The following text comes from Young Crawley's Guide to Hertfordshire which describes the town, church, and Tring Park as it was in 1880. There book also includes a long account of the murder of "the alleged witch" Ruth Osboborne by drowning in 1751.

About one and a-half miles distance we reach TRING, a Town of great antiquity, which is said to be of Roman origin. The old Roman Road, called the Ikenield Way, passes near it. The name is presumed to have been derived from its peculiar form, which is somewhat triangular; there are two principal streets crossing each other, and containing some good modern houses. It is near the outside of the County, thirty miles from Hertford, and has a good Station on the North-Western Railway, which, however, is about two miles from the Town. In the year 1148, Tring was given by King Stephen to the Abbey of Feversham j after the Dissolution, it came into the hands of that lucky possessor of Church lands, Sir Richard Lee, who exchanged it with Edward VI., for lands near his other possessions at St. Alban's. Queen Mary gave it to Henry Peckham, Esq., who was a Catholic, and helped her cause; and after passing through various other hands, it was purchased by Sir William Gore, Lord Mayor of London. It then came to Sir Drummond Smith; and Tring Park is now in the possession of Nathan M. Rothschild, Esq., son of Baron Rothschild ..

The Church at Tring is a large and handsome structure,  ... see Tring Church

A large Silk Mill near the Town employs about 300 persons, and there is a considerable amount of straw plait manufactured here. The Grand Junction Canal runs near, and there are several large reservoirs connected with it in the vicinity. The Town is well supplied with water; and the situation is very salubrious, which may be partly accounted for by the fact that the Railway Station is on the highest elevation on the North Western Railway, being 420 feet above the level of the sea, and 300 above the Camden Town terminus.

The Town is very neat and clean, as well as healthy. The old Market House, in the principal street, is a mean building, supported upon wooden posts; the market, which was granted by Charles II., is held weekly on Friday, for the sale of corn, straw plait, etc. There are several public Charities in Tring, which together produce as much as £152 per annum. A Coal Fund assists the poor in the winter, and there are several other Charitable Societies of various kinds;. also a good Mechanics' Institute and Reading Room, and excellent National Schools. The Town has a plentiful supply of Gas, from a registered Joint Stock Company. A Local Board was established for the district in 1859. The population of the whole Parish by the census of 1871, was 5,076, including Long Marston and Wilstone; of the Town, only 3,280; number of acres in the Parish, 7390. On Northcote Hill, when digging the Grand Junction Canal, a curious Roman helmet was discovered.

Closely contiguous to the Town is TRING PARK,  ... see Tring Mansion

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