The Society offers the following books for sale (click the titles for more information).
An Artist’s Impression
Sketches of Old Hatfield by Beresford Johnson, compiled by Brian G. Lawrence (£4).
Changing Times
Stories of Hatfield Old and New, by Brian G. Lawrence (£8).
Glebe Cottages, Hatfield
110 years of a remaining Victorian estate, by Joy Emerton (£5).
Growing up in Hatfield before 1945
Memories of Hatfield people (four booklets, £4 the set). (currently out of stock).
Hatfield and its People: Individual booklets
The story of a new town, a garden city, an old village, a historic house, the farms and the countryside in a Hertfordshire Parish, republished by Hatfield Local History Society (14 booklets, £5 – £5.50 each) or buy the complete set in a single Compendium edition (see next).
Hatfield and its People: Compendium
For anyone wanting the complete set of booklets, this 588-page book brings them into a huge single volume, priced £17.50.
Hatfield Answers the Call 1914-1919
The story of a small town & its people in the Great War, by Brian G. Lawrence. (reduced from £7.50 to £5.00).
Hatfield at War
The story of life in a small town in 1939–45, by Brian G. Lawrence (£8).
Hatfield’s First New Town
The story of a Hatfield suburb 1848–1970, by “Hatfield This Century” (£4.50).
Poetry about Hatfield
An anthology of Hatfield poems dating from the seventeenth century to the present day.
Queen Hoo
The story of the Manor & Hall c.1060 to 2003, commissioned by Ann Mead (£4.50).
Recollections of the Hatfield Branch Lines
First-hand accounts from people who worked on the Hatfield railway or used it, collected by Jon Brindle and Sheila Whittingham (£1.00).
Rock Around the Block
Half a century of popular music associated with Hatfield, by Jon Brindle (£5).
Taking Off
Memories of de Havilland at Hatfield, edited by G. Philip Marris (£7.50).
The Ryde Remembered
Recollections and History of The Ryde, Hatfield, by G. Philip Marris and Diana Press (£7).
The Tingeys of Hatfield
The story of the well-known Hatfield retailers, with shops selling furniture, ironmongery and groceries, by Janet Robinson (£4.50).
When the Bombs Dropped
Accounts of the bombing of the de Havilland Factory in 1940, by Terry Pankhurst (£7).
Free-to-view Publications
Below are some other publications given here as free-to-view PDFs.
Richard Thompson Gunton: An Indefatigable Worker
This charming 23-page booklet provides a biography of Richard Thompson Gunton (1846-1921). It was written by his daughter, Ethel Gunton. She inscribed this copy in December 1931 to Eileen Smith whom we know from other researches lived at Malting Mead, Hatfield,
R. T. Gunton first entered his father’s business and then became a reporter at the age of sixteen. In 1866, he was engaged as secretary to Lord Cranborne, later 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. He also assisted in the Hatfield House Library.
On the death of the 3rd Marquess, he was retained as archivist and librarian to the 4th Marquess. Gunton had great intellectual powers. He was gifted in interpreting medieval documents, was fluent in French and German and wrote occasional newspaper articles as well as a number of plays.
Click on the book cover (below) to read it. (opens in separate tab)
An index is provided at the end.
Other publications
The five booklets below were published by our forerunner organisation “Hatfield This Century”. Please note that the front and back-matter sections of these books are no longer relevant, but have been retained for historical interest,
Click on the front covers (above) to read them.
Click here for an index to the above
In summary, the five comprise:
Hatfield Street Names compiled by the late Frank J. Cox in 1996, who explored the rich history of Hatfield’s ancient street names, such as “Arm and Sword Yard” (commonly known in olden times as “Blood and Gut” Alley), and others such as “Dog Kennel Lane”, “French Horn Lane”, and so on.
Music and Planes by the late R. L. (Dick) Whittingham who, in the 1990s recalled his fifty years working for de Havilland in Hatfield, as well as his time as a local dance-band pianist. This edition was transcribed from an audio tape by the late Frank J. Cox.
My Life at the Vineyard, Hatfield Park (1892-1942) by the late Alice Blaxill Hemmings who, at the age of 76 was persuaded to recall her recollections of said Vineyard in Hatfield Park. This edition was transcribed by the late Frank J. Cox,
The Workhouse by Caroline Hill in the 1990s, who provided a comparison of the Hatfield Workhouse with literature’s view of workhouse life.
William George Walby compiled by the late Frank J. Cox to record the personal recollections of this noted Hatfield butcher.
Frank J. Cox (1923-2015) was a founder member of our Society and edited the quarterly newsletter until the end of 2008.