Castle Street.

A good way for a visitor to start to explore Berkhamsted is to begin at the castle and walk from there to the High Street, taking in Castle Street and St Peter’s Church, and then along through the centre of the town.

The castle is rarely crowded and is open free to the public during the day. Although not much is left of the buildings or walls, the lawns are immaculately kept by English Heritage, and you can climb the motte and marvel at the great moats and earthworks, constructed over 900 years ago.

On the south side you can see where Robert Stephenson, the engineer of the London and Birmingham Railway, audaciously built his railway on the outer bank of the Castle. Today, high speed tilting trains speed through Berkhamsted linking London to Britain’s next four largest cities – Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The Grand Union Canal in Berkhamsted.

London’s Most Important Canal Under the railway bridge turn left, then first right into Castle Street. The Grand Junction Canal, the first linking London to the industrial north was opened here in 1798. From the Thames to Berkhamsted and beyond it is wide enough to take large barges, and even wider opposite the station to allow them to be turned there. If you have time, a walk along the canal towpath in either direction makes a fascinating and rewarding diversion. Recently restored by a local joint project with British Waterways Board, the towpath is now well surfaced, and at intervals there are plaques giving the local history of each part of the town through which the canal passes. Today pleasure boats have taken the place of the old industrial barges that used to ply the canal 200 years ago. Of the three canal-side pubs that have survived, the Rising Sun is of particular interest, have retained much of its original character.

The Totem Pole by Castle Street.

Berkhamsted’s Second Street Castle Street, traditionally the second most important thoroughfare in the town after the High Street, bustled with shops and small businesses until well into the 20th century. On the left is a genuine Canadian totem pole, a gift to the owner of the timber yard that used to be on the site. The Boote has the date 1611 on it, but like the other five pubs where Berkhamstedians and visitors could quench their thirsts along this street, it is no longer licensed.

The western (right-hand side) of Castle Street is almost entirely taken up by the buildings of Berkhamsted Collegiate School, the co-educational successor to the original 16th century boys’ school which was founded by a Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, John Incent. The date of the opening of the school, 1541, can be seen on the lychgate. Most of its buildings are Victorian or later, but nearing the top of Castle Street you can see the original Tudor school building facing the churchyard.

The Tudor building of Berkhamsted Collegiate School.

St Peter’s Church The construction of the massive parish church of St Peter’s on the corner began in the reign of King John and continued over several centuries. Students of architecture will be able to distinguish examples of various medieval styles of English church building. Like many other English parish churches from the Middle Ages it was restored by the Victorians, but St Peter’s still looks much as it did in medieval times. Inside there are numerous monuments, brasses and fine stained glass windows. The tomb chests from three different centuries, all to men with royal connections, are of particular interest.

St. Peter’s Church.

The Ancient High Street Next to St Peter’s on the west side is the Tudor Court House, now used as the parish hall, and on the opposite side of the High Street are a number of substantial old houses. The timber-framed building dates from 1500 and was the home of Dean Incent. The Victorian fronts of other houses and shops along that side of the street conceal much older parts behind them.

Turning right into the long High Street it is easy to guess from its straightness that this was once a Roman road. The narrow entrance to Chesham Road can be seen on the other side: this is the ancient highway that once linked the two royal strongholds of Berkhamsted and Windsor castles.

Ashlyns School.

200 metres up Chesham Road is the birthplace of the writer Graham Greene, with a blue plaque on the wall. Further up (and a steep climb) are the exceptionally handsome buildings of Ashlyns School, built in the 1930s originally to accommodate the children of the Coram Foundation when it moved out of London.

The Commercial Centre On the corner of Chesham Road is the 17th century Swan, now providing accommodation and a ‘dry’ bar for young people, and a little further along two other old coaching inns, each with a wide opening by the side leading to where there used to be stables at the rear - a reminder of the time when Berkhamsted was once a major staging post for coaches on their way to and from London.

The Swan - an old coaching inn.

A little to the west where the roadway widens out is the historic commercial centre of Berkhamsted, and it is here that the medieval market house stood until it was burnt down in 1854. It was replaced by what is known as the Town Hall, the ornate neo-gothic building next to Boots. Designed by the eccentric architect Edward Buckton Lamb, this was built in 1859 to house not only a new market hall but also the growing Mechanics’ Institute, as well as a large public meeting room. In the 1970s it became derelict and was threatened with demolition, but thanks to the efforts of local people it was saved and restored, and it now provides a valuable local amenity, for weddings, public meetings and concerts, with a restaurant at street level.

Victorian eccentricity - Berkhamsted Town Hall.

Opposite the Town Hall, No 173 is the building, now used by an Estate Agent, recently found to date in part from 1267, and restored in 2003 largely at the expense of English Heritage. The substantial and rather forbidding police station on the corner of the crossroads is the third to stand on that site. The first, built in 1764, was known as the Bridewell and its cell was described as ‘a dungeon, a most dreadful hole without air’.

The Varied Street Scene All the way along the High Street the original facades of the old houses and shops can be seen in great variety above the modern shop fronts. Most of them are Victorian but two of the three buildings now made into one and occupied by Mackays are older. Towards the back there is an 18th century timber roof which you can see if you walk in. William Cowper, the Berkhamsted-born poet, went to school here.

On the same side a few paces along is Dickman’s, a well-preserved early 20th century Victorian chemist’s shop, and next to that the old Bourne School, now occupied by the Britannia Building Society. The original school was built on this site in 1737, paid for by a rich London merchant, Thomas Bourne. The present building was erected in 1854, largely at the expense of General John Finch, another local benefactor. The three coats of arms over the front door are those of Berkhamsted town, Thomas Bourne and John Finch.

The attractive shops in the High Street.

A little further along No 234 is an early Victorian baker’s shop with fine ornamental brickwork and matching ironwork. On the opposite side of the street on the corner of Cowper Road are the Sayer Almshouses, given to the town by a prominent local citizen, John Sayer. He was Charles II’s chief cook and a friend of Samuel Pepys. One of the tomb chests in St Peter’s is a monument to him, and on the front of the almshouses is a plaque bearing his name, his coat of arms and the date 1684.

Narrow boats on the Canal.

To Find Out more… For those wanting to know more about Berkhamsted there are a number of books available in Bookthrift , Ottakers and W H Smith, and local maps as well, including the excellent map of local footpaths produced by the Berkhamsted Citizens Association. Also, in the Town Council Help Point situated in the Civic Centre, and in the Kings Road Library, there are various free leaflets available, including the Berkhamsted Heritage Trail and the Graham Greene Trail.