[4] Until 1540 Royston was divided between five parishes: Barkway, Reed and Therfield in Hertfordshire and Melbourn and Kneesworth in Cambridgeshire.

[3][5] The town having lost its monastic charter, the priory site was obtained by Robert Chester, a gentleman of the bedchamber to Henry VIII, who set up a market.

[6] William Cobbett mentions the town (somewhat gloomily) in his Rural Rides: After you quit Ware...the land grows by degrees poorer; the chalk lies nearer and nearer to the surface, till you come to the open common-fields within a few miles of Royston [which] is at the foot of this high poor land; or, rather in a dell, the open side of which looks towards the North.

[12] On 29 April 1603 James VI and I, travelling to Westminster to be crowned as King of England, stayed overnight at the Chester residence.

In 1604 he decided to create a royal hunting lodge in the town by demolishing the "Cock" and "Greyhound" inns.

[14] The king's lodgings were completed in 1607 and were described in 1652 as "all of brick well-tiled double-built, in length 78 ft., breadth 43 ft., height from eaves to ground 24 ft., thickness of walls 24 inches.

"[3] The buildings were never big enough to cater for a full court, but provided a suitable spot for hunting, near enough to London for convenience and far enough away to deter intrusion.

King James ordered a strict prohibition on anyone taking game from within 16 miles (26 km) of Royston, and an elaborate infrastructure was established to support him in the pursuit of his sport.

Following the marriage, celebrated on St Valentine's Day 1613, the king, Prince Charles, and Frederick came to stay at Royston.

In June 1647, during the English Civil Wars, Charles was brought through the town as a prisoner of the Parliamentary army.

[15] The blazon of the arms is:Argent a fesse gules thereon another chequy of the first and sable in chief two Tudor roses barbed and seeded and in the base a stag trippant the whole surmounting an archiepiscopal staff, all proper.

And for a crest on a wreath of the colours, perched upon a representation of the Royse Stone, a hooded crow proper.

The staff is for Royston Priory, the roses for Tudor connections, while James I is represented by the checky fesse of the Stewarts.

[3] In 1835 the Royston Poor Law Union was created, covering a number of parishes in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Essex.

A joint committee of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire County Councils held inquiries during 1894 trying to reach agreement as to how best to deal with Royston.

Competing proposals were put forward from the two county councils, with both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire wanting the whole town.

[28] Eventually, the Local Government Board directed that town should all be placed in Hertfordshire, and on 30 September 1896 the parish of Royston (Cambridgeshire) and the parts of the Cambridgeshire parishes of Bassingbourn, Kneesworth, and Melbourn that were within the North Royston Special Drainage District were transferred to Hertfordshire.

[31][32] Royston Urban District Council held its first meeting on 1 October 1897 at the Institute on Melbourn Street.

[35] Royston Urban District Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of North Hertfordshire on 1 April 1974.

[3] The Greenwich Meridian, which passes through the town, is identified by a signpost on the north side of Newmarket Road.

It is on the Cambridge Line and is a stopping point for regular services operated by Govia Thameslink Railway.

The £3.25 million subway links the northern part of the town with the leisure centre and the main complex of schools at the 'Coombes Hole' allotment gardens area.

[39] Royston's schools are arranged as follows: Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia.

The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its journey of 110 miles (180 km) from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk.

The book describes how a German Army invades England through East Anglia and marches on London.

In the 1965 fictional children's television series, Thunderbirds, one eccentric puppet character who was involved in a rescue mission was called Deborah the Duchess of Royston.

Royston was the home town of writer Geoff McQueen who devised the 1980s TV series The Bill.

Royston Rugby Club's 1st XV play in the Herts/Middlesex 1st division[47] – its Girls' U15 side won the Herts Shield in 2011 and 2012.