Ridge

106. RIDGE.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)xxxv. S.W. ^(b)xl. N.W. ^(c)xl. S.W.)

Ecclesiastical

^c(1). Parish Church of St. Margaret, stands on a hill in the village, three miles N.W. of Chipping Barnet. It is built of flint with stone dressings; the roofs are tiled. The Chancel, Nave and West Tower were re-built in the 15th century; the only remaining sign of an earlier building is a 13th-century piscina in the chancel. The North East Organ Chamber and the South Porch were added in the 19th century, and the whole church has been much restored.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (27 ft. by 14 ft.) has a modern E. window. In the N. wall is a 15th-century trefoiled single light and a modern arch opening into the organ chamber; in the S. wall are two single-light windows much restored; between them is a doorway, of which only the inner jambs and rear arch are old. The chancel arch is modern. The Nave (46 ft. by 18 ft.) has two windows on each side, the two easternmost are of the 15th century, and each of two cinque-foiled lights, with tracery under square heads; the others are modern. The S. doorway is of late 15th-century date, with jambs and three-centred arch of two hollow chamfered orders. The West Tower (8½ ft. square) is of three stages with a modern embattled parapet and much restored buttresses. The W. window is modern, and below it is a doorway of which only the jambs are old. The square-headed windows of the bell-chamber are probably of the 17th century. The Roofs of the chancel and nave are old, but have no detail by which a definite date can be assigned to them.

Fittings—Bells: three, 1st 1685, 3rd 1613. Indents: in the chancel, of a man, inscription plate and shields. Glass: in the N.E. window of nave, fragments, 15th-century. Painting: on N. wall of nave, of St. Christopher, with a diaper background, much defaced, 15th-century: on the W. side of the S. doorway, traces, defaced. Piscina: in the chancel, with moulded pointed arch and foiled basin, 13th-century. Miscellanea: incised interlaced pattern on jamb of S. doorway, probably a consecration cross: in S. wall of nave, outside, parts of two stone sundials: in S. wall of chancel, a scratched stone, possibly also a sundial.

Condition—Much restored, but some of the old stonework in the windows is decaying.

Secular

^b(2). Homestead Moat, at Porter's Park Farm, fragment. (This moated site is partly in the parish of Aldenham.)

^a(3). Tyttenhanger, stands in a park about a mile E. of London Colney, and 3¼ miles S.E. of St. Albans. It is a large house of three storeys and attics, built of red brick on a stone plinth; the roofs are tiled. The original building, of which no traces remain, was finished in 1411, and was the property of the abbots of St. Albans until the dissolution of the monasteries; Henry VIII. stayed there with Wolsey (then Abbot of St. Albans) in 1528. The present house was built by Sir Henry Blount, who inherited the property in 1654, but the brickwork is characteristic of a later period. The plan is H-shaped, with wings of shallow projection; the central block contains the hall and two staircases on the N., and the library and dining room on the S. In the W. wing are two drawing rooms, and in the E. wing are the domestic offices, with a modern kitchen wing behind them. Many of the windows have original wood frames and lead glazing. On the ground floor the windows of the S. front and W. side have moulded brick architraves, and the windows of the first floor have pediments, also of moulded brick. Over the garden entrance on the S. front is a projecting wood pediment richly carved and moulded, supported on carved brackets. The principal entrance on the N. front has a plain triangular periment over the door, and the N. windows are plainer than those on the S. The E. side resembles the N. front. The attics are lighted by dormer windows, and over the central block is a clock and bell turret with a wooden cupola. Two of the large chimney stacks have panelled sides and moulded caps.

Interior—In the hall are some richly carved, round-headed panels of c. 1630, made up with later work; the original kitchen, in the E. wing, has a large open fireplace, now disused, and an outer doorway of the 17th century. Several of the principal rooms on each floor are panelled with 16th-century linen pattern or 17th-century designs, some of it brought from elsewhere. The chapel, on the second floor, is lined with 16th-century linen panelling; the pulpit and reading desk in the N.E. corner, and four rows of pews at the W. end have 17th-century panels, with carved, arched heads and strap ornament; attached to the pulpit is an hourglass of wrought iron, gilded. A vestment cupboard, against the S. wall, has the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments painted on the doors. The N. windows contain some 17th-century heraldic glass, and on one pane is a painted sundial. 'Sir Henry Blount's music room', called after the builder of the house, has his coat of arms painted on one of the large panels, and over the door is the motto, 'Hoc Age.' On the attic floor a long gallery runs the whole length of the house on the S.; it has a wide blocked fireplace, and the walls are almost covered with linen panelling, now painted. The principal staircase is of oak, richly carved in the style of Grinling Gibbons; the square newels have carved sides and are surmounted by baskets of fruit; elaborately carved pierced foliage takes the place of balusters, and the string and handrail are moulded. The back staircase has plain square newels with ball tops, a moulded handrail and turned balusters.

Condition—Good throughout.