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. Eleven pair of mills stand within four miles of the place, which produce a great trade. Population 3240 in 1811.