Pictorial Guide To Hertfordshire

Pictorial Guide to Hertfordshire (1978) — Eric G. Meadows (White Crescent Press)
ISBN: 090080422X
Condition: Good
Sold by: Crappy Old Books

Welcome to Hertfordshire, that politely prosperous slice of England where the hedgerows behave themselves, the villages look as if they’ve been arranged by committee, and history sits quietly in the corner pretending it hasn’t noticed the commuter belt. Eric G. Meadows’ Pictorial Guide to Hertfordshire (1978) is your charmingly unhurried passport to the county in its pre-digital, pre-roundabout-upgrade glory — back when a “guide” meant actual pages, and the only algorithm involved was “turn left after the pub.”

This is a book from the golden age of the local pictorial guide: a genre built on two sturdy pillars — earnest affection and photographs that make you want to put on a cardigan. Meadows takes you through Hertfordshire’s market towns, churches, lanes, parks, manor houses and quietly smug bits of countryside with the calm assurance of someone who knows that the real excitement here is discovering a medieval font and a particularly good example of brickwork.

Expect the greatest hits:

• Ancient churches doing their best to look older than the weather

• High streets full of “character” (and historically, at least one shop that sold everything)

• Country houses that imply land ownership is a personality trait

• Rivers and lanes that curve in a manner suggesting they were designed to slow down modern life out of sheer principle

• And plenty of Hertfordshire scenery doing what Hertfordshire scenery does: looking quietly pleased with itself

The “pictorial” part is the real treat — a time capsule of 1970s Britain, where the light is a little softer, the cars are a little boxier, and nothing is ever photographed at an angle that might cause drama. It’s soothing, it’s nostalgic, and it’s oddly uplifting: a reminder that the world once moved slowly enough for someone to publish a book devoted to the gentle splendour of a county just north of London.

Condition: Good — meaning it’s been handled by the sort of person who actually goes to places rather than merely “likes” them. There may be mild wear from honest use, but it remains a solid, readable, eminently leafable companion for anyone who wants Hertfordshire in a neat, portable bundle.

Ideal for: Hertfordshire locals, ex-locals, history grazers, churchyard wanderers, ramblers, collectors of regional guides, and anyone who enjoys the cosy certainty that somewhere, always, there is a village green and a pub sign featuring a slightly confused animal.

From Crappy Old Books — because Hertfordshire doesn’t shout. It doesn’t need to. It simply exists, attractively, and this book is here to prove it with pictures.

Keep browsing: See more Travel books Other books by Eric G Meadows