly with Lord Justice Collins, to represent Great Britain on the Venezuela Boundary Commission, which assembled in Paris in the spring of 1899. So complicated a business involved a great deal of preparation and a careful study of maps and historic documents. Not content with this, he accepted in 1898 a seat on the joint high commission appointed to adjust certain boundary and other important questions pending between Great Britain and Canada on the one hand and the United States on the other hand. He started for America in July of that year, and was received most cordially at Washington. His fellow commissioners elected him their president. In February 1899, while the commission was in full swing, he had the misfortune to slip in the street and in falling to fracture a hip bone. His constitution, which at one time was a robust one, had been undermined by constant hard work, and proved unequal to sustaining the shock. On the 1st of March, only a fortnight after the accident, he died at the Shoreham Hotel, Washington, apost-mortemexamination revealing disease of the heart. Mr Hay, secretary of state, at once telegraphed to Mr Choate, the United States ambassador in London, the “deep sorrow” felt by President McKinley; and Sir Wilfred Laurier said the next day, in the parliament chamber at Ottawa, that he regarded Herschell’s death “as a misfortune to Canada and to the British Empire.” A funeral service held in St John’s Episcopal Church, Washington, was attended by the president and vice-president of the United States, by the cabinet ministers, the judges of the Supreme Court, the members of the joint high commission, and a large number of senators and other representative men. The body was brought to London in a British man-of-war, and a second funeral service was held in Westminster Abbey before it was conveyed to its final resting-place at Tincleton, Dorset, in the parish church of which he had been married. Herschell left a widow, granddaughter of Vice-Chancellor Kindersley; a son, Richard Farrer (b. 1878), who succeeded him as second baron; and two daughters.
A “reminiscence” of Herschell by Mr Speaker Gully (Lord Selby) will be found inThe Law Quarterly Reviewfor April 1899.The Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation(of which he had beenpresident from its formation in 1893) contains, in its part for July of the same year, notices of him by Lord James of Hereford, Lord Davey, Mr Victor Williamson (his executor and intimate friend), and also by Mr Justice D. J. Brewer and Senator C. W. Fairbanks (both of the United States).
A “reminiscence” of Herschell by Mr Speaker Gully (Lord Selby) will be found inThe Law Quarterly Reviewfor April 1899.The Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation(of which he had beenpresident from its formation in 1893) contains, in its part for July of the same year, notices of him by Lord James of Hereford, Lord Davey, Mr Victor Williamson (his executor and intimate friend), and also by Mr Justice D. J. Brewer and Senator C. W. Fairbanks (both of the United States).
(M. H. C.)
HERSENT, LOUIS(1777-1860), French painter, was born at Paris on the 10th of March 1777, and becoming a pupil of David, obtained the Prix de Rome in 1797; in the Salon of 1802 appeared his “Metamorphosis of Narcissus,” and he continued to exhibit with rare interruptions up to 1831. His most considerable works under the empire were “Achilles parting from Briseis,” and “Atala dying in the arms of Chactas” (both engraved in Landon’sAnnales du Musée); an “Incident of the life of Fénelon,” painted in 1810, found a place at Malmaison, and “Passage of the Bridge at Landshut,” which belongs to the same date, is now at Versailles. Hersent’s typical works, however, belong to the period of the Restoration; “Louis XVI. relieving the Afflicted” (Versailles) and “Daphnis and Chloë” (engraved by Langier and by Gelée) were both in the Salon of 1817; at that of 1819 the “Abdication of Gustavus Vasa” brought to Hersent a medal of honour, but the picture, purchased by the duke of Orleans, was destroyed at the Palais Royal in 1848, and the engraving by Henriquel-Dupont is now its sole record. “Ruth,” produced in 1822, became the property of Louis XVIII., who from the moment that Hersent rallied to the Restoration jealously patronized him, made him officer of the legion of honour, and pressed his claims at the Institute, where he replaced van Spaendonck. He continued in favour under Charles X., for whom was executed “Monks of Mount St Gotthard,” exhibited in 1824. In 1831 Hersent made his last appearance at the Salon with portraits of Louis Philippe, Marie-Amélie and the duke of Montpensier; that of the king though good, is not equal to the portrait of Spontini (Berlin), which is probably Hersent’schef-d’œuvre. After this date Hersent ceased to exhibit at the yearly salons. Although in 1846 he sent an excellent likeness of Delphine Gay and one or two other works to the rooms of the Société d’Artistes, he could not be tempted from his usual reserve even by the international contest of 1855. He died on the 2nd of October 1860.
HERSFELD,a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, is pleasantly situated at the confluence of the Geis and Haun with the Fulda, on the railway from Frankfort-on-Main to Bebra, 24 m. N.N.E. of Fulda. Pop. (1905) 8688. Some of the old fortifications of the town remain, but the ramparts and ditches have been laid out as promenades. The principal buildings are the Stadt Kirche, a beautiful Gothic building, erected about 1320 and restored in 1899, with a fine tower and a large bell; the old and interesting town hall (Rathaus) and the ruins of the abbey church. This church was erected on the site of the cathedral in the beginning of the 12th century; it was built in the Byzantine style and was burnt down by the French in 1761. Outside the town are the Frauenberg and the Johannesberg, on both of which are monastic ruins. Among the public institutions are a gymnasium and a military school. The town has important manufactures of cloth, leather and machinery; it has also dye-works, worsted mills and soap-boiling works.
Hersfeld owes its existence to the Benedictine abbey (see below). It became a town in the 12th century and in 1370 the burghers, having meanwhile shaken off the authority of the abbots, placed themselves under the protection of the landgraves of Hesse. It was taken and retaken during the Thirty Years’ War and later it suffered from the attacks of the French.
The Benedictine abbey of Hersfeld was founded by Lullus, afterwards archbishop of Mainz, about 769. It was richly endowed by Charlemagne and became an ecclesiastical principality in the 12th century, passing under the protection of the landgraves of Hesse in 1423. It was secularized in 1648, having been previously administered for some years by a member of the ruling family of Hesse. As a secular principality Hersfeld passed to Hesse, and with electoral Hesse was united with Prussia in 1866. In the middle ages the abbey was famous for its library.
See Vigelius,Denkwürdigkeiten von Hersfeld(Hersfeld, 1888); Demme,Nachrichten und Urkunden zur Chronik von Hersfeld(Hersfeld, 1891-1901), and P. Hafner,Die Reichsabtei Hersfeld bis zur Mitte des 13ten Jahrhunderts(Hersfeld, 1889).
See Vigelius,Denkwürdigkeiten von Hersfeld(Hersfeld, 1888); Demme,Nachrichten und Urkunden zur Chronik von Hersfeld(Hersfeld, 1891-1901), and P. Hafner,Die Reichsabtei Hersfeld bis zur Mitte des 13ten Jahrhunderts(Hersfeld, 1889).
HERSTAL,orHeristal, a town of Belgium, less than 2 m. N. of Liége and practically one of its suburbs. The name is supposed to be derived fromHeerstelle,i.e.“Permanent Camp.” The second Pippin was born here, and this mayor of the palace acquired the control of the kingdom of the Franks. His grandson, Pippin the Short, died at Herstal inA.D.768, and it disputes with Aix la Chapelle the honour of being the birthplace of Charlemagne. It is now a very active centre of iron and steel manufactures. The Belgian national small arms factory and cannon foundry are fixed here. Pop. (1904) 20,114.
HERTFORD, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF.The English earldom of Hertford was held by members of the powerful family of Clare from about 1138, when Gilbert de Clare was created earl of Hertford, to 1314 when another earl Gilbert was killed at Bannockburn. In 1537Edward Seymour, viscount Beauchamp, a brother of Henry VIII.’s queen, Jane Seymour, was created earl of Hertford, being advanced ten years later to the dignity of duke of Somerset and becoming protector of England. His sonEdward(c.1540-1621) was styled earl of Hertford from 1547 until the protector’s attainder and death in January 1552, when the title was forfeited; in 1559, however, he was created earl of Hertford. In 1560 he was secretly married to Lady Catherine Grey (c.1538-1568), daughter of Henry Grey, duke of Suffolk, and a descendant of Henry VII. Queen Elizabeth greatly disliked this union, and both husband and wife were imprisoned, while the validity of their marriage was questioned. Catherine died on the 27th of January 1568 and Hertford on the 6th of April 1621. Their son Edward, Lord Beauchamp (1561-1612), who inherited his mother’s title to the English throne, predeceased his father; and the latter was succeeded in the earldom by his grandsonWilliam Seymour(1588-1660), who was created marquess of Hertford in 1640 and was restored to his ancestor’s dukedom of Somerset in 1660. The title of marquess of Hertford became extinct whenJohn, 4th duke of Somerset, died in 1675, and the earldom whenAlgernon, the 7th duke, died in February 1750.
In August 1750Francis Seymour Conway, 2nd Baron Conway (1718-1794), who was a direct descendant of the protector Somerset, was created earl of Hertford; this nobleman was the son of Francis Seymour Conway (1679-1732), who had taken the name of Conway in addition to that of Seymour, and was the brother of Field-marshal Henry Seymour Conway. Hertford was ambassador to France from 1763 to 1765; was lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1765 and 1766; and lord chamberlain of the household from 1766 to 1782. Horace Walpole speaks of his “decorum and piety” and refers to him as a “perfect courtier,” but says that he had “too great propensity to heap emoluments on his children.” In 1793 he became earl of Yarmouth and marquess of Hertford, and he died on the 14th of June 1794. His son,Francis Ingram Seymour Conway(1743-1822), who was known during his father’s lifetime as Lord Beauchamp, took a prominent part in the debates of the House of Commons from 1766 until he succeeded to the marquessate in 1794. He was sent as ambassador to Berlin and Vienna in 1793 and from 1812 to 1821 he was lord chamberlain. His sonFrancis Charles, the 3rd marquess (1777-1842), was an intimate friend of the prince regent, afterwards George IV., and is the original of the “Marquis of Steyne” in Thackeray’sVanity Fairand of “Lord Monmouth” in Disraeli’sConingsby. The 4th marquess was his son,Richard(1800-1870), whose mother was the great heiress, Maria Emily Fagniani, and whose brother was Lord Henry Seymour (1805-1859), the founder of the Jockey Club at Paris. When Richard died unmarried in Paris in August 1870 his title passed to his kinsman,Francis Hugh George Seymour(1812-1884), a descendant of the 1st marquess, whose son,Hugh de Grey(b. 1843) became 6th marquess in 1884. The 4th marquess left his great wealth and his priceless collection of art treasures to Sir Richard Wallace (1818-1890), his reputed half-brother, and Wallace’s widow, who died in 1897, bequeathed the collection to the British nation. It is now in Hertford House, formerly the London residence of the marquesses of Hertford.
HERTFORD,a market-town and municipal borough, and the county town of Hertfordshire, England, in the Hertford parliamentary division of the county, 24 m. N. from London, the terminus of branch lines of the Great Eastern and Great Northern railways. Pop. (1901) 9322. It is pleasantly situated in the valley of the river Lea. The chief buildings are the modern churches of St Andrew and of All Saints, on the sites of old ones, a town hall, corn exchange, public library, school of art and the old castle, which retains the wall and part of a tower dating from the Norman period, and is represented by a picturesque Jacobean building of brick, largely modernized. There are several educational establishments, including the preparatory school for Christ’s Hospital, a picturesque building (in great part, however, rebuilt) at the east end of the town, Hale’s grammar school, the Cowper Testimonial school, and a Green-coat school for boys and girls. Two miles S.E. is Haileybury College, one of the principal public schools of England, founded in 1805 by the East India Company for their civil service students, who were then temporarily housed in Hertford Castle. The school lies high above the Lea valley, towards Hoddesdon, in the midst of a stretch of finely-wooded country. Hertford has a considerable agricultural trade, and there are maltings, breweries, iron foundries, and oriental printing works. The town is governed by a mayor, 5 aldermen and 15 councillors. Area, 1134 acres.
Hertford (Herutford,Heorotford,Hurtford) was the scene of a synod in 673. Its communication with London by way of the Lea and the Thames gave it strategic importance during the Danish occupation of East Anglia. In 1066 and later it was a royal garrison and burgh. It made separate payments for aids to the Norman and Angevin kings; and in 1331 was governed by a bailiff annually elected by the commonalty. A charter incorporated the bailiffs and burgesses in 1555, and was confirmed under Elizabeth and in 1606. A charter of 1680 to the mayor, aldermen and commonalty was effective until the Municipal Corporation Act. Hertford returned two burgesses to the parliament of 1298, and to others until, after 1375/6, such right became abeyant, to be restored by order of parliament in 1623/4. One representative was lost by the Representation Act in 1868, and separate representation by the Redistribution Act in 1885. A grant of fairs in 1226 probably originated or confirmed those held in 1331 on the feasts of the Assumption and of St Simon and St Jude, their vigils and morrows, which fairs were confirmed by Elizabeth and Charles II. Another on the vigil, morrow and feast of the Nativity of the Virgin was granted by Elizabeth: its date was changed to May-day under James I. Modern fairs are on the third Saturday before Easter, the 12th of May, the 5th of July and the 8th of November. Markets were held in 1331 on Wednesday and Saturday; after 1368 on Thursday and Saturday; and they returned to Wednesdays and Saturdays in 1680.
HERTFORDSHIRE[Herts], a county of England, bounded N. by Cambridgeshire, N.W. by Bedfordshire, E. by Essex, S. by Middlesex, and S.W. by Buckinghamshire. The area is 634.6 sq. m., the county being the sixth smallest in England. Its aspect is always pleasant, the surface generally undulating, while in some parts, where these undulations form a quick succession of hills and valleys, the woodland scenery becomes very beautiful, as in the upper Lea valley, in the neighbourhood of Tewin near Hertford, and elsewhere. To the north-west and north considerable elevations are reached, a line of hills, facing north-westward with a sharp descent, crossing this portion of the county, and overlooking the flat lands of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. They continue the line of the Chiltern Hills under the name of the East Anglian Ridge. They exceed 800 ft. near Dunstable, sinking gradually north-eastward. These uplands are generally bare, and in parts remarkably sparsely populated as compared with the home counties at large. In the greater part of the county, however, rich arable lands are intermingled with the parks and woodlands of numerous fine country seats, which impart to the county a peculiar luxuriance. Of the principal rivers, the Lea, rising beyond Luton in Bedfordshire, enters Hertfordshire near East Hyde, flows S.E. to near Hatfield, then E. by N. to Hertford and Ware, whence it bends S. and passing along the eastern boundary of the county falls into the Thames below London. It receives in its course the Maran, or Mimram, the Beane, the Rib and the Stort, all joining on the north side; the Stort for some distance forming the county boundary with Essex. The Colne flows through the south-western part of the county, to fall into the Thames at Staines. It receives the Ver, the Bulborne and the Chess. The Ivel, rising in the N.W. soon passes into Bedfordshire to join the Great Ouse. To the south of Hatfield, near North Mimms, two streams of moderate size are lost in pot-holes, except in the highest floods. The New River, one of the water supplies of London, has its source near Ware, and runs roughly parallel with the Lea. Most of the rivers are full of fish, including trout in the upper parts (of the Lea and Colne especially), which are carefully preserved.
Geology.—The rocks of Hertfordshire belong to the shallow syncline known as the London basin, the beds dipping in a south-easterly direction. The two most important formations are the Chalk, which forms the high ground in the north and west; and the Eocene Reading beds and London Clay which occupy the remaining southern part of the county. On the northern boundary, at the foot of the chalk hills, a small strip of Gault Clay and the Upper Greensand above it falls just within the county. The lowest subdivision of the chalk is the Chalk Marl, which with the Totternhoe Stone above it, lies at the base of the Chalk escarpment, by Ashwell, Pirton and Miswell to Tring. Above these beds, the Lower Chalk, without flints, rises up sharply to form the downs which are the easterly continuation of the Chiltern Hills. Next comes the Chalk Rock, which being a hard bed, lies near the hilltops by Boxmoor, Apsley End and near Baldock. The Upper Chalk slopes southward towards the Eocene boundary previously mentioned. The Reading beds consist of mottled and yellow clays and sands, the latter are frequently hardened into masses made up of pebbles in a siliceous cement, known locally as Hertfordshire puddingstone. The London Clay, a stiff blue clay which weathers brown, rests nearly everywhere upon the Reading beds. Outliers of Eocene rocks rest on the chalk at Micklefield Green, Sarrat, Bedmont, &c. The Chalk is often covered by the Clay-with-flints, a detrital deposit, formed of the remnants of Tertiary rocks and Chalk. Glacial gravels, clays and loams cover a great deal of the whole area, and the Upper Chalk itself has been disturbed at Reed and Barley by the same agency. Chalk was formerly used for building purposes; it is now burned for lime. Reading beds and London clay are dug for brick-making at Watford, Hertford and Hatfield. Phosphatic nodules have been excavated from the base of the Chalk Marl at several places along the outcrop; the Marl is worked for cement.
Geology.—The rocks of Hertfordshire belong to the shallow syncline known as the London basin, the beds dipping in a south-easterly direction. The two most important formations are the Chalk, which forms the high ground in the north and west; and the Eocene Reading beds and London Clay which occupy the remaining southern part of the county. On the northern boundary, at the foot of the chalk hills, a small strip of Gault Clay and the Upper Greensand above it falls just within the county. The lowest subdivision of the chalk is the Chalk Marl, which with the Totternhoe Stone above it, lies at the base of the Chalk escarpment, by Ashwell, Pirton and Miswell to Tring. Above these beds, the Lower Chalk, without flints, rises up sharply to form the downs which are the easterly continuation of the Chiltern Hills. Next comes the Chalk Rock, which being a hard bed, lies near the hilltops by Boxmoor, Apsley End and near Baldock. The Upper Chalk slopes southward towards the Eocene boundary previously mentioned. The Reading beds consist of mottled and yellow clays and sands, the latter are frequently hardened into masses made up of pebbles in a siliceous cement, known locally as Hertfordshire puddingstone. The London Clay, a stiff blue clay which weathers brown, rests nearly everywhere upon the Reading beds. Outliers of Eocene rocks rest on the chalk at Micklefield Green, Sarrat, Bedmont, &c. The Chalk is often covered by the Clay-with-flints, a detrital deposit, formed of the remnants of Tertiary rocks and Chalk. Glacial gravels, clays and loams cover a great deal of the whole area, and the Upper Chalk itself has been disturbed at Reed and Barley by the same agency. Chalk was formerly used for building purposes; it is now burned for lime. Reading beds and London clay are dug for brick-making at Watford, Hertford and Hatfield. Phosphatic nodules have been excavated from the base of the Chalk Marl at several places along the outcrop; the Marl is worked for cement.
Climate and Agriculture.—The climate is mild, dry and generally healthy. On this account London physicians were formerly accustomed to recommend the county to persons in weak health, and it was so much coveted by the noble and wealthy as a place of residence that it was a common saying that “he who buys a home in Hertfordshire pays two years’ purchase for the air.” Of the total area about four-fifths is under cultivation, and of this more than one-third is in permanent pasture. The principal grain crop is wheat, occupying about two-fifths of the area under corn, but gradually decreasing. The varieties mostly grown are white, and they are unsurpassed by those of any English county. Wheathampstead on the upper Lea receives its name from the fine quality of the wheat grown in that district. Barley is largely used in the county for malting purposes. Vetches are grown for the London stables, and the greater part of the permanent grass is used for hay. There are some very rich pastures on the banks of the Stort, and also near Rickmansworth on the Colne. Some two-thirds of the area occupied by green crops is under turnips, swedes and mangolds, many cows being kept for the supply of milk and butter to London. The quantity of stock is generally small, but increasing except in the case of sheep, of which the numbers have greatly decreased. Of cows the most common breed is the Suffolk variety; of sheep, Southdowns, Wiltshires and a cross between Cotteswolds and Leicesters. In the south-west large quantities of cherries, apples and strawberries are grown for the London market; and on the best soils near London vegetables are forced by the aid of manure, and more than one crop is sometimes obtained in a year. A considerable industry lies in the growth of watercresses in the pure water of the upper parts of the rivers andthe smaller streams. There are a number of rose-gardens and nurseries.
Other Industries.—The manufacturing industries are slight; though the great brewing establishments at Watford may be mentioned, and straw-plaiting, paper-making, coach-building, tanning and brick-making are carried on in various towns.
Communications.—Owing to its proximity to the metropolis, Hertfordshire is particularly well served by railways. On the eastern border there is the Great Eastern (Cambridge line) with branches to Hertford and to Buntingford. The main line of the Great Northern passes through the centre by Hatfield, Stevenage and Hitchin, with branches from Hatfield to Hertford, to St Albans and to Luton and Dunstable, and from Hitchin to Baldock, Royston and so to Cambridge. The Midland passes through St Albans and Harpenden, with a branch to Hemel Hempstead. The London & North-Western traverses the south-west by Watford, Berkhampstead and Tring, with branches to Rickmansworth and to St Albans. The Metropolitan & Great Central joint line serves Rickmansworth, and suburban lines of the Great Northern the Barnet district. The existence of these communications has combined with the natural attractions of the county to cause many villages to become large residential centres. Water communications are supplied from Hertford, Ware and Bishop Stortford, southward to the Thames by the Lea and Stort Navigation; and the Grand Junction canal from London to the north-west traverses the south-western corner of the county by Rickmansworth and Berkhampstead. Three great highways from London to the north traverse the county. The Holyhead Road passes Chipping Barnet, South Mimms and St Albans, quitting the county near Dunstable. The Great North Road branches from the Holyhead Road at Barnet, and passes Potter’s Bar, Hatfield, Stevenage and Baldock, with a branch from Welwyn to Hitchin and beyond. Another road follows the Lea valley to Ware, whence it runs to Royston, being here coincident with the Roman Ermine Street and known as the Old North Road.
Population and Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 406,157 acres with a population in 1891 of 220,162, and in 1901 of 250,152. The area of the administrative county is 404,518 acres. The county comprises eight hundreds. The municipal boroughs are: Hemel Hempstead (11,264), Hertford (9322), St Albans, a city (16,019). The other urban districts are: Baldock (2057), Barnet (7876), Berkhampstead (Great Berkhampstead, 5140), Bishop Stortford (7143), Bushey (4564), Cheshunt (12,292), East Barnet Valley (10,094), Harpenden (4725), Hitchin (10,072), Hoddesdon (4711), Rickmansworth (5627), Royston (3517), Sawbridgeworth (2085), Stevenage (3957), Tring (4349), Ware (5573) and Watford (29,327). The county is in the home circuit, and assizes are held at Hertford. It has two courts of quarter-sessions, and is divided into 15 petty-sessional divisions. The boroughs of Hertford and St Albans have separate commissions of the peace. The total number of civil parishes is 158. All the civil parishes within 12 m. of, or in which no portion is more than 15 m. from, Charing Cross, London, are included in the metropolitan police district. The county contains 170 ecclesiastical parishes or districts, wholly or in part; it is nearly all in the diocese of St Albans, but small parts are in the dioceses of Ely, Oxford and London. It is divided into four parliamentary divisions—Northern or Hitchin, Eastern or Hertford, Mid or St Albans, Western or Watford, each returning one member. There is no parliamentary borough within the county.
History.—Relics of Saxon occupation have been found in Hertfordshire for the most part near St Albans and Hitchin. The diocesan limits show that part of the shire was included in the West Saxon kingdom. The East Saxons, as early as the 6th century, were settled about Hertford, which in 673 was sufficiently important to be the meeting-place of a synod convened by Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, while in 675 the Witenagemot assembled at a place which has been identified with Hatfield. In the 9th century the district was frequently visited by the Danes; and after the peace of Wedmore the country east of the Lea was included in the Danelaw; in 911 Edward the Elder erected forts on both sides of the river at Hertford.
After the battle of Hastings William advanced on Hertfordshire and ravaged as far as Berkhampstead, where the Conquest received its formal ratification. In the sweeping confiscation of estates which followed, the church was generously endowed, the abbey of St Albans alone holding 172 hides, while Count Eustace of Boulogne, the chief lay tenant, held a vast fief in the north-east of the county. Large estates were held by Geoffrey de Mandeville, and the barony of Peter de Valognes, sheriff of the county in 1086, though extending over six counties in the east of England, was returned in 1166 as a Hertfordshire barony. Berkhampstead was the head of an honour carved from the fief of Robert of Mortain. The Hertfordshire estates, however, for the most part changed hands very frequently and the county is noticeably lacking in historic families. Edmund Langley, fifth son of Edward III., was born at King’s Langley in this county.
During the war between John and his barons, William, earl of Salisbury and Falkes de Breauté had the king’s orders to ravage Hertfordshire, and in 1216 Hertford Castle was captured and Berkhampstead Castle besieged by Louis of France, who had come over by invitation of the barons. At the time of the rising of 1381 the abbot’s tenants broke into the abbey of St Albans and forced the abbot to grant them a charter. During the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI. was defeated at St Albans in 1455; at the second battle of St Albans the earl of Warwick was defeated by Queen Margaret; and in 1471 Edward IV. again defeated the earl at Barnet. On the outbreak of the Civil War of the 17th century, Hertfordshire joined with Bedfordshire and Essex in petitioning for peace, and St Albans again played an important part in the struggle, being at different times the headquarters of Essex and Fairfax.
As a shire Hertfordshire is of purely military origin, being the district assigned to the fortress which Edward the Elder erected at Hertford. It is first mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle in 1011. At the time of the Domesday Survey the boundaries were approximately those of the present day, but part of Meppershall in Bedfordshire formed a detached portion of the shire and is still assessed for land and income tax in Hertfordshire. Of the nine Domesday hundreds, those of Danais and Tring were consolidated about 1200 under the name of Dacorum; the modern hundred of Cashio, from being held by the abbots of St Albans, was known as Albaneston, while the remaining six hundreds correspond approximately both in name and extent with those of the present day.
Hertfordshire was originally divided between the dioceses of London and Lincoln. In 1291 that part included in the Lincoln diocese formed part of the archdeaconry of Huntingdom and comprised the deaneries of Berkhampstead, Hitchin, Hertford and Baldock, and the archdeaconry and deanery of St Albans; while that part within the London diocese formed the deanery of Braughing within the archdeaconry of Middlesex. In 1535 the jurisdiction of St Albans had been transferred to the London diocese, the division being otherwise unchanged. In 1846 the whole county was placed within the diocese of Rochester and archdeaconry of St Albans, and in the next year the deaneries of Welwyn, Bennington, Buntingford, Bishop Stortford and Ware were created, and that of Braughing abolished. In 1864 the archdeaconries of Rochester and St Albans were united under the name of the archdeaconry of Rochester and St Albans. In 1878 the county was placed in the newly created diocese of St Albans, and formed the archdeaconry of St Albans, the deaneries being unchanged.
Hertfordshire was closely associated with Essex from the time of its first settlement, and the counties paid a joint fee-farm and were united under one sheriff until 1565, the shire-court being held at Hertford. The hundred of St Albans was at an early date constituted a separate liberty, with independent courts and coroners under the control of the abbot; it preserved a separate commission of the peace until 1874, when by act of parliament the county was arranged in two divisions, the eastern divisionbeing named Hertford, and the western the liberty of St Albans. These divisions have since been abolished.
Hertfordshire has always been an agricultural county, with few manufactures, and at the time of the Domesday Survey its wealth was derived almost entirely from its rural manors, with their water meadows, woodlands, fisheries paying rent in eels, and water-mills, the shire on its eastern side being noticeably free from waste land. In Norman times the woollen trade was considerable, and the great corn market at Royston has been famous since the reign of Elizabeth. At the time of the Civil War the malting industry was largely carried on, and saltpetre was produced in the county. In the 17th century Hertfordshire was famous for its horses, and the 18th century saw the introduction of several minor industries, such as straw-plaiting, paper-making and silk weaving.
In 1290 Hertfordshire returned two members to parliament, and in 1298 the borough of Hertford was represented. St Albans, Bishop Stortford and Berkhampstead acquired representation in the 14th century, but from 1375 to 1553 no returns were made for the boroughs. St Albans regained representation in 1553 and Hertford in 1623. Under the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned three members. St Albans was disfranchised on account of bribery in 1852. Hertford lost one member in 1868, and was disfranchised by the act of 1885.
Antiquities.—Among the objects of antiquarian interest may be mentioned the cave of Royston, doubtless once used as a hermitage; Waltham Cross, erected to mark the spot where rested the body of Eleanor, queen of Edward I., on its way to Westminster for interment; and the Great Bed of Ware referred to in Shakespeare’sTwelfth Nightand preserved at Rye House. The principal monastic buildings are the noble pile of St Albans abbey; the remains of Sopwell Benedictine nunnery near St Albans, founded in 1140; the remains of the priory of Ware, dedicated to St Francis, and originally a cell to the monastery of St Ebrulf at Utica in Normandy; and the remains of the priory at Hitchin built by Edward II. for the Carmelites. Among the more interesting churches may be mentioned those of Abbots Langley and Hemel Hempstead, both of Late Norman architecture; Baldock, a handsome mixed Gothic building supposed to have been erected by the Knights Templars in the reign of Stephen; Royston, formerly connected with the priory of canons regular; Hitchin of the 15th century; Hatfield, dating from the 13th century but in the main later; Berkhampstead, chiefly in the Perpendicular style, with a tower of the 16th century. Sandridge church shows good Norman work with the use of Roman bricks; Wheathampstead church, mainly very fine Decorated, has pre-Norman remains. The remains of secular buildings of importance are those of Berkhampstead castle, Hertford castle, Hatfield palace of the bishops of Ely, the slight traces at Bishop Stortford, and the earthworks at Anstey. Among the numerous mansions of interest, Rye House, erected in the reign of Henry VI., was tenanted by Rumbold, one of the principal agents in the plot to assassinate Charles II. Moor Park, Rickmansworth, once the property of St Albans abbey, was granted by Henry VII. to John de Vere, earl of Oxford, and was afterwards the property of the duke of Monmouth, who built the present mansion, which, however, was subsequently cased with Portland stone and received various other additions. Knebworth, the seat of the Lyttons, was originally a Norman fortress, rebuilt in the time of Elizabeth in the Tudor style and restored in the 19th century. Hatfield House is the seat of the marquis of Salisbury; but its earlier history is of great interest, as is that of Theobalds near Cheshunt. Panshanger House, until recently the principal seat of the Cowpers, is a splendid mansion in Gothic style erected at the beginning of the 19th century. The manor of Cashiobury House, the seat of the earls of Essex, was formerly held by the abbot of St Albans, but the mansion was rebuilt in the beginning of the 19th century from designs by Wyatt. Gorhambury House, near St Albans, the seat of the earl of Verulam, formerly the seat of the Bacons, and the residence of the great chancellor, was rebuilt at the close of the 18th century. At Kings Langley and Hunsdon were also former royal residences.
See Sir H. Chauncy,Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire(London, 1700, 2nd ed., Bishop Stortford, 1826); N. Salmon,History of Hertfordshire(London, 1728); R. Clutterbuck,History and Antiquities of the County of Hertford(London, 1815-1827); W. Berry,Pedigrees of the Hertfordshire Families(London, 1844); J. E. Cussans,History of Hertfordshire(London, 1870-1881);Victoria County History, Hertfordshire(London, 1902, &c.); see also “Visitation of Hertfordshire, 1572-1634,” inHarleian Society’s Publ.vol. xvii., and various papers inMiddlesex and Hertfordshire Notes and Queries(1895-1898), which in January 1899 was incorporated in theHome CountiesMagazine.
See Sir H. Chauncy,Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire(London, 1700, 2nd ed., Bishop Stortford, 1826); N. Salmon,History of Hertfordshire(London, 1728); R. Clutterbuck,History and Antiquities of the County of Hertford(London, 1815-1827); W. Berry,Pedigrees of the Hertfordshire Families(London, 1844); J. E. Cussans,History of Hertfordshire(London, 1870-1881);Victoria County History, Hertfordshire(London, 1902, &c.); see also “Visitation of Hertfordshire, 1572-1634,” inHarleian Society’s Publ.vol. xvii., and various papers inMiddlesex and Hertfordshire Notes and Queries(1895-1898), which in January 1899 was incorporated in theHome CountiesMagazine.
HERTHA,orNerthus, in Teutonic mythology, the goddess of fertility, “Mother Earth.” Tacitus states that many Teutonic tribes worshipped her with orgies and mysterious rites celebrated at night. The chief seat of her cult was an island which has not been identified. A single priest performed the service. Her veiled statue was moved from place to place by sacred cows on which none but the priest might lay hands. At the conclusion of the rites the image, its vestments and its vehicle were bathed in a lake.
HERTZ, HEINRICH RUDOLF(1857-1894), German physicist, was born at Hamburg on the 22nd of February 1857. On leaving school he determined to adopt the profession of engineering, and in the pursuance of this decision went to study in Munich in 1877. But soon coming to the conclusion that engineering was not his vocation he abandoned it in favour of physical science, and in October 1878 began to attend the lectures of G. R. Kirchhoff and H. von Helmholtz at Berlin. In preparation for these he spent the winter of 1877-1878 in reading up original treatises like those of Laplace and Lagrange on mathematics and mechanics, and in attending courses on practical physics under P. G. von Jolly and J. F. W. von Bezold; the consequence was that within a few days of his arrival in Berlin in October 1878 he was able to plunge into original research on a problem of electric inertia. For the best solution a prize was offered by the philosophical faculty of the University, and this he succeeded in winning with the paper which was published in 1880 on the “Kinetic Energy of Electricity in Motion.” His next investigation, on “Induction in Rotating Spheres,” he offered in 1880 as his dissertation for his doctor’s degree, which he obtained with the rare distinction ofsumma cum laude. Later in the same year he became assistant to Helmholtz in the physical laboratory of the Berlin Institute. During the three years he held this position he carried out researches on the contact of elastic solids, hardness, evaporation and the electric discharge in gases, the last earning him the special commendation of Helmholtz. In 1883 he went to Kiel, becomingPrivatdozent, and there he began the studies in Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory which a few years later resulted in the discoveries that rendered his name famous. These were actually made between 1885 and 1889, when he was professor of physics in the Carlsruhe Polytechnic. He himself recorded that their origin is to be sought in a prize problem proposed by the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1879, having reference to the experimental establishment of some relation between electromagnetic forces and the dielectric polarization of insulators. Imagining that this would interest Hertz and be successfully attacked by him, Helmholtz specially drew his attention to it, and promised him the assistance of the Institute if he decided to work on the subject; but Hertz did not take it up seriously at that time, because he could not think of any procedure likely to prove effective. It was of course well known, as a necessity of Maxwell’s mathematical theory, that the polarization and depolarization of an insulator must give rise to the same electromagnetic effects in the neighbourhood as a voltaic current in a conductor. The experimental proof, however, was still lacking, and though several experimenters had come very near its discovery, Hertz was the first who actually succeeded in supplying it, in 1887. Continuing his inquiries for the next year or two, he was able to discover the progressive propagation of electromagnetic action through space, to measure the length and velocity of electromagnetic waves, and to show that in the transverse nature of their vibration and their susceptibility to reflection, refraction and polarization they are in complete correspondence with the waves of light and heat. The result, was in Helmholtz’s words, to establish beyond doubt thatordinary light consists of electrical vibrations in an all-pervading ether which possesses the properties of an insulator and of a magnetic medium. Hertz himself gave an admirable account of the significance of his discoveries in a lecture on the relations between light and electricity, delivered before the German Society for the Advancement of Natural Science and Medicine at Heidelberg in September 1889. Since the time of these early experiments, various other modes of detecting the existence of electric waves have been found out in addition to the spark-gap which he first employed, and the results of his observations, the earliest interest of which was simply that they afforded a confirmation of an abstruse mathematical theory, have been applied to the practical purposes of signalling over considerable distances (seeTelegraphy,Wireless). In 1889 Hertz was appointed to succeed R. J. E. Clausius as ordinary professor of physics in the university of Bonn. There he continued his researches on the discharge of electricity in rarefied gases, only just missing the discovery of the X-rays described by W. C. Röntgen a few years later, and produced his treatise on thePrinciples of Mechanics. This was his last work, for after a long illness he died at Bonn on the 1st of January 1894. By his premature death science lost one of her most promising disciples. Helmholtz thought him the one of all his pupils who had penetrated farthest into his own circle of scientific thought, and looked to him with the greatest confidence for the further extension and development of his work.