Editing Berkhamsted

{{short description|Town in Hertfordshire, England}}
{{distinguish|Little Berkhamsted}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox UK place
|type = Town
|country = England
|static_image_name = {{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=270
|image1 = Old Town Hall Berkhamsted.jpg|width1=300|height1=250
|image2 = St_Peter's_Church,_Berkhamsted,_Hertfordshire,_England.jpg|width2=300|height2=200
|image3 = Berkhamsted_Castle_Jan_2007.jpg|width3=300|height3=150
|image4 = Ashridge_Management_College,_Hertfordshire_-_geograph.org.uk_-_897218.jpg|width4=250|height4=150
|image5 = Berko0050501.jpg|width5=200|height5=175
|image6 = Berkhamsted_-_High_Street.jpg|width6=275|height6=200
|footer = Berkhamsted. From top to bottom: Berkhamsted Old Town Hall, St Peter's Church, Berkhamsted Castle, Ashridge, Berkhamsted Totem Pole and Grand Union Canal, Berkhamsted High Street}}
|static_image_width =400
|static_image_alt = The Victorian Gothic style Old Town Hall, Berkhamsted
|static_image_2_name = Berkhamsted Town Crest.png
|static_image_2_width = 120px
|static_image_2_caption = Coat of arms
|static_image_2_alt = The town's coat of arms, a castle surrounded by 13 solid gold circles or heraldic bezants.
|coordinates      = {{coord|51.76|-0.56|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Berkhamsted
|population = 18500
|population_ref = (mid-2016 est.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atlas.hertslis.org/profiles/profile?profileId=79#iasProfileSection4 |title=Community Profiles – Summary Profile Selection: Berkhamsted Geo-type: Large Settlements A to B |publisher=Community Information and Intelligence Unit, Hertfordshire County Council |work=The Hertfordshire Local Information System (HertsLIS) |access-date=26 November 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|shire_district = [[Dacorum]]
|shire_county = [[Hertfordshire]]
|region= East of England
|constituency_westminster= [[Harpenden and Berkhamsted (UK Parliament constituency)|Harpenden and Berkhamsted]]
|post_town= BERKHAMSTED
|postcode_district = HP4
|postcode_area= HP
|dial_code= 01442
|os_grid_reference= SP993077
}}

'''Berkhamsted''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɝː|k|əm|s|t|ɛ|d}} {{respell|BUR|kəm|sted}}) is a historic market town in [[Hertfordshire]], England, in the [[River Bulbourne|Bulbourne valley]], {{convert|26|miles|km|0}} north-west of London.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://web.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/berkhamsted-conservationareaconsultationreport.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|title=Berkhamsted Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Proposals|publisher=Dacorum Borough Council|date=2015|access-date=5 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063326/http://web.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/berkhamsted-conservationareaconsultationreport.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/uploads/files/AboutTheChilterns/HistoricEnvironment/The_Changing_Landscape_of_the_Chilterns.pdf|title=The Changing Landscape of the Chilterns|work=Chilterns Historic Landscape Characterisation Project|publisher=Chilterns Conservation Board and Buckinghamshire County Council|year=2009|access-date=20 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235434/http://www.chilternsaonb.org/uploads/files/AboutTheChilterns/HistoricEnvironment/The_Changing_Landscape_of_the_Chilterns.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The town is a [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] with a [[town council]] within the [[borough]] of [[Dacorum]] which is based in the neighbouring large [[new town]] of [[Hemel Hempstead]].{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=73}} Berkhamsted, along with the adjoining village of [[Northchurch]], is encircled by countryside, much of it in the [[Chiltern Hills]] which is an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] (AONB).<ref>{{cite web |title=Berkhamsted Town Guide |url=http://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/town-guide.html |publisher=Berhamsted Town Council |access-date=19 November 2017 |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605155318/https://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/town-guide.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[High Street]] is on a pre-Roman route known by its Saxon name: [[Akeman Street]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Salzman |first=L.F. |title=Romano-British remains: Roads |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol1/pp271-281 |work=A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 1 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |date=1939 |pages=271–281 |access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref> The earliest written reference to Berkhamsted was in 970. The settlement was recorded as a ''burbium'' ([[ancient borough]]) in the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086. The most notable event in the town's history occurred in December 1066. After [[William the Conqueror]] defeated [[Harold Godwinson|King Harold]]'s [[Anglo-Saxon]] army at the [[Battle of Hastings]], the Anglo-Saxon leadership surrendered to the [[Norman Conquest|Norman]] [[Military camp|encampment]] at Berkhamsted. The event was recorded in the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]. From 1066 to 1495, [[Berkhamsted Castle]] was a favoured residence of royalty and notable historical figures, including King [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], [[Edward, the Black Prince]], [[Thomas Becket]] and [[Geoffrey Chaucer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Berkhamsted Castle |url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/ccbmaps/1318/137/berkhamsted-castle.html |publisher=Chilterns Conservation Board |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In the 13th and 14th centuries, the town was a [[Medieval English wool trade|wool trading]] town, with a thriving local market. The oldest-known extant [[jettied]] timber-framed building in Great Britain, built between 1277 and 1297, survives as a shop on the town's high street.<ref name="EH173">{{NHLE |num=1246942 |desc=173 High Street, Berkhamsted |access-date=8 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="BBC173">{{cite news |title=Restoration boost for oldest shop |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2801215.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=26 February 2003 |access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref>

After the castle was abandoned in 1495, the town went into decline, losing its borough status in the second half of the 17th century. Colonel [[Daniel Axtell]], captain of the Parliamentary Guard at the trial and execution of King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in 1649, was among those [[List of people from Berkhamsted|born in Berkhamsted]]. Modern Berkhamsted began to expand after the canal and the railway were built in the 19th century. In the 21st century, Berkhamsted has evolved into an affluent [[commuter town]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Best Places to Live in the UK, 2019. |url=https://www.thetimes.com/best-places-to-live/scotland-uk/article/berkhamsted-hertfordshire-best-places-to-live-x68nrgn39 |publisher=News Corp UK & Ireland Limited |work=The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2019 |date=14 April 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019}}</ref>

The town's literary connections include the 17th-century hymnist and poet [[William Cowper]], the 18th-century writer [[Maria Edgeworth]] and the 20th-century novelist [[Graham Greene]]. Arts institutions in the town include [[The Rex, Berkhamsted|The Rex]] (a well regarded independent cinema) and the [[British Film Institute]]'s [[BFI National Archive]] at King's Hill, which is one of the largest film and television archives in the world.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=60}} Schools in the town include [[Berkhamsted School]], a co-educational boarding [[independent school]] (founded in 1541 by [[John Incent]], [[Dean of St Paul's|Dean of St Paul's Cathedral]]); [[Ashlyns School]] a state school, whose history began as the [[Foundling Hospital]] established in London by [[Thomas Coram]] in 1742; and [[Ashridge Executive Education]], a business school offering degree level courses, which occupies the Grade I listed neo-Gothic [[Ashridge#Ashridge House|Ashridge House]].

==History==
===Origin of the town's name===
[[File:Tring Barkhamsted map 1659.jpg|thumb|[[Joan Blaeu]] map of Hertfordshire from 1659 showing ''Barkhamsted''{{sic}}, one of the many archaic spellings of the town's name]]
The earliest recorded spelling of the town's name is the 10th century [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] ''Beorhðanstædæ''. The first part may have originated from either the [[Old English]] words ''beorg'', meaning "hill", or ''berc'' or ''beorc'', meaning "[[birch]]"; or from the older [[Old Celtic]] word ''Bearroc'', meaning "hilly place". The latter part, "hamsted", derives from the Old English word for homestead. So the town's name could be either mean "homestead amongst the hills" or the "homestead among the birches".<ref name="David Mills">{{cite book|last=Mills | first=David |title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tXucAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA53|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-019960908-6|page=53}}</ref><ref name="Caroline Taggart">{{cite book|author=Caroline Taggart|title=The Book of English Place Names: How Our Towns and Villages Got Their Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xNNERjxFr4C&pg=PA153|year=2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=978009194043-0|page=153}}</ref>

Through history spellings of the town's name have changed. Local historian Rev John Wolstenholme Cobb identified over 50 different versions of the town's name since the writing of the [[Domesday Book]] (such as: "Berkstead", "Berkampsted", "Berkhampstead", "Muche Barkhamstede", "Berkhamsted Magna", "Great Berkhamsteed" and "Berkhamstead".)<ref name=page1908>{{harvnb|Page|1908|pp=[https://archive.org/stream/victoriahis02page#page/162/mode/1up 162–179]}}</ref>{{sfn|Cobb|1883|loc=[https://archive.org/stream/twolecturesonhis00cobbrich#page/104 Appendix I]}}  The present spelling was officially adopted in 1937 when the local council formally changed its name from Great Berkhampstead to Berkhamsted.<ref name=change>{{cite book |last1=Registrar General |title=Quarterly Return: Births, Deaths and Marriages registered in the quarter ended 31st December 1937 |year=1934 |publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2iQYAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Great+Berkhampstead%22+change+of+name&pg=RA15-PA17 |access-date=13 September 2021 |quote=Great Berkhampstead Urban District renamed to Berkhamsted Urban District, 19 July 1937.}}</ref> The town's local nickname is "Berko".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/threecounties/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8598000/8598429.stm |title=Joseph Millson talks about loving life in Berko|last= Herman |
first=Judi |date=1 April 2010 |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref>

===Prehistory and Roman period===

[[File:WAW-C4A5F5.jpg|thumb|An Early Middle Bronze Age (c. 1500 to 1300 BC) copper chisel found in Berkhamsted<ref>{{cite web |url=https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/124479|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208174831/https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/124479|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 December 2017|title=Finds record for: WAW-C4A5F5 |last=Bolton | first=A. | access-date=23 October 2015 |publisher=The Portable Antiquities Scheme }}</ref>]] [[Neolithic]], [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]], [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] and Roman artefacts show that the Berkhamsted area of the [[River Bulbourne|Bulbourne Valley]] has been settled for over 5,000 years.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=7}}{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=2–5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/uploads/e-history-etc-040204.pdf|title=Berkhamsted Official Guide 2004|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref> The discovery of a large number of worked flint chips provides Neolithic evidence of on-site flint knapping in the centre of Berkhamsted.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://reports.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/content/uploads/2015/03/660376-Berkhamsted-Police-Station-Eval-Report-15039.pdf |title=Berkhamsted Police Station Berkhamsted Hertfordshire Archaeological Evaluation |publisher=Cotswold Archaeology |date=January 2015 |access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref> Several settlements dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age (about 4500–100&nbsp;BC) have been discovered south of Berkhamsted. Three sections of a late [[Bronze Age]] to [[Iron Age]] (1200–100&nbsp;BC) bank and ditch, {{convert|5|m|ft|spell=on|0|order=flip}} wide by {{convert|2|to|4|m|ft|spell=on|0|order=flip}} high and known as [[Grim's Ditch (Chilterns)|Grim's Ditch]], are found on the south side of the Bulbourne Valley.<ref name = "DPE">{{cite book|last=Dyer |first=James |year=2001 |title=Discovering Prehistoric England |publisher=Shire | place=Princes Risborough, UK |pages=19–20 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-074780507-6}}</ref><ref name="343-351"/> Another Iron Age dyke with the same name is on Berkhamsted Common, on the north side of the valley.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=3}}<ref name="npsGossoms">{{cite web|url=http://www.lidlberkhamsted.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Desktop-Archaelogical-Survey.pdf|title=Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of Land at Gossoms End, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire|work=Report 2013–1334|publisher=nps archaeology|access-date=10 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915230706/http://www.lidlberkhamsted.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Desktop-Archaelogical-Survey.pdf|archive-date=15 September 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In the late Iron Age, before the Roman occupation, the valley would have been within [[Catuvellauni]] territory.<ref name="DPE" /> The Bulbourne Valley was rich in timber and iron ore. In the late Iron Age, a {{convert|4|sqmi|0|spell=on|adj=on}} area around [[Northchurch]] became a major iron production centre, now considered to be one of the most important late Iron Age and Roman industrial areas in England.<ref name="Area 117" />{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=3}} Iron production led to the settlement of a Roman town at [[Cow Roast]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/article/cow-roast-pottery-2/|title=Cow Roast Pottery|publisher=Dacorum Heritage Trust|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> about {{convert|2|miles|km|0|spell=on}} northwest of Berkhamsted. Four Roman first century AD iron smelting [[Ferrous metallurgy#Iron smelting and the Iron Age|bloomeries]] at Dellfield ({{convert|1|miles|km|0|spell=on}} northwest of the town centre) provide evidence of industrial activity in Berkhamsted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hist-met.org/nsc.pdf|title=The National Slag Collection: A simple catalogue|access-date=23 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/3971.pdf|title=Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report 3971|work=A survey of the iron working industry in England 700BC to 1600AD|access-date=24 December 2014|last=McDonnell| first=J. G. | date=June 1982 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224113003/http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/3971.pdf|archive-date=24 December 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Production ceased at the end of the Roman period. Other evidence of [[Roman Britain|Roman-British]] occupation and activity in the Berkhamsted area, includes a pottery kiln on Bridgewater Road.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=4}}<ref name="npsGossoms"/><ref>{{cite report | last1=Griffiths | first1=Claire | last2=Hunn | first2=Jonathan | url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-751-1/dissemination/pdf/archaeol2-9497_2.pdf | date=August 2004 | title=Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment : Castle Wharf, Bridge Street Berkhamsted Hertfordshire| publisher=Archaeological Services & Consultancy Ltd}}</ref>  The town's high street still follows the line of the Roman-engineered [[Akeman Street]], which had been a pre-existing route from [[St Albans]] (''Verulamium'') to [[Cirencester]] (''Corinium'').

During Roman occupation the countryside close to [[Verulamium]] was subdivided into a series of farming estates.{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=14}} The Berkhamsted area appears to have been divided into two or three farming estates, each including one or more masonry [[villa]] buildings, with tiled roofs and underfloor heating.
*The remains of a villa were found close to the river in 1973 in the adjacent village of Northchurch. The oldest building, made of timber, was built in AD&nbsp;60, rebuilt using stone in the early 2nd century, and enlarged to a ten-room building around AD&nbsp;150. The house may have been empty for a period, reoccupied in the 4th century, and abandoned in the late 4th or early 5th century.<ref name="StMary">{{cite web|url=http://www.stmarysnorthchurch.org.uk/ourhistory.htm|title=St Mary's church&nbsp;– Our History|access-date=31 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312223738/http://www.stmarysnorthchurch.org.uk/ourhistory.htm|archive-date=12 March 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/article/northchurch-roman-villa/|title=Northchurch Roman Villa|publisher=Dacorum Heritage Trust|access-date=20 September 2014}}</ref>
*A Roman-British villa, dyke, and temple were found {{convert|1.25|miles|km|1}} NNW of the castle, near Frithesden, at the edge of the Berkhamsted Golf Course. Excavations in 1954 revealed masonry foundations and [[tessera]]e floors. Together, the villa, dyke and temple form a unique complex, suggesting occupation in the late Iron Age and Roman period.<ref name="List Entry Summary">{{NHLE|num=1020914|desc=Berkhamsted Common Romano-British villa, dyke and temple |access-date=19 October 2014}}</ref>
*Two flint and tile walls from a Roman building were found north of Berkhamsted Castle in 1970. The construction of the castle's earthworks in the [[Middle Ages]] may have damaged this building.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=4}}<ref name="List entry">{{NHLE|num=1005253|desc=Site of Roman building, N of Berkhamsted Castle |access-date=20 September 2014}}</ref>

===Anglo-Saxon settlement===

The earliest written reference to Berkhamsted is in the will of [[Ælfgifu, wife of Eadwig|Ælfgifu]] (died AD&nbsp;970), queen consort of King [[Eadwig]] of England (r. 955–959), who bequeathed large estates in five counties, including Berkhamsted.<ref name="343-351">{{ cite web |last=Semmelmann | first=Karin |title=343–351 High Street, Berkhamsted Herts. Desk-Based Archaeological Assessment |publisher=Heritage Network |date=July 2004 | url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-442-1/dissemination/pdf/heritage1-11393.pdf |access-date=17 September 2014 }}</ref>{{refn|Æthelgifu's will is one of only seventeen existing wills in [[Old English]], and it is the most extensive of them. It gives much more detail on slave and land ownership in this period than any other document, and shows that a woman could have considerable wealth. The will is written on [[vellum]] in a [[Carolingian minuscule|minuscule hand]], and the original still exists; an American consortium bought it in 1969, and it is now in [[New Jersey]].<ref name=Whitelock1968p14>{{harvnb|Whitelock|1968|p=14}}.</ref>|group = "Notes"}} The location and extent of early Saxon settlement of Berkhamsted is not clear. Rare Anglo-Saxon pottery dating from the 7th century onwards has been found between Chesham Road and St John's Well Lane, with water mills near Mill Street in use from the late 9th century, show that an Anglo-Saxon settlement existed in the centre of modern-day Berkhamsted.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=5-6}} The nearest known structural evidence of the Anglo-Saxon period are in the south and west walls of St Mary's Northchurch, {{convert|1|mile|spell=on|0}} to the north-west of modern Berkhamsted. The church may have been an important [[minster (church)|minster]], attached to a high status Anglo-Saxon estate, which became part of the medieval manor of Berkhamsted after the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]].<ref name="343-351"/><ref name="Williamson 2010 152">{{Harvnb|Williamson|2010|p=152}}.</ref>

The parish of Berkhamsted St Mary's (in Northchurch) once stretched {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} from the hamlet of [[Dudswell, Hertfordshire|Dudswell]], through Northchurch and Berkhamsted to the former hamlet of Bourne End. Within Berkhamsted, the Chapel of St James was a small church near St John's Well (a 'holy well' that was the town's principal source of drinking water in the [[Middle Ages]]).{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p = 16}} The parish of this church (and later that of St Peter's) was an enclave of about {{convert|4,000|acre}} surrounded by Berkhamsted St Mary's parish.{{refn|This left an exclave of the St Mary's parish, which later became the village of Bourne End, southeast of Berkhamsted.|group = "Notes"}}{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=5}}<ref name="page1908" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/council-democracy/berkhamsted-delivery-office-high-sreet-berkhamste.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|title=4/01211/12/MFA&nbsp;– Redevelopment And Alterations To Provide Mixed Retail Development With Associated Car Parking, Servicing, Landscaping And Other Associated Works|access-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> By the 14th century the adjoining village of "Berkhamsted St Mary" or "Berkhamsted Minor" name had become "North Church", later "Northchurch", to distinguish the village from the town of Berkhamsted.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=5}}<ref name="page1908" /><ref name="StMary" /><ref name="Williamson 2010 152" />{{sfn|Page|1908|pp = [https://archive.org/stream/victoriahis02page#page/245/mode/1up 245-250]}}

===1066 and the Domesday survey===
{{main|Norman conquest of England}}
The Anglo-Saxons surrendered the crown of England to [[William the Conqueror]] at Berkhamsted in early December 1066.{{sfn|Remfry|1998|p=9}}<ref name="castle1066">{{cite episode|title=1. Instruments of Invasion|series=Castles: Britain's Fortified History|credits=Presenter: [[Sam Willis]], Director: Ben Southwell|network=BBC|airdate=4 December 2014|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04t6n19/castles-britains-fortified-history-1-instruments-of-invasion|station=BBC 4|minutes=5.05 – 6.20}}</ref> After William defeated and killed [[Harold Godwinson|Harold II]] at the [[Battle of Hastings]] in October, he failed in an attempt to capture London from the south. William led his army around [[London]], crossing the [[River Thames]] at [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]], "laying waste" while travelling through southeast England. At Berkhamsted, he received the surrender of [[Edgar the Ætheling]] (heir to the English throne), [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Archbishop Ealdred]], [[Edwin, Earl of Mercia|Earl Edwin]], [[Earl Morcar]] and the leaders of London.<ref name = "castle1066"/><ref name=mills1996 >{{cite journal |last=Mills |first=Peter  |year=1996 |title=The Battle of London 1066 |journal=London Archaeologist |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=59–62 |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol08/vol08_03/08_03_059_062.pdf }}</ref> It is not known why the town was chosen as the meeting place, except that it was in a defensive location north-west of London.{{refn|Historians in the past, have believed the town was of [[Mercia]]n importance or in the existence of a pre–Norman conquest fortification (there is reference to land called "Oldeburgh"). The Anglo-Saxon word ''[[burgh]]'' hints at a pre-conquest fortification. The notable early 20th century historian [[G. M. Trevelyan]], and earlier historians [[Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Samuel Lewis]] and [[Sir Henry Chauncy]], believed that the town was once an important Mercian settlement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageant-month/essentially-historical-play-berkhamsted/|title='Essentially an historical play': Berkhamsted pageant play, 1922|access-date=13 November 2014|last=Carter|first=Laura|publisher=Redress of the Past|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128050918/http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageant-month/essentially-historical-play-berkhamsted/|archive-date=28 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Two medieval ditches have been excavated in recent years, both of which were discovered on Bridgewater Road, north of the river, that may have been part of a ditch that surrounded the early medieval town.<ref name="343-351" />|group = "Notes"}} William was crowned in [[Westminster Abbey]] on Christmas Day, 1066.<ref name=mills1996 /> After his coronation, William granted the "Honour of Berkhamsted" to his half-brother, [[Robert, Count of Mortain]],{{sfn|Page|1908|p=[https://archive.org/stream/victoriahis02page#page/165/mode/1up 165]}} who after William became the largest landholder in the country. Robert built a wooden fortification that later became a royal retreat for the monarchs of the [[Normans|Norman]] and [[Plantagenet]] dynasties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/berkhamsted-castle/history/|title=History of Berkhamsted Castle|publisher=english-heritage.org.uk |access-date=18 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1010756|desc=Berkhamsted motte and bailey castle|access-date=18 August 2017}}</ref>

According to the [[Domesday Book]], the lord of Berkhamsted before the Norman conquest was Edmer Ator (also referred to as Eadmer Atule), [[thegn]] of [[Edward the Confessor]] and King Harold.{{refn|Edmer Ator was evidently a senior landholding noble who had held 36 places over 7 counties prior to the Norman conquest, as recorded in the Domesday Book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/161450/edmer-ator/|title=Name: Edmer Ator|publisher=Open Domesday|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009013428/http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/161450/edmer-ator/|archive-date=9 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>|group = "Notes"}} The Domesday survey records that there was enough land for 26 plough teams, but only 15 working teams. There were two flour mills (Upper and Lower Mill), woodland for 1,000 pigs, and a vineyard.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=6, 12}} The total population was calculated to be either 37 or 88 households; the families included 14 villagers, 15 smallholders, 6 slaves, a priest, a dyke builder (possibly working on the earthworks of the castle) and 52 [[Burgess (title)|burgesses]].<ref name=opend/> Some historians have argued that the number of 52 burgesses in Berkhamsted was a clerical error, as it is a large number for a small town.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Berkhampstead|volume=3|page=782}}</ref>{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|pp=226–227}} Berkhamsted was described in the Domesday Book as a ''burbium'' ([[ancient borough]]) in the [[Tring]] [[Hundred (county subdivision)|Hundred]].<ref name=opend>{{cite web|url=http://opendomesday.org/place/SP9907/berkhamsted/|title=Place: Berkhamsted| publisher=Open Domesday |access-date=21 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="web.dacorum.gov.uk">{{cite web|url=http://web.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/berkhamsted-conservationareaconsultationreport.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|title=Berkhamsted Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Proposals|access-date=23 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063326/http://web.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/berkhamsted-conservationareaconsultationreport.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{refn|Later in the [[Middle Ages]] the Tring Hundred merged with the Danais Hundred, "which overlapped it", to form the Dacorum Hundred. Danais referred to [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] settlers in the area. A monk writing about this area described it as "the Hundred of the Danes", using the word ''Daneis''. The word was later incorrectly transcribed as "Danicorum" and subsequently shortened to "Dacorum".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/about-us/about-dacorum/|title=About Dacorum|publisher= Dacorum Heritage Trust|access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref>|group = "Notes"}} [[Marjorie Chibnall]] argued that Robert, Count of Mortain intended Berkhamsted to be both a commercial and a defensive centre;<ref name="Chibnall1991">{{cite book|author=Marjorie Chibnall|title=Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tu4Eu5ozEVIC&pg=PA134|year=1991|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd|isbn=978-0-85115-286-8|pages=134–}}</ref> while [[John Hatcher (Cambridge)|John Hatcher]] and [[Edward Miller (historian)|Edward Miller]] believed that the 52 burgesses were involved in trade, but it is unknown if the burgesses existed before the conquest.<ref name="HakMill">{{cite book | last1=Hatcher  |first1=John |last2=Miller |first2=Edward |year=2014 |title=Medieval England: Towns, Commerce and Crafts, 1086–1348 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGHXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |publisher=Routledge |page=27 |isbn=978-131787287-0 }}</ref>

===Royal medieval castle (11th to 15th centuries)===
{{main|Berkhamsted Castle}}
[[File:Berkhamsted Castle Jan 2007.jpg|thumb|left|View across the Inner moat towards the bailey walls of Berkhamsted Castle]][[File:Berkhamsted Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1721598.jpg|thumb|left|A view of the castle motte, moat, middle bank and outer earthworks]]Berkhamsted Castle is a (now ruined) [[motte-and-bailey castle|motte-and-bailey]] [[Norman architecture|Norman]] castle.<ref name="List entry Number: 1010756">{{NHLE|num=1010756 |desc=Berkhamsted motte and bailey castle |access-date=20 September 2014}}</ref> [[Radiocarbon dating]] of organic remains from within the motte indicates that it was probably built post-1066 (a dyke builder is recorded in the town at the time of the Domesday Book).<ref>{{cite journal|title= Normal for Normans? Exploring the large round mounds of England|journal=Current Archaeology|author= Jim Leary, Elaine Jamieson and Phil Stastney|issue=337|publication-date= April 2018|year=2018|url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/normal-normans-exploring-large-round-mounds-england.htm|url-access=limited|access-date=8 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://roundmoundsproject.wordpress.com/2016/10/07/radiocarbon-dates-from-10-castle-mounds-results-of-year-1/ |title=The Round Mounds Project | publisher=University of Reading | work=Radiocarbon dates from 10 castle mounds – results of year 1 | date=7 October 2016 |  access-date=6 January 2019}}</ref> The castle was a high-status residence and an administrative centre for large estates (including the Earldom of Cornwall).<ref name="Williamson 2010 219" /> Through the High and Late [[Middle Ages]] the close proximity of the royal castle and [[Royal court|court]] helped fuel Berkhamsted's growth, prosperity and sense of importance.{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=202}} It created jobs for the local population, both within the castle itself and also, for example, in the large [[Medieval deer park|deer park]]{{sfn|Rowe|2007|p=132}}{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=6}}<ref name="Liddiard2005p111">{{Harvnb|Liddiard|2005|pp=111–112}}.</ref> and in the [[vineyard]], which were maintained alongside the castle.<ref name="Williamson 2010 219">{{Harvnb|Williamson|2010|p=219}}.</ref>

After Robert, Count of Mortain, the castle passed to his heir William, who rebelled against [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] and lost the castle to the king. In 1155 Henry in turn gave it to his favourite [[Thomas Becket]], who held it till 1165. Becket was later alleged to have spent over £300 on improvements to the castle, a claim that led Henry to accuse him of corruption and may have contributed to his downfall.<ref name="Spigelman2004">{{ cite book | last=Spigelman |first=James J. |year=2004 |title=Becket & Henry: The Becket Lectures |publisher=St Thomas More Society |place=Sydney, Australia | isbn=978-064643477-3 |page=146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FHwzF_hmUYC&pg=PA146 }}</ref> Henry II extensively used the castle, making it one of his favourite residences. Both [[Richard I of England|King Richard I]] and [[John of England|King John]] gave the castle to their queens, [[Berengaria of Navarre]] and [[Isabella of Angoulême]], respectively. In King John's reign, [[Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex|Geoffrey Fitz Peter]] (c. 1162–1213),{{refn|The patronymic is sometimes rendered "Fitz Piers", since he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale, forester of Ludgershal.|group = "Notes"}} Earl of Essex and the Chief [[Justiciar]] of England (effectively the king's principal minister) held the Honour and Manor of Berkhamsted from 1199 to 1212. During his time in the castle he was responsible for the foundation of the new [[Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted|parish church of St Peter]] (the size of which reflects the growing prosperity of the town); two hospitals, St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist (one of which was a leper hospital), which survived until 1516; and for the layout of the town.<ref name="Mackenzie1896p128">{{Harvnb|Mackenzie|1896|p=128}}</ref>{{sfn|Cobb|1883|pp = 14, 72}}{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p = 17}}

Following the signing of [[Magna Carta]] (1215), King John's reneging on the royal charter, the castle was besieged during the ensuing civil war, known as the [[First Barons' War]], between John and barons supported by Prince Louis (the future [[Louis VIII of France]]), the French laid siege to Berkhamsted Castle (only a quarter of a mile from the town centre) in late December 1216. The queen's constable of the castle was the German [[Walerand Teutonicus]].

<blockquote>
After reducing the castle of Hertford, Louis marched on St Nicholas's day (6 December) to the castle of Berkhamsted and surrounded it with his engines of war. Whilst the English barons, after pitching their tents, were employed in setting them in order, the knights and soldiers of the garrison made a sally, seized the baggage and conveyances of the barons and gained possession of the standard of William de Mandeville with which they returned to the castle, regretting that they could do no further injury to them. On the same day, whilst the barons were sitting at table, the knights and soldiers of the garrison again made a sally, and, in order to put the barons in confusion, they carried before them the standard which they had taken a short time before, and thought to come on them unawares, but the latter were forewarned of this, and drove them back to the castle. When the following day dawned Louis ordered the petrarie (stone-throwing machines) and other engines of war to be erected around the city, which being done, they kept up a destructive shower of stones: but Waleran, a German, well tried in warfare, made a brave resistance against them and caused great slaughter amongst the excommunicated French.</p>—The contemporary chronicler, [[Roger of Wendover]], based at [[St Albans Cathedral|St Albans abbey]], 12 miles from Berkhamsted, describing the siege<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk/biographies/waleran-teutonicus/ | title=Biography: Waleran Teutonicus | work=Berkhamsted Castle Trust Berkhamsted Castle Trust | access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref></p></blockquote>

During the siege, Prince Louis introduced a new destructive siege engine to England at Berkhamsted, the counterweight ''[[trebuchet]]'' (or ''[[mangonel]])''. After a siege of twenty days the young new King ([[Henry III of England|Henry III]]) ordered his constable to surrender the castle to Louis on 20 December. Following the siege at Berkhamsted Louis suffered several defeats. 11 September 1217 Louis signed the [[Treaty of Lambeth]], relinquishing his claim to the English throne and surrendering French-held castles including Berkhamsted. Walerand went on to hold several other posts including the senior position of  [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://magnacarta800th.com/history-of-the-magna-carta/battles/post-magna-carta/1216-berkhamsted-siege/|title=History of the Magna Carta 1216 Berkhamsted (siege)|date=23 May 2014 |publisher=2014 Magna Carta 2015 Committee / HCL Technologies|access-date=8 October 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Remfry|1998}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk/histories/berkhamsted-castle-siege/ | title=1216: Berkhamsted Castle Siege | work=Berkhamsted Castle Trust | access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref>

In 1227, [[Henry III of England|Henry III's]] younger brother, [[Richard of Cornwall]], was given the manor and castle, beginning the long association of the castle with the [[Earl of Cornwall|Earls]] and later the [[Duke of Cornwall|Dukes of Cornwall]].<ref name=Brown1989p52>{{Harvnb|Brown|1989|p=52}}.</ref><ref name=Pettifer1995p105>{{Harvnb|Pettifer|1995|p=105}}</ref>{{refn|One of the wealthiest men in Europe, [[Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall]], was elected King of Germany, or [[Holy Roman Emperor]], in 1256.|group = "Notes"}} Richard redeveloped the castle as a palatial residence and the centre for the administration of the [[Earldom of Cornwall]]. Richard's coat of arms as Earl of Cornwall, along with [[bezant]]s, is included in Berkhamsted's coat of arms. Richard's wife, [[Sanchia of Provence]], died in the castle in 1260. Richard was succeeded by his son, [[Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall]], who founded [[Ashridge Priory]], a [[College (canon law)|college]] of the monastic order of [[Bonhommes]], in 1283. In 1300, after Edmund died, [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] took the castle; he subsequently granted it to his second queen, [[Margaret of France (died 1318)|Margaret of France]]. In 1309, Edward I's and Margaret's son, [[Edward II]], granted Berkhamsted to his favourite, [[Piers Gaveston]]. In 1317, the castle was given to Edward II's queen, [[Isabella of France]].{{sfn|Remfry|1998}}
[[File:Castle Berkhamsted cz.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Picture of Berkhamsted from the Norman Castle's Motte| The castle's bailey viewed from the Norman motte (Enlarged: A train can be seen passing close to the castle, with the town to the south beyond.)]]
[[Edward III]] further developed the castle and gave it (as part of the Duchy of Cornwall) to his son, [[Edward, the Black Prince]], who expanded the hunting grounds. The castle was used to hold royal prisoners, including [[John II of France]]. In 1361, Edward the Black Prince and [[Joan of Kent|Joan, the Maid of Kent]], spent their honeymoon in Berkhamsted. Under Edward the Black Prince, Berkhamsted become a centre of [[English longbow]] archery.<ref name="CBCT">{{cite web | url=https://www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk/histories/1346-the-battle-of-crecy/ | title=1346: The Battle of Crécy How Berkhamsted's Bowmen decided the Hundred Years' War | work=Berkhamsted Castle Trust 2021 | access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref> A decisive factor in the English victory at the [[Battle of Crécy]] (1346) was the introduction of this new weapon onto the Western European battlefield. The longbow was a superior weapon to the cumbersome and slower crossbow. The Berkhamsted bowmen successfully took part in this significant battle in medieval Western European history.<ref name="CBCT"/> The Black Prince was supported at the Battle of Crecy by local bowmen Everard Halsey, John Wood, Stephen of Champneys, Robert Whittingham, Edward le Bourne, Richard of Gaddesden and Henry of Berkhamsted (who was rewarded with 2[[penny|d]] a day and appointed porter of Berkhamsted Castle after he saved the prince's baggage at the [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Battle of Poitiers]]). [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] inherited Berkhamsted Castle in 1377 and gave it to his favourites, [[Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland|Robert de Vere]] and [[John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter|John Holland]].

In 1400, [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] lived in the castle after he deposed Richard, and he used the castle to imprison others attempting to obtain the throne. During this time, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] – later famous for writing ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'' – oversaw renovation work on the castle in his role as Clerk of the Works at Berkhamsted. It is unknown how much time he spent at Berkhamsted, but he knew [[John of Gaddesden]], who lived in nearby [[Little Gaddesden]] and was the model for the Doctor of Phisick in ''The Canterbury Tales''. [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] and [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] owned the castle, the latter making use of it until he was overthrown in 1461. In 1469, [[Edward IV]] gave the castle to his mother, [[Cecily Neville, Duchess of York]]. The arrival of Neville and her household at Berkhamsted had a significant social and financial impact on the town. Men and women from the town joined her service, such as Robert Incent who became her secretary and whose memorial brass can still be seen in St Peter's Church in Berkhamsted. Mother to both Edward IV and [[Richard III]], grandmother to [[Edward V]], and mother in law to [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], she was the last person to live in the castle.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Berkhamsted Castle {{!}} Cecily, Duchess of York|url=https://www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk/biographies/cecily-duchess-of-york/|access-date=19 September 2021|website=www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk}}</ref>{{sfn|Remfry|1998}}

====Recent history of the castle====
In 1833, the castle was the first building to receive statutory protection in the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]. In 1834, construction of the railway embankment demolished the castle's gatehouse and adjacent earthworks.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richards |first=Jeffrey |chapter=The role of the railways |editor-last=Wheeler |editor-first=Michael |title=Ruskin and Environment: The Storm-cloud of the Nineteenth Century |publisher=Manchester University Press |place=Manchester | isbn=978-071904377-2 |page=125 |year=1995 }}</ref> Today the castle ruins are managed by a charitable trust, the ''Berkhamsted Castle Trust'', in partnership with [[English Heritage]], on behalf of the [[Duchy of Cornwall]] (which still officially owns the site), and are freely open to the public.{{sfn|Remfry|1998}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://duchyofcornwall.org/ancient-monuments.html|title=Ancient Monuments|publisher=Duchy of Cornwall |access-date=21 November 2014}}</ref>

===Medieval market town (12th to 15th centuries)===
The town continued to develop separately on the old Akeman Street  {{convert|0.4|miles|km|1}} to the south of the castle and to the west of St Peter's Church; with a triangle formed by Mill Street, Castle Street and Back Lane pointing towards the castle.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=10}}<ref>{{cite report| last=Maher | first=Shane | url=http://www.pre-construct.com/Publications/report-downloads/HHST12-exc-summary.pdf | title=300 High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire| publisher=Construct Archaeology Ltd | date=January 2014}}</ref> In 1156, [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] officially recognised Berkhamsted as a town in a [[royal charter]], which confirmed the laws and customs enjoyed under [[Edward the Confessor]], William I and Henry I, and freed the town's merchants from all tolls and dues. The charter also stated that no market could be set up within {{convert|7|miles|km|0}} of the town.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=6}}[[File:Tomb of Henry of Berkhamsted. St. Peter's, Berkhamsted- geograph.org.uk - 780334.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Henry of Berkhamsted (who served under Edward the Black Prince at the battles of [[Battle of Crécy|Crécy]] and [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Poitiers]]) and his Lady]]
The town became a trading centre on an important trade route in the 12th and 13th centuries, and received more royal charters. In 1216, [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] relieved the men and merchants of the town from all tolls and taxes everywhere in England, and the English [[Plantagenet]] possessions in France, [[Normandy]], [[Aquitaine#English Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] and [[County of Anjou|Anjou]].{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988}} The growing [[wool trade]] brought prosperity to Berkhamsted from the 12th century until the early [[Tudor period]].{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|pp=240–241}}{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=9}} Four wealthy Berkhamsted wool merchants were amongst a group in [[Bruges]] to whom Edward III wrote in 1332,{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=9}}<ref name="HakMill" /> and Berkhamsted merchants sold cloth to the royal court.<ref name="HakMill" />

In 1217, Henry III recognised by royal charter the town's oldest institution, Berkhamsted's pre-existing market.{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/list-index-soc/markets-fairs-gazetteer-to-1516/hertfordshire|title=Hertfordshire|publisher=British History Online|work=Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales To 1516 Hertfordshire|access-date=5 February 2015}}</ref>{{refn|The market had been in existence since at least 1086. It was originally held on a Sunday, but by this charter it was changed to Monday, as the rector of the new St Peter's Church objected to the noise. The market is now held on a Saturday.|group = "Notes"}} Trades within medieval Berkhamsted were extensive: early in the 13th century the town had a merchant, two painters, a goldsmith, a forester, two [[farrier]]s, two tailors, a brewer of [[mead]], a blacksmith, carpenters, [[wood turner]]s, tool makers, a manufacturer of roofing tiles and wine producers.{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|p=240}}<ref name=page1908 /> In the mid–13th century, a banker, the wealthy Abraham of Berkhamsted, financier to the Earl of Cornwall, lived in the town; this was unusual for a small town in a [[History of the Jews in England#Persecution and expulsion|time of heightened persecution of Jews]].{{sfn|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|pp=50-52}}

A 1290 taxation list mentions a brewer, a lead burner, a carpenter, leather workers, a [[Fulling|fuller]], a [[Woodturning|turner]], a butcher, a fishmonger, a barber, an archer, a tailor, a cloth-napper, a [[miller]], a cook, a seller of salt and a huntsman.{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|p=240}} At this time, larger houses of merchants and castle officials appeared on the south side of the high street (including [[173, High Street, Berkhamsted|173&nbsp;High Street]], the oldest known extant [[jettied]] building in England). In 1307 Berkhamsted was a [[List of towns and cities in England by historical population#Late Medieval Period|large town by English medieval standards]] with an estimated population of 2,000 to 2,500.{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|p=56}} In 1355, there were five butchers, two bakers, nine brewers, two [[Cordwainer|cobblers]], a [[Fur clothing|pelter]], a [[Tanner (occupation)|tanner]], five cloth dyers, six [[wheelwright]]s, three [[Metalsmith|smith]]s, six grain merchants, a [[Skinner (profession)|skinner]] and a baker/butcher.{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|p=240}} In the 14th century, Berkhamsted (recorded as "Berchamstede") was considered to be one of the "best" market towns in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/berkhamsted-conservationareaconsultationreport.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|title=Berkhamsted Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Proposals|access-date=24 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063326/http://web.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/berkhamsted-conservationareaconsultationreport.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a survey of 1357, Richard Clay was found to own a butcher's shop {{convert|12|ft|m|0|spell=on}} wide, William Herewood had two shops, and there were four other shops {{convert|8|ft|m|0|spell=on}} in length. In 1440, there is a reference to lime kilns.<ref name=page1908 />

The town benefited when [[Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall]], founded [[Ashridge Priory]] in 1283, {{convert|2|miles|km|0|spell=on}} away and within the castle's park. At the foundation of the abbey, the Earl donated a phial claimed to contain Christ's blood. [[Pilgrim]]s from all over Europe passed through the town to see the holy relic. The abbey grew quite wealthy as a result. [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] held parliament at the abbey in 1290 and spent Christmas there.{{sfn|Page|1905|pp=[https://archive.org/details/victoriahistory01pageuoft/page/n453 386-387]}} Berkhamsted burgesses sent two members to [[Parliament of England|parliament]] in 1320, 1338 and 1341, but the town was not represented again.<ref name="EB1911"/> In the mid-14th century, the [[Edward, the Black Prince|Black Prince]] took advantage of the [[Black Death]] to extend the castle's park by {{convert|65|acre|ha|0}}, eventually producing a park covering {{convert|991|acre}}.<ref name=Rowe2007p>{{Harvnb|Rowe|2007|pp=131–144}}</ref> In the 15th century, the town was reaffirmed as a borough by a royal charter granted by Edward IV (1442–1483), which decreed that no other market town was to be set up within {{convert|11|miles|km|0}}.

===Castle abandoned, the town in decline (16th to late 18th centuries)===
{{main|Berkhamsted Place}}
[[File:Berkhamsted Place 1832.jpg|thumb|Berkhamsted Place 1832]]
In the 16th century, the town fell into decline after abandonment of the castle following the death of [[Cicely Neville, Duchess of York]], in 1495, and the rise of the nearby town of [[Hemel Hempstead]] (which was granted a Charter of Incorporation by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] on 29 December 1539). The population of the town in 1563 has been estimated at only 545.{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|loc=Table 5.3}} In 1580, the castle ruins and the park were leased by Elizabeth I to Sir Edward Carey, for the nominal rent of one red [[rose]] each year.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=12}}{{sfn|Mackenzie|1896|p=130}} Stone from the castle was used to build [[Berkhamsted Place]], a local school, and other buildings in the late 16th century.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=10, 13}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Hands |first=Joan | date=10 November 2010 |publisher=Dacorum Heritage Trust |url=http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/article/the-extraordinary-market-that-put-hemel-hempstead-on-the-map/|title=The "extraordinary" market that put Hemel Hempstead on the map|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> Brewing and maltings was noted as one of the town's principal industries in the reign of Elizabeth.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=26}} Around 1583, a new market house was erected west of St Peter's Church at the end of Middle Row (alternatively named Le Shopperowe or Graball Row). The market house was destroyed in a fire in 1854.

In 1612, Berkhamsted Place was bought by [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales]] for £4,000. Henry died later that year, and bequeathed the house to his brother Charles (later [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ark:/99166/w6pz5hv0|title=Cunningham, David, −1659| publisher=Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) | access-date=20 October 2014}}</ref> who leased the property to his tutor, Thomas Murray, and his wife, Mary Murray, who had been his nurse and Lady of the [[Privy Chamber]] to the prince's mother. [[John Norden]] wrote in 1616 that the making of malt was then the principal trade of the town.<ref name=page1908/> In 1618, [[James I of England|James I]] reaffirmed Berkhamsted's borough status with a charter. Following surveys in 1607 and 1612 the Duchy of Cornwall enclosed {{convert|300|acres|0|abbr=on}} from the Common (now known as Coldharbour farm) despite local opposition led by Rev Thomas Newman. In 1639 the Duchy tried to enclose a further {{convert|400|acres|0|abbr=on}} of the Berkhamsted and Northchurch Commons, but was prevented from doing so by William Edlyn of Norcott. The castle's park, which had reached {{convert|1252|acres}} by 1627, was broken up over the next two decades, shrinking to only {{convert|376|acre}}, to the benefit of local farmers.{{sfn|Cobb|1883|pp=46–47}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=px6zviStQlwC&q=+%22berkhamsted%22&pg=PA25|title=Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town|publisher=Wesleyan University Press, 1 May 2011|author=Sumner Chilton Powell|date=1 May 2011|page=22|isbn=9780819572684}}</ref> In 1643, Berkhamsted was visited by a violent pestilential fever.<ref name=page1908/>

Born in Berkhamsted, Colonel [[Daniel Axtell]] (1622&nbsp;– 19 October 1660), a Baptist and a [[grocer]]'s apprentice, played a zealous and prominent part in the [[English Civil War]], both in England and in the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]]. He participated as a lieutenant colonel in [[Pride's Purge]] of the [[Long Parliament]] (December 1648), arguably the only military ''coup d'état'' in English history, and commanded the Parliamentary Guard at the trial of King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] at [[Westminster Hall]] in 1649. During Cromwell's Protectorate, he appropriated Berkhamsted Place. Shortly after the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] of the monarchy under [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], the unrepentant Axtell was [[hanged, drawn and quartered]] as a [[regicide]].<ref name="oxforddnb.com">{{ Cite ODNB | last=Thomson | first=Alan | title=Axtell, Daniel (bap. 1622, d. 1660) | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/928 | year=2004 }}</ref> After the Restoration, the town lost its charter granted by James I and its borough status. The surveyor of Hertfordshire recommended that a new tenant and army officers were needed at Berkhamsted Place "to govern the people much seduced of late by new doctrine preacht unto them by Axtell and his colleagues."{{sfn|Reece|2013|p=122}} The population of the town in 1640 and in the 1690s was estimated at 1075 and 767, respectively.{{sfn|Slater|Goose|2008|loc=Table 5.3}} The town was a centre of religious nonconformity from the 17th century: over a quarter of the town were [[English Dissenters|Dissenters]] in the second half of the century,{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=102}} and in 1700, there were 400 Baptists recorded as living in Berkhamsted.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Reid Doster |first=G. |year=1977 |title=Discipline and ordination at Berkhamsted General Baptist Church, 1712–1718 |journal=Baptist Quarterly |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=128–138 |url=http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bq/27-3_128.pdf |doi=10.1080/0005576X.1977.11751481 }}</ref> Three more shops are mentioned in the row next to the church, and the Parliamentary Survey of 1653 suggests that the area near the Market House was used for butchery.<ref>{{cite report | url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-751-1/dissemination/pdf/archaeol2-23704_1.pdf | title=Historic Building Assessment: site adjacent to 3 & 4 Church Gates, Church Lane, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire | publisher=Archaeological Services & Consultancy Ltd | date=November 2004 | page=12}}</ref>

===Development of the modern town (19th and 20th centuries)===

====19th century urban growth====

In the 17th and 18th centuries Hemel Hempstead, with its thriving market, eclipsed Berkhamsted as the major town in the area.{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=202}} [[Georgian era|Georgian]] Berkhamsted barely extended beyond the medieval triangle and the High Street. With the coming of the [[Industrial Age]], Berkhamsted was well placed at a gateway through the Chilterns, between the markets of London and the industrial [[The Midlands|Midlands]]. The town became a link in the growing network of roads, canals and railways. These developments led Berkhamsted's population to expand once again. In 1801, the population of St Peter's parish had been 1,690 and by 1831, this had risen to 2,369 (484&nbsp;houses). An 1835 description of the town found that "the houses are mostly of brick, and irregularly built, but are interspersed with a fair proportion of handsome residences".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQ1CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA282|title=The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge|volume=4: Bassantin&nbsp;— Bloemaart|author=Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge|publisher=Knight|date= 1835|access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref> The town's population increased as "hundreds of men arrived to build the railway line and needed lodging";{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=23}} by 1851, the population was 3,395,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldtowns.co.uk/Hertfordshire/berkhamsted.htm|title=Market Towns Of Hertfordshire (from SDUK Penny Cyclopedia)|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> From 1850 large estates around Berkhamsted were sold, allowing for housing expansion. In 1851 the Pilkington Manor estate, east of Castle Street, was sold, and the land developed both as an industrial area and for artisans' dwellings. In 1868 streets of middle-class villas began to appear on the hill south of the High Street.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=23}}{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=68}} Lower Kings Road was built by public subscription in 1885 to join Kings Road and the High Street to the station.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=60}} In 1887, John Bartholomew's ''Gazetteer of the British Isles'' recorded the population at 4,485.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/31|title=Berkhamsted Hertfordshire|publisher=University of Portsmouth|work=A Vision of Britain through Time|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=23}}

====19th century industry and utilities====

[[File:Berkhamsted - Cooper House on Ravens Lane (geograph 3148021).jpg|thumb|Former buildings of Cooper & Nephews on Ravens Lane, Berkhamsted]]
Industries in the 19th century included:
*''Timber:'' In the mid-18th century, Berkhamsted had been noted for turned wood products. Based on the extensive woodland resources of the area (principally [[alder]] and [[beech]]), the milling and turning of wood was the town's most prominent industry in the 19th century. The Crimean War contracts for supplying the army with lance poles and tent pegs led to major expansion.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=24}} The largest manufacturer was East & Sons.
*''Brush making:'' An offshoot of the timber industry. The largest employers were Goss Brushworks at the west end of the High Street (closed 1930s) and T.H. Nash in George Street (closed 1920s).{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=24}}
*''The Canal trade'' provided a considerable economic stimulus to the town, enabling the development of industries which involved bulk transport of materials. These included timber and malt.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=24}}
*''Boat building:'' Berkhamsted also became a centre for the construction of the barges needed for the canal trades.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=22,25}} A yard for building canal barges and other boats, between Castle Street and Raven's Lane wharves, was one of three important boatyards in Hertfordshire. It was owned by John Hatton until 1880 and then by William Costin until 1910, when it was taken over by Key's, the timber merchants which in 1969 was bought by another timber merchant J. Alsford before being redeveloped into flats in 1994. At this site, next to the canal, is the [[#Sites of interest|Berkhamsted Canadian totem pole]]. 
*''Watercress:'' The construction of the canal had helped to drain the marshy areas along the valley of the River Bulbourne. In 1883, the ''Berkhamsted Times'' congratulated Mr Bedford on having converted the remaining "dirty ditches and offensive marshes" into [[watercress]] beds.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=25}}
*''Chemical:'' Cooper's [[sheep dip]] works. [[William Cooper (chemical manufacturer)|William Cooper]] was a [[veterinary physician|vet]] who arrived in Berkhamsted in the early 1840s and experimented in treatments for [[Psoroptes|scab]] in sheep. He formulated an innovative arsenic and sulphur sheep-dip.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=24}} The Cooper family firm was later inherited by his nephew, [[Sir Richard Cooper, 1st Baronet]].
*''[[Nurserymen]]:'' Henry Lane's nurseryman business, founded in 1777, became one of the largest employers in the town in the 19th century. Extensive nurseries are shown on the 1878 Ordnance Survey 25&nbsp;inch plan, at the western end of the town.
*''Iron working:'' Wood's Ironworks was set up in 1826 by James Wood.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=25}}

Utilities in the 19th century included:
*''Gasworks:'' The Great Berkhamsted Gas, Light & Coke Co., at the junction of Water Lane and the Wilderness, was set up to provide street lighting in 1849. In 1906, the Berkhamsted Gas Works moved to Billet Lane; it closed in 1959.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=26}}
*''Water and sewage:'' The Great Berkhamsted Waterworks Company was set up in 1864 on the High Street (on the present site of W.H. Smith and Boots). Mains drainage was first supplied in 1898–99, when effective sewerage was installed.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=26}}

====Provision for the destitute====

[[File:Berkhamsted Castle - Ruins of the external walls, keeper's house, castle motte in background.jpg|thumb|left|The 19th century soup kitchen built inside Berkhamsted Castle (part now used as the castle visitor centre) at the entrance next to the cottage within the castle's bailey.]]In 1725 "An Account of Several Workhouses" records a parish [[workhouse]] in Berkhamsted, and a parliamentary report of 1777 refers to a parish workhouse for up to 34 inmates in Northchurch. A small "wretched, straw-thatched" house was used to house poor families in Berkhamsted, on the corner of what is now Park View Road, until it was demolished in the 1820s. In 1831 a bequest of £1,000 by the Revd George Nugent led to a new parish workhouse being set up on the site of a workhouse which had operated in a row of tenements on the High Street (at the Kitsbury Road junction) known as Ragged Row.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=27}} The "Berkhampstead [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834|Poor Law]] Union" was formed in June 1835 covering ten parishes centred on the town. The Union took over the existing Berkhamsted parish workhouse, and by August 1835 it had become the sole workhouse for the union. The workhouse had no schoolroom, so in 1849 the [[Poor Law Board]] recommended that pauper children be sent to the local [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]]. However in 1858 the school complained about the state of the children attending from the workhouse. A fever ward was erected in 1855, and a full-time nurse was engaged in 1868. The workhouse system officially came to an end in 1930, and control over the workhouse was given to local council. Nugent House, the Berkhamsted workhouse, finally closed in 1935 and its function was relocated to Hemel Hemspstead.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=27}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Berkhampstead/ |title=The Workhouse - Berkhampstead/Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire |access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref> In 1841, the Countess of Bridgewater built a [[soup kitchen#Emergence of the modern soup kitchen|soup kitchen]] for the local poor within the ruins of Berkhamsted Castle. The soup kitchen was used by an estimated 15 per cent of the population of Berkhamsted (about 500 people) during the winter months, until at least 1897. The building still stands connected to the cottage in the castle grounds; why it was placed outside the town and inside the ruins of the historic castle is unknown.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/space-the-final-archaeological-frontier/ | title=Berkhamsted Castle and the Countess of Bridgewater's soup house: magic kingdoms and heterotopias in Hertfordshire| author= Carstairs Phillip|date= 11 April 2016| access-date =29 August 2016}}</ref> [[File:Queen Beech-geograph-2900758.jpg|thumb|The Queen Beech or Harry Potter tree (now fallen) This [[pollarded]] tree in [[Frithsden Beeches]] on Berkhamsted Common was at least 350 years old. In 1866, it was at the centre of the battle of Berkhamsted Common. It was noted by the naturalist [[Richard Mabey]] in his book "Beechcombings" and  "played" the [[Whomping Willow]] in the ''[[Harry Potter (film series)|Harry Potter]]'' film ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|The Prisoner of Azkaban]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/nature/2015/11/queen-beech-ruled-land-even-when-she-fell | title=The queen beech ruled the land, even when she fell | magazine=[[New Statesman]] | date=7 November 2015 | access-date=7 November 2015 | author=Mabey, Richard}}</ref>]]

====Land dispute: ''The Battle of Berkhamsted Common''====

The ''Battle of Berkhamsted Common'' played an important part in the preservation of common land nationally.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ashridge-estate/documents/map-of-bobc-walk.pdf | title=The Battle of Berkhamsted 150th Anniversary Walk | publisher=[[National Trust]] | access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> After 1604 the former Ashridge Priory became the home of the Edgerton family. In 1808–1814 [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater]], demolished the old priory, and built a stately home, [[Ashridge|Ashridge House]]. In 1848 the estate passed to the Earls Brownlow, a branch of the Egerton family.{{sfn|Sanecki|1996|p=none}}

In 1866, Lord Brownlow of Ashridge House (encouraged by his mother, [[Marian Alford|Lady Marian Alford]]) in an action similar to many other large estate holders tried to [[enclosure|enclose]] Berkhamsted [[Common land|Common]] with {{convert|5|ft|m|1|adj=on}} steel fences (built by Woods of Berkhamsted) in order to claim the land as part of his family's estate. In response to the enclosure action and in defence the historic right of the public to use the ancient common land, [[Augustus Smith (politician)|Augustus Smith]] MP and [[George Shaw-Lefevre]] organised local people and 120 hired men from London's East End to dismantle the fences on the night of 6 March, in what became known nationally as the Battle of Berkhamsted Common.{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988}}<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.hertfordshirelife.co.uk/home/herts_history_the_battle_of_berkhamsted_1_4455536 | title=Herts History: The Battle of Berkhamsted | publisher=Hertfordshire Life | date=14 March 2016 | access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ashridge-estate/whats-on/the-battle-of-berkhamsted-common | title=The Battle of Berkhamsted Common | publisher=National Trust | access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref><ref name='NatTrust'>{{cite web|title=Marian Alford|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/belton-house/features/lady-marian-alford-1817-1888|publisher=[[National Trust]]|access-date=15 January 2020}}</ref>

Lord Brownlow brought a legal case against Smith for trespass and criminal damage, Smith was aided in his defence by [[Robert Hunter (National Trust)|Sir Robert Hunter]] (later co-founder of the [[National Trust]] in 1895) and the [[Commons Preservation Society]]. [[John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly|Lord Justice Romilly]] determined that pulling down a fence was no more violent an act than erecting one. The case, he said, rested on the legality of Brownlow's action in building the fence and the legal right of people to use the land. He ruled in favour of Smith. This decision, along with the [[Metropolitan Commons Act 1866]], helped to ensure the protection of Berkhamsted Common and other open spaces nationally threatened with enclosure. In 1926 the common was acquired by the National Trust.<ref name="commons">{{cite news|title=Mr. Shaw-Lefevre on the Preservation of Commons|newspaper=The Times|date=11 December 1886|page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ashbrook|first=Kate|url=http://commons.ncl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kate-Ashbrook.pdf|title=Modern commons: a protected open space?|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-date=10 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410010041/http://contestedcommons.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kate-Ashbrook.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/more-news/exhibition-and-commemorative-walk-marks-anniversary-of-battle-to-save-berkhamsted-common-1-7006636 | title=Exhibition and commemorative walk marks anniversary of battle to save Berkhamsted Common | publisher=Johnston Publishing Ltd. | work=Hemel Gazette | date=12 October 2015 | access-date=14 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313202936/http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/more-news/exhibition-and-commemorative-walk-marks-anniversary-of-battle-to-save-berkhamsted-common-1-7006636 | archive-date=13 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

====First World War====

During the [[First World War]], under the guidance of Lt Col Francis Errington, the [[Inns of Court Regiment|Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps]] trained men from the legal profession as officers. Over the course of the war, 12,000 men travelled from Berkhamsted to fight on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. Their training included trench digging: {{convert|8|miles|km|0}} of trenches were dug across the Common (of which {{convert|500|m|ft|0|order=flip}} remain). The [[Inns of Court War Memorial]] on the Common has the motto ''Salus Populi Suprema Lex''—the welfare of the people is the highest law—and states that the ashes of Colonel&nbsp;Errington were buried nearby.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0230qnv|title=Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire: Where the Law was Trained for War|date=30 July 2014 |access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/uploads/files/AboutTheChilterns/HistoricEnvironment/Chilternsaetna_summer_2014_WWI_Edition.pdf|title=WWI commemorative edition|access-date=29 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205011144/http://www.chilternsaonb.org/uploads/files/AboutTheChilterns/HistoricEnvironment/Chilternsaetna_summer_2014_WWI_Edition.pdf|archive-date=5 December 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/solicitors-in-world-war-one/in-search-of-the-inns-of-court-trenches/5041942.fullarticle|title = In search of the Inns of Court trenches|date = 2 July 2014|access-date = 1 March 2015|website = The Law Society Gazette|publisher = Law Society|last = Cross|first = Michael|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112134/http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/solicitors-in-world-war-one/in-search-of-the-inns-of-court-trenches/5041942.fullarticle|archive-date = 2 April 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref>

====20th century urban developments====

In 1909 Sunnyside and later in 1935 Northchurch were added to Berkhamsted Urban District. Shortly after 1918 much of the extensive estate belonging to Berkhamsted Hall, at the east end of the High Street, was sold; many acres west of Swing Gate Lane were developed with council housing. More council housing was built at Gossoms End. Development on the north side of the valley was limited until the sale of the Ashridge estate in the 1930s, after which housing appeared at each end of Bridgewater Road.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=32}} In the second half of the 20th century, many of the old industrial firms in Berkhamsted closed, while the numbers of commuters increased.<ref>{{cite book|author=Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society|title=Berkhamsted Through Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1yIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT18|date=2013-03-15|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1-4456-2686-4|pages=18–}}</ref>

After the Second World War, in July 1946, the nearby town of Hemel Hempstead was designated a [[New town|New Town]] under the [[New Towns Act 1946|New Towns Act]] ("New Towns" were satellite urban developments around London to relieve London's population growth and housing shortages caused by the [[The Blitz|Blitz]]). In February 1947 the Government purchased {{convert|5910|acres|0|abbr=on}} of land and began construction. As a result Hemel Hempstead's population increased from 20,000 to over 90,000 today, making it the largest town in Hertfordshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/article/war-and-boom-prompted-an-exodus-from-city-to-town/ |title=War and boom prompted an exodus from city to town |publisher=The Dacorum Heritage Trust Ltd |date=20 April 2011 |access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref> In 1974, the old hundred of Dacorum became the modern district of Dacorum formed under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], based in Hemel Hempstead.

==Geography==
[[File:Berkhamsted from high.jpg|thumb|right|Berkhamsted and Northchurch from the air, looking south across the valley|alt=aerial picture of the town surrounded by green fields.]]
Berkhamsted is situated {{convert|26|miles|km|0}} northwest of London within the [[Chiltern Hills]], part of a system of [[chalk downland]]s throughout eastern and southern England, believed to have formed between 84 and 100 million years ago in the [[Cretaceous Period]] when the area was a [[Chalk Group|chalk]]-depositing marine environment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Catt|first=John|publisher=Hertfordshire Geological Society|url=http://www.hertsgeolsoc.ology.org.uk/IntroToHertsGeology.htm|title=Geology on your Doorstep|access-date=28 December 2014|archive-date=28 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228052055/http://www.hertsgeolsoc.ology.org.uk/IntroToHertsGeology.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The town is located in a narrow northwest to southeast valley falling from {{convert|180|m|ft|order=flip}} above sea level to {{convert|105|m|ft|order=flip}}. The valley is at the southernmost limit of the [[Last glacial period|Pleistocene glaciation]] ice erosion throughout the Chiltern scarp, giving it a smooth rounded appearance, with [[alluvial]] soils in the valley bottom and chalk, clay and flint on the valley sides.<ref name="Area 117">{{cite book|year=2004 |title=Landscape Character Assessment for Dacorum |publisher=Dacorum Borough Council |pages=93–96 |chapter-url=https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/landscapecharassess_f22_area117upperbulbournevalley.pdf?sfvrsn=0|chapter=Area 117 Upper Bulbourne Valley}}</ref><ref name="bbcdoom">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-496000-207000/page/7|title=Domesday Reloaded 1986: Farming in Berkhamsted |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 September 2014}}</ref> In the early [[Mesolithic]] period (Middle Stone Age, mid to late 8th millennium BC), the local upland was mostly [[pine]] woodland and the low area of central Berkhamsted probably a grass-[[sedge]] fen. In the 6th Millennium BC the dense deciduous forest became well established. By the Mid to late 3rd millennium BC during the [[Neolithic]] period (the New Stone Age) human activity can be seen in wood clearances; the woodland being then dominated by [[lime tree]]s, with [[alder tree]]s growing on the [[flood plain]]. The [[River Bulbourne]], a [[chalk stream]], runs through the valley for {{convert|7|miles|km|0}} in a southeast direction, starting at [[Dudswell, Hertfordshire|Dudswell]] and the adjoining village of [[Northchurch]] and running through Berkhamsted, [[Bourne End, Hertfordshire|Bourne End]] and [[Boxmoor]], where it merges with the [[River Gade]] at Two Waters in [[Apsley, Hertfordshire|Apsley]], near Hemel Hempstead. Rich in eels and other fish, it was fast-moving and full, and prone to frequent localised flooding.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=7}} The river created a marsh environment (at times referred to as an 'unhealthy swamp') in the centre of the valley.{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=8}}{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=10}}  The river powered the watermills (recorded in 1086) and fed the three [[moat]]s of the large [[House of Normandy|Norman]] [[Motte and Bailey]] castle, that stands close to the centre of the town where a small dry [[combe]] joins the Bulbourne valley. [[File:Map of Berkhamsted 2014.png|thumb|right|2014 Map of Berkhamsted and Northchurch.|alt=Map of the town]]

The countryside surrounding the town includes parts of the [[Green Belt]] and the Chilterns [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]]. The Urban Nature Conservation Study (UNCS) recognises the town's hinterland as a biodiversity resource. The hills gently rise to an undulating and open plateau, which has a mix of arable farmland, common land and mixed [[Quercus|oak]], [[Fraxinus|ash]] and [[beech]] woodland. On the northeast side of town are the Berkhamsted and Northchurch [[commons]], the largest in the Chilterns at {{convert|1055|acre}}, and forming a large arc running from Northchurch, through [[Frithsden]] and down to [[Potten End]]. Ownership of Berkhamsted Common is divided between the [[National Trust]] and Berkhamsted Golf Club. Beyond the common is the {{convert|5000|acre|adj=on}} historic wooded parkland of [[Ashridge]]; once part of [[Berkhamsted Castle]]'s hunting park, it is now managed by the National Trust. Ashridge is part of the Chilterns [[Beech]]wood [[Special Area of Conservation]] (SAC), a nationally important nature conservation area, and is also designated as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]. Agriculture is more dominant to the south of the town; close to the Buckinghamshire border there are two former large country estates, [[Ashlyns Hall|Ashlyns]] and [[Rossway]]. The ancient woodland at Dickshills is also located here.<ref name="SPSTB">{{cite book|title=Emerging Core Strategy 2009 |chapter=Spatial Strategy for the town of Berkhamsted |year=2009 |publisher=Dacorum Borough Council |chapter-url=http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/spar-11.17.11-corestrategy-berkhamsted-finalversion-june09.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/ccbmaps/694/137/berkhamsted-and-northchurch-common.html#sthash.NiLpsSMp.dpuf|title=Berkhamsted and Northchurch Common|publisher=Chilterns Conservation Board|access-date=19 September 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=10-11}}

The layout of Berkhamsted's centre is typical of a medieval market settlement: the linear High Street (aligned on the Akeman Street) forms the spine of the town (roughly aligned east–west), from which extend medieval [[burgage plots]] (to the north and south). The surviving burgage plot layout is the result of a comprehensive plan carried out at the beginning of the 13th century, most probably instigated by Geoffrey fitz Peter.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=9}}<ref name="web.dacorum.gov.uk"/> The town centre slowly developed over the years and contains a wide variety of properties that date from the 13th century onwards. The modern town began to develop after the construction of the [[Grand Junction Canal]] in 1798. The canal intersects the river at numerous points, taking most of its water supply and helping to drain the valley. The locality became further [[urbanization|urbanised]] when the London to Birmingham railway was built in 1836–37.<ref name="Area 117" />{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=8-9}} The townscape was shaped by the Bulbourne valley, which rises {{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=off}} on either side at its narrowest point; the residential area is elongated and follows the valley's topography.<ref name="SPSTB"/>{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=7}} The southwest{{clarify|reason=inconsistent with the statement above that the town is aligned east-west|date=July 2024}} side of the valley is more developed, with side streets running up the steep hillside; on the northeast side, the ground gently slopes down to the castle, railway, canal and small river, was less available for development. Today, Berkhamsted is an affluent,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hobbs | first=Thomas |date=26 April 2014 |work=The Grocer |url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/home/latest-news/berkhamsted-backlash-against-lowering-the-tone-with-a-lidl/356846.article|title=Berkhamsted backlash against 'lowering the tone with a Lidl'|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> "pleasant town tucked in a wooded fold in the [[Chiltern Hills]]";<ref name="Guard">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/dec/12/lets-move-to-berkhamsted|title=Let's move to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=12 December 2009|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> with a large section of the settlement protected as a conservation area.<ref name="SPSTB"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/planning-development/planning-cons-design/conservation-areas?redirected=true|title=Conservation areas|access-date=4 February 2015}}</ref>

===Neighbouring settlements===
Traveling on the high street away from the town, along the Bulbourne valley south-eastwards towards London, the A4251 road passes through the village of [[Bourne End, Hertfordshire|Bourne End]] and the large [[New towns in the United Kingdom|new town]] of Hemel Hempstead ({{convert|8|miles|km|0}} distant). To the south south-east is the large village of [[Bovingdon]]. Taking the  [[A416 road]] south from Berkhamsted, along the [[Chiltern Hills]] into [[Buckinghamshire]] lies the nearby hamlet of [[Ashley Green]] and the fellow [[market towns]] of [[Chesham]] ({{convert|4.7|miles|km|0}} distant) and [[Amersham]]. Further southwest is the village of [[Great Missenden]] and to the west is the small market town of [[Wendover]].

Along the A4251 and valley northwestwards is the adjoining village of [[Northchurch]], and the hamlets of [[Dudswell, Hertfordshire|Dudswell]] and [[Cow Roast]], the village of [[Wigginton, Hertfordshire|Wigginton]] and the small market town of [[Tring]] ({{convert|6.7|miles|km|0}} distant) and the [[county town]] of Buckinghamshire [[Aylesbury]] at ({{convert|13.9|miles|km|0}} distant). Following the Chiltern Hills northwards, to the north-northwest is the village of [[Aldbury]]; situated to the north of Berkhamsted are the villages of [[Ringshall, Berkhamsted|Ringshall]] and [[Little Gaddesden]] ({{convert|5.4|miles|km|0}} distant); finally located to the north-east of the town are the villages and hamlets of [[Potten End]], [[Frithsden]] and [[Great Gaddesden]]. The nearest large settlements to the north of Berkhamsted are the [[Bedfordshire]] towns of [[Dunstable]] ({{convert|11.1|miles|km|0}} distant) and [[Luton]] ({{convert|13.8|miles|km|0}}.

===Climate===
Like most of the United Kingdom, Berkhamsted has an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfb'').

{{Weather box
|location = Berkhamsted
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan high C = 6
|Feb high C = 7
|Mar high C = 10
|Apr high C = 12
|May high C = 16
|Jun high C = 19
|Jul high C = 21
|Aug high C = 22
|Sep high C = 18
|Oct high C = 14
|Nov high C = 9
|Dec high C = 6
|year high C = 13
|Jan low C = 3
|Feb low C = 3
|Mar low C = 4
|Apr low C = 5
|May low C = 8
|Jun low C = 10
|Jul low C = 12
|Aug low C = 13
|Sep low C = 11
|Oct low C = 8
|Nov low C = 5
|Dec low C = 3
|year low C = 7
|Jan precipitation mm = 69.3
|Feb precipitation mm = 59.4
|Mar precipitation mm = 46.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 70.1
|May precipitation mm = 58.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 58.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 46.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 68.9
|Sep precipitation mm = 51.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 84.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 93.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 80.9
|year precipitation mm = 788.0
|source 1 =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/records/Berkhamsted,England,United-Kingdom/we-city-51.76,-.56?q=berkhamsted-england&form=PRWLAS&iso=GB |title=Weather: Averages for Berkhamsted |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=9 April 2015}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}
Near-real-time weather information can be retrieved from Berkhamsted Weather Station page on the [[Met Office]] Weather Observation website.<ref>{{cite web |title=Observation Site: Berkhamsted Weather Station |url=http://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/view?siteID=195933 |work=Wow Weather Observations |publisher=Met Office |access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref> [[File:Berkhamsted TH Sign.jpg|thumb|The town's coat of arms, an [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|Escutcheon]] or shield with a castle of three towers each domed Azure flying from the two outer towers a banner Argent charged with a cross Gules all within a bordure Sable bezanty. The border is derived from the arms of the Duchy of Cornwall, as Berkhamsted Castle was part of that estate from the beginning under Richard Earl of Cornwall.<ref>{{cite web |title=East of England Region |url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_of_england.html |publisher=Civic Heraldry of England |access-date=9 March 2021}}</ref>]]

==Governance==
Berkhamsted is within the UK parliamentary constituency of [[Harpenden and Berkhamsted (UK Parliament constituency)|Harpenden and Berkhamsted]]. Following the [[2024 United Kingdom general election]], [[Victoria Collins]] ([[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]) is the constituency's current [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament (MP)]].

Berkhamsted has a town council, the first tier of local government that represents the local people to two higher tiers of local government, [[Dacorum Borough Council]] and [[Hertfordshire County Council]]. The modern district of Dacorum based in [[Hemel Hempstead]] was formed in 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]; the [[Non-metropolitan district|local government district]]'s main population centres include Hemel Hempstead, [[Tring]] and the western part of [[Kings Langley]]. Berkhamsted accounts for just over 12 per cent of the district's population of 153,300 in 2017.<ref name="hertslis2.org">{{cite web |title=Data Sources |url=http://atlas.hertslis.org/profiles/profile?profileId=79#iasProfileSection4 |publisher=Community Information and Intelligence Unit, Hertfordshire County Council |access-date=29 January 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Berkhamsted is split into three local government [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|Wards]]—East, West and Castle. In the 2019 [[Town councils in England|town council]] elections the political composition of the council was Liberal Democrat 10; Conservative 3; Green 2 .<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-02 |title=Election results by parishes, 2 May 2019 |url=https://democracy.dacorum.gov.uk/mgElectionElectionAreaResults.aspx?EID=500000001&RPID=574720490 |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=democracy.dacorum.gov.uk}}</ref>  Following the 2023 [[Town councils in England|town council]] elections the political composition of the council changed to Liberal Democrat 11; Green 2; Labour 2.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 May 2023 |title=Town & Parish Elections - Thursday, 4th May, 2023 |url=https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/council-democracy/elections-and-voting/elections-2023 |access-date=27 November 2024 |website=Dacorum Borough Council and town and parish council elections - 4 May |publisher=dacorum.gov.uk}}</ref> In the [[2021 United Kingdom local elections|2021 local elections]] on 6 May, the [[2021 Hertfordshire County Council election#Dacorum (10 Seats)|Berkhamsted seat]] at Hertfordshire County Council was won with 51.8 per cent of the vote by the Liberal Democrat Nigel Taylor, compared to the Conservative vote of 29.8per cent.<ref>{{cite web|date=8 May 2021|title=Election results for Berkhamsted (7)|url=https://democracy.hertfordshire.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=99&RPID=5851640|access-date=|website=Hertfordshire County Council}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Berkhamsted was an [[ancient borough]], but lost this status in the seventeenth century.{{sfn|Page|1908|pp=171-179}} The town was then governed by its parish [[vestry]] until the nineteenth century, in the same way as most rural areas. In 1835 Berkhamsted was made the centre of a [[poor law union]] which covered the town and the surrounding parts of western Hertfordshire, as well as parts of Buckinghamshire. Under the [[Public Health Acts|Public Health Act 1872]], [[sanitary districts]] were created, and the [[Board of guardians|boards of guardians]] of poor law unions were made responsible for public health and local government for any part of their district not included in an urban authority. As Berkhamsted had no [[Local board of health|local board]] or other urban authority, it was therefore included in the rural sanitary district.<ref name=workhouse>{{cite web |url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Berkhampstead/ |title=Berkhampstead Poor Law Union |last=Higginbotham |first=Peter |website=The Workhouse |access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref>

In 1893 the town petitioned for the creation of a local board covering both Berkhamsted and Northchurch parishes, which would make it independent of the rural sanitary authority. An inquiry was held by a government inspector in December 1893, but he advised against the scheme. Hertfordshire County Council therefore did not pursue it, although did comment that an urban authority covering just the town itself rather than the two whole parishes might be more favourably received.<ref>Berkhampstead: A Local Board proposed, ''Herts Advertiser and St Albans Times'', 16 September 1893, page 7</ref><ref>Hertfordshire County Council: Suggested Local Board for Berkhampstead and Northchurch, ''Herts Advertiser and St Albans Times'', 27 January 1894, page 7</ref>

Under the [[Local Government Act 1894]], rural sanitary districts became rural districts on 28 December 1894, and so the town became part of the [[Berkhamsted Rural District|Berkhampstead Rural District]]. Parish councils were also established under the act, to take over the civil functions of the old vestries. The new parish councils came into being on 31 December 1894 if an election had been needed to choose the first parish councillors, as was the case at Berkhamsted. The first meeting of the parish council was held on 31 December 1894 at the [[Berkhamsted Town Hall|Town Hall]] in Berkhamsted, with the first chairman of the parish council being Arthur Johnson, who was the rector of St Peter's Church in the town.<ref>Great Berkhampstead: The Parish Council, ''Bucks Herald'' (Aylesbury), 5 January 1895, page 7</ref>

===Berkhamsted Urban District (1898{{ndash}}1974)===
{{Infobox historic subdivision
|Name=Berkhamsted
|AltName=Great Berkhampstead (1898{{ndash}}1937)
|subdivision_type=[[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|Urban District]]
|HQ=Berkhamsted
<!-- Statuses -->
|Start=15 April 1898
|End=31 March 1974
|Replace=[[Dacorum]]
<!-- Memberships -->
| membership_title1     = County Council
| membership1           = [[Hertfordshire County Council|Hertfordshire]]
|Image=[[File:Civic Centre, 161 High Street, Berkhamsted.jpg|280px]]<br>[[Berkhamsted Civic Centre]], 161 High Street, Berkhamsted.
|PopulationFirst=6,371
|PopulationLast=15,255<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10001675 |title=Berkhamsted Urban District, ''A Vision of Britain through Time'' |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=14 September 2021}}</ref>          
   |PopulationFirstYear=1901  
   |PopulationLastYear=1971
}}

Efforts to make the town independent of the rural district council continued. Eventually it was agreed that the parish would be split into a "Great Berkhampstead Urban" parish, which would become an urban district, and a "Great Berkhampstead Rural" parish, which would remain in the Berkhampstead Rural District. These changes came into force on 15 April 1898. The first meeting of the Great Berkhampstead Urban District Council was held on 15 April 1898, with David Osborn being elected the council's first chairman.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1898 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |page=289 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20swAQAAMAAJ&q=Berkhampstead+urban |access-date=14 September 2021 |quote=Local Government Board Order 37,522: The County of Hertford (Berkhampstead Saint Peter) Confirmation Order, 1898, coming into operation 15 April 1898}}</ref><ref>Great Berkhampstead: Urban District Council, ''Bucks Herald'' (Aylesbury), 23 April 1898, page 8</ref> The Great Berkhampstead Rural parish ceded land to the urban district in 1935 and was abolished two years later, being split between [[Nettleden with Potten End]], Northchurch, and [[Great Gaddesden]] on 1 April 1937.<ref>Ministry of Health Order No. 80108: The County of Hertford Review Order, 1935</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Ministry of Health |date=1937 |publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |page=276 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MH8XAQAAIAAJ&q=County%20of%20Hertford%20Berkhamstead%20Rural%20Parishes%20Order |access-date=14 September 2021 |quote=County of Hertford (Berkhampstead Rural District Parishes) Order, 1936}}</ref>

In 1908 the urban district council acquired a builder's yard and former Wesleyan chapel at 135 High Street (renumbered 161 High Street around 1950) to act as its offices and meeting place.<ref>{{cite news |title=Berkhamsted: Urban Council's Enterprise - An important development |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=25 April 2022 |work=Watford Observer |date=29 August 1908 |page=7}}</ref> By the 1930s the council needed more space. In 1936 the council bought the shop adjoining the old chapel. Both buildings were demolished and the new [[Berkhamsted Civic Centre]] was built on the site, which formally opened on 14 October 1938.<ref>Berkhamsted Newsletter, ''Bucks Examiner'' (Chesham), 2 October 1936, page 3</ref><ref>The Civic Centre opened, ''Bucks Examiner'' (Chesham), 21 October 1938, page 7</ref>

Until 1937 the official name of the council's area was the "Great Berkhampstead Urban District". At a meeting on 15 April 1937 the council discussed whether to change the name. It was commented that the inclusion of the "Great" in particular caused problems for people looking for the council's telephone number in the directory. The spelling "Berkhamsted" was also the more commonly used by this time. The change of name to "Berkhamsted Urban District" was agreed, and came into effect on 19 July 1937. The neighbouring Berkhampstead Rural District followed suit a few months later, becoming Berkhamsted Rural District on 1 November 1937.<ref>Berkhamsted Newsletter, ''Bucks Examiner'' (Chesham), 16 April 1937, page 7</ref><ref name=change/>

Berkhamsted Urban District was abolished under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], becoming part of the [[non-metropolitan district|district]] of Dacorum on 1 April 1974. Berkhamsted Town Council was created as a [[successor parish]] to the old urban district council. The town council continues to be based at the Civic Centre at 161 High Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/civic-centre.html  |title=Berkhamsted Civic Centre|publisher=Berhamsted Town Council|access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref>

==Demography==
===Homes===
The Hertfordshire Local Information System (HertsLIS) website (based on data from the [[Office for National Statistics]] and other UK government departments) has the following data regarding the 7,363 households in Berkhamsted in 2011. 72 per cent of homes were owner occupied (34 per cent owned outright and 38 per cent owned with a mortgage) compared to 63 per cent for England. 26.5 per cent of homes were rented (13 per cent each for social rented and private rented) compared to a national figure of 34.5 per cent. In 2011, 77 per cent of household spaces in Berkhamsted were houses or bungalows and 23 per cent were flats or maisonettes. 30 per cent of houses and bungalows were detached compared to 22 per cent nationally: 47 per cent of dwellings are semi-detached or terraced, compared to 55 per cent nationally. According to HertsLIS in the third quarter of 2017 the average price of houses and flats in Berkhamsted was £724,900, compared to £474,400 for Hertfordshire, and £304,500 for England. Detached houses were £1,070,600 compared to £424,400 nationally.<ref name="hertslis.org">{{cite web|url=http://atlas.hertslis.org/IAS/profiles/profile?profileId=81&geoTypeId=16&geoIds=26#iasProfileSection6|title=Data Sources|publisher=Community Information and Intelligence Unit, Hertfordshire County Council|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> Berkhamsted was shown as the best place to live in southeast England in the [[Sunday Times]] 'Best Places to Live 2018' list, with the average prices of different types of homes in Berkhamsted ranging from £273,760 for starter homes to £999,920 for family homes, with rents from £850 to £2,490 per calendar month.<ref name= "ST18">{{cite web | url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/berkhamsted-hertfordshire-best-places-to-live-jjq3p295f | title=Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire — best places to live in the UK 2018 | publisher=Times Newspapers Limited | date=18 March 2018 | access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-43448590 | title=York named Britain's 'best place to live' by guide | publisher=BBC | date=18 March 2018 | access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids/berkhamsted-named-best-place-live-1349333 | title=Berkhamsted named best place to live in South East of England by The Sunday Times | publisher=[[Hertfordshire Mercury]] | date=16 March 2018 | access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref>

In 2021 according to [[Rightmove]] the average cost of a home in Berkhamsted was £696,949. The majority of sales in the town were detached properties, with an average selling value of £1,076,244. The average terraced dwelling price was £563,291 and the average semi-detached properties went for £657,436. Overall, in 2021 property house prices in Berkhamsted were four per cent up on the previous year and five per cent up on the 2018 peak of £661,336.<ref name = "HM2021"/>

===Employment and economic wellbeing===
In mid-2016, the [[Office for National Statistics]] estimated the working age population of Berkhamsted (males and females aged 16 to 64) as 11,400, i.e. 62 per cent of the town's population. People from Berkhamsted were employed as follows: 17.5 per cent worked as managers, directors and senior officials; 27.5 per cent professional occupations and 8.5 per cent in associate professional and technical occupations; 10 per cent were employed in administrative and secretarial occupations; 7 per cent in skilled trades; 6 per cent Caring, leisure and other service occupations; 5 per cent were in sales and customer service occupations; 3 per cent were in process, plant and machine operatives; and 5.5 per cent worked in elementary occupations.<ref name = "HertsLIS"/>

According to HertsLIS in 2011, 76 per cent of Berkhamsted residents between the ages of 16 and 74 were employed (of which: full-time, 43 per cent; part-time, 13 per cent; self-employed, 14 per cent); and 24 per cent economically inactive (retired, 13 per cent; long-term sick/disabled, 2 per cent).<ref name = "HertsLIS">{{cite web | url=http://www.hertslis.org/ |title=Data Sources|publisher=Community Information and Intelligence Unit, Hertfordshire County Council|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> 1.5 per cent of Berkhamsted households included a person with a long-term health problem or disability, while nationally this figure is 4.05 per cent.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://atlas.hertslis.org/profiles/profile?profileId=99&geoTypeId= | title=Herts Insight | publisher=Hertfordshire County Council | work=Economic Wellbeing Profile : Selection: Berkhamsted Geo-type: Large Settlements A to B | access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref> In April 2013, according to the [[Office for National Statistics]] on benefit claimants by constituency, the number of claimants on [[Jobseeker's Allowance]] (unemployment benefit) in Berkhamsted's South West Hertfordshire parliamentary constituency was 1.7 per cent, compared to 7.8 per cent for the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/nov/17/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics|title=Unemployment: the key UK data and benefit claimants for every constituency|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=17 November 2010 |access-date=21 September 2014}}</ref>

===Diversity===
Looking at broad ethnic heritage in 2011, HertsLIS data found that 90 per cent of residents were described as white British. Of the remainder, 1 per cent were Irish, 4 per cent were of other white origin, 1.7 per cent were described as mixed or multiple ethnic, 2.1 per cent were Asian or Asian British, 0.3 per cent were black African/Caribbean or black British and 0.3 per cent were Arab or any other ethnic group. Regarding religious beliefs in 2011, of the 92 per cent of residents who stated a religious preference, 30 per cent were non-religious and 59 per cent were Christian; other faiths included 0.4 per cent Buddhist, 0.5 per cent Jewish, 0.5 per cent Muslim and 0.1 per cent Sikh.<ref name = "HertsLIS"/>

===Relationships and education===
In 2011 the marital and civil partnership statuses of residents aged 16 and over were as follows: 28 per cent single, 56 per cent married, 0.1 per cent in a registered same-sex civil partnership, 2 per cent separated, 8 per cent divorced or legally dissolved same-sex civil partnership, and 6 per cent widowed or surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership. Looking at the [[National Qualifications Framework|qualifications table]], 12 per cent of residents had no qualifications, 10 per cent reached level 1, 13 per cent achieved level 2, 2 per cent had apprenticeship qualifications, 10 per cent were level 3 and 49 per cent achieved level 4 or above.<ref name = "HertsLIS"/> In 2018, the ''Sunday Times'' found 76 per cent of young people went on to higher education.<ref name= "ST18"/>

==Transport==
[[File:Bowles-watford-tring-1782.jpg|thumb|left|A [[strip map]] showing Berkhamsted on the route of the Sparrows Herne turnpike. From Bowles's Post Chaise Companion of 1782]]

===Road===
In 1762, this section of Akeman Street became part of the [[Sparrows Herne Turnpike Road]], a main thoroughfare between London and Aylesbury; it was notorious for its rutted and pitted state, even after becoming a [[toll road]]. Many [[coaching inn]]s thrived along its route, including, in Berkhamsted, the King's Arms (where the exiled [[King Louis XVIII]] of France carried on a romance with Polly Page, the innkeeper's daughter).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/places-b/berkhamsted/!-berkhamsted-frame.htm|title=The History of the Sparrows Herne Turnpike|access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref><ref name ="DacLNF">{{cite web|url=http://webdev.dacorum.gov.uk/dacorum-borough-council/community-living/shopping-town-centres/berkhamsted/history/places-of-historical-interest|title=Places of Historical Interest|publisher=Dacorum Borough Council|access-date=20 March 2015}}</ref> The town's historic high street is now the A4251. A bypass, originally proposed in the 1930s, was opened in 1993 and the main [[A41 road]] now passes south-west of Berkhamsted. A study of car ownership in Berkhamsted, Northchurch and Tring found that 43–45 per cent of households had two or more cars, compared to the county average of 40 per cent and the national average of 29 per cent. Conversely, the proportion of households who did not own a car was 14–20 per cent (about 7 per cent lower than the national average).<ref name="dacorum.gov.uk">{{cite report |url=http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/strategic-planning/inf06---tring-berkhamsted-and-northchurch-utp.pdf?sfvrsn=0|title=Tring, Northchurch and Berkhamsted Urban Transport Plan&nbsp;– Volume 1|date=May 2013 |publisher=Prepared by AECOM for Hertfordshire County Council|access-date=21 September 2014}}</ref> Local bus routes passing through Berkhamsted town centre provide links to Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Watford and [[Whipsnade Zoo]]. Services include the 30, 31, 62, 207, 500 (Aylesbury and Watford), 501, 502 and 532. Buses are managed by [[Hertfordshire County Council]]'s ''[[Intalink]]'' transport service.<ref name="bus-map">{{cite web |title=Map of bus routes in Berkhamsted |url=http://www.intalink.org.uk/download/3767.4/berkhamsted/ |publisher=Intalink Partnership, Hertfordshire County Council |access-date=8 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414225841/http://www.intalink.org.uk/download/3767.4/berkhamsted/ |archive-date=14 April 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="bus-list">{{cite web |title=List of bus routes in Berkhamsted |url=http://www.intalink.org.uk/timetables/?location-number=location&searchValue=Berkhamsted&frm=search |publisher=Intalink Partnership, Hertfordshire County Council |access-date=8 April 2015 }}</ref>

===Canal===

[[File:Berkhampstead railway station 1838.jpg|thumb|Berkhamsted's original railway station (1838) on the [[London and Birmingham Railway]] with the Grand Union Canal on the right-hand side.<ref name="Roscoe">{{cite book |last=Roscoe |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Roscoe |year=1839 | title=The London and Birmingham railway, with the home and country scenes on each side of the line |publisher=Charles Tilt |place=London |at= Facing page 64 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwoHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA64-IA1}}</ref>]]

In 1798, the [[Grand Junction Canal]] (built by [[William Jessop]]) from the [[River Thames]] at [[Brentford]] reached Berkhamsted; it reached [[Birmingham]] in 1805.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/grandjun.htm|title=The Grand Junction Canal&nbsp;– London's Long-distance Link|publisher=London Canal Museum |access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> Castle Wharf, the port of Berkhamsted, on the south side of the canal between Ravens Lane and Castle Street, was the centre of the town's canal trade, navigation and boat building activities. It was a hub of the country's inland water transport system, linking the ports and industrial centres of the country. Goods transported included coal, grain, building materials and manure. Timber yards, boating wharves, breweries, boat building and chemical works flourished as a result of the canal, with over 700&nbsp;workers employed locally. It is still known as the ''Port of Berkhamsted''. Separately, [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater]] (the "Canal Duke" and "father of the inland waterway system"), lived in Ashridge, near Berkhamsted. The canal became part of the [[Grand Union Canal]] in 1929.<ref name="CanalDDC">{{cite web | url=https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/leisure-culture/shopping-and-town-centres/berkhamsted/the-grand-union-canal | title=The Grand Union Canal | work=Dacorum District Council | access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref>

===Railway===

{{main|Berkhamsted railway station}}

[[File:Berkhamsted Railway Station.jpg|thumb|Berkhamsted's current railway station, next to the Grand Union Canal.]]

In 1834, after opposition from [[turnpike trusts]] and local landowners was resolved, the first Berkhamsted railway station was built by chief engineer [[Robert Stephenson]]. Though the castle was the first building to receive statutory protection from Parliament, the railway embankment obliterated the old castle [[barbican]] and adjacent earthworks. Most of the raw materials used to build the railway were transported by the canal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/article/on-track-for-a-rivalry-on-the-railways/|title=On track for a rivalry on the railways|publisher=Dacorum Heritage Trust |date=15 December 2010 |access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref> The present station was built in 1875 when the railway was widened. It is unusual, on its line, in that most of the original buildings have been retained. The 'large trunk station' is located immediately next to Berkhamsted Castle on one side and overlooks the Grand Junction Canal on the other. The station is situated {{convert|28|mi|km}} north-west of [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] on the [[West Coast Main Line]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://abcrailwayguide.uk/bkm-berkhamsted-railway-station/facts-and-figures | title=Berkhamsted Railway Station | publisher= The ABC Railway Guide| access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref>'

One and a half million journeys are made annually to and from Berkhamsted, the vast majority by commuters to and from London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/high-speed-rail/Berkhampstead-benefits-of-hs2.pdf|title=Berkhamsted: benefits of HS2&nbsp;– Network Rail|access-date=19 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813100553/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/high-speed-rail/Berkhampstead-benefits-of-hs2.pdf|archive-date=13 August 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Principal services, operated by [[West Midlands Trains]], run between London Euston and {{stnlnk|Milton Keynes Central}}, with additional trains running to {{stnlnk|Northampton}} and {{stnlnk|Birmingham New Street}}. [[Southern (train operating company)|Southern]] also runs an hourly service direct to [[East Croydon railway station|East Croydon]], via {{stnlnk|Clapham Junction}}.

==Economy and commerce==
In 1986, farming, service and light industry were characteristic local employers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-496000-207000/page/1|title=Berkhamsted|access-date=14 November 2014}}</ref> In 2015, schools and retail (predominantly [[Waitrose]]) were the town's largest employers; these are both situated in Berkhamsted Castle ward.<ref name="dacorum.gov.uk"/> The Berkhamsted West ward (especially around Billet Lane, close to the canal and railway) is where most of the town's small to medium-sized industrial firms are located. [[The British Film Institute]] (BFI) is an important local employer to the south of Berkhamsted. As in many settlements, local industry has declined and more people commute elsewhere to work. Of the employed residents living in both Berkhamsted and Tring, 35 per cent live and work in the towns, while 65 per cent commute to workplaces away from the towns, particularly to London.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/best-commuter-hotspots-make-your-money-go-further-2308777.html|title=Best commuter hotspots: Make your money go further|access-date=19 September 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/dec/12/lets-move-to-berkhamsted|title=Let's move to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire|access-date=19 September 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2009-12-12|last1=Dyckhoff|first1=Tom}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertymarket/10579791/Londons-super-suburbs-the-most-valuable-property-markets.html|title=London's super suburbs: the most valuable property markets|access-date=19 September 2014|date=2014-01-22|last1=McGhie|first1=Caroline}}</ref> Of the 7,100 people who work in Berkhamsted, 58 per cent commute to Berkhamsted to work. In 2011, 9.5 per cent of Berkhamsted residents (aged 16 to 74 in employment) worked mainly at or from home; 52 per cent drove to work by car (2.5 per cent as a passenger in a car); 22 per cent travelled by public transport; and 13 per cent cycled or walked to work. In 2011, an average commute to work was 21 kilometres.<ref name = "HertsLIS"/>

In November 2014, the Academy of Urbanism's ''Urbanism Awards'' found Berkhamsted's High Street to be a "vibrant" and "bustling" road, which "worked extremely well as a quality high street."<ref name="AcUrban">{{cite web|last=Hawkins |first=Kate |date=28 November 2014 |publisher=Academy of Urbanism |url=http://www.academyofurbanism.org.uk/high-street-berkhamsted/|title=High Street Berkhamsted|access-date=30 November 2014}}</ref> They considered the layout for the street to be exemplary for its time (it was put in place after the bypass was built in the early 1990s), creating a "pleasant" and "successful" shopping environment and providing a good "range of specialist shops and numerous cafes, restaurants and pubs", together with the "strong supermarket" offering set in "well-crafted re-configured streetscape". The long high street had 100 per cent retail occupancy, independent traders and a "[[coffee culture|cafe culture]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.berkhamstedtoday.co.uk/news/more-news/berkhamsted-high-street-could-be-named-uk-s-best-road-1-6410401|title=Berkhamsted High Street could be named UK's best road|work=Berkhamsted and Tring Gazette |date=11 November 2014 |access-date=12 November 2014}}</ref> The Academy considered the good working collaboration between individual businesses and the [[Chamber of Trade]] to be a particularly strong aspect of the street. In the ''2017 Vitality Index'' of 1000 retail locations in the UK carried out by Harper Dennis Hobbs, Berkhamsted was ranked as the 16th best shopping location in the country; in 2021, it ranked 9th. The index measured the quality of retail locations, including factors such as how well the retail mix met the needs of the local community, the number of vacant shops, and the proportion of 'undesirable' shops such as pawnbrokers and bookmakers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.retail-week.com/data/data-britains-50-most-vibrant-retail-locations/7021988.article|title=Data: Britain's 50 most vibrant retail locations|work=Retail Week |date=26 June 2017 |access-date= 9 July 2017}}</ref><ref name = "HM2021">{{cite web | url=https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/property/hertfordshire-property-berkhamsted-proving-popular-6048819 | title=Hertfordshire property: Why Berkhamsted is proving so popular with potential homeowners | work=[[Hertfordshire Mercury]] | date=16 October 2021 | access-date=31 October 2021}}</ref> Coming top in the south-east region in Sunday Times 2018 Best Places to Live, Berkhamsted was described as "affluent and attractive; its medieval centre is filled with chic shops and great places to eat", with 76 per cent of shops being independent stores. Berkhamsted has an active [[Transition Towns (network)|Transition Town]] community.<ref name= "ST18"/><ref name="Guard" />

==Education==
===Independent schools===
[[Berkhamsted School]] is a [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private]] [[Public school (UK)|public school]]. It was founded in 1541 by Dean [[John Incent]], ({{circa}} 1480–1545){{sfn|Birtchnell|1988}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Queen helps celebrate Berkhamsted School's 475th birthday|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/06/queen-helps-celebrate-berkhamsted-schools-475th-birthday/|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=6 May 2016|format=video}}</ref> Born in Berkhamsted ''circa'' 1480, John Incent was the [[Dean of St Paul's|Dean]] of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] in London from 1540 to 1545 (during the early years of the [[English Reformation]]).

Incent was noted as one of the agents of the Lord Chancellor [[Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex|Thomas Cromwell]] responsible for the [[Sequestration (law)|sequestration]] of religious properties during the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]]{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988}} Incent financed the foundation of Berkhamsted school from the combined revenues of the town's two medieval hospitals, St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, which he had closed down in 1516. In 1523 he took the lands of the two former hospitals and joined them to his own land, donating the enlarged estate towards the creation of a school. In 1541 he obtained a [[royal charter]] for ''"one chauntry perpetual and schools for boys not exceeding 144 to be called Dean Incent's Free School in Berkhamstedde"''.{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988|p=30}} John Incent died [[intestate]] 18 months after his school opened. To protect the school from legal challenges, it was incorporated by an [[Act of Parliament]] as ''The Free Schole of King Edwarde the Sixte in Berkhampstedde''. Amongst the school's [[List of people from Berkhamsted#Association through education in Berkhamsted|former students]] was the author [[Graham Greene (writer)|Graham Greene]].{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=122}} The school's oldest building, the Old Hall, was built in 1544 and is Grade I listed. Contemporary records state that Incent ''"builded with all speed a fair schoole lartge and great all of brick very sumptuously"'', and ''"when ye said school was thus finished, ye Deane sent for ye cheafe men of ye towne into ye school where he kneeling gave thanks to Almighty God"''.{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988|p=30}} In 1988, the school merged with Berkhamsted School for Girls (another large independent school in the town), which had been founded in 1888.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|pp=17, 120}}<ref name="Mackenzie1896p128"/>{{sfn|Cobb|1883|pp = 14, 72}} The school has 1,500 fee-paying pupils, aged 3 to 18.

[[Egerton Rothesay School]], an independent school founded in 1922, has 150 pupils between the ages of 5 and 19.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=114}}

===State schools===
[[File:Ashlyns School 26.jpg|thumb|The [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] [[portico]] of [[Ashlyns School]] (1935) bearing the [[Foundling Hospital]] coat of arms]]
In the 1970s, the town adopted a three-tier [[State-funded schools (England)|state school]] education system, but reverted to the two-tier system of primary and secondary schools in 2013.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.berkhamstedtoday.co.uk/news/three-into-two-is-future-for-berkhamsted-schools-1-4068857 | title='Three into two' is future for Berkhamsted schools | publisher=JPIMedia Ltd | work=Berkhamsted & Tring Gazette | date=18 July 2012 | access-date=27 January 2019}}</ref>

Primary schools are: Victoria (founded in 1838), Bridgewater, Greenway, St Thomas More, Swing Gate, Thomas Coram and Westfield.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/findmynearest.html?category=22%3A9202 | title=Directory - Schools & Education | publisher=Berkhamsted Town Council | access-date=27 January 2019| date=2018-09-11 }}</ref> The secondary school is [[Ashlyns School]], a [[Foundation school]] with 1,200 pupils aged 11 to 19&nbsp;years; it is a specialist language college. The school started in the 18th century, when [[Thomas Coram]], a philanthropic ship's captain, was appalled by the abandoned babies and children starving and dying in London. He campaigned for a hospital to accommodate them and was successfully granted a [[royal charter]] "for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Children" in 1739. Three years later, in 1742, he established the [[Foundling Hospital]] at [[Lamb's Conduit Field]]s in [[Bloomsbury]], London. It was the first children's charity in the country and a precedent for incorporated associational charities everywhere.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.victorianweb.org/history/orphanages/coram1.html |title=One. Captain Coram and the Foundling Hospital |access-date=22 August 2015 |author=Banerjee, Jacqueline}}</ref> The school moved to its purpose-built location in Berkhamsted in 1935. The residential home side at Berkhamsted closed following the [[Children Act 1948]], when family-centred care replaced institutional care. In 1951 Hertfordshire County Council took over running the school.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=116}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/08adcdf7-4568-4221-b844-dca8a480cd4e|title=Foundling Hospital|publisher=National Archives |access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Harris |first=Rhian |publisher=BBB |date=5 October 2012|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/foundling_01.shtml|title=The Foundling Hospital|access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref> The large school contains stained glass windows, especially around the [[chapel]], a staircase and many monuments from the original London hospital. The school's chapel formerly housed an organ donated by [[George Frideric Handel]].{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=116}} The school was used a backdrop to the 2007 comedy film, ''[[Son of Rambow]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/rambow-revisited-in-teen-movie-1-1198409 | title=Rambow revisited in teen movie | publisher=JPIMedia Ltd| work=Hemel Today | date=19 March 2008 | access-date=27 January 2019}}</ref> [[File:Berkhamsted School Old Hall.JPG|thumb|The Grade 1 Listed Berkhamsted School Old Hall, described by [[William Camden]] as "the only structure in Berkhamsted worth a second glance".{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=120}}]]

===Business school===
[[File:Spire of Chapel, Ashridge Management College, Hertfordshire - geograph.org.uk - 897514.jpg|thumb|Spire of chapel at the Grade 1 Ashridge House, showing the Natural Trust Ashridge Estate behind]] [[Hult Ashridge]] (formerly Ashridge Business School/Ashridge Executive Education) is located in the Grade I listed [[Ashridge#Ashridge House|Ashridge House]], the former stately home of the Duke of Bridgewater, set in {{convert|190|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of rolling parkland, two miles outside Berkhamsted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/postgraduate/business-schools/ashridge-business-school-1206241.html|title=Governance|date= 12 December 2010|website=www.independent.co.uk|publisher=[[The Independent]]|access-date=18 August 2016}}</ref> The house occupies the site of the earlier [[Ashridge Priory]], a [[College (canon law)|college]] of the monastic order of [[Bonhommes]] founded in 1283 by [[Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall]], who resided in the castle. After the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] bequeathed the property to his daughter, [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]]. In 1800, it was the home of [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater]], affectionately known as the Father of Inland Navigation.<ref name="Sanecki1996p30">{{harvnb|Sanecki|1996|p=30}}</ref> [[Ashridge Business School|Ashridge House]]  was constructed between 1808 and 1814 to a design by [[James Wyatt]] with later work by his nephew [[Jeffrey Wyattville]]. Architecture critic [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] described it as the "largest of the romantic palaces near London ... a spectacular composition". In 1928, [[Urban H. Broughton|Urban Hanlon Broughton]] purchased the house as a gift for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] intended to commemorate former prime minister [[Andrew Bonar Law]]. For its first 15 years it was a "College of Citizenship", established to help the party develop its intellectual forces in struggles with socialist organisations such as the [[Fabian Society]]. It became a cross between a [[think-tank]] and a training centre, with [[Arthur Bryant]] as its educational adviser.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A glimpse at the archives of a Conservative intellectual project|journal=Contemporary British History|volume=19|pages=79–93|year=2005|doi=10.1080/1361946042000303873|last1=Berthezène|first1=Clarisse|s2cid=144485487}}</ref>

In 2015, Ashridge merged with [[Hult International Business School]], an American business school with campuses in seven cities around the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ashridge.org.uk/about-us/governance/|title=Governance|website=Ashridge.org.uk|access-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402171716/https://ashridge.org.uk/about-us/governance/|archive-date=2 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its activities include open and tailored [[executive education]] programmes, [[MBA]], MSc and Diploma qualifications, organisation [[Consultant|consulting]], [[applied research]] and [[E-learning|online learning]]. Ashridge is the only UK specialist business school with degree-awarding powers, giving it the equivalent status to a university in awarding its degrees.

==Religious sites==
[[File:St Peter's Parish Church, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.jpg|thumb|The Anglican Parish Church of St Peter's, Berkhamsted, established in the 13th Century]]
The oldest extant church locally is St Mary's in the adjacent village of Northchurch. Between 1087 and 1104, there is reference to a chaplain called Godfrey and to a chapel of St James with parochial status within St Mary's Berkhamsted's parish. The chapel situated close to St Johns, located close to St John's Lane, was the base for a small community of monks, the Brotherhood of St John the Baptist, in the 11th and 12th centuries.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=7-8}}<ref name=Sherwood2008p227>{{Harvnb|Sherwood|2008|p=227}}.</ref>{{refn|For many centuries, the Berkhamsted town fair was held on the [[feast day]] of [[James, son of Zebedee|St James the Greater]] rather than on [[Saint Peter|Petertide]], which suggests that an older parish church before St Peter's was built in the 13th century.{{sfn|Page|1908|pp=[https://archive.org/stream/victoriahis02page#page/245/mode/1up 245-250]}}|group = "Notes"}}

During [[John of England|King John]]'s reign, [[Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex|Geoffrey Fitz Peter]], was instrumental in the foundation the [[Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted|parish church of St Peter]], and in 1222, Robert de Tuardo, was registered as the first known rector.{{sfn|Cobb|1883|p = [https://archive.org/stream/twolecturesonhis00cobbrich#page/114/mode/2up 114 Appendix IV]}} Because of the church's proximity to the castle, the reigning monarch was [[patronage|patron]] of Berkhamsted rectors for several centuries. In 1648, St Peter's Church was requisitioned during the [[English Civil War]] by [[Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron|General Fairfax]] as a [[military prison]] to hold soldiers captured from the [[siege of Colchester]].{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988|p=102}} The poet [[William Cowper]] was christened in St Peter's,{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=102}} where his father John Cowper was rector.<ref>{{cite book|title=Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714|volume=Abannan-Kyte|year=1891|pages=338–365|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=117054|access-date=16 December 2010}}</ref>

The parish church of St Peter, which stands on the high street, is one of the largest churches in Hertfordshire.<ref name="heritage-gateway">{{cite web|title=Hertfordshire HER & St Albans UAD: St Peter's Church, Berkhamsted|url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MHT9092&resourceID=1008|work=Heritage Gateway|access-date=25 November 2010}}</ref> The church is in the [[Latin cross]] plan, with an {{convert|85|ft|adj=on}} clock tower at the crossing and measures {{convert|56|yd}} from the west door to the east window, and the width across the [[transept]]s is {{convert|30|yd}}. The oldest part of the church is the [[chancel]], which is dated at c. 1200; it is in the [[Early English architecture|Early English]] style common in that period.{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988|pp=30–32}} Further additions were made up until the 15th century; in 1871, it underwent a [[Victorian restoration|restoration]] by [[William Butterfield]]. There are two altar tombs with alabaster effigies dating from the 14th century: the tombs are of a knight (thought to be Henry of Berkhamsted, one of the Black Prince's lieutenants at the [[Battle of Crecy]]) and his lady. There are two other [[Anglican]] churches in the town – 'St Michael and All Angels' (Sunnyside)(original building 1886) and 'All Saints' Church & St Martha's' (built in 1906, to cater for the growing population in the west end of the town). In 1842 a detached churchyard to St Peter's Church was established, using land to the rear of Egerton House (where the Rex cinema now stands) on Rectory Lane. It expanded to 3.275 acres and was phased out of use in 1976.

The town has a strong Non-conformist tradition, in 1672 a survey found that there were 400 Anglian conformists and 150 Non-conformists in Berkhamsted, when such beliefs could bring you foul of the law. The [[Baptist]] community in Berkhamsted, dates from 1640 making it one of the oldest nationally; first gathering in secret, they built a large chapel in 1722, and moved to their current place of worship at the junction of Ravens Lane on the High Street in 1864.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=102}} A [[Quaker]] community is present in the town from the second half of the 17th century, they opened their [[Meeting House]] in 1818 on the High Street opposite St John's Well Lane.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=104}} The [[Congregational church|Congregationlists]] can be traced back to 1780, they now worship combined with the [[Presbyterian]] church at St Andrew's United Reformed Church on the corner of Castle Street and Chapel Street.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=104}} The [[Methodist]]s arrived with the hundreds of men who came to build the railway, via various places of worship, today they share All Saints' Church with the Anglians.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=105}} The [[Evangelist (Latter Day Saints)]] began life has part of the [[Plymouth Brethren]], their Hope Hall opened in 1875, which was rechristened the Kings Road Evangelical Church in 1969.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=106}} The [[Roman Catholic]] tradition from the 17th to 20th century appears to be limited, [[Charles de Gaulle|General de Gaulle]] worshiped at their original Church of the Sacred Heart in Park View Road, they moved to a larger modern church in 1980 on Park Street.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=107}}

==Culture and leisure==
===Literary connections===
[[Geoffrey Chaucer]] was [[clerk of works]] at Berkhamsted Castle from 1389 and based his Doctor of Phisick in ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'' on John of Gaddesden, who lived in nearby Little Gaddesden. [[William Cowper]] was born in Berkhamsted Rectory in 1731. Although he moved away when still a boy, there are frequent references to the town in his poems and letters. In the [[Victorian era]], Cowper became a cult figure and Berkhamsted was a place of pilgrimage for his devotees. [[Maria Edgeworth]], a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature who was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe, lived in Berkhamsted as a child in the 18th century.<ref name="npsGossoms"/> Between 1904 and 1907, the [[Llewelyn Davies boys]] were the inspiration for the author and playwright [[J. M. Barrie]]'s [[Peter Pan]].{{sfn|Birkin|2003|p=46}} A little later, novelist [[Graham Greene]] was born in Berkhamsted and educated at Berkhamsted School, alongside literary contemporaries [[Claud Cockburn]], [[Peter Quennell]], [[Humphrey Trevelyan]] and [[Cecil Parrott]].<ref name="guide"/> Children's authors [[H. E. Todd]] and [[Hilda van Stockum]] both lived in Berkhamsted. The comic character Ed Reardon from [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]]'s semi-naturalistic radio drama [[Ed Reardon's Week]] resides in Berkhamsted.

===Cinema===
[[File:Berkhamsted Rex auditorium1.jpg|thumb|Rex Cinema, Berkhamsted]]
The Rex Cinema is regarded by some, including  ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', as Britain's most beautiful cinema.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rees |first=Jasper |date=9 January 2006 |work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3649212/Is-this-Britains-most-beautiful-cinema.html|title=Is this Britain's most beautiful cinema?|access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> Described by Dame [[Judi Dench]] as "absolutely awe-inspiring", the Rex was declared Britain's Best Cinema in the inaugural ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' film awards in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26480817|title=The Act of Killing wins Guardian Film Awards best film|date=7 March 2014 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=18 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-film-awards/guardian-film-awards-winners-2014|title=Guardian film awards winners 2014 |work=The Guardian |date=7 March 2014 |access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> Built in 1937, the Rex is recognised by [[English Heritage]] as a fine example of a 1930s [[art deco]] [[Cinema (place)|cinema]].<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Rex Cinema |num=1078110 |date=26 February 1988 |access-date=7 January 2019}}</ref> The cinema was designed by architect [[David Evelyn Nye]] for the Shipman and King circuit.{{sfn|Eyles|Skone|2002|pp=19-24}} Closed in 1988, the cinema was extensively restored in 2004 and has become a thriving independent local cinema.<ref>{{cite news |title=Silver screens |url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21604229-why-some-small-outfits-are-thriving-silver-screens |newspaper=The Economist |date=14 June 2014 |access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> The Rex frequently has sold-out houses for evening showings, the cinema is a "movie palace with all the original art deco trimmings" (its interior features decorations of sea waves and shells). Inside is a step "back into the golden age of film" when going to the movies was an experience; the cinema features luxurious seating and two licensed bars. It is managed by its owner James Hannaway, who introduces films. Sometimes there is a question-and-answer session with directors and actors involved in the films; these sessions have included Dame Judi Dench, [[Charles Dance]], [[Mike Leigh]] and [[Terry Jones]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Parkins |first=Jamie |title=Cine-files: The Rex, Berkhamsted |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/sep/04/cine-files-rex-berkhamsted |work=The Guardian |date=4 September 2012 |access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref>

Prior to the cinema's construction, an [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] mansion, [[Egerton House, Berkhamsted|Egerton House]], had occupied the site at the east end of the high street for 350&nbsp;years. The house was occupied briefly (1904–07) by [[Arthur Llewelyn Davies|Arthur]] and [[Sylvia Llewelyn Davies|Sylvia]] Llewelyn Davies, whose children were [[J. M. Barrie]]'s inspiration for [[Peter Pan]].{{sfn|Birkin|2003|p=102}}

===British Film Institute National Archive at King's Hill===
Rarely open to the public, the [[BFI National Archive]]'s "The J. Paul Getty, Jr. Conservation Centre" in Berkhamsted is the archive of the [[British Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Heritage Open Days 2015: 10 of the best secret sites |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/11857759/Heritage-Open-Days-2015-10-of-the-best-secret-sites.html |work=The Telegraph |date=11 September 2015 |access-date=11 September 2015}}</ref> With over 275,000&nbsp;feature, non-fiction and short films (dating from 1894) and 210,000&nbsp;television programmes, it is one of the largest film archives in the world. Two of the archive's collections were added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ([[UNESCO]]) UK Memory of the World Register, in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=In pictures: BFI National Archive recognised by Unesco |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-13539340 |publisher=BBC News |date=26 May 2011 |access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> The archive collects, preserves, restores and shares the films and television programmes which have shaped and recorded British life and times since the development of motion picture film in the late 19th century. The majority of the collection is British-originated material, but the archive also features internationally significant holdings from around the world and films that feature key British actors and the work of British directors.

===Sport and outdoor pursuits===
The town benefits from having a large National Trust Common and woodland on its long north-east edge.<ref>{{cite web |title=The best autumn forest walks around the UK |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/best-uk-autumn-forest-walks/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=30 September 2020 |access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Best National Trust parklands to visit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/18/national-trust-parks-gardens-open-coronavirus-social-distancing-walking |work=The Guardian |date=18 March 2020 |access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Great Outdoors Ashridge Forest |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/08/30/great_outdoors_ashridge_feature.shtml |publisher=BBC Beds Herts and Bucks |date=29 October 2014 |access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> Running east–west through the centre of the town, along the town's length the Grand Union Canal (once an important trade artery) today it provides an open space with recreational opportunities, and acts with the small River Bulbourne as a [[wildlife corridor]] through the town.<ref name="CanalDDC"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/penis-shaped-map-berkhamsted-goes-viral-and-accidentally-boosts-family-friendly-canal-and-river-trust-s-campaign-9669820.html | title=Penis-shaped map of Berkhamsted goes viral and accidentally boosts family-friendly Canal and River Trust's campaign | work=The Independent | date=14 August 2014 | access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/uploads/the-chiltern-canal-corridor.pdf | title=The Chiltern Canal Corridor | access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> Other long standing public green spaces are the castle and Butts Meadow. In 2016 The Friends of St Peter's Berkhamsted received £907,000 in a grant from the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]] and the [[Big Lottery Fund]] from the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)]] to repurpose the Rectory Lane Cemetery - as one of 12 sites across the country sharing £32m. The grant is to restored heritage features and create a new green community space in the town.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.berkhamstedtoday.co.uk/news/boost-to-cemetery-transformation-project-in-berkhamsted-after-appointments-made-1-8255508 | title=Boost to cemetery transformation project in Berkhamsted after appointments made | publisher=2017 Johnston Publishing Ltd. | work=Berkhamsted and Tring Gazette | date=21 November 2017 | access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-35256605 | title=Lottery cash for Charlton and Milburn boyhood football park | date=14 January 2016 | access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>

The Berkhamsted Bowmen are the oldest [[archery]] club in England.<ref name="guide">{{cite web|url=http://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/uploads/e-history-etc-040204.pdf|title=Berkhamsted Official Guide 2004|access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref>  Founded in 1875 Berkhamsted [[Cricket]] Club competes in the Herts League and in 2015 it ran twenty-five separate teams. The club is based at the Berkhamsted Community Cricket and Sports Club, Kitcheners Field, Castle Hill, Berkhamsted. The nine Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club teams are based just outside the town at [[Cow Roast]], playing their matches on their astroturf pitch<ref>{{Cite web |title=BHHHC Clubhouse & Astro |url=https://www.berkohockeyclub.com/a/berkhamsted-and-hemel-hempstead-hockey-club-playing-locations-58826.html?page=1 |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=www.berkohockeyclub.com}}</ref> at the club grounds in [[Cow Roast]]. There are two [[Bowls]] clubs, Berkhamsted and Kitcheners.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dacorumsports.net/club-directory/|title=Club Directory|publisher=Dacorum Sports Network|access-date=5 April 2015}}</ref>
 
The town's football club, [[Berkhamsted F.C.|Berkhamsted FC]], play in the [[Southern Football League]] Division One Central,<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2021 |title=Berkhamsted Strengthen Squad |url=https://southern-football-league.co.uk/News/130044/Berkhamsted-Strengthen-Squad |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> part of the 8th Level in the English League (the town's football ground is at Broadwater). The team was formed in 2009 after the demise of [[Berkhamsted Town FC]], which had been established in 1895. Founded in 1996, Berkhamsted Raiders CFC football club was recognised as the FA Charter Standard Community Club of the Year at the [[The Football Association|English Football Association]] Community Awards in 2014 and awarded the [[UEFA]] Grassroots Silver Award in 2015 for their work across the local community. The club, in 2023, had more than 1,300 affiliated players, including 250 girls in 94 youth teams plus Senior, Veterans, Ladies, Walking Football and Inclusive Football sections. In 2022, the Club was awarded the Herts FA Grassroots Club of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.berkhamstedtoday.co.uk/news/berkhamsted-raiders-named-as-europe-s-football-pioneers-1-7013384|title=Berkhamsted Raiders named as Europe's football pioneers|publisher=Berkhamsted & Tring Gazette|date=15 October 2015|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/sport/fa-community-awards/11022291/fa-community-awards-winners-2014.html| title=Sir Geoff Hurst hails the heroes of grass-roots football|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=11 August 2014|access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref>

There is a sports centre off Douglas Gardens, managed by EveryoneActive. The facilities comprise a large indoor multi-purpose sports hall, [[Squash (sport)|squash]] courts, swimming pool and outdoor all-weather pitch. This facility is complemented by dual use of the leisure facilities of Ashlyns School and Berkhamsted Collegiate School. A deficit in leisure space is compounded by a high level of sports participation locally and consequent heavy use of outdoor sports pitches. Berkhamsted and the surrounding area has a variety of road [[cycling]] and [[mountain biking]] routes, including traffic-free off-road routes in Ashridge Estate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cyclechilterns.co.uk/offroad-adventures-around-berkhamsted/|title=Off-road adventures around Berkhamsted|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082915/http://cyclechilterns.co.uk/offroad-adventures-around-berkhamsted/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The town was visited by the [[Tour of Britain]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/explore-enjoy/walks-rides/tour-of-britain-2014.html|title=Tour of Britain 2014|access-date=5 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102081037/http://www.chilternsaonb.org/explore-enjoy/walks-rides/tour-of-britain-2014.html|archive-date=2 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Media==
Berkhamsted is within the [[BBC London]] and [[ITV London]] region. Television signals are received from the [[Crystal Palace transmitting station|Crystal Palace]] TV transmitter<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Crystal_Palace|title=Full Freeview on the Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref> and the local relay transmitter situated in [[Hemel Hempstead]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Hemel_Hempstead|title=Full Freeview on the Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref>

Local radio stations are [[BBC Three Counties Radio]] on 103.8 FM, [[Heart Hertfordshire]] on 96.6 FM, [[Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts]] (formerly Mix 96.2) on 92.2 FM and community based stations, Radio Dacorum<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.radiodacorum.org.uk/ |title=Radio Dacorum  |access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref> and Tring Radio,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tringradio.co.uk/|title=Tring Radio|access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref> which both broadcast online. 

The town is served by the local newspaper, [[Hemel Hempstead Gazette & Express]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-eang/hemel-hempstead-gazette/|title=Hemel Hempstead Gazette|date=23 April 2014|website=British Papers|access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref>

==Sites of interest==
[[File:173HighStreet Berko.jpg|thumb|left|173 High Street, one of several buildings in the town that have medieval origins, it is the oldest jettied timber building in the United Kingdom]]The majority of Berkhamsted's eighty-five listed or scheduled historical sites are on in the high street and the medieval core of the town (a significant number of them contain timber frames). Four are scheduled, one is Grade I, seven are Grade II*, the remaining 75 are Grade II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://list.historicengland.org.uk/results.aspx?index=26 |title=List entry – The List – Historic England |publisher=Historic England 2015 | work=Search Results = berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Dacorum |access-date=10 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/planning-development/areabasedpolicies_f05_conservationareaberkhamsted.pdf?sfvrsn=0 |title=CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER APPRAISALS AND POLICY STATEMENTS |publisher=Dacorum Borough Council |date=May 2004 |access-date=3 August 2015}}</ref> In addition to the sites noted in the article above (such as the castle and schools) the following structures and locations are of interest:

* [[173, High Street, Berkhamsted|173&nbsp;High Street]] is a Victorian façade hiding what is considered to be the oldest extant [[jettied]] timber-framed building in Great Britain, dated by [[dendrochronology]] of structural timbers to between 1277 and 1297.<ref name="EH173"/><ref name="BBC173"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |title=Victorian facade hides the oldest shop in England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/feb/27/shopping.maevkennedy |work=The Guardian |date=27 February 2003 |access-date=19 September 2014}}</ref> The building was originally thought to have been a [[jeweller]]'s or [[goldsmith]]'s shop with a workshop behind. It is now believed to have been a jettied service wing to a larger aisled hall house, which has since disappeared.<ref name="343-351"/> It represents an early example of transition in carpentry technology, from the use of passing braces to crown posts. The 13th-century origin of the structure was discovered by chance in 2000 by builders who had begun work on what appeared to be a Victorian property. The shop was, from 1869, Figg's the Chemists; post-restoration (with expertise and a £250,000&nbsp;grant from English Heritage), the shop is currently used as an estate agency. Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said "This is an amazing discovery. It gives an extraordinary insight into how Berkhamsted High Street would have looked in medieval times."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov-news.org/gov/uk/news/oldest_shop_in_england_uncovered_at_berkhamsted/77991.html|title=Oldest Shop In England Uncovered At Berkhamsted|access-date=19 September 2014|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140920011151/http://www.gov-news.org/gov/uk/news/oldest_shop_in_england_uncovered_at_berkhamsted/77991.html|archive-date=20 September 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* 125&nbsp;High Street, a house and shop opposite St Peter's Church, is a timber-framed building with a wing that is one bay of a 14th-century open hall. The layout suggests that it once had a second bay of similar size&nbsp;– a length of {{convert|8|m|ft|0|order=flip}} in all. This was an unusually large house; its size and central position suggests a manor house or other high status house, possibly supporting the castle. The building underwent extensive alterations in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|pp=10-11}}
* The Swan, 139&nbsp;High Street, contains the remains of a medieval open hall. Parts of the roof date from the 14th century, and the street range was extended and a chimney stack added c. 1500. It sits on the ancient junction with the old Roman road of Akeman Street (High Street) and the main route between Berkhamsted and Windsor Castle (Chesham Road).<ref name="343-351" />
* Castle Street began life as the medieval lane from the town's high street to the drawbridge of the royal castle. At the other end of the lane was the parish church of St Peters. In the 16th century, next to the church, Berkhamsted school was founded, while in the 17th century there were seven public houses among the street's trade outlets.{{sfn|Hastie|1996|p=206}}
* To the northwest of Berkhamsted stand the ruins of Marlin's Chapel, a 13th-century chapel next to a medieval fortified farm. The walls and moat surrounding the modern farm still remain and are reputed to be haunted.{{sfn|Birtchnell|1988}}
[[File:Berkhamsted, Dean Incent's House - geograph.org.uk - 590548CROPPED.jpg|180px|thumb|Dean Incent's House, residence of John Incent (1480–1545), Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and founder of Berkhamsted School in 1541.]]
* 129 High Street is the Grade II* listed house known as [[Dean Incent's House]]. ([[John Incent]], Dean of St Paul's, founded Berkhamsted School.) A 15th century half-timbered house, the interior has original exposed timber framing and several Tudor wall paintings. The building incorporates part of an even older structure and was used as public meeting place before the Court House was built. The house is not normally open to the public.<ref name ="DacLNF"/><ref>{{NHLE|num=1356570|desc= 129 High Street, Berkhamsted |access-date=2 August 2011}}</ref>
* The Court House, next to the church, dates from the 16th century, and is believed to lie on the site of the medieval court where the Portmote{{refn|Also referred to as portmanmoot or portmoot. The name had Anglo-Saxon origins; the court had aspects both of court and of council meeting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goddard |first1=Richard |last2=Phipps |first2=Teresa |title=Town Courts and Urban Society in Late Medieval England, 1250-1500 |date=2019 |publisher=The Boydell Press |location=Woodbrige |isbn=978-1783274253 |pages=156—175}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/tungxdbt/docs/a_dictionary_of_medieval_terms_and_phrases__d.s.br|title=A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases|year=2004|access-date=27 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Alsford |first=Stephen |url=http://users.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html|title=Medieval English Towns&nbsp;— Glossary|access-date=27 December 2014}}</ref>|group = "Notes"}} or Borough Court was held.<ref name="343-351" />
* Sayer's Almshouses, were the legacy of John Sayer, chief cook to Charles II, at 235–241&nbsp;High Street, comprise a single-storey row of [[almshouses]] built in 1684.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=15}}
* The Bourne School, at 222&nbsp;High Street, was the legacy by Thomas Bourne (1656–1729) (Master of the Company of Framework Knitters) to build a [[charity school]] in Berkhamsted for 20&nbsp;boys and 10&nbsp;girls. The front was rebuilt in 1854 in Jacobean-style red brick; it is not clear if any part of the building predates 1854. In 1875, the pupils were transferred to the [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]] and the funds used for scholarships.{{sfn|Thompson|Bryant|2005|p=20}}
* The site now occupied by the Pennyfarthing Hotel dates from the 16th century, having been a monastic building used as accommodation for religious guests passing through Berkhamsted or going to the monastery at Ashridge.
* [[Berkhamsted Town Hall]], a Victorian gothic market house and town hall, designed by architect [[Edward Buckton Lamb]] (built in 1859, extended in 1890 and restored in 1983–1999), was built by public subscription from Berkhamstedians.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=66}} It comprised a market hall (now the Copper House restaurant), a large assembly hall and rooms for the [[Mechanics' Institute]]. When Berkhamsted became part of the new [[Dacorum Borough Council]] (based in Hemel Hempstead) there were plans to demolish the building; these plans were stopped in the 1970s and 1980s by a ten-year citizens' campaign, which eventually ended at the High Court.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=66}}
[[File:Berko00505.jpg|thumb|180px|left|The totem pole at Berkhamsted]]
* The Berkhamsted [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Canadian]] [[totem pole]] sits adjacent to the canal, close to Castle Street Bridge. In the early 1960s, Roger Alsford, a great-grandson of the founder of the timber company, James Alsford (1841–1912), went to work at the [[Tahsis, British Columbia|Tahsis]] lumber mill on [[Vancouver Island]]. During a strike, he was rescued from starvation by a local [[Kwakwaka'wakw|Kwakiutl]] community. Alsford's brother, William John Alsford, visited the island, and in gratitude for the local people's hospitality, commissioned a totem pole from the Canadian [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] artist [[Henry Hunt (artist)|Henry Hunt]].<ref name=Tearle1998p21>{{harvnb|Tearle|1998|p=21}}.</ref> The [[Thuja plicata|western red cedar]] pole, {{convert|30|ft|0}} high and {{convert|3|ft|0}} in diameter, was carved by Hunt at [[Thunderbird Park (Victoria, British Columbia)|Thunderbird Park]], a centre for First Nation monuments. The completed pole was shipped to Britain and erected at Alsford's Wharf in 1968. Alsford's warehouses were replaced in 1994 by a private housing development which limit access to the pole, so that it can be viewed only at a distance from the public road. It is one of only a handful of totem poles in the United Kingdom, others being on display at the [[British Museum]] and [[Horniman Museum]] in London, [[Windsor Great Park]], [[Bushy Park]] and the [[Yorkshire Sculpture Park]].<ref>{{harvnb|Tearle|1998|p=3}}.</ref> The carvings on the totem pole represent four figures from First Nations legend: at the top sits [[Raven in mythology|Raven]], the trickster and creator deity; he sits on the head of [[Solar deity|Sunman]], who has outstretched arms representing the rays of the sun and wears a ''copper'' (a type of ceremonial shield); Sunman stands on the fearsome witch-spirit [[Dzunukwa]]; at the base is the two-headed warrior sea serpent, [[Sisiutl]], who has up-stretched wings.<ref>{{harvnb|Tearle|1998|p=7}}.</ref>
* [[Ashridge]] is a [[country estate]] and [[stately home]]. Ashridge House is a large [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] [[English country house|country house]] built between 1808 and 1814. Since 2015 it has been the home of [[Hult International Business School]]'s [[Ashridge Executive Education]] programme ([[#Business school|see above for more information about the building]]). The surrounding country estate is a park managed by the [[National Trust]], consisting of {{convert|5000|acre}} of native [[broadleaf woodland]]s, commons and chalk downland on a Chiltern ridge just to the north of Berkhamsted.{{sfn|Hastie|1999|p=52}} Ashridge has been featured many times in film and television series due to its distinction as an area of natural beauty. Scenes were filmed for ''[[Sleepy Hollow (film)|Sleepy Hollow]]'' at Golden Valley and ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' at Ashridge's ancient [[Frithsden Beeches]] Wood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/caring/stwp_site_details.asp?siteID=414|title=Special trees and woods&nbsp;— Frithsden Beeches|publisher=Chilterns Conservation Board|access-date=16 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613145351/http://www.chilternsaonb.org/caring/stwp_site_details.asp?siteID=414|archive-date=13 June 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The climbable monument to [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater]], a tall Doric column with urn (a Grade II* listed building), stands in a grove within Ashridge.

==Associations with the town==
{{main|List of people from Berkhamsted}}

===Twin towns===

Berkhamsted is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* [[Beaune]], Burgundy, France<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/leisure-culture/shopping-and-town-centres/twin-towns|title=Twin towns|publisher=Dacorum Borough Council|access-date=23 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043613/http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/leisure-culture/shopping-and-town-centres/twin-towns|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Neu Isenburg]], Hesse, Germany (as part of Dacorum)

The town also has an informal relationship with [[Barkhamsted, Connecticut|Barkhamsted]], [[Connecticut]], in the United States. The latter presented a gavel and block on 4 July 1976, the [[U.S. bicentennial]], which Berkhamsted Town Council now uses in meetings.

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|escutcheon = Or a castle of three domed towers Azure the portcullis raised Or flying from each outer tower a banner Argent charged with a cross Gules all within a bordure Sable charged with fifteen bezants.
|notes = Granted to the [[Borough of Berkamsted St Peter]] by [[William Camden]] on 25 September 1618, transferred to the Berkamsted Town Council by [[Charles III of the United Kingdom|Charles III]] on 13 May 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/newsletter/item/242-january-2025-newsletter-no-77 |title=January 2025 Newsletter (No. 77) |publisher=College of Arms |accessdate=23 January 2025}}</ref>}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group="Notes"|40em}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
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*{{ cite book | last=Healey| first=R. M. | year=1982 | title=Hertfordshire: A [[Shell Guides|Shell Guide]] | location=London | publisher=Faber & Faber | isbn=978-0-57111-801-4 }}
*{{ cite book | last1=Hillaby | first1=Joe G. | last2=Hillaby | first2=Caroline | year=2013 | title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History | location=Basingstoke, UK | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | isbn=978-1-137-30815-3 }}
* {{cite book|last=Liddiard|first=Robert|title=Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500|publisher=Windgather Press|location=Macclesfield, UK|year=2005|isbn=978-095455752-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Mackenzie|first=James Dixon|title=Castles of England: Their Story and Structure|place=New York| publisher=Macmillan|year=1896|volume=1|oclc=12964492}}
*{{ cite book | last=Page | first=William | year=1905 | title=The Victorian History of the County of Buckingham | volume=1 | location=London | publisher=Constable | url=https://archive.org/details/victoriahistory01pageuoft/page/n6 }}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Page |editor-first=William|year=1908|title=The Victoria History of the County of Hertfordshire | volume=2|publisher=Constable|place=London |url=https://archive.org/stream/victoriahis02page#page/n11/mode/2up |oclc=59519149 }}
* {{cite book|last=Pettifer|first=Adrian|title=English Castles: a Guide by Counties|place=Woodbridge, UK|publisher=Boydell Press|year=1995|isbn=9780851156002}}
*{{cite book|title=The Army in Cromwellian England 1649&nbsp;– 1660|publisher=Oxford University Press|last=Reece | first=Henry |year=2013 | isbn=978-0-19-820063-5 }}
* {{cite book|last=Remfry|first=Paul|year=1998|title=Berkhamsted Castle|publisher=Dacorum Heritage Trust|isbn=978-0-9510944-1-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Rowe|first=Anne|contribution=The distribution of parks in Hertfordshire: Landscape, lordship and woodland | editor-last=Liddiard|editor-first=Robert|title=The Medieval Park: New Perspectives|place=Macclesfield, UK|publisher=Windgather Press|year=2007|isbn=978-1-9051-1916-5|pages=128–145}}
* {{cite book|last=Sanecki|first=K.A.|title=Ashridge – A Living History|year = 1996| publisher=Phillimore| location =Chichester, UK| isbn=978-1-86077-020-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Sherwood|first=Jennifer|contribution=Influences on the growth of medieval and early modern Berkhamsted|editor-last= Wheeler|editor-first=Michael|title=A County of Small Towns: the Development of Hertfordshire's Urban Landscape to 1800|place=Hatfield, UK|publisher=Hertfordshire Publications|year=2008|isbn=978-190531344-0|pages=224–248}}
*{{cite book|last1=Slater|first1=T.R.|last2=Goose|first2=Nigel|year=2008|title=A County of Small Towns: the Development of Hertfordshire's Urban Landscape to 1800|place=Hatfield, UK |publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press|isbn=978-190531344-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Tearle|first=John|title=The Berkhamsted Totem Pole|year=1998|publisher=Lillydown House|isbn=978-0952813118}}
*{{cite report|last1=Thompson|first1=Isobel|last2=Bryant |first2=Stewart|year=2005|title=Extensive Urban Surveys: Berkhamsted, Revision 2005|publisher=Historic Environment Unit, Hertfordshire County Council|url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-436-1/dissemination/pdf/berkhamstead.pdf}}<!-- front cover is http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-436-1/dissemination/pdf/berkhamstead_cover.pdf -->
* {{cite book|last=Whitelock|first=Dorothy|title=The Will of Æthelgifu|place=Oxford|publisher=Roxburghe Club, Oxford|year=1968| oclc=108189}}
* {{cite book|last=Williamson|first=Tom|title=The Origins of Hertfordshire|place=Hatfield, UK|publisher=Hertfordshire Publications|year=2010|isbn=978-190531395-2}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Berkhamsted}}
{{Commons category|Berkhamsted}}
{{NIE Poster|Great Berkhampstead}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160111004830/http://www.berkhamstedtowncouncil.gov.uk/ Berkhamsted Town Council]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190429144836/https://berkhamsted-castle.org.uk/ Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society]
* [https://www.facebook.com/BLHMS/photos_stream?ref=page_internal The above society's Collection of Old Photographs of Berkhamsted and its citizens]
* [http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/ Dacorum Heritage Trust]

{{Hertfordshire}}
{{Civil parishes of Hertfordshire}}

{{Authority control}}

{{good article}}

[[Category:Berkhamsted| ]]
[[Category:Dacorum]]
[[Category:Towns in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Market towns]]