Nestled in the East Hertfordshire district, southwest of neighbouring Hertford, sits the southerly edge of Ware leading onto the village of Great Amwell. Ware has been noted as one of the oldest continously occupied settlements in the entirety of England, with archaeological remains dating back to the Mesolithic or Middle Stone age, approximately 5-10,000 years ago! With over 202 listed buildings in Ware itself, and a Grade II* listed Medieval church in Great Amwell, this area is rich in history. Nowadays, Ware and Great Amwell boast a wide range of housing stock; from grand detached country homes to suburban townhouses, the area’s domestic fabric is rich and varied.

Both Ware and Great Amwell are listed in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086, although Great and Little Amwell were listed under the one name, ‘Emmewell’. The origins of this name are often debated, although a popular theory is that it stems from Emma’s Well, a holy well and sacred spring just south of the St. John the Baptist Church. Emma’s Well was one of the sources of the New River from the early 1600s, an artificial river carved by Hugh Myddleton to supply London with fresh drinking water!

Great Amwell was also home to one of the passengers aboard the Mayflower voyage, which departed from Plymouth in England in 1620 and arrived approximately three months later in what is now known as Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts. Richard Warren lived in Great Amwell with his wife and five daughters, before voyaging across the sea to America, and was 12th on the Mayflower Compact agreement, which established the English colony of Plymouth in America.

Although a small locale with several protection sites, development in Great Amwell has been steadily increasing over the years. The Great Amwell neighbourhood plan is still in consultation with nearby Stanstead Abbotts and St Margarets over provisions for new housing and infrastructural development in the area, although it has not come to fruition as of yet. However, new developments are regularly approved by the East Herts council, mostly including barn conversions and development of recently built properties.