History of Bernards Heath

The most comprehensive history of the Heath is ‘A Short History of Bernards Heath’ by Chris F Reynolds. Dr Reynolds' family has been associated with Bernards Heath since his great-grandfather, Jacob Reynolds, took the tenancy of Heath Farm in 1871.

Dr Reynolds gave a talk on the history of Bernards Heath to the Bernards Heath Village Green Preservation Society in 2000, as part of the original campaign to preserve the Heath from development. The talk was later produced as a booklet, which is now available online here.

Printed copies are available (price £3.50) by emailing the editor at editor@bernardsheath.org

The battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461

The two battles of St Albans were key events in the Wars of the Roses, fought in the 15th century between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians. The first battle (also the first battle of the Wars) was a relatively small-scale affair, fought in the centre of the town, but the second was a major engagement much of which took place on and around Bernards Heath.

Peter Burley, a military historian and member of the FoBH committee, has co-authored a book on the battles of St Albans, which is available from all good bookshops, or via Amazon:
The Battles of St Albans by Peter Burley, Michael Elliott and Harvey Watson (Pen & Sword Military 2007) ISBN 978-1-844-15569-9.

Peter has also assembled portraits of some of the key figures who have owned the Heath. To see his PowerPoint® presentation, click here (2.56mb)

You may also like to read:
The First Battle of St Albans 1455 by Andrew Boardman (Tempus 2006) ISBN 0-7524-2983-3.

Histories of St Albans by local historians

www.localhistories.org/stalbans
www.salbani.co.uk

Maps

Click here to see a map of the Heath with brief notes about its history.

Click here to see a fragment of the ‘Hare map’ (1634). This is the oldest map to show Bernards Heath. The map shows that, at that time, Bernards Heath (then called Barnett Heath) was outside the boundary of the borough of St Albans. The town gallows are pictured on the edge of the map.

The original of this map is in the care of the St Albans Museum but a colour copy hangs in the Maltings Library (at the far end, on the right-hand wall above the map cabinets). It is also reproduced as the frontispiece for ‘An archaeological strategy for historic centre of St Albans’ (2005). Click here to view this document.

The map is also reproduced, in colour, on pages 148–149 of St Albans: a history by Mark Freeman (Carnegie Publishing 2008) ISBN 978-1-859-36139-9 (hardback), 978-1-859-36190-0 (paperback).

Do you have any old pictures, photographs or maps of the Heath?
Please contact the editor at editor@bernardsheath.org