Until the last century each meadow in the river valley between Hertford and Ware had its own name, like Cowleaze or Rangers Mead. For the King's Meads, these comprised Hither, Further and a 'Middle' section. Of these old names only the King’s Mead remain in general, and far less specific, usage. In 2020 the Kingsmead Neighbourhood Plan was formed and a map of the mead names, as was available at the time has been drawn.
In the days of horse-drawn vehicles, these meadows were a valuable source of hay for winter fodder and then for grazing cattle after the harvest. Today, that part of the King’s Mead on the Hertford town side of the River Lee Navigation, is given over to leisure use, mainly football pitches in season, while the remaining part is leased to a local farmer for grazing cattle. Happily the entire lush green river valley is part of the green belt and can be appreciated as the Meads Nature Reserve by both humans and wildlife.
From feudal times the hay meadows of the meads were managed as 'common' land, a quite misleading description in modem terms. In fact, only those people who qualified as commoners, by virtue of where they lived, had any right to use the meads. Commoners could graze their cattle on the meadows during Lammastide (from 12th August to 1st February) and could also bid at auction for the right to harvest a portion of hay for winter fodder, usually for a period of seven years. In 1627, Charles I granted the ownership, (and grazing rights) of the meads and Hartham, plus other property, to the Burgesses of Hertford as a corporate body. Although they had requested these assets on the grounds of poverty, they still had to pay £100 to the Crown. At that time the town of Hertford, where the commoners resided, hardly stretched beyond the east end of Fore St. In 1681 an extension to the Borough granted by Charles 11, took the boundary as far as the Hertford side of Chadwell Springs, bestowing users’ rights for the meads, to property owners at this end of town.
In the twenty second century any local resident wishing to graze an animal on the meads will be disappointed. These common rights were negated in 1972 when no one registered users’ rights, (although the Borough Corporation did still register their ownership). This was really a reflection of the irrelevance of grazing rights to modern lifestyles, and it is the recreational value of this land to the people of Hertford that is now of prime importance.
However, a significant link with past grazing rights remains to this day. Ever since 1708 the income from the hay from the meads has been designated as belonging to the poor and needy. It became known as the Grass Money, and is still given out by the Hertford Poors Estate each Christmas to applicants living within the borough as defined in 1681.
Comments