Charlton, Hertfordshire
| Charltonm | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Harvest time at Temple End | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL178280 |
| Location: | 51°56’18"N, 0°17’15"W |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | SG5 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | North Hertfordshire |
Charlton is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, close to the town of Hitchin but retaining its separate identity, separated by Hitchin Hill. It has a population of fewer than fifty souls.
Charlton is the birthplace of inventor Henry Bessemer and the mill-wheel was adapted by his grandfather to power a small foundry. The watermill was therefore converted to a foundry during the occupancy of the Bessemer family and back to a mill again afterwards. [1]
There are remains of a windmill less than half a mile from the Windmill Pub from which it may have taken its name. There was, until the 1970s, also a water-wheel in the mill-race in the yard of Wellhead Farm.
According to an article by Peter Harkness in Vol 1, No 1 of "Old Hitchin Life" the Harkness family's now world-famous rose-nursery was, in the late 19th century, based in Charlton as well as Bedale, in Yorkshire. With Robert Harkness moving into Charlton House (Bessemer's birthplace) in 1895.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Charlton, Hertfordshire) |
References
- ↑ [http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jan/bessemer.html Sir Henry Bessemer Inventor & Engineer], Accessed 18 May 2012
