door, as in “buttery-hatch,” the half-door leading from the buttery or kitchen, through which the dishes could be passed into the dining-hall. It was used formerly as another name for a ship’s deck, and thus the phrase “under hatches” meant properly below deck; the word is now applied to the doors of grated framework covering the openings (the “hatchways”) which lead from one deck to another into the hold through which the cargo is lowered. In Cornwall the word is used to denote certain dams or mounds used to prevent the tin-washes and the water coming from the stream-works from flowing into the fresh rivers.
HATCHET (adapted from the Fr. hachette, diminutive of hache,
axe, hacher, to cut, hack), a small, light form of axe with a short
handle (see Tool); for the war-hatchet of the North American
Indians and the symbolical ceremonies connected with it see
Tomahawk.
HATCHETTITE, sometimes termed Mountain Tallow, Mineral
Adipocire, or Adipocerite, a mineral hydrocarbon occurring in
the Coal-measures of Belgium and elsewhere, occupying in some
cases the interior of hollow concretions of iron-ore, but more
generally the cavities of fossil shells or crevices in the rocks.
It is of yellow colour, and translucent, but darkens and becomes
opaque on exposure. It has no odour, is greasy to the touch, and
has a slightly glistening lustre. Its hardness is that of soft
wax. The melting point is 46° to 47° C., and the composition is
C. 85.55, H. 14.45.
HATCHMENT, properly, in heraldry, an escutcheon or armorial
shield granted for some act of distinction or “achievement,”
of which word it is a corruption through such forms as atcheament,
achement, hachement, &c. “Achievement” is an adaptation
of the Fr. achèvement, from achever, à chef venir, Lat. ad caput
venire, to come to a head, or conclusion, hence accomplish,
achieve. The term “hatchment” is now usually applied to
funeral escutcheons or armorial shields enclosed in a black
lozenge-shaped frame suspended against the wall of a deceased
person’s house. It is usually placed over the entrance at the
level of the second floor, and remains for from six to twelve
months, when it is removed to the parish church. This custom
is falling into disuse, though still not uncommon. It is usual to
hang the hatchment of a deceased head of a house at the universities
of Oxford and Cambridge over the entrance to his lodge
or residence.
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If for a bachelor the hatchment bears upon a shield his arms, crest, and other appendages, the whole on a black ground. If for a single woman, her arms are represented upon a lozenge, bordered with knotted ribbons, also on a black ground. If the hatchment be for a married man (as in the illustration), his arms upon a shield impale those of his surviving wife; or if she be an heiress they are placed upon a scutcheon of pretence, and crest and other appendages are added. The dexter half of the ground is black, the sinister white. For a wife whose husband is alive the same arrangement is used, but the sinister ground only is black. For a widower the same is used as for a married man, but the whole ground is black; for a widow the husband’s arms are given with her own, but upon a lozenge, with ribbons, without crest or appendages, and the whole ground is black. When there have been two wives or two husbands the ground is divided into three parts per pale, and the division behind the arms of the survivor is white. Colours and military or naval emblems are sometimes placed behind the arms of military or naval officers. It is thus easy to discern from the hatchment the sex, condition and quality, and possibly the name of the deceased.
In Scottish hatchments it is not unusual to place the arms of the father and mother of the deceased in the two lateral angles of the lozenge, and sometimes the 4, 8 or 16 genealogical escutcheons are ranged along the margin.
HATFIELD, a town in the Mid or St Albans parliamentary
division of Hertfordshire, England, 1712 m. N. of London by the
Great Northern railway. Pop. (1901), 4754. It lies picturesquely
on the flank of a wooded hill, and about its foot, past which runs
the Great North Road. The church of St Etheldreda, well
situated towards the top of the hill, contains an Early English
round arch with the dog-tooth moulding, but for the rest is
Decorated and Perpendicular, and largely restored. The chapel
north of the chancel is known as the Salisbury chapel, and was
erected by Robert Cecil, first earl of Salisbury (d. 1612), who
was buried here. It is in a mixture of classic and Gothic styles.
In a private portion of the churchyard is buried, among others
of the family, the third marquess of Salisbury (d. 1903). In the
vicinity is Hatfield House, close to the site of a palace of the
bishops of Ely, which was erected about the beginning of the
12th century. From this palace comes the proper form of the
name of the town, Bishop’s Hatfield. In 1538 the manor was
resigned to Henry VIII. by Bishop Thomas Goodrich of Ely,
in exchange for certain lands in Cambridge, Essex and Norfolk;
and after that monarch the palace was successively the residence
of Edward VI. immediately before his accession, of Queen
Elizabeth during the reign of her sister Mary, and of James I.
The last-named exchanged it in 1607 for Theobalds, near
Cheshunt, in the same county, an estate of Robert Cecil, earl of
Salisbury, in whose family Hatfield House has since remained.
The west wing of the present mansion, built for Cecil in 1608–1611,
was destroyed by fire in November 1835, the dowager
marchioness of Salisbury, widow of the 1st marquess, perishing
in the flames. Hatfield House was built, and has been restored
and maintained, in the richest style of its period, both without
and within. The buildings of mellowed red brick now used as
stables and offices are, however, of a period far anterior to Cecil’s
time, and are probably part of the erection of John Morton,
bishop of Ely in 1478–1486. The park measures some 10 m.
in circumference. From the eminence on which the mansion
stands the ground falls towards the river Lea, which here expands
into a small lake. Beyond this is a rare example of a monks’
walled vineyard. In the park is also an ancient oak under
which Elizabeth is said to have been seated when the news of her
sister’s death was brought to her. Brocket Park is another fine
demesne, at the neighbouring village of Lemsford, and the
Brocket chapel in Hatfield church contains memorials of the
families who have held this seat.
HATHERLEY, WILLIAM PAGE WOOD, 1st Baron (1801–1881),
lord chancellor of Great Britain, son of Sir Matthew
Wood, a London alderman and lord mayor who became famous
for befriending Queen Caroline and braving George IV., was born
in London on the 29th of November 1801. He was educated
at Winchester, Geneva University, and Trinity College, Cambridge,
where he became a fellow after being 24th wrangler in
1824. He entered Lincoln’s Inn, and was called to the bar in
1824, studying conveyancing in Mr John Tyrrell’s chambers.
He soon obtained a good practice as an equity draughtsman
and before parliamentary committees, and in 1830 married
Miss Charlotte Moor. In 1845 he became Q.C., and in 1847 was
elected to parliament for the city of Oxford as a Liberal. In
1849 he was appointed vice-chancellor of the county palatine
of Lancaster, and in 1851 was made solicitor-general and knighted,
vacating that position in 1852. When his party returned to
power in 1853, he was raised to the bench as a vice-chancellor.
In 1868 he was made a lord justice of appeal, but before the end
of the year was selected by Mr Gladstone to be lord chancellor,
and was raised to the peerage as Lord Hatherley of Down
Hatherley. He retired in 1872 owing to failing eyesight, but sat
occasionally as a law lord. His wife’s death in 1878 was a great
blow, from which he never recovered, and he died in London
on the 10th of July 1881. Dean Hook said that Lord Hatherley—who
was a sound and benevolent supporter of the Church of
