of Lydbury, which belonged
to the church of Hereford before the Conquest. The castle, at first
called Lydbury Castle, was built by one of the bishops of Hereford
between 1085 and 1154, to protect his manor from the Welsh, and the
town which sprang up round the castle walls acquired the name of
Bishop's Castle in the 13th century. In 1292 the bishop claimed to
have a market every Friday, a fair on the eve, day and morrow of the
Decollation of St John, and assize of bread and ale in Bishop's
Castle, which his predecessors had held from time immemorial. Ten
years later he received a grant from Richard II. of a market every
Wednesday and a fair on the 2nd of November and two days following.
Although the town was evidently a borough by the 13th century, since
the burgesses are mentioned as early as 1292, it has no charter
earlier than the incorporation charter granted by Queen Elizabeth in
1572. This was confirmed by James I. in 1617 and by James II. in 1688.
In 1584 Bishop's Castle returned two members to parliament, and was
represented until 1832, when it was disfranchised.

BISHOP STORTFORD, a market town in the Hertford parliamentary division
of Hertfordshire, England; 30-1/2 m. N.N.E. from London by the Cambridge
line of the Great Eastern railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 7143.
It lies on the river Stort, close to the county boundary with Essex, and
has water-communication with London through the Lea and Stort
Navigation. The church of St Michael, standing high above the valley, is
a fine embattled Perpendicular building with western tower and spire.
The high school, formerly the grammar school, was founded in the time of
Elizabeth. Here were educated Sir Henry Chauncy, an early historian of
Hertfordshire (d. 1719), and Cecil Rhodes, who was born at Bishop
Stortford in 1853. There are a Nonconformist grammar school, a diocesan
training college for mistresses, and other educational establishments.
The industries include brewing and malting, coach-building, lime-burning
and founding, and there are important horse and cattle markets.

Before the Conquest the manor of Bishop Stortford is said to have
belonged to Eddeva the Fair, wife of Harold, who sold it to the bishop
of London, from whom it was taken by William the Conqueror. William
restored it after a few years, and with it gave the bishop a small
castle called Waytemore, of which there are scanty remains. The
du