Hemel Hempstead: The Charter Tower
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Hemel Hempstead: The Charter Tower by Nigel Cox as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Hemel Hempstead: The Charter Tower
Image: © Nigel Cox Taken: 19 Apr 2007
The Charter Tower is so named because local legend has it that Henry VIII stayed with Anne Boleyn in Hemel in 1539, and handed down Hemel Hempstead's market Royal Charter from the upper window, as a mark of gratitude for the hospitality he had received. However the tower was originally the entrance into Bury House which was rebuilt by Sir Richard Combes (or Combe or Coombe or any other similar name depending on what you read!) and his family between 1540 and 1595, so the story is probably mythical. Through the tower there is a glimpse of the Walled Garden, which is the site of the original Bury House, while the spire of St Mary's Church Image is in the background.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.758079
Longitude
-0.474311