Bishop of London. It is famous for its Grammar School, at which the late
Cecil Rhodes, a native of the town, was educated. The site of Waytemore
Castle, built by William I., is on a mound near the road to Hockeril,
where a low, wide flint wall is partly surrounded by a moat. The church
of St. Michael on Windhill is Perp.; it was restored in 1859. There was
a former church on the same site; the present structure dates from say
1420-40. The nave has six bays; the tower is pinnacled and has a ring of
ten fine bells. Chauncy's book has an interesting paragraph about this
church. "Three Gylds and a Chantry were founded in this church; the Gyld
of St. Mary; the Gyld of St. Michael; and the Gyld of St. John Baptist;
to which, An. 1476, Elizabeth Spycere gave Legacies, _viz._, to the two
former 13s. 4d. a piece, to the last 40s. These Saints had their altars,
and St. Michael his Tabernacle, on which much Cost had been bestowed;
but the Chantry was founded in the time of Richard III. and the
Settlement thereof cost much Money." Chancel and nave are separated by a
screen of carved oak; the font (Norman) was discovered during the
restoration of the church; there is a piscina in the S. aisle. The
clerestory was added and the chancel restored in 1884; on the chancel
floor is a brass to Lady Margaret Denny (d. 1648), "a maid of honour in
ordinary for five years to Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory". There is
also a memorial to Sir George Duckett, Bart. (d. 1822), who increased
the facilities for the navigation of the Stort, which is now navigable
by barges to the town. A cattle sale is held every Thursday, which is
market-day. The trade in malt is still very large. We read that in old
times a cross was erected on each of the four roads leading from the
town. The main thoroughfares are still in the form of a cross; going
down Windhill the visitor will find a bridge over the Stort before him,
and a main street on either side. The town can boast several of the
finest old inns in Herts.