Charter Tower, Hemel Hempstead

The Charter Tower is a two-storey tower, built of ashlar, and is the entranceway of the former manor house of Sir Richard Combes. It is one of the most intriguing historic sites in Hempstead and the iconic building is built overlooking a walled garden on the site of Bury house. The first Bury house began being built sometime in the 13th century and was referred to in a charter of 1829 which mentioned a mill located at Burymilne(a mill near The Bury). A Bury in this case meant a fortified residence, from the same root as the Saxon burh and our current term borough.

During the ancient times, the Bury was owned by the Waterhouse family but this changed in the year 1539 after the last male of the Waterhouse family passed. This led to the property being transferred to Richard Combes who tore the old building down and began erecting a very opulent mansion that took a total of fifty five years to build. On the exterior of the new house’s entrance was the coat of arms of Richard Combes adding to the iconic look of this structure, and is still visible to date.

The name ‘Charter Tower’ is said to have referred to a local legend – probably untrue – that Henry VIII, in the company of his wife Anne Boleyn, stayed there in the year 1539. He is said to have been very pleased with the warm welcome that the residents gave him and this led to him granting the town a market charter while leaning out of the upper window of the Tower. The only contradiction to this story is the fact that the tower was not built in 1539 so if Henry VIII indeed gave the town its market charter then it would have been from a former building. It is also unclear if the king actually visited the Bury house on any given occasion.

Around the year 1790, the second Bury House was also torn down. The entrance tower was the only structure left standing. A walled garden now stands at the location where the Bury House was and is now a public park. The garden also has a memorial park within it, to service the people that served with the South East Asia Command during World War III. The garden is even sometimes referred to as ‘charter gardens’ after the Tower that acts as its current entrance.