ハットフィールドの天然記念物・トップ17

The ghost of Geoffrey De Mandeville, Earl of Sussex and Hertfordshire and Constable of the Tower of London has been haunting the Moat since the 12th Century. He was arrested for treason and hid his treasure down  a very deep well which he guards. Many have tried to find the well but so far none have succedded

The moat’s main use was probably defensive. One use of the lodge would have been to detain individuals who had broken the harsh forest laws. The moat would also have helped to drain the site, been used for rubbish disposal and possibly for keeping fish.

Poor quality excavations in the late 1880s and again in 1923 suggested that the lodge was quite substantial, with rubble masonry walls and glazed floor tiles in some rooms. The name Camlet remains a mystery. It first appears in local records in 1440 AD. The moat was originally crossed by a wooden drawbridge, the base frame of which was lifted in 1923 and recorded in 1949. A small piece found recently was dendro-chronologically dated to c.1357.

Batford Spring Nature Reserve hosts a number of fresh springs that are the source for many chalk-lined streams and ponds. There are a network of footpaths that will lead you around the reserve past grasslands, woods and rivers.

The New River, an aqueduct that supplies 8% of London's water, originally started here at Chadwell Spring. The source is now to the west at New Gauge.

As you walk through Trent Country Park, you might not be expecting to come across a medieval moat. But that's exactly what you'll discover. Probably built in the 14th century, there was once a lodge here that may have been used to detain those who broke forest laws. There was a wooden drawbridge to cross the water.

Thought to have been a key defence for the Iron Age Catuvellauni tribe against the invading Romans, Devil's Dyke is an impressive earthwork to the east of Wheathampstead. At 49 feet (15 m) deep, 131 feet (40 m) wide and 1,500 feet (460 m) long, it would have been a huge undertaking when constructed. This scheduled ancient monument is a delight to explore all year round. However, May is perhaps the best time to discover its charms, when the ground is carpeted by bluebells.

Old moated lodge, now a scheduled Ancient Monument.