Residents and local history enthusiasts came together to celebrate the birth of a famous archaeologist and geologist.
November 17 marked the bicentenary of the birth of Sir John Evans (1823-1901), who lived in Berkhamsted and is buried in Abbots Langley.
On the morning of his birthday, a group of 30 people attended a service at his grave, which lies in the churchyard at St Lawrence’s Church. Flowers were laid and speeches were given by Michael Stanyon, president of Hemel Hempstead History Society, and Carol Higgs, warden of St Lawrence’s Church.
Also in attendance were some of Sir John’s descendants; Apsley Paper Trail trustees, staff and volunteers; members of both the Hemel Hempstead and Abbots Langley history societies, and Nash Mills councillors.
Not only did Sir John Evans prove very able in his work at his uncle John Dickinson’s paper mill, but he found time to produce an extraordinary body of research work and write learned works on archaeology and numismatics (coins).
He lived in The Mansion, a historic property on Castle Hill which was designed and built for him. Evans called the house Britwell but it is now known as “the Mansion” and forms the hub of Castle Village retirement complex.
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