Fore Street

Mercury

This bronze statue of Mercury can be found at No.1 Fore Street.

For over a century the building was the home of local newspaper The Hertfordshire Mercury, published by Stephen Austin.

Hertford House Hotel now occupies the premises.

Pargetting

Built around 1662, these urban tenements are of a scale rarely found in Hertfordshire.

Pargeting is the ornamentation of plastered and rendered building facades that would otherwise be smooth, lined-out or roughcast.

Similar plasterwork can be found on the adjacent Salisbury Arms, which was built some 2 centuries earlier.

The Salisbury Arms

One of Hertford's oldest buildings, this grand 15th Century building was originally known as The Bell Inn, until around 1800 when it was purchased by The Marquess of Salisbury.

Local brewery McMullens purchased the hotel and pub in 1891.

Shire Hall

Originally built as assembly rooms and a court house in 1769 by architect James Adam, the building also served as home to the Hertford Corporation.

The ground floor included an arcade used to trade grain until a dedicated building was constructed nearby in 1849.

Hertfordshire County Council was based at Shire Hall from 1889 to 1939.

Shire Hall clock

Almost 50 years after the completion of Shire Hall, a clock was added to the south facing wall of the building.

The clock, together with a set of bells, was made by local clockmaker and bellfounder John Briant.

Night Bell

This early electrical bell push can be found next to the door of Sheffield's pharmacy, which has been operating from 64 Fore Street for over two centuries.

The Owl

Replica owls can sometimes be found on rooftops to scare off other birds and predators. This example sits on the roof of 64 Fore Street.

Another example can be found in Market Street on the corner of the recently redeveloped No.7.

Corn Exchange

The new Post Office in Fore Street opened in 1890, replacing an earlier smaller facility a few metres to the east on a site now occupied by Saks hairdresser. The entrance was at the front of the building, with a sorting office behind and telephone exchange on the first floor.

Post Office

The new Post Office in Fore Street opened in 1890, replacing an earlier smaller facility a few metres to the east on a site now occupied by Saks hairdresser. The entrance was at the front of the building, with a sorting office behind and telephone exchange on the first floor.

The Queens Head

These mock tudor chimneypots on the former Queens Head in Fore Street can give the impression that the building is older than its mid-Victorian origins.

83 Fore Street

Once a furniture showroom and now occupied by Lussmanns restaurant, the rear of this 200 year-old building features a pair of ornate windows.

Dog & Whistle

Previously known as The Ram, the town's livestock market tool place at the rear of the building until 1958.

The Red House

This house was occupied by the owner of Young's Brewery, whose premises lay to the rear and along South Street, from 1754 until 1897 when it, and the brewery land, was acquired by Christs Hospital prior to their rebuilding after the turn of the century.

Historic England

Brewhouse Lane

A short lane once curved around the back of Young's brewery from a junction withnFore Street, now bricked up.

Brewhouse Lane

The lane joined Fore Street to a junction with Railway Street and South Street adjacent to the Lord Haig public house.

Christ's Hospital

The original girls' school at Christ's Hospital was built in 1778 and later extended in the 19th century.

Gas lamp

This original gas street lamp can be found in Ware Road on the boundary wall of Christ's Hospital (Bluecoats) close to the junction with Mill Road.