HADHAM (GREAT or MUCH) is an ancient village and parish near the river Ash.  The station, G.E.R., is 11/4 mile S.W.  We read that the Manor was given by King Edgar to the Bishops of London, several of whom have resided at the old manor house.  Katherine, mother of Henry VI. and wife of Owen Tudor, gave birth to a son here, known as Edmund of Hadham.  The church of St. Andrew, near the river, is E.E., dating from about 1300.  It has been much altered and restored.  The very fine S. porch is thought to be the work of Bishop Kemp (1459-89); the massive, embattled W. tower is probably by Bishop Braybroke (circa 1400).  Note (1) floriated cross and inscription to Simon Flambard, Rector of Hadham Magna in 1331, and chaplain to Edward III.; (2) brass to one Alban, also rector here (d. 1372); (3) monument in chancel to Judith Aylmer, widow of John Aylmer, Bishop of London (d. 1618); (4) fourteenth-century glass in E. window, a memorial to Thomas Randolph, a recent rector; (5) three brasses in nave to members of the Newce family (1579-1610); (6) fine oak chancel screen; (7) two piscinae in chancel.  The old House, or Palace, dated from about 1400.  Close to the village (S.W.) lies Moor Park, which readers or tourists must not confound with Moor Park, Rickmansworth (q.v.).  The present mansion dates from about 1780; its predecessor was an Elizabethan structure, once the property of Sir John Gore, Kt. (see Gilston), and previously of Sir Garratt Harvey, in whose day Archbishop Usher was a guest at “Moore Place”.  At Perry Green, 1 mile E. from Hadham Station, is a chapel-of-ease, in E.E. style, erected in 1853. Hadham Cross is beautifully situated in the valley, S. from the village and partly hidden among trees.

Hadham Ford (3 miles E. from Standon Station, G.E.R.) is on the river Ash, 1 mile S.W. from

HADHAM (LITTLE) formerly Hadham Parva.  The parish enjoys considerable historic importance through its connection with the Capel family, Earls of Essex.  The present earl owns large properties in the neighbourhood, and has the title of Baron of Hadham.  The church stands between the village and the river, and is widely known for its fine S. porch of timber, which it possibly owes to the proximity of Essex, in which county such porches are comparatively common.  The building is mostly E.E., probably late twelfth century, but the tower, embattled and pinnacled, is Perp. (circa 1380).  Note (1) brass to Rd.  Waren, a rector of Great Hadham (circa 1470); (2) brass to a knight, his wife and daughters (circa 1485); (3) Perp. chancel screen of oak; (4) on S. side of chancel, memorial stone to “Arthur Lord Capel, Baron of Hadham, who was murder’d for his loyalty to King Charles the First, March the 9th, 1648”.  This was the Lord Capel whose heart was preserved in a silver box and given to Charles II. at the Restoration, the earl having wished his heart to be “buried with his master”.  The chancel was restored by Sir A. W. Blomfield in 1885. Hadham Hall (1/2 mile E. from the church) is late Elizabethan, and has a magnificent corridor extending the entire length of the house (135 feet) with finely mullioned windows. Little Hadham Place (1/2 mile W. from the church) is prettily situated.  The manor of Hadham Parva formed part of the revenue of Saxon Kings until King Edgar gave it to the monks of Ely.