Hertfordshire (pronounced 'Hartfordshire') is an inland county, officially part of the East of England Government region.
It is located to the north of Greater London, bordering the London boroughs (from west to east) of Hillingdon, Harrow, Barnet and Enfield. To the east of Hertfordshire is Essex, to the west is Buckinghamshire and to the north are Bedfordshire, Luton and Cambridgeshire.
Hertfordshire was originally the area assigned to a fortress constructed at Hertford under the rule of Edward the Elder in 913. The name Hertfordshire appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1011.
Hertfordshire is the starting point of the New River a man made waterway, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water.
The current administrative districts of Hertfordshire are (approximately north to south):