Towns & Villages in Herts

Rickmansworth

Adjacent Parishes: Chalfont St Peter (Bucks), Chenies (Bucks), Denham (Bucks), Harefield (Middlesex), Iver (Bucks), Ruislip (Middlesex), Sarratt, Watford

 It was in the Watford Union

See also Chorleywood, Croxley Green & Mill End

Oilette series postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons
Rickmansworth is pleasantly situated in the south-east corner of Herts, in the middle of charming country.  It is a popular resort for angling enthusiasts, the rivers Colne and Chess offering good trout, pike, perch and other fishing.

The following account come from The Beauties of England and Wales; or Original Deliniations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, of each county, embellished with engravings, Volume IX, by John Britton, London 1807

Rickmansworth or Rickmersworth, as it is sometimes called, and with great propriety, is a small market town, occupying a low moorish situation near the confluence of the rivers Gade and Colne, and a small rivulet, which flows from Chesham and Flaunden, in Buckinghamshire. The manor was an ancient demesne of the Saxon Kings, and was given by King Offa, to the Abbey at St. Alban's, to which it was confirmed by succeeding Kings, and had a charter of a weekly market, and two annual fairs, granted by Henry the Third. After the Dissolution, Edward the Sixth gave the manor to Ridley, Bishop of London: but Queen Mary bestowed it on the fell persecutor Bishop Bonner. In Elizabeth's time it reverted to the crown; and was finally sold by Charles the First, and the Six Clerks in Chancery, to whom he had conveyed it as a security for borrowed money, to Sir Thomas Fotherley, whose son, John, was Sherriff of Herts in the fourth of Charles the Second. The family became extinct by the dreadful event of its possessor, son of the last-mentioned gentleman, being swallowed up, with his only daughter, in the great earthquake at Jamaica, in 1694. He bequeathed the reversion of the manor to his nephew, Temple Whitfield, Esq., whose descendant, Herny Fotherly Whitfield, Esq. is now owner; and whose Mansion, called the Bury, an irregular brick edifice, nearly adjoins the Church-yard on the west side.

St Mary the Virgin, from church guide circa 1950   <<< Postcard in A G C Series circa 1904

The Church is a spacious building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and consisting of a nave, aisles, and chancel, with a handsome embattled tower of hewn flints at the west end: the upper part of the nave is also embattled; and the butresses are very strong. On each side the nave are five plain pointed arches, rising from round columns, with square windows above, each divided into two trefoil-headed lights. Beyond these, extending across the space that appears to have originally been the chancel, is a large pointed arch; and at the sides, eastwards, two other arches, springing from octagonal columns, and reaching to the entrance of the present chancel. The edifice was repaired in the year 1677, and again in the years 1802, and 1803: the large gallery which is at the west end, was probably erected about the former period.

The situation of Rickmersworth in the vicinity of several streams, renders it very convenient in trades that require the aid of water; and several mills, for various purposes, have been erected in its neighbourhood. At the entrance of the town from the south, is a large cotton and flour-mill; a flock mill, and a silk mill, have recently been built at a little distance to the west; and towards the north, on the rivulet that flows from Chesham, are several paper-mills, &c. The manufacture of straw-palt furnishes additional employment, particularly to girls and women. The Market-House is a mean wooden fabric, supported on pillars, and open beneath. The Market was formerly celebrated for its corn trade, but is now little frequented, though toll free. The population of Rickmersworth, as ascertained under the Act of 1800, amounted to 2975, the number of houses to 503.

[The account also contains a description of some memorials in the Church and the nearby manor of Moor - later Moor Park, in Middlesex.]

John Britton, The Beauties of England and Wales, London 1807

The White Bear, Rickmansworth, circa 1900
[Watford at the turn of the century]

Rickmansworth, alias Rickmersworth, is a market town on the River Colne, Grand Junction canal, and Aylesbury Road, 4 miles south-west from Watford station, 18 miles from London by rod, and 20 by railway. It is in Cashio Hundred and Watford Union, with 9,740 acres, and a population of above 5,000. The assessment to the Income Tax was, in 1842, £18,962. Here are cotton, flour, paper and silk mills, and an extensive brewery. The market day is Saturday, but in consequence of its near connection with other market towns, it has for some time been discontinued, and fairs are held on July 20 and Nov 24 for cattle; and a statute fair on the Saturday before the third Monday in September. The church, lately rebuilt, is dedicated to St Mary, and is large, with a nave, two aisles, chancel and handsome embattled tower, which is ancient; a fine painted window, 300 years old - it was taken from the church of St John at Rouen, and sold in the revolution, and purchased by the present vicar of Rickmansworth for 100 guineas, and monument of the Monmouth family. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of St Alban's and diocese of Rochester, valued at £310 per annum, and in the gift of the Bishop of London. There are Dissenting Meeting houses, National and British and foreign schools, and ten almshouses. Moor Park, 2 miles south, the seat of Lord Robert Grosvenor, so much admired for the variety and beauty of its scenery, is a magnificent mansion of Portland stone, which was the residence of Cardinal Wolsey and the Duke of Monmouth. At Warren Hill is a remarkable echo.

Batchworth, Mill End, Chorleywood and Croxley Green are hamlets belonging to this parish. Batchwood is a hamlet with 605 persons. At Chorleywood and West Hyde there are district churches, At Mill End is a Baptist chapel.

Post Office Directory for Hertfordshire, 1851

Detail from Charles Smith's map of Hertfordshire (1808 edition)

The Manchester Express on the Great Central Railway (out of Marylebone) passing Rickmansworth
Alpha Postcard No 1402, The Alphalsa Publishing Co Ltd, 2 & 4 Scrutton St, London, E C 2

See Rickmansworth Publicans in 1850

The picture from Frith's Hertfordshire of "The Old Manor House, 1897" that was used here as an illustration has been removed as it was actually Chenies Manor, Buckinghamshire.

Parsonage Farm, Rickmansworth Published by E S Brown, Rickmansworth circa 1905 (back identical to Shepherds Farm card) Kelly's 1908 shows Philip Thornton lived at the farm E S Brown was a stationer & fancy repository High Street, Rickmansworth

Batchworth - with the Mills on the left. Postcard showing the demolition of Batchworth Mills in 1910 -->

Batchworth Heath
showing the Green Man PH publican J Roownhill (1912 directory)
Published by E. S. Brown 125 High Street, Ricknmansworth - Frith (no 49251 photographed 1903) 

Book: Around Rickmansworth - A collection of photographs

Book: Rickmansworth - A Pictorial History

Book: Rickmansworth - A Glimpse of the Past

Book: Rickmansworth & Chorleywood in Old Postcards

Book: Rickmansworth, Chorleywood & Croxley Green - A collection of photographs

Book: Watford and its surroundings. 1906 Homeland Guide.

Book: The Chartist Land Company - The foundation of O'Connorville at Herongate

Book: Walkers' of Ricky (building canal boats at Rickmansworth)

Book: The History of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls

Booklet: Explore the Canal: Rickmansworth to Watford

Museum: Three Rivers Museum of Local History - Web Site - hertsmuseums.org.uk/info/threerivers

Web Site: ucey.net/webpage6 contains a short history of Rickmansworth and some pictures.

	Rickmansworth 1st Troop Boy Scouts Postcard circa 1910 Dear Percy. I thought you would be interested to see this photo. Frank is next to Mr Galley. I don't know if you know and of the other boys. Frank is next in command to Mr Galley, who is scout master. For more information on the group and its history visit www.rickyscouts.co.uk

For information about O'Connorville, at Herongate, see The Chartist Land Company.

See also Moor Park and the Grand Junction (Union) Canal (near Rickmansworth)

Quick links to extra postcard images. click on thumbnail picture
Church Street, Rickmansworth	High Street, Rickmansworth	Bury Lane Rickmansworth

If you know of other books, websites, etc, relating to this place, please tell me.

Page updated September 2007