Colliers End - Hertfordshire, UK - Pictorial Village Signs on Waymarking.com

Divided into four quadrants a shield on the sign shows the village history. The church, the school, an old tree and a lamb holding a flag and cross. In the centre is a milestone showing 25 miles to London.

Colliers End is adjacent to the A10 main road which goes into London. The Lamb and Flag was a public house in the village, now closed. The church of St Mary lies in the south of the village.

History of the village can be found on the website below and quoted here:

'Colliers End is situated just to the south of a Roman crossroads, where the minor road from Verulamium crossed Ermine Street on the way to Camulodunum {Colchester). There may have been a few small buildings here and a wooden bridge over the stream just to the south of the village, near Labdens. This name is derived from the 14th century name Lapdenbrigge, meaning the bridge in the valley. A causeway was built at the beginning of the 19th century and the stream was run through a tunnel.

Nicholas le Colyere gave his name to the village, according to the Assize Rolls of 1278 and by 1526 the place was called Colyersend, with end meaning a hamlet. The inhabitants earned their livelihoods from agriculture with its associated crafts and from the important road traffic on what was the old North Road. At Wadesmill, the country's first turnpike was built and the road from London to Cambridge was the first to have milestones. At Colliers End there was a weighbridge, according to the 1840 tithe map that shows the Weighbridge House on the site of the old army camp. Not only corn but coal was carried through the village by horse-drawn wagons between the canals leading to Cambridge and the river Lee from Ware to London. The coaches passed through Colliers End, stopping at Puckeridge, as Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary, but the other traffic must have helped to keep the village inns in business. The oldest of these is the Lamb and Flag or Holy Lamb as it was called until about 1840 when the building previous to the present one was built. The Holy Lamb was the symbol of the Crusaders and the Knights of St. John are known to have been active around Standon. The tenant around 1840 was Thomas Bangs who might have been related to Phoebe Bangs who, according to the 1890 Kelly's Directory, kept the Model Guest House in Ware's Kibes Lane.

Across the road from the Lamb and Flag is an old timber framed house now called Cobwebs that was formerly the Wagon and Horses. Farther north, there was the Red, White and Blue, now Barnacres and across the road, The Plough, that has been replaced by two new houses. The Fox and Hounds, at the old Roman crossroads, is now a private dwelling but the pub name has been retained.

Being one of the few villages in East Herts without a speed limit below 60 m.p.h., Colliers End is looking forward to being by passed. In spite of the divisive effect of the constant traffic, the are some social activities in the village such as fun days, rummage sales, discos and the fortnightly visit of the mobile library give villagers a reason to meet for coffee in the hall. Like most small villages it is no longer a self-contained unit but the church, hall and pub are still meeting places for the inhabitants.

NB
The village information above is taken from The Hertfordshire Village Book, written by members of the Hertfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes and published by Countryside Books.'

Location: North End of the Village Plaque: no Construction Material: Painted Wood Web Address: [Web Link] Sign Date: Not listed Occasion Commemorated: Not listed Artist: Not listed

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