Ware

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Ware
latitude= 51.817
longitude= -0.029182
civil_parish= Christ Church Ware and St Mary the Virgin Ware
population= 18,000
shire_district= East Hertfordshire
shire_county = Hertfordshire
region= East of England
constituency_westminster= Hertford and Stortford
post_town= Ware
postcode_district = SG11 and SG12
postcode_area= SG
dial_code= 01920
os_grid_reference= TL495215

Ware is a town of around 18,000 people in Hertfordshire, England, close to Hertford (the county town).

History

Archaeology has shown that Ware has been occupied since at least the Mesolithic period (which ended about 4,000 BC). The Romans had a sizeable settlement here and foundations of several buildings, including a temple, have been found. A well preserved Roman skeleton of a teenage girl has been found as well. Ware was on Ermine Street, the Roman road from London to Lincoln.

The modern name of the town dates from the Anglo-Saxon period when 'weirs' were built to stop the invading Vikings from escaping in their longships after defeat by Alfred the Great in a battle near Ware. In the Domesday survey of 1085 it was the second largest town in Hertfordshire. It was also a great coaching town, being on the Old North Road, less than a day's journey from London. In the seventeenth century Ware became the source of the New River, constructed to bring fresh water to London. England's first turnpike (toll) road ran from Wadesmill to Ware. The town was once a centre of malting.

With the River Lee (aka River Lea) flowing through the centre of Ware, transport by water was for many years a significant industry. As an old brewing town (and some of the old maltings still stand, although none are functional), barley was transported in, and beer out via the river. Bargemen born in Ware were given the "freedom of the River Thames" - avoiding the requirement of paying lock dues - as a result of their transport of fresh water and food in, and dead bodies out of London during the great plague of 1665-1666. "Buryfield" in Ware is thought by many to be where the bodies were buried, but that is in fact not the case, the name apparently originating before 1666, with the burial of large numbers of Roman inhabitants of Ware [http://www.wareonline.co.uk/history/history3.asp] .

Tragedy struck the town on 25 January 1990 when a 15-year-old local girl struck by a falling tree was one of 39 people to die in a storm that ravaged Britain. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/25/newsid_3420000/3420797.stm]

Features

It has a fourteenth-century priory, now the local council offices and a conference centre. Recent restoration work has shown that the 'priory' - it was really a friary - dates from the thirteenth century. Opposite the priory is the large fourteenth century parish church of St. Mary. It is known for its elaborate font with large carved stone figures. The town is also famous for its many 18th Century riverside gazebos, several of which have been restored recently. It is also famous for the Great Bed of Ware, which was mentioned by Shakespeare and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Ware is also mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. GlaxoSmithKline has a large plant in the town.

Today the town's main employer is GlaxoSmithKline, but there are also many other small factories. It is also a commuting town for London, with regular rail services between Ware railway station and London Liverpool Street.

Ware is home to Scott's Grotto, built for John Scott, an 18th Century poet who owned Amwell House from 1768. The grotto, the largest in the UK, is a series of chambers extending over 65ft into the chalk hillside. The chambers are decorated with shells, stones such as flint and coloured glass. The Grotto is owned by East Herts District Council and was restored in 1990 by the Ware society.

During two weeks of the summer, Ware Council holds the 'Ware Festival' culminating in the 'Rock at the Priory' a one day open air Music Festival that grows each year in popularity.

The motto on the town's coat-of-arms is a pun on the town's name; 'Cave' is Latin for 'beware'.

Ware FC

The Club was founded in 1892 and although first called Ware Town soon changed its name to plain Ware FC. This unassuming designation makes it probably the shortest named affiliate of the Football Association and has caused problems for programme editors and journalists ever since. Recently Ware FC qualified for the FA Cup 1st round proper for the first time in 39 years, but lost in a close game to Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 in front of a record crowd of 2,123.Ware FC train at Wodson Park sports centre in Ware, Hertfordshire.

[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/yatesy/warefc/index.htm]
Ware FC

Twinning

* Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France
* Wülfrath, Germany

Notable Residents

* Nigel Hawthorne lived in the nearby village of Cold Christmas.
* Brian Wilde lived in Middleton Road, Ware. Famous for his acting roles in "Last of the Summer Wine", and "Porridge".Both of these have sadly passed away

Nearby communities

* Hertford
* Hoddesdon
* Dane End
* Great Amwell

External links

* [http://www.wareonline.co.uk Ware Online - Official Town Website]
* [http://www.ware-herts.co.uk A guide to the town]
* [http://www.wareanddistrictscouts.org.uk Scouting in Ware]
* [http://www.palspreschool.co.uk Pre-Schools in Ware]
* [http://www.scotts-grotto.org Scotts Grotto site by Peter Watson]
* [http://www.ware.intheteam.com The official Ware FC Website ]
* [http://www.waremuseum.org.uk The Ware Museum Website ]
* [http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/hertfordshire/ware/photos/ware_photos_1.htm Commercial site with old photos of Ware from the 1920s - 1960's ]