There was a Franciscan Priory a little W. from the church, which, although sometimes said to have been founded by Margaret, Countess of Leicester (_temp._ Henry III.), was probably of much earlier foundation, though doubtless enlarged by that lady. It fell into decay after the Dissolution, but some remains of the old buildings are still to be seen at _Ware Priory_, a mansion occupying the site. The property formed a separate manor, which was given to the Countess of Richmond by her son, Henry VII.
Ware is not without literary association. The Johnny Gilpin, on the road to Amwell, commemorates the hero of Cowper's ballad; Pepys mentions his visits to the town on several occasions; Dick Turpin, as the story runs in Ainsworth's _Rookwood_, passed through Ware in his famous ride to York; Godwin, who figures so largely in the Lamb literature, was for some years the Independent minister of the town. By a long ascent N. from the town, we reach, by turning right, the hamlet of _Ware Side_, picturesquely scattered over a slight depression close to _Widford_ (_q.v._). W. from the town is _Ware Park_, a mansion on a beautiful eminence.
_Warren's Green_ (about 4 miles N.E. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a small hamlet.
_Water End_, on the river Gade, is on the S.W. confines of Gaddesden Park. There are also hamlets of the same name (1) close to Ayot Station, G.N.R.; (2) at the E. extremity of Mimms Park, 2 miles N.W. from Potter's Bar Station (Middlesex).
_Waterford_ and _Waterford Marsh_ are in Bengeo parish, on the river Beane. On the marsh is some grazing common, free to all parishioners.
_Waterside_ is the name of a few cottages (1) on the river Gade, near King's Langley village; (2) at Mill Green, 1 mile N.E. from Hatfield.
WATFORD, including its quickly rising suburbs, is much the largest town in Hertfordshire. The Colne crosses the high road where it dips before rising towards Bushey, and Chauncy says that the town derives its name from the Wet Ford by which the river is crossed. The building of the Junction Station (L.&N.W.R.), N.E. from the High Street, did much to facilitate the growth of Watford and extend its trade; the railroad diverges S.W. to Rickmansworth only, and N.E. to Bricket Wood, Park Street and St. Albans; the main line from London passes through a long tunnel before reaching King's Langley Station. The antiquities of the town itself are less interesting and indeed less known than those of other towns in the county, and Chauncy, _e.g._, finds little to say about it. The manor was long held by the abbots of St. Albans; then it became Crown property, and after several changes of ownership passed to William, fourth Earl of Essex, whose descendants are still lords of the manor.