Revel End (11/2 mile S.W. from Redbourn Station, M.R.) is a hamlet.

RICKMANSWORTH is in the extreme S.W. of the county; the rivers Colne, Chess, and Gade unite here, close to the Grand Junction Canal; and it is easy to understand why the place was formerly called “Rykemereswearth,” i.e., the rich moor-meadow.  It is a compact little town with many quaint houses and quainter by-paths.  The residence now called Basing House, in the High Street, was for some time the home of William Penn, the Quaker; a photograph of it was long since reproduced in the Quiver.  The manor was given by Offa to the Abbots of St. Albans, who retained it till the Dissolution, after which Edward VI. granted it to Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London.  Henry III. granted a market to be held in the town every Wednesday; it was subsequently held on Saturday, but has long been discontinued.  Paper-making and brewing are now largely carried on in the neighbourhood.

The church, at the S. end of Church Street, was rebuilt (except the tower) in 1826; and again in 1870, from designs by Sir Arthur Blomfield.  It is Perp., almost entirely embattled, and is constructed of flints, with stone dressings.  Note (1) sedilia, piscina and modern oak stalls in chancel; (2) restored marble altar tomb carrying shield of arms, and inscription to Sir Henry Cary, Baron of Leppington and Earl of Monmouth (d. 1661); (3) brass with effigy to Thomas Day (d. 1613), and his wives Alice (d. 1585), and Joane (d. 1598); a separate inscription in the “Ashbie Chapple” ran—­I am not sure if it is still preserved:—­

    “Here ly byrid undyr this stone
    Thomas Davy and his two Wyfs Alice and Joan”.

The vicarage is thought to be the oldest in Hertfordshire; it still retains portions dating from the middle of the fifteenth century.

One mile S. is Moor Park (Lord Ebury).  The house has undergone many changes.  George Nevil, Archbishop of York, built a house in the park in the reign of Edward IV., and sometimes entertained that monarch, and we read of a lodge (was it Nevil’s house?) being here when Cardinal Wolsey owned the manor of “More Park”.  The estate changed hands several times before we find it in the hands of the unfortunate James Fitzroy, Duke of Monmouth, who is believed to have built a large mansion on the site of the present house.  This mansion was almost rebuilt by B. H. Styles, a man who made a fortune over South Sea Shares, and is said to have spent L130,000 in erecting and adorning his house in this beautiful park, with the assistance of the architect Leoni.  The house that Styles built still largely survives in the present structure, after several alterations and much embellishment during eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  It is a large and stately mansion of Portland stone, with fine Corinthian portico, the columns of which are about 50 feet high.  The vast hall was almost covered with classical and mediaeval designs by Sir James Thornhill, who had to sue Styles before he could obtain his remuneration; note the huge statues supporting the five marble doorways.  The house may be seen to advantage some distance from the terrace; but it must be remembered that it no longer retains its wings, which were removed when Mr. T. B. Rous lived at Moor Park towards the end of the eighteenth century.