Hertford, St. John

61. ST. JOHN, Urban and Rural.

(O.S. ^(a)xxix. S.E. ^(b)xxxvi. N.E.)

Secular

Homestead Moats

^a(1). At Jenningsbury, enclosing about 4 acres.

^b(2). At Dalmonds, fragments, with buildings on the site.

^a(3). Christ's Hospital School for Girls, at the W. end of Fore Street (see also All Saints and St. Andrew), is a large irregular group of brick buildings of various dates, enclosed by an outer wall, with the principal entrance on the S. The site was bought for a school for the younger children by the Governors of Christ's Hospital, London, in 1683, and the original buildings were finished in 1689; of these there remain:— the schoolroom at the N. end of a long quad rangle; part of the walls of the steward's house, E. of the schoolroom, the house having been altered and enlarged; the gateways on the S., and some garden walls. In the 18th century separate blocks were built on the S.W. and S.E., facing Fore Street; in 1800 a dining hall was added on the W. side of the original school-room; subsequent additions have been made to various parts of the buildings, and in 1902, the original rows of ten cottages on each side of the quadrangle were replaced by new wings. The 17th-century schoolroom has been re-faced with modern brick; it has a central doorway and plain windows; the ceiling is coved, and a bay on the N. side, divided from the schoolroom by a colonnade, was added at a later date. In a niche over the entrance is the oak figure of a Bluecoat boy, brought from the Christ's Hospital School formerly at Ware. The gateways (opening into Fore Street) in the enclosing wall are of the 17th century, with two large stone posts on which stand two lead figures of Bluecoat boys; these figures were presented to the school between March and August, 1697. A few of the garden walls are of the same date. The boys were removed to Horsham, and the school reserved for girls only in 1902.

Condition—Good.