BISHOP STORTFORD, urban district, east Hertfordshire, England; 3o-1- m. N.N.E. of London by the L.N.E. railway. Pop ulation (1931) 9,509. It lies on the river Stort, close to the county boundary with Essex, and has water communication with London through the Lea and Stort navigation. Before the Con quest the manor of Bishop Stortford is said to have belonged to Eddeva the Fair, wife of Harold, who sold it to the bishop of London. It was taken by William the Conqueror, who restored it and with it gave the bishop a small castle called Waytemore, of which there are scanty remains. The dungeon of this castle, called "Bishop's Hole" or "Bishop's Prison," was used as an ecclesias 'The title prince-bishop, attached in Austria to the sees of Laibach, Seckau, Gurk, Brixen, Trent, and Lavant, and in Prussia to that of Breslau, no longer implies any secular jurisdiction but is merely a title of honour recognized by the state, owing either to the importance of the sees or for reasons purely historical.
tical prison until the i6th century. The town possesses no early incorporation charters; but it is mentioned as a borough in 131I, in which year the burgesses returned two members to parliament. The privileges were allowed to lapse after the century. The church of St. Michael, standing high above the valley, is a Per pendicular building with western tower and spire. The high school, formerly the grammar school, was founded in the time of Queen Elizabeth. There are a Nonconformist grammar school, a diocesan training college for women, and other educational establishments. The industries include brewing and malting, coach building and metal working, and there are important horse and cattle markets.