Everything about Royston Hertfordshire totally explained
Royston is a town in the South East Region of the UK within the county of
Hertfordshire. It is situated slightly west of the
Greenwich Meridian, which passes through the point where the bypass meets the original A505 alignment. The town centre is just 1 minute 27 seconds west of the meridian.
Although now lying entirely within
Hertfordshire, one of the UK's
Home Counties adjacent to
Greater London, Royston is situated at the northernmost apex of the county, directly bordering the
East Anglia region and on the same latitude of towns such as
Milton Keynes and
Felixstowe, which are not typically associated with Home Counties status. It is located some 69 km (43 miles) north of central
London in a highly rural area of the county, very much apart from the south and west Hertfordshire urban concentrations. Before the boundary changes of the 1890s, the boundary between
Hertfordshire and
Cambridgeshire ran along the middle of Melbourn Street.
The town lies at the crossing of two ancient thoroughfares,
Ermine Street and the
Icknield Way (cum Ashwell Street); the former was created after the Roman conquest, while the Icknield Way has long been accepted as a prehistoric routeway. A
cross, named
Roisia's Cross, was erected by the crossroads, and it's from this that the town takes its name. The base of the cross still exists and has been placed by the cross roads. The modern equivalent to Icknield Way is the
A505 (which now bypasses the town to the north). The
A10 follows the alignment of the Ermine Street south of the town, but diverts before it reaches the crossroads. The
A1198, known as the Old North Road follows the alignment of Ermine Street northwards.
These roads are sometimes called military roads as they were prepared or improved by Roman military forces to facilitate their access to the hinterland of
Britain. The exact site of this cross is unknown but it probably stood in the southeastern angle of the roads between the dome of
Royston Cave and the line of Ermine Street in the parish of
Barkway. Its name comes from the Lady Roisia, wife of
Eudo Dapifer, steward to
William the Conqueror. In the late twelfth century there's the first mention of
Crux Roys, a wayside cross near a priory of
Austin Canons.
The crossroads were linked to five parishes:
Therfield,
Melbourn,
Bassingbourn,
Kneesworth and Barkway. Ralph de Rochester founded the
Augustinian priory which came out of a chapel for three canons, later expanded to seven or more
regular canons. Royston also had two hospitals, or free chapels, as well as the monastery.
The hospital of
St John and
St Thomas was founded for
lepers and was located to the southwest of the junction. It was founded by Richard Argentine, reputedly a
Templar and one time Sheriff of
Cambridgeshire.
The Hospital of
St Nicholas was situated in the Cambridgeshire side of Royston. It was founded in about
1200 probably by Amphelise, a daughter of Richard the Chamberlain. In
1213 King John granted them a fair to celebrate the feast of St Nicholas (
May 8 -
9). The patronage of the hospital subsequently descended to Sir
Giles Argentine, who also held the patronage of the other Hospital. In the fourteenth century, St Nicholas Hospital was put under the jurisdiction of that of St John and St Thomas. The whole was suppressed in
1547.
The town having lost is monastic charter, the site of the priory was obtained by
Robert Chester, a gentleman of the bedchamber to
Henry VIII, who set up a market. Much of the town was given over to inns catering for travellers mainly going between
London and
York. However on
April 30,
1603 James VI of Scotland was travelling down to become King James I of England, pausing overnight at the Chester residence.
Within a few months, even before his coronation, King James decided to create a hunting lodge in the town. He soon had an expanse of buildings which were never extensive enough to cater for a full court, but which provided a suitable spot for hunting, near enough to London for convenience and sufficiently far away to deter intrusion. Indeed he created a strict prohibition on anyone else from taking game within 14 miles (23 km) of Royston, and an elaborate infrastructure was established to support the King in the pursuit of his sport.
Queen Anne and
Prince Henry only visited the town once, in
1611 –
1612. Next year the Queen opposed the marriage of her daughter,
Princess Elizabeth to
Frederick V, Elector Palatine, but the King came to Royston with
Lord Rochester to negotiate the dowry which was signed there. Following the marriage, celebrated on
St Valentine's day 1613, the King,
Prince Charles and Frederick came to stay at Royston.
In
1742 a strange cave carved out of the chalk was discovered in the centre of Royston.
Royston Cave is located underneath the central crossroads of the town where the
Icknield Way crosses
Ermine Street. The carvings in the cave have led to much speculation about the origin and function of the cave. Local historian
Sylvia Beamon, in her book
Royston cave — used by saints or sinners 1993, contends that there's a link with the
Knights Templar, whereas other scholars detail ideas of habitation by a hermit, perhaps connected with the priory. There is certainly little evidence in support of a Templar connection. On
August 22,
1992 the cave was used as the site for the reappearance of the
London Psychogeographical Association after 35 years of
occultation.
Roisia's Cross has led some experts to suggest a link with the
Rosicrucians, whose central texts include a reference to a cave with a tomb therein. This has been fuelled by the fact that the marriage between
Frederick V, Elector Palatine and
Elizabeth of Bohemia daughter of
James I of England was negotiated in the town (James I'd a palace just by the cross roads.)
Frances Yates in her book
The Rosicrucian Enlightenment has shown the importance of this marriage to the Rosicrucians, as Frederick V's claim to the throne of
Bohemia plunged
Germany into the
Thirty Years' War.
Today Royston enjoys a diverse economy, a large number of businesses are located both in the town and surrounding villages, and there's an active
Chamber of Commerce
.
The Nature Reserve of
Therfield Heath occupies an impressive position overlooking the town from a hill to the south.
Further Information
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