Hertfordshire

Map of the Hertfordshire Area

Hertfordshire is located in the East of the UK and is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county. It borders with Great London, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire. It is one of the Home Counties and its county town is Hertford. However the largest town in the county is Watford which is located near the M25 motorway. Hertfordshire is home other large historic towns including Hitchin and St Albans. It has a population of over 1000000 (source: link) with a density of 644 people per squared km.

The name Hertfordshire comes from Anglo-Saxon origins and it means deer crossing (heort ford). Deer feature in many of the county's emblems including the coat of arms. The district was originally the area assigned to the protection of a large fortress at Hertford in 913. However, the history of Hertfordshire dates further back in time then the 9th century; to the Middle Stone Age when it was first farmed in the Neolithic period. Permanent settlements were built in the Bronze Age. The county was where the Norman Conquest reached its climax in 1066 and William the Conqueror accepted Saxon surrender.

Due to its proximity to Greater London much of the county is part of the London commuter belt and its highest elevation point is at 245m above sea level. Most of the rock formations belong to the London Basin which is made up of a great shallow syncline. The county also forms part of the Chiltern Hills and the London Clay. Half of Hertfordshire has been designated by the UK government as Green Belt (and therefore under partial conservation) and the Chiltern Hills are within an Area of Outstanding Beauty (source: link) . The county has over 1800 miles of public paths including the Hertfordshire Way which is a 166 mile circular footpath (source: link) .

Most of the county's land is used for agriculture although another notable economic activity is paper production which is supported by the many small local rivers. Hertfordshire is the home to many large UK company headquarters. DSG International is based at Hemel Hempstead and Cheshunt is home to the Tesco headquarters. Pure Digital and JD Whetherspoon are also based in the county, along with Comet and T-Mobile.