ABOUT ME
My name's Katie and I'm the author / photographer behind A Knebworth Field - a project very much born out of a love for my local countryside, an almost pathological interest in history and a deep passion for photography.
I'm not a historian, I'm not a professional researcher and I'm not in any way an expert on flora and fauna. Most of the things that I document in this project are new to me. When I spot a flower in the field margins that I don't recognise, I look it up to learn more. When I wanted to document the history of the land, I read books and researched online.
This has been a steep learning curve for me and A Knebworth Field gives me the opportunity to learn more every day.
If you're a historical researcher and you feel I've made mistakes in some of my assumptions - please let me know. If you're a wildflower enthusiast and feel I've made mistakes in some of my identifications, again - please let me know. If you're willing to share your expertise with me, then I'm certainly willing to listen.
I believe that we're approaching the point of no return when it comes to the health and indeed the very existence of many of our natural spaces. It's my hope that by getting to know our land, one wildflower and one photo at a time, we can learn together and forge bonds with our environment that will eventually start to create positive change.
Thank you for visiting A Knebworth Field. Please visit regularly to watch the seasons unfold.
K x
Creating the History page on my website was challenging. Although there are excellent resources online for more recent history, such as the 1845 Tithe Records and the 1910 Lloyd George Domesday records, delving back into the more distant past proved difficult. I'd like to thank Keith J Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Museum Curator and Heritage Access Officer at North Herts Council for his generous advice, and also for recommending Anne Rowe's 2009 book - Medieval Parks of Hertfordshire which was invaluable. I of course wish to thank Anne Rowe for writing this book which provides much of the context and manorial/bailiff account records which appear in the sections dealing with the period 1300's - 1641.