Ware

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For other uses, see Ware (disambiguation).

Map sources for Ware at grid reference TL3614

Arms of Ware Town Council

Ware is a small town of around 17,000 people in Hertfordshire, close to Hertford (the county town). The town was once a centre of malting. It has a fourteenth-century priory, now the local council offices and a conference centre. Recent restoration work has shown that the 'priory' - it was really a friary - dates from the thirteenth century. Opposite the priory is the large fourteenth century parish church of St. Mary. It is known for its elaborate font with large carved stone figures. The town is also famous for its many 18th Century riverside gazebos, several of which have been restored recently. It is also famous for the Great Bed of Ware, which was mentioned by Shakespeare and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Ware is also mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. GlaxoSmithKline has a large plant in the town.

Archaeology has shown that Ware has been occupied since at least the Mesolithic period (which ended about 4,000 BC). The Romans had a sizeable settlement here and foundations of several buildings, including a temple, have been found. A well preserved Roman skeleton of a teenage girl has been found as well. Ware was on Ermine Street, the Roman road from London to Lincoln. The modern name of the town dates from the Anglo-Saxon period when 'weirs' were built to stop the invading Vikings from escaping in their longships after defeat by Alfred the Great in a battle near Ware. In the Domesday survey of 1085 it was the second largest town in Hertfordshire. It later became England's premier town for the making of malt. It was also a great coaching town, being on the Old North Road, less than a day's journey from London. In the seventeenth century Ware became the source of the New River, constructed to bring fresh water to London. England's first turnpike (toll) road ran from Wadesmill to Ware. Today the town's main employer is GlaxoSmithKline, but there are also many other small factories. It is also a commuting town for London, with regular rail services between Ware railway station and London Liverpool Street.

Ware is home to Scott's Grotto, built for John Scott, an 18th Century poet who owned Amwell House from 1768. The grotto, the largest in the UK, is a series of chambers extending over 65ft into the chalk hillside. The chambers are decorated with shells, stones such as flint and coloured glass. The Grotto is owned by East Herts District Council and was restored in 1990 by the Ware society.

Ware Football Club play in the Isthmian League Division One North and reside at Wodson Park, an out of town sports development. Their original ground known as the Buryfields was moved to make way for expansion of the GlaxoSmithKline site. Their official website can be found in the links section.

During two weeks of the summer, Ware Council holds the 'Ware Festival' culminating in the 'Rock at the Priory' a one day open air Music Festival that grows each year in popularity.

The motto on the town's coat-of-arms is a pun on the town's name; 'Cave' is Latin for 'beware'.

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