Unusual Facts about Bishop's Stortford - Including Historical Finds, A Woolly Mammoth & An Arsonist
Posted: Monday, March 01, 2010
by John E Altham
Activ Bishop's Stortford
The town of Bishop's Stortford, like most historic towns in Britain, has an interesting past. Below you will find some of the more fascinating items which have come to light over the years.
Historical Finds
Whilst not a hotbed of historical finds, Bishop's Stortford does have an interesting history nonetheless. With the ongoing development of the town there is sure to be more discoveries, but here is what has been found so far...
Two hand axes from the Stone Age were accidentally discovered during drain digging near the Red, White & Blue Public House in Hazel End. Flint arrowheads have also been found in nearby Birchanger Woods.
Mesolithic man's existence in the Bishop's Stortford area came to light in 1962 at Silver Leys, Hadham Road, when the land levelling for a playing field revealed several worked flints consisting of sections of long blades, dated between 8,000 and 2,000 BC.
The River Stort
When early cartographers came to the town in the early 1600s, they reasoned that the town must have been named for the ford over the Stort and assumed the river was called the Stort. It has been ever since. Until then, there was no official name for the river. The naming of a river after a town is very unusual.
The Bishop's Stortford Arsonist
In 1825, a several buildings in Bishop's Stortford were set ablaze. This caused great alarm in the town and a committee was formed. A reward of GBP500 was offered for information on the arsonist. Soon a number of threatening letters were soon received, with a warning stating that "Stortford shall be laid in ashes".
Thomas Rees was arrested and found guilty on the charge of sending the letters, but not of arson. He was eventually transported to Australia as a convict.
If you know of any interesting historic facts about Bishop's Stortford, then please let us know and we will include in this article and on our website.
To find out more about the history of Bishop's Stortford, or the town in general, please visit http://www.activstortford.com.
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