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Cockfosters
Cockfosters maps
Historic maps of Cockfosters and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Cockfosters maps
Cockfosters area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about Cockfosters and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Cockfosters
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Cockfosters.
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Rear of Sassoon's House
Ah this rear 3/4 view of the big house stirs some memories. We (the estate children) would often congregate on the lawn here mainly during long heady summer evenings. It was actually an old tennis court, the lines then still being visible. Below we believed were the "dungeons" where German pow's were housed during the Second World War. It was here I had my first (or maybe second) spooky experience. I shall reveal that in my Trent Park memoirs elsewhere.
Orson Welles
Whether it was 1965 or a year or two later, I'm not sure. Again all of us used to swim here in the summer holidays, when the college was closed. It was near sunset and we'd dried and changed in the orangery to the rear. We were sitting on the steps watching a film crew setting up where the cameraman of this photo was standing. Intrigued, we hung around waiting to see what happened. Eventually several actors were seen in period costume, the cameras rolled, lines were said and off they went. The big surprise was being told that the larger than life chap we had just watched perform was none other than the legendary Orson Welles. Wow, if only I'd had the courage to get an autograph that evening! What the film was called I cannot recall.
Growing up in Trent Park
I remember the day we moved to Rookery Cottages, Trent Park. A fine warm spring day. I had just turned 7 years old and the date was 7th May 1959. At least I'm sure it was the seventh. Dad opened the door and the smell of dust and suchlike filled the air. The cottage stood close to a big reddish coloured building which I learned was the gymnasium for the college. Opposite a large steel clad building which housed the farm's tractors and machinery. It had originally been built as an aircraft hanger for Sir Philip Sassoon the former owner of the park. My dad had just joined the ranks of employees on the 250 acre farm within the Park. Sadly the farm and hanger has long gone, but the cottage and gymnasium can still be seen. The golf course that now fills the front view to Oakwood was constructed (well partly) by my late father's fair hand in the early 1970s, and he remained as head greensman and... Read more
Hertfordshire memories
The Old Bull Arts Centre And Old Bull Morris Dancers
I joined a "side" of clog morris dancers known as The Old Bull" in 1980. We all attended weekly practices and danced out at various local pubs in the area.
Our practice venue was a former pub known as the Old Bull. It was purchased by Barnet Urban District Council in 1963 with a view to demolishing the building and creating an access road to a bypass parallel to Barnet High Street which was destined to become pedestrianised. However this proposal never matured, and the building was inherited by the London Borough of Barnet when the boroughs merged in 1965. It was used as a Civic Defence Centre and the magistrates office before being opened in 1975 as The Old Bull Arts Centre by a local group who had been running a summer festival in nearby Ewen Hall Barnet for a few years. Our side of Morris Dancers was just one of many arts organisations who used the venue.
I still wear... Read more
Family Roots
I have no memories of Barnet myself but I have recently learned since my dad passed away that my grandad came from Barnet and was born there by all accounts. His name was William George Wanstall, born on the 22nd January 1907, his mother was Annie Wanstall, nee Keating, and his father was of the same name as himself, William George Wanstall Snr, who was a bricklayer. I do have an address they did live at in Barnet and it is 16, Wood Street. I would love any information on the life and times and even the street he lived on, most of my dad's family are all now based in Birmingham, as Grandad met my nan and she came from Aston at the time so he must have moved here. I am having so much trouble trying to find Wood Street on any map and I just can't understand why. Any help would be much appreciated, to find out about my grandad and the town he grew up in... Read more
Laidlaw+ Son
My name is Steve Laidlaw, I was born in Barnet, and at the age of 5 went to Cromer Road School. Myself and three brothers loved growing up in Barnet, my grandfather owned the building firm Laidlaw and Sons where on Saturdays we would earn two and six for cleaning the cement mixers that my father Peter and his work mates would have used that day. My grandmother's name Kitty who passed away when I was about 7. Barnet holds lots of fond memories for me. I would like to hear from anyone who remembers any of the things in my story.
Wood Street Barnet
Having responded privately to Steve Laidlaw and now read other log-ins I have decided to add some of my own 'gleanings'. Now residing in New Zealand but having been born and raised in Barnet, and having traced my family history back some 300 years in Barnet/Hadley, I now have sufficient information to build a reliable picture of theirs and Barnets past.
My Peak/Peake (the name is different in some findings) family were also bricklayers and owned land and properties in Wood Street, Arkley, and Hadley in the 1800s. In the late 1700s they owned the area which is now the Church Passage in Barnet. They knew and employed many bricklayers as they were quite a 'dynasty' at that time.
We were also very connected to the Laidlaw family and can relate to much of what has been written regarding them. Our family connection is through Sid Laidlaw's brother Len.
regards
Ray Peak
