Charlton, Hertfordshire
Encyclopedia
Charlton is a village in Hertfordshire
, England
, which has steadily been approached by the neighbouring town of Hitchin
. Despite Hitchin's growth, Charlton has retained its own identity. Home to a little fewer than fifty people, the village is remarkable because of its pub 'The Windmill', placed where no windmill ever stood.
There was, however, until the 1970s, a water-wheel in the mill-race in the yard of Wellhead Farm. It should be noted that there are the remains of a windmill not half a mile from the pub after which it may have taken its name.
Charlton is the birthplace of inventor Henry Bessemer
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jan/bessemer.html and the mill-wheel was adapted by his grandfather to power a small foundry. The water-mill was therefore converted to a foundry during the occupancy of the Bessemer family and back to a mill again afterwards.
According to an article by Peter Harkness in Vol 1, No 1 of "Old Hitchin Life" the Harkness family's now world-famous rose-nursery was, in the late 19th century, based in Charlton as well as Bedale, in Yorkshire. With Robert Harkness moving into Charlton House (Bessemer's birthplace) in 1895.
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England 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, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which has steadily been approached by the neighbouring town of Hitchin
Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
. Despite Hitchin's growth, Charlton has retained its own identity. Home to a little fewer than fifty people, the village is remarkable because of its pub 'The Windmill', placed where no windmill ever stood.
There was, however, until the 1970s, a water-wheel in the mill-race in the yard of Wellhead Farm. It should be noted that there are the remains of a windmill not half a mile from the pub after which it may have taken its name.
Charlton is the birthplace of inventor Henry Bessemer
Henry Bessemer
Sir Henry Bessemer was an English engineer, inventor, and businessman. Bessemer's name is chiefly known in connection with the Bessemer process for the manufacture of steel.-Anthony Bessemer:...
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jan/bessemer.html and the mill-wheel was adapted by his grandfather to power a small foundry. The water-mill was therefore converted to a foundry during the occupancy of the Bessemer family and back to a mill again afterwards.
According to an article by Peter Harkness in Vol 1, No 1 of "Old Hitchin Life" the Harkness family's now world-famous rose-nursery was, in the late 19th century, based in Charlton as well as Bedale, in Yorkshire. With Robert Harkness moving into Charlton House (Bessemer's birthplace) in 1895.