About England

     England (pronounced IPA: /ˈɪŋglənd/) (Old English: Englaland, Middle English: Engelond) is the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total population of the United Kingdom, whilst the mainland territory of England occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the North Sea, Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and English Channel.

     England became a unified state during the 10th century and takes its name from the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes who settled in the territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. The capital city of England is London, which is the largest city in Great Britain, and the largest city in the European Union by most, but not all, measures.

     England ranks amongst the world's most influential and far-reaching centres of cultural development. It is the place of origin of both the English language and the Church of England, and English law forms the basis of the legal systems of many countries: in addition, London, the country's capital, was the centre of the British Empire, and the country was also the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. England was the first country in the world to become industrialised. England is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England was the world's first parliamentary democracy and consequently many constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations.

     The Kingdom of England was a separate state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. With the Principality of Wales already in the English state. Great Britain is the term in use for the largest island in the British Isles, with the name's origins in the Celtic 'People of the Islands', or Pretani.

About Hertford

     Hertford (standard pronunciations /'hɑtֽfəd/ and /'hɑֽfəd/; local pronunciation /'[h]ɑːʔֽfəd/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. Forming a civil parish, it has a population today of about 24,180..

     The name is Anglo Saxon and means the ford frequented by harts or stags.

     The rivers Rib, Beane and Mimram join the River Lea at Hertford to flow south toward the Thames as the Lee Navigation after Hertford Castle Weir.

     Employment in the town is centred on County Hall (Hertfordshire County Council), Wallfields (East Hertfordshire District Council) and McMullens Brewery, one of a dwindling number of independent brewers in the United Kingdom.

     The town retains very much a country-town feel, despite lying only 19.2 miles (30.9 km) north of Central London. This is aided by a lack of large chain stores in the town, which is too small to support them, and by its proximity to larger towns such as Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Stevenage where modern development has been focused.

     The town is beset by traffic despite the existence of the 1960s bypass called Gascoyne Way. The town centre is still a labyrinth of medieval streets with many timber-framed buildings hidden under later frontages, particularly in St Andrew Street.

     The shared valley of the Lea and the Beane is called Hartham Common and this provides a large attractive park to one side of the town centre running towards Ware and lying below the ridge upon which Bengeo is situated.

     In terms of supermarkets there is a Tesco, Waitrose and a Marks and Spencer Simply Food in the town as well as several Co-Ops on the town's outskirts. Sainsbury's have submitted designs for store in the town which will be on the old McMullens Brewery site. Iceland has said it is looking for a new site in Hertford, having lost its previous location to M&S. Other national shops include Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy, WH Smith, Clintons, Woolworths, Thorntons and a Caffe Nero Coffee house. These retailers aside, there are not all the usual chain shops found in most high streets and this makes Hertford stand out from other "clone towns"; Hertford is widely thought to have kept its uniqueness unlike many British towns. The McDonald's in the town centre closed in September 2006 following numerous complaints regarding slow service published in the local media, though the fast food retailer still has another restaurant just outside the town, on the A10/A414 junction in Rush Green. There are many pubs and the usual banks and building societies.