Custom · Bayford / Hertingfordbury ·
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For every son born, the squire planted an acorn and set a stone beside it.
Stand where it happened
Bayfordbury House itself is privately owned. The University of Hertfordshire observatory next to it opens only for booked events, such as public open evenings in winter.
In Bayfordbury's park, every son born to the squire once got his own acorn, planted with a stone to mark the day.
Hertfordshire families marked a new baby in many ways, but the squires of Bayfordbury had a custom of their own. In the nineteenth century, whenever a son was born, the squire planted an acorn in the park and set a stone beside it to record the birth, so that each heir would grow up alongside his own oak. Bayfordbury House was built in the 1760s for the London merchant Sir William Baker and enlarged by his son. It is now home to a University of Hertfordshire field station and one of the largest teaching observatories in the country, set in the surrounding parkland.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.