A "New" old picture of Harpsfield Hall, near Hatfield.

Lindsay has kindly provided a picture, believed to date from the 1870s, if this lovely old farm house, which was demolished in the 1930s to make way for the aerodrome at Hatfield (now itself consigned to history).

The man on a seat to the right of the picture is James Sinclair.

More about Harpsfield Hall.

Early 19th century tenants of Harpsfield Hall, near Hatfield

Further research show that Harpsfield Hall was occupied by William Dearman circa 1800.

He was followed by William Pittman, who died in 1813.- but his will was badly worded and there was a 12 year long case in Chancery.

John Sergius Fothergill's sister married into the Gape family of St Albans (who owned the Hall) and he died in 1836.

I have aldo added more information about how Harpsfield Hall Farm was run later in the 19th century.

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Harpsfield Hall, Hatfield

Harpsfield Hall, Hatfield, was demolished more than 80 years ago to make room for an airfield which has now been redeveloped. In December Wetherspoons are opening a pub on the site - and keeping the name alive by calling it Harpsfield Hall.

My Harpsfield Hall page has been needing an update for some time - and I havenow added some references to the pre-nineteenth century history - with links to two Members of Parliament who lived there - and also included some new material from the British Newspaper Archive. In theory there are some more amendment that need to be added but that will have to wait until I have more time.

Hertfordshire’s aircraft heritage: de Havilland in Hatfield

Picture from "Hatfield Aerodrome" booklet

Over a year ago John Clifford and I exchanged information on Harpsfield Hall, near Hatfield, which was demolished when Hatfield Aerodrome was constructed in the 1930s. John's research is progressing and on June 24th he is giving a talk entitled de Havilland in Hatfield - The Golden Years on June 24th at County Hall, Hertford. [Details].

Roe Hyde Farm, Hatfield

John has just asked me where he might find any reasonable resolution pictures of Roe Hyde Farm, near Hatfield, in the early years of the 20th century. At one time it was farmed as part of Harpsfield Hall Farm. Please leave a comment if you can help him. 

Was John Sergius Fothergill really buried alive? I don't think so.

Memorial Brass in St Albans Abbey

Following my recent post on Harpsfield Hall I got a message from Anthony drawing my attention to the will of John Sergius Fothergill of Harpsfield Hall, proved on 12th April 1836. I decided to look further and Ancestry directed me to billiongraves.com which had a picture of this memorial tablet in St Albans Abbey recording the death of as taking place on 24th March 1836. Clearly getting Probate was very much quicker in those days than it is today. So next I checked familysearch which told me he died and surprisingly was buried the same day, 24th March, in  St Albans Cathedral. This information is sourced to an unnamed affiliate - but the reference number suggests the affiliate was the billiongraves web site.

So I decided to check the burial record of FindMyPast and was told that he was buried at St Albans Abbey on 18th March 1836, at the age of 70, So he was buried six days before the brass plaque say he died! How uncomfortable for him. (At the time he was buried St Albans Abbey was not a Cathedral and the modern official name is "The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Albans" - see Wikipedia)

So was he buried alive? Of course not? And if further proof was needed  the Northampton Mercury of 19th March 1836 which read "On the 11th instant, at St Albans, John Sergius Fothergill, Esq. of Harpsfield Hall, Herts, in his 70th year." and further searching shows that the same message appeared in the Bucks Herald and Oxford Journal of 19th March, the Herts Mercury of 22nd March, and the Chelmsford Chronicle of 25th March. (In all these cases the name Harpsfield had been misread in the scan, which is why I hadn't found them earlier.)

There is an important lesson here. All records, however impressive they look, both contemporary and modern, can contain errors and while researching you are almost certain to make one or two errors yourself on occasions. The answer is to check everything and be aware that the information you have accepted in good faith may be wrong.

In search of Harpsfield Hall, Hatfield

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Harpsfield Hall, Hatfield

When Hatfield Aerodrome was built in the 1930s the farm called Harpsfield Hall was demolished and John was interested to know how old the house was, and supplied a picture from 1925. As a result I have carried out a search of online records relating to the 19th century, and some printed sources, and identified the following facts/observations:

• While the name Harpsfield goes back to the 13th century it was not a manor, and hence has been ignored by the main published County Histories.
• The Harpsfield estate was owned by the Gape family, of St Michael's Manor, St Albans, and let, in whole or in parts during the whole of the 19th century.
• Harpsfield Hall was sometimes called Hatfield Hall, at least at the beginning of the period studied.
• William Pittman was a tenant at the beginning of the 19th century, occupying Hatfield Hall and 300 acres. Clearly Harpsfield Hall was a major establishment as when William died the sale of furniture, paintings, china, wines, and the farms live and dead stock took six days. 
• In the 1830s and early 40s it is clear that the Hall, and a much enlarged farm, were let to separate tenants.
• From about 1850 onwards Harpsfield Hall appears to have been the name of the hamlet, the word being used to describe several agricultural labourers cottages  
• The 1925 picture shows a house which must be considerably smaller that the one where the auction was held in 1813.
• The design of the house suggests it could have been a new build in the mid 19th century.

My suggestion is that that by 1840 the original Harpsfield Hall was passed its "sell by" date, and there were difficulties in letting the house and farm together. The farm was merges with a neighbouring farm and a new farm house (the one in the picture) was erected. Shortly afterwards the old hall was demolished - perhaps with parts being kept as farm cottages.

I would like to confirm this and if you are aware of any pre-1850 references to the Hall (and ideally a picture) I would be very grateful.for details.

More information.