Check out Cheshunt

This small town has some big stories to tell, as Sue Armstrong discovers

THERE’S far more to Cheshunt than first meets the eye! Sitting in the eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it has the largest branch of Marks and Spencer in the county and it’s also home to the corporate central headquarters of another well known household name, Tesco, the biggest retailer in Britain.
From humble beginnings in London’s East End, Tesco has had a presence in Cheshunt for more than 40 years. A warehouse opened here at first and then the headquarters grew up around it. The offices have expanded as the supermarket chain has grown into giant global proportions, making it the fourth largest retailer in the world. In the lobby of Tesco’s offices visitors can’t help noticing a row of clocks telling the time in 12 different nations – with more than 800 stores abroad, they come in very useful.

The town’s origins go back to Roman times when it was known as Cestrehunt

Cheshunt’s mainly modern appearance, with its distinctive pond roundabout, belies its long history. Today it has every possible amenity with plenty of shops, good schools, sports and entertainment facilities as well as excellent road and travel links. But the town’s origins go all the way back to Roman times when it was known as Cestrehunt.
In 1954, when electricity pylons were being erected in Cheshunt Park, small pieces of Roman pottery were found. The searches which followed over neighbouring fields revealed more findings and it was concluded that the Romans occupied the site in the park for around two or three hundred years.
Fascinated by the Romans and these finds, soon after the initial searches two families of amateur archaeologists carried out some excavations of their own in the parkland. They dug more than 80 trenches altogether and as well as uncovering a wide range of Roman tiles, pottery and other artefacts, they found the remains of various buildings, which neither they nor archaeological experts of the time could identify with any certainty.
Nearly 40 years later, the amateur archaeologists decided the secrets lying underneath Cheshunt Park had been hidden for too long. They contacted Channel 4’s Time Team in 2004 and gave them the challenge of carrying out a further dig on the same section of the site. Time Team had three days to complete their task but this was aided by a grid plan showing the exact position of the trenches previously excavated. Whilst the going was tough, as much of the area was densely overgrown with thicket, some exciting discoveries were made. These included an almost complete 4th century Roman storage jar together with a serving bowl made of the same material. The path of the Roman Ermine Street, running through the park was also tracked to find out how it related to the site and try and make some sense of it all.
After mosaic surfaces were found, along with some drain-like features, some of the experts deduced that the complex of buildings here were probably devoted to malting, brewing and selling beer.
Some of the Roman finds are on display in the Lowewood Museum in Hoddesdon together with other fascinating information about Cheshunt.
Nowadays, a conservation area protects the town’s comparatively recent history, including the buildings of Dewhurst Charity School, dating back to 1640, and the nearby houses in Churchgate, which include the Old Parsonage, a Grade II listed timbered building from the 1500s.
And at the heart of the town is the ancient parish church of St Mary, heavily restored by the Victorians but originally dating back to the first half of the 15th century. Inside, the church has a feeling of spaciousness and a calming hush takes visitors away from the busy world outside. Here there are a number of fine memorials waiting to be discovered along with the royal arms of Charles II, first displayed in the church after the restoration of the Crown in 1660. Near the south wall of the churchyard is a medieval stone coffin, which was recovered from the building in 1872. When it was found it was upside down and being used as a doorstep.

Sir Henry Meux bought Temple Bar and transferred it to Theobalds Park where it was painstakingly rebuilt

In the 18th century a number of large houses were built in the area for gentleman from the metropolis. It was during that time that the manor of Theobalds, in Cheshunt, was bought by Sir George Prescott, son of a merchant from Chester. He built the mansion known as Theobalds Park, an elegant red brick building. The property was later leased to Sir Henry Meux, a brewer who managed to acquire the famous City of London gate, Temple Bar, for use as an ornate entrance to the family estate.
Temple Bar was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 and marked the boundary between the cities of London and Westminster. It was built to replace the earlier City of London gate, which was destroyed by the Great Fire. Because of the enormous growth in London traffic during the Victorian era, Temple Bar was demolished around 1878. But Sir Henry Meux bought it and transferred it to Theobalds Park where it was painstakingly rebuilt.
Over the years it became neglected but it was rescued again and in 2004 restored and re-erected in Paternoster Square, next to St Paul’s Cathedral where it can be admired in all its glory.

DID YOU KNOW?
Before opening its headquarters in Cheshunt, Tesco started life as a one-man business, founded by Jack Cohen, the son of a Polish Jewish tailor. He sold groceries in markets in the East End of London from 1919. The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924 and the name developed after Jack Cohen bought a large shipment of T E Stockwell tea. He made new labels by using the first three letters of the supplier’s name and the first two letters of his surname, forming the word ‘TESCO’.

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