Braughing is a
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in...
and
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
, between the rivers
QuinThe River Quin is a small watercourse which rises near Barkway in north east Hertfordshire. The river is fed by a number of sources including springs from Biggin Moor, Great Hormead Brook, Little Hormead Brook and various field ditches, including the Braughing Bourne - the site of a former glacier...
and
RibThe River Rib originates near the East Hertfordshire village of Buckland and runs parallel with the A10 through Buntingford, Westmill, Braughing, Puckeridge and Standon until it reaches its confluence with the River Lea near Hertford....
, in the
non-metropolitan districtNon-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As originally created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of
East HertfordshireEast Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council has offices in Bishop's Stortford and Hertford ....
, part of the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of
HertfordshireHertfordshire , abbreviated Herts, is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford....
, England. Braughing was a rural district in Hertfordshire from 1935 to 1974.
Prehistory
There is some evidence of human activity in the
MesolithicThe Mesolithic or "Middle Stone Age" was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age. The term was introduced by John Lubbock in his work Pre-historic Times, published in 1865. The term was, however, not much used...
,
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
and
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
, but settled habitation began in the
Iron AgeThe British Iron Age is a conventional name in the archaeology of Great Britain referring to the prehistoric and proto-historic phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding Ireland...
, around the 3rd century BC. It was probably a trading post, situated on the navigable extreme of the Rib, providing a route to the larger
River LeeThe River Lea or River Lee in England originates in Leagrave Park , Leagrave, Luton in the Chiltern Hills and flows generally southeast, east, and then south to London where it meets the River Thames , the last section being known as Bow Creek....
. In the late pre-Roman period it may have been the capital of the
TrinovantesThe Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the tribes that lived in pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London...
and the seat of such kings as
AddedomarusAddedomarus was a king of south-eastern Britain in the late 1st century BC. His name is known only from his inscribed coins, the distribution of which seem to indicate that he was the ruler of the Trinovantes....
and
TasciovanusTasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain.-History:Tasciovanus is known only through numismatic evidence. He appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni ca. 20 BC, ruling from Verlamion...
.
Roman times
At Ford Bridge, near Braughing there was a significant town in
RomanRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
times, situated close to several major Roman roads, including
Ermine StreetErmine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington,Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
(now the A10),
Stane StreetThere are several Stane Streets in Britain - see also Stane Street and Roman roads in BritainStane Street is a Roman road that connects St Albans in Hertfordshire to Colchester in Essex in Roman Britain.- Route :...
(now the
A120The A120 is an important trunk road in southern England. It follows the course of Stane Street, a Roman road from Standon, Hertfordshire at its western terminus to Colchester...
) and the
Icknield WayThe Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
, and covering at least 36 hectares. The town was a Roman industrial centre for the manufacture of pottery.
When the River Rib is in full flood, bricks, tiles and other more interesting artefacts from the Roman settlement are washed from its banks.
The Latin name of the town is, as yet, unknown.
Saxon times
After the Roman period it was settled by the
Anglo-SaxonsAnglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading Germanic tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, to the Norman conquest of 1066...
: the earliest form of the name Braughing is
Breahinga,
Old EnglishOld English , also called Anglo-Saxon, is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and south-eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. What survives through writing represents primarily the literary...
for the people of Breahha, who was probably a local leader. It is mentioned in the
Domesday BookThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
(1086) at
Brachinges.
Gatesbury
Little remains of this hamlet, which lies to the east of the B1368 close to the Puckeridge junction. Originally part of Westmill parish, Gatesbury is now firmly within the parish of Braughing. Its name originates from the Gatesbury family, who held the manor from the late 1100s up to the 1400s, when it was passed to the FitzHerberts.
Old Man's Day
On 2 October 1571, as the funeral bell was being tolled, the coffin of a local farmer, Matthew Wall, was being carried down Fleece Lane towards the village Church of
St Mary the Virgin-Churches:* St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury* St Mary the Virgin, Blackburn Hamlet* St Mary the Virgin, Brighton* St Mary the Virgin, Barnes* St Mary the Virgin, Bathwick* St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham, Dorset* St Mary the Virgin, Henbury...
.
Matthew's fiancée and other mourners were deeply distressed. He was only a young man. As they made their way to the funeral service, one of pallbearers slipped on the damp autumn leaves and they dropped the coffin - waking young Matthew, from what was simply a deep sleep. Confused and wondering wherever he was, he began frantically hitting the inside of the wooden case with his fist. The mourners removed the lid and were overjoyed to find him alive and well.
Matthew had been in a coma and had been suffering from what is believed to be a form of
epilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures...
. A year after this strange event he married his beautiful fiancée and lived many more years. When eventually he did die in 1595, his will made financial provision for Fleece Lane to be swept each year, after which the funeral bell, and then a wedding peal, were to be rung. The money, invested in
Braughing Parish Charities also paid for his grave to be pegged with brambles to prevent grazing sheep from damaging it.
The 2nd October is, to this very day, known as
Old Man's Day. The tradition still continues and schoolchildren now sweep the leaves from the lane, the bells are rung, and a short service is held at Matthew Wall's graveside.
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