Medieval moated farmstead at Dixons Hill

The site of a circa 13th century dwelling

Remains of the moat at Pancake Hall, Dixons Hill Close 1982
Image from the former North Mymms Local History Society
Part of the Images of North Mymms Collection

Immediately to the north of the junction of Dixons Hill Close and Dixons Hill Road in Welham Green, North Mymms, is the site of a medieval moated homestead which archeologists have dated back to the 13th century.

The moat (grid reference TL 22738 05143), which is now partly infilled and built on, was examined almost 70 years ago when pottery and coins dating back to 1279 were found.

The North Mymms History Project has been researching the moat’s history following a query raised by a reader of the site.

Witch marks of St Mary’s North Mymms

North Mymms Notes - No 22

Markings in the stonework at St Mary's church, North Mymms
Image by Mike Allen - 2019

Could the marks scratched in stonework at St Mary’s church, North Mymms be early graffiti, or could they be apotropaic marks, designed to ward off evil spirits and witches? Local historian, archivist and photographer, Mike Allen, one of the team behind the North Mymms History Project, has been photographing and researching the marks for his North Mymms Notes, embedded below.

The advent of the telephone in North Mymms

The first telephone exchange serving North Mymms c1915
68 Hatfield Road, Potters Bar, gable-fronted house in the middle
Note the telegraph pole next to the exchange

Image courtesy of the Peter Miller Collection

The first telephone exchange to service the parish of North Mymms was opened by the National Telephone Company (NTC) just outside the parish boundary in a private house called ‘Shaldon’, 68 Hatfield Road, Potters Bar.

It is not known exactly when the exchange was opened, although the 08 January 1907 issue of the ‘Post Office Circular’ records the exchange as being open at the time of publication.

North Mymms’ major historical bridges

Crossing water, rail and road

The parish of North Mymms has a surprisingly large number of bridges, many of which are at least 150 years old. Local historian and archivist Peter Miller has been researching local bridges and has produced the following report which includes all the major bridges that are approximately 100 years old or more. He has not included the more recent bridges over the A1M. There is an interactive map of all the locations at the foot of the page.

Hawkshead Bridge cottages

Oil Painting 9” x 6” 

Label on back reads “Folly Lane” Potters Bar from M.C.A. Dec.25 1909

Image from the Peter Miller Collection

The oil painting above is dated 1909, and is believed to be the only known image of a pair of cottages that once stood on the south side of Hawkshead Lane to the east of the railway line next to where Hawkshead Bridge is today.

North Mymms WWII defences

How the parish prepared for invasion

The type-24 pillbox in the grounds of Queenswood School, North Mymms
Image courtesy of Dr Wendy Bird, Archivist at Queenswood School

Local wartime archeology mapped

North Mymms is rich in WWII history. The Outer London Defence Ring, set up to deter an invasion on the capital, runs through the south-east of the parish. Close to that line, and scattered elsewhere throughout North Mymms, are items of wartime archeological importance in the form of pillboxes, tank traps, gun emplacements, a Tett turret, and anti-tank trenches.

The North Mymms History Project has attempted to map these historical sites as a permanent record of how the parish was fortified for the 1939 to 1945 war. An interactive map is embedded at the foot of this feature.

New light on Gobions

Find reveals previously unrecorded local history

A chance sighting of a familiar North Mymms landmark on an old map in Oxford’s Bodleian Library led researcher Anne Rowe to uncover some previously unrecorded history about the former gardens at Gobions. An 18th century map that featured the estate had been wrongly catalogued. Anne’s find led her and historian Tom Williamson to piece together a fascinating insight into the gardens that once adorned the North Mymms estate. Anne and Tom have given the North Mymms History Project permission to reproduce their research on this site.

Booth tomb North Mymms parish church

North Mymms Notes - No 13

The Grade II listed Booth tomb at St Mary's Church, North Mymms - August 2018
Image by the North Mymms History Project
Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

In August 2018 work was completed on the restoration of a Grade II listed tomb in the churchyard at St Mary's church, North Mymms..

The tomb, known locally as the Booth tomb, is the burial place of Mary Booth who died in 1807, and her husband Frederick Booth who died in 1831.

Local historian and photographer Mike Allen has been researching the history of the tomb in his North Mymms Notes series.