The East India Company and North Mymms

East India House in Leadenhall Street, London as drawn by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, c.1817
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

This article, which looks at the influence of the East India Company (EIC) on North Mymms, was written by local historian Peter Kingsford and appeared in Volume 34, Spring 1993 edition of 'Hertfordshire’s Past', published jointly by the Hertfordshire Archaeological Council and the Hertfordshire Association for Local History.

The East India Company's impact on North Mymms 1757-1857

Growing up in a Company town

Former local resident, historian, academic, and author, Chris Jeppesen, who grew up in Brookmans Park, traces the area's links to the East India Company's wealth, amassed from the exploits of the British Empire, and slavery.
 

North Mymms delivery and collection services over the years

Stan, the Express Dairies roundsman in Skimpans Close October 1968
Image from Ron Kingdon, part of the Images of North Mymms collection

The following slideshow is made up of photographs from the Images of North Mymms collection recording the history of the area. This selection depicts the various delivery and collection services from 1900 onwards. Click on the square button below the slideshow to view full screen (recommended). Below the slideshow is a newspaper article (courtesy of local historian Mike Allen) about local milkman John Swain being voted Milkman Of The Year 1986.

The Brookmans Park water metering trial 1989-1992

A EWI (External Wall Interface) unit on the outside of a Brookmans Park house
Image by the North Mymms History Project released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

In April 1989, Brookmans Park was selected to be one of several areas nationwide to trial domestic water metering. More than 1,000 local properties were chosen, joining 60,000 households around the country where water meters were also installed. The trial was to last three years.

The history and evolution of Gobions from 1718 onwards

A coloured etching of Gobions Canal
Image from the former Gobions Woodland Trust

In 2000, the former Gobions Woodland Trust (GWT) commissioned a study to "help inform the development of a restoration and management plan for Gobions Wood, North Mymms, Hertfordshire". The resulting Heritage Report was prepared by Landscape Design Associates from Peterborough, and published in March 2002.

Savings clubs for the North Mymms poor

A Welham Green couple in Victorian times, likely subscribers to the clubs
Image from A Nott / G Knott, from the Images of North Mymms collection

In the 1880s North Mymms had a number of savings clubs, set up by the parish in order to help the poor.  The clubs were funded by regular weekly or monthly payments by both the rich and poor in the parish, and were managed by the church. It's estimated that the club which provided clothing for the poor was used by 75% of people living in the parish.

Apprenticeship under the parish charities

Reference for Thomas Nott 1916
From A Nott, part of The Peter Miller Collection

Imagine if your first job depended on you making a promise that, for seven-years, you wouldn't go to the pub, wouldn't play cards or dice, and would stay celibate. Tough rules back in 1818.

Gleanings of North Mymms

The cover of the St Mary's Church parish magazine for May 1883
Image from The Peter Miller Collection

Historian and researcher, Merle G. Rafferty wrote this article, 'Gleanings of North Mymms' after reading through old parish magazines from St Mary's Church. What the author uncovered was described as a "jigsaw of past events in the village", which was put together for a feature published in the Hertfordshire Countryside magazine in August 1972.

Setting the North Mymms Parish boundaries in the 18th century

A parish boundary marker, approx 2ft high in Leggatts estate (North Mymms side)
Image by Bill Killick, taken in 1982 - from The Peter Miller Collection

In the mid 1700s, the area east of the Great North Road (A1000) as it passed through North Mymms was common land, known as the North Mymms, Northaw, and Cheshunt Commons. This was land where commoners - those who didn't have their own land - were allowed to graze their livestock and gather fuel. At that time, the boundaries between North Mymms and Northaw were unclear, so the Lords of the two Manors agreed a dividing line, marked it on the ground, drew a map, and decided to make it all legal with a private Act of Parliament.

Local footpaths in North Mymms in the 1900s

Maintaining rights of way in the 1900s

The following images are photographs of a book containing a map of public footpaths in the area produced around 1900 by The Middlesex, Herts And Bucks Committee Of The Commons Preservation Society.