HEMPSTEAD, a town of Hertfordshire in England, in a hilly country, upon a small river called the Gade, and 20 miles north-west of London. It was, in the time of the Saxons, called by the name of Henamsted, or Hean-Hemsted, i. e. High-Hemstead; in William the Conqueror's time, by the name of Heme-lamstede. Henry VIII. incorporated this village by the name of a bailiff; and he empowered the inhabitants to have a common seal, and a pye-powder court
during its market and fairs. It has been reckoned one of the greatest markets for wheat in this county, if not in England, 20,000. a-week being often returned in it only for meal. Eleven pair of mills stand within four miles of the place, which produce a great trade.