Hertfordshire is one of the home counties in southern England. It is bordered by Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it is placed in the East of England region. It covers 634 square miles (1,640 km2). It derives its name from a hart (stag) and a ford, used as the components of the county’s coat of arms and of the flag. Hertfordshire County Council is based in Hertford, once the main market town. The blue and white wavy lines, a traditional heraldic representation of a water course, symbolise the county’s many rivers while the shield and hart are taken from the arms of the Borough of Hertford. It is a heraldic pun of Hart and ford. The Hart reclines on a yellow field, representing Saint Alban, the patron saint of Hertfordshire and first British martyr, whose cross is traditionally yellow on blue. Full HD.