Hertfordshire Genealogy: Places: Thundridge, Herts

The Church of Thundridge occupies a most commanding position on the opposite side of the road, near Wadesmill; it was erected at the sole charge of Mr. Hanbury, in the year 1858, at a cost of Ł9,000, and is dedicated to St. Mary and All Saints. The old Village Church, which it superseded, is in a secluded situation, about half-a-mile distant,and was most inconveniently placed for the wants of the parishioners. The old burial ground still remains, and in it is a curious epitaph on Roger Gardiner and his wife, who died 1658, ret. 21 :-

There are several old tombs, and the mausoleum of a family formerly residents. The tower of the old Church forms a pleasing object in the valley near the river Rib.

The first Toll-gates or Turnpike-gates in England, are supposed to have been established here in 1663. (15th Charles II.) The Act was entitled, "An Act for repairing the Highways in the Counties of Hertford, Cambridge, and Huntingdon." They were ordered to be erected at Wadesmill, near Ware, in Hertfordshire; at Caxton, in Cambridgeshire; and Stilton, in Huntingdonshire. The preamble stated, amongst other things, that "by reason of the great trade of barley and malt that came to Ware, and is to be conveyed by water to the City of London," the road is "very ruinous, and became almost impassable, insomuch that it became very dangerous to all his Majesty's liege people that pass that way." The Turnpike at Wadesmill, which is in the Parish of Thundridge, and several in connection with it, lately stood as memorials of "the good old times."

The living of Thundridge is a Vicarage, of the value of Ł123 per annum, in the gift of R. Hanbury, Esq. A handsome vicarage-house was erected a few years since. The Charities produce Ł45 per annum. Population 456; acreage 2160.

The Parish of Thundridge , - quasi The under-ridge (?) - is Situated about two and a half miles north of Ware, on the Great North Road. or Ermin Street, where it is crossed by the river Rib. It is included within the union of Ware, the county court district, and rural deanery of Hertford, and the archdeaconry of St Albans. The extent of the parish is 2,200 acres, and the population at the last census, including a portion of the hamlet of Wade's Mill, was 489.

At the time of the Conquest, the manor of Thundridge [Toorich] formed part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Bayeux ... [Includes history of the manor - demolished in the early 19th century - and the pedigree of the Hanbury family.] ...

The old church of Thundridge, situated in the valley, near the river Rib, about half a mile from the North Road, was demolished - with the exception of the tower - in 1853, and a great part of the material was used in the restoration of Sacomb Church. It was one of the oldest churches in this part of the county, and the low, semi-circular arch which communicated with the nave, is enriched with a magnificent example of Norman moulding, which indicates the period of its building to have been about the year 1100. Not a vestige of the church itself now remains; it is impossible even to trace its foundations, as the entire churchyard, and the site of the building itself, is covered with a rank and luxuriant growth of weeds and briars.

One the north side of the tower is a slab to John Gardiner, of Thundridge-Bury, Esq., who died 23rd November, 1760. in the 43rd year of his age; and Dorothy, his wife, daughter of John Gilbert Cooper, of Locko, Co. Derby, Esq., who died 16 January, 1793, aged 70. ... There are other memorials in the churchyard, but they are for the most part so covered with moss as to be illegible.

On the demolition of this church, another building was erected and endowed at the cost of Robert Hanbury, Esquire, on the hill overlooking the valley of the Ash. It consists of a tower, containing four bells, nave, aisle, and chancel, in early English style of architecture, and is built of squared blocks of stone. ... [The Vicarage] ... [Charities] ...

In July 2007 Mark asks "I would very much like to know who [the poem] is by and when it was written." As Cussans quoted it in 1870 it is must be at least that old. The only quotation on Google is to this page, or to pages which contain text copied from this page - so it is unlikely to be a well-known poem. It may have been written by Cussans himself, or quoted from an unknown source. Can anyone help by coming up with a reference before 1870?

Teresa responded that the poem found be found by a search of Google Books - in An Historic and Picturesque Guide from Clifton through the counties of Monmouth. Glamorgan and Brecknock with Representations of Ruins, Interesting Antiquities &c. &c. by G. W. Manby, published in 1802. This describes a ruined church overlooking the River Severn and quotes the following poem.

"A mouldering structure then appeared in view,
"Around whose top the creeping ivy grew
"Once a fair church, adorned by curious art,
"In crumbling stones now dropping part from part,
"White-thorns and briars interwoven round,
"Vie with its top and fill the desert ground;
"Denying entrance to the curious eye,
"To view the graves that underneath them lie;
"When thus my thoughts with meditation flow:
'Is this the place where numerous footsteps trod,
'Where living votaries fill'd the house of God?
'Where the full chorus of the sounding choir
'Bade one loud strain of prayer and praise aspire?
'How silent now the desolated spot,
'Its paths untrodden and its use forgot!

The way the poem is laid out, when compared with other poems and quotations in the book, suggest that the poem was being quoted from an earlier source, and the final six lines were a quotation within the poem

Google Books also includes a reference to Hine's The History of Hitchin (Volume 2, page 41, published 1927) and this shows that the above was a fragment of a much longer poem, On the ruins of Minsden or Minzell Chapel written in 1750 by Wallis, an usher at the school in Hitchin founded by the Rev Edward Hickman.

I send you a south-eastern view of Thundridge Bury, near Ware, Herts, late seat of J. Hollingsworth, Esq., [plate not reproduced]. This capacious and venerable mansion (originally named Tonbridge Bury) is situated about a mile from Wade's Mill, near Ware, and was built about the reign of Henry VII., though the outside of the building has from time to time been modernised, and only a small part, on the north side, retains its original form. The rooms are large. On the ground-floor are two parlours 36 feet by 18, and a hall 40 feet square, embellished with an elegant mantelpiece, containing much antique ornament, with the arms, helmet, and crest of the Gardiners, long possessors of this estate, one of whom lately sold it by auction to R. Giles, Esq., of Young's Bury, near this place, who has sold the mansion in lots to pull down. On removing the wainscot some very good paintings were discovered, executed on the plaster-walls, of the achievements of Hercules, one of which has been preserved. In another part of the house was discovered a painting, not very finely executed, but remarkably fresh in its colours; the subject, Hunting a Wild Bull. Mr Hollingsworth resided here about twenty eight years, and made many elegant improvements, particularly in the plantations and grounds, which are well stocked, principally with stately firs of various sorts. These, together with a moat that partly surrounds the house, and the church spire peeping above the threes, produce a pleasing and picturesque effect. It is much to be regretted that this venerable mansion, with every requisite for the maintenance of old English hospitality, should be destroyed ere Time has marked it with his desolate hand. Yours, etc., P.

THUNDRIDGE. Angels spread their wings round the tower of the new church on the hill, and the heads of a medieval king and queen look out from a window on the valley below, as if seeking the lost church from which they and the angels and the four old bells all came. There in the meadows of the Rib, lovely in summer, water logged and desolate in winter, the tower of the vanished church stands sentinel among the graves. It has no roof to protect the memorials within it, but its sundial still counts the sunny hours, and a Norman arch built into it when the rest was demolished last century still flaunts its carvings, reward enough for a walk along this flowery valley.

Thomas Clarkson's Monument at Wadesmill.

News is just in that a partnership project led by Stewart Bryant, County Archaeologist, has secured a grant from the HLF to restore Hertfordshire's monument to Thomas Clarkson. The monument, which stands by the side of the old A10 at Wadesmill, was erected in 1879 to mark the spot where Clarkson made the momentous decision to devote the rest of his life to the abolition of slavery. Local schools will be involved in this project, and an interpretation board will be erected to promote the significance of the monument, and raise awareness of the importance of Thomas Clarkson in the abolition movement.

Hertfordshire Association. for Local History Newletter, Summer 2007

As the tower marks the place of the old church, and a chimney stack marks the ruined manor house within a water-filled moat, so a little obelisk by the roadside at Wadesmill marks a milestone in endeavour. Here, it tells us, Thomas Clarkson resolved to devote his life to ending slavery. Clarkson has told us that in writing an Essay for his University he was excited by the deep interest and importance of his subject. In the daytime he was weary; in the night he had little rest. He sometimes never closed his eyes for grief. It became not so much a trial for academical reputation as a question of doing something for Africa. He slept with a candle in his room that he could get up at any hour of the night to put down a thought that came to him. Then he sent in his Essay, and one day, as he came in sight of Wadesmill during a walk, he sat down disconsolate on the grass and was seized with the feeling that if his Essay was true it was time somebody should see that these calamities came to an end. It was summer time in 1785; in the autumn he had begun the work which never ceased till the slaves were free.

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

Some modern pictures of Thundridge on Geograph
by Steve Bailey	by Catherine Edwards	by John Salmon	by John Salmon