Authors and their Books Introduction
Over time I became increasingly aware of Royston’s historic buildings. Seeking to learn about them, I looked for a comprehensive illustrated book, but one did not exist. I was challenged to write one and did so. ‘Royston’s Heritage Buildings’ first edition was published in 2017, the second (enhanced) edition in 2018.
ROYSTON’S HERITAGE BUILDINGS
DESCRIPTIVE TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATING ALL ROYSTON’S HERITAGE BUILDINGS PETER RANSON PUBLISHED BY ROYSTON & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY 2017
Adapted Extract My research started with Historic England’s text for each ‘listed’ building in the Parish of Royston. There were no photographs so I set about identifying and photographing all 161 buildings. I became aware of North Hertfordshire District Council’s ‘Royston’s Register of Buildings of Local Interest’ containing 32 unlisted properties and so photographed and included them. The real surprise was the omission from either list of the Royse Stone, from which the town derives its name (Roy-ston). Royston’s history relates directly to its geography. Unlike Melbourn, Royston has no natural water course and did not develop until the technology for digging deep wells arrived in England in 1066. Also, the town is situated at the crossing (The Cross) of two ancient routes: the Romanised Ermine Street running north and connecting London (and continental Europe through Dover and London) to major settlements to the north and east of England such as Lincoln and York, and also to Edinburgh; it followed the path of the High Street and Kneesworth Street. The much older Icknield Way runs east – west from Norfolk to Stonehenge and Avebury, which followed the path of Melbourn Street and Baldock Street. Royston’s position at The Cross probably accounts for the presence of Royston Cave, and the establishment of a chapel in 1162, later raised to a priory in 1184, when Lady Roysia also erected a wayside cross. Whether the Royse Stone was the base of that cross is a moot point. In 1189 Richard I granted the right to hold a Wednesday market; in 1242 Henry III granted an annual fair. Until the Victorian age, Ermine Street, aka the Old North Road, remained the primary route north from London. Medieval and early modern monarchs and their courts were frequently on royal progress, and over the centuries most of the great and the good (and the not-so-good) will have journeyed to and through Royston, probably staying in the town and worshipping at the priory church.
From sparse records we know that some of those being at, or travelling through, Royston included Henry III in 1255, Edward IV in 1470, and Henry VI on many occasions between 1441 – 1449. The Duke of York and Earl of Warwick in 1455; when York was killed in 1460, the victorious Lancastrians marched south ‘Their progress could be plotted by the record of places plundered on the way: Grantham, Stamford, Peterborough, Huntingdon, Melbourn, and Royston’ Cardinal Wolsey was at Royston in 1530, as was James VI of Scotland in 1603, travelling to London to claim the English throne as James I. Charles I stopped at Royston in 1642, returning as a prisoner of the Parliamentary army in 1647, when Fairfax, Cromwell and Ireton signed and sealed at Royston a letter to the City of London demanding money. Where the buildings detailed in ‘Royston’s Heritage Buildings’ fit in to this rich history is largely unknown. The construction date of most can only be guessed. However, and despite Covid-19, a project is currently underway to date accurately 14 carefully chosen ‘listed’ buildings through dendrochronology and AMS C-14 dating. The resulting evidence, taken with that from such documents that do exist, will enhance our understanding of the sequence and timing of the economic and social development of Royston and district, and the counties of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Biography My wife Sue and I have lived in Royston for 35 years, in which time we raised three children, two boys and a girl, who as adults have between them presented us with three granddaughters. Of our adult children, one son, his wife and two daughters live in South Cambridgeshire, as does our daughter and her husband. Our other adult son lives in New Zealand with his wife and daughter. When I retired from a varied portfolio of careers in 2012, my deep and abiding interest in English history came to the fore, which eventually resulted in ‘Royston’s Heritage Buildings’.
Peter Ranson Are you or a friend an author with a published book? Tell the readers of Melbourn Magazine about how and why you came to write your book, provide an abridged extract, and some biographical details. Contact Melbourn Magazine for full details email: melbournmagazine@ gmail.com Telephone: 261144. melbournmagazine@gmail.com
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