FLAMSTED, a town of Hertfordshire in England, five miles from St Albans and Dunstable, stands on the river Verlam and was of old called Verlamsted. The land in the vicinity is a clay so thickly mixed with flints, that, after a shower, nothing appears but a heap of stones; and yet it bears good corn even in dry summers. This fertility is imputed to a warmth in the flint, which preserves it from cold in the winter; and to its closeness, which keeps it from the scorching rays of the sun in the summer. Edward VI. when an infant, was brought hither for his health; and, it is said, the bedstead he lay on, which is curiously wrought, is still preserved in the manor house near the town.