Tring
|
View over Tring, looking North |
Tring is a small
market town in the
Chiltern Hills in
Hertfordshire,
England with a population of 13,000. Situated 30 miles (50km) north-west of
London and linked to London by the old
Roman road of
Akeman Street, by the modern
A41, by the
Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to
Euston Station, Tring is now largely a commuter town in the
London commuter belt. It is in the borough of
Dacorum.
Tring is positioned at a low point in the Chiltern Hills which has been utilised by communications links since ancient times as a point of easy crossing. It is located at the summit level of the
Grand Union Canal and there has been extensive excavation of cuttings for both the canal and railway as they pass through the vicinity.
Tring railway cutting is 2.5 miles long and an average of 40 feet deep and is celebrated in a series of coloured lithographs by
John Cooke Bourne showing its construction in the 1830's.
The four Tring reservoirs – Wilstone, Tringford, Startops End, and Marsworth – were built to supply water for the canal. These have been a national nature reserve since
1955, and a
Site of Special Scientific Interest since
1987.
Important features in Tring include the
Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul and the mansion of
Tring Park built by
Sir Christopher Wren and radically altered by the architect
George Devey for
Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild as his country residence which is now the home of
The Arts Educational School, Tring Park. The former livestock market in Tring, recently redeveloped and reopened on September 9th
2005, was also believed to be the last remaining example of its type in the UK.
Nathan Mayer Rothschild's son
Lionel Walter Rothschild (2nd Lord Rothschild) built a private zoological museum in Tring which, as The
Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, has been part of the
Natural History Museum since
1937. The 2nd Lord Rothschild also released the
edible dormouse (
Glis glis) into Tring Park. He is remembered for riding around the town in a zebra-drawn carriage, and the town's symbol has been the head of a
zebra ever since.
Nearby, within the
Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is the
Ashridge Estate, part of the
National Trust and home to
Ashridge Business School.
Gerald Massey – poet, literary critic, Egyptologist and
Spiritualist – was born nearby at Gamnel Wharf, New Mill, on the
Wendover Branch of the
Grand Union Canal.
Tring railway station is about two miles from the town and is in fact closer to
Aldbury.
Tring is home to two football clubs, namely and
Tring Corinthians, both of whom play in the
Spartan South Midlands Football League.
*
Tring Town Council and information Centre*
Tring News (Updated every Thursday)*
Tring Athletic Football Club*
Tring Corinthians Football Club*
Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum*
‘Tring Cutting', Hertfordshire, 17 June 1837 by John Cooke Bourne which is on display at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
*
The Arts Educational School, Tring Park*
The poetry and other writing of Gerald Massey
