Although so close to London this is still a rural area, with quiet country churches with fine monuments, timber-framed farmhouses, and some splendid country houses, of which the most celebrated is Cecil"s Jacobean Hatfield House. At St Albans the remains of Roman Verulamium and the great early Norman abbey speak eloquently of older civilizations. The towns offer intriguing contrasts: Hertford, Bishop"s Stortford and Hitchin still have the character of traditional market centres, while the new towns of Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield are important exemplars of planning ideals of the 1950s and 60s.