The Gazebos of Ware

Along the Lea River

By Iain Bickerton

Anyone who has walked along the scenic Lea River along Ware is sure to have noticed the gazebos. Nowhere else in Britain can you find so many gazebos along a single riverside.  

Their origins can be traced back to their construction in the 18th and early 19th centuries, with a few dating from even earlier, in the late 1600s. They were built by innkeepers and other owners of property on the high street, and were intended as a means of finding some peace and quiet away from their hectic lives in town.  

Over time the gazebos became in need of repair, with some of them sadly not surviving to be seen today. In the 1830s there were 25 gazebos, but by 1980, only ten remained.  

Fortunately, during the 1980s the East Herts District Council stepped in and, with additional funds provided by the Ware Society and others, they set about restoring the gazebos to their former glory.