The Francis Frith Collection.
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Great Amwell, Hertfordshire

Great Amwell photos

Displaying 2 of 2 old photos of Great Amwell.   View all Great Amwell photos

Great Amwell, Church 1929 photo

Great Amwell, Church 1929

Great Amwell, Village 1929 photo

Great Amwell, Village 1929

Great Amwell photos
View all 2 Great Amwell photos

Great Amwell maps

Historic maps of Great Amwell and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Great Amwell maps

Great Amwell map

Historic map of Great Amwell

Hertfordshire map

Illustrated Victorian map of Hertfordshire

Great Amwell map

Historic Map of any Great Amwell postcode

Great Amwell maps
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Great Amwell books

Displaying 2 of 8 books about Great Amwell and the local area.   View all Great Amwell books

On Sale! 70 off

Hitchin Town and City Memories
Paperback
rrp £12  £3.60

On Sale! 70 off

Hitchin Town and City Memories
Hardback
rrp £16  £4.80

On Sale! 70 off

Hemel Hempstead - A History & Celebration
Hardback
rrp £15.99  £4.80

Great Amwell books
View all 8 Great Amwell and Hertfordshire books

Memories of Great Amwell

Great Amwell memories
Read and share Great Amwell memories

Displaying a selection of personal memories of Great Amwell .
Add your memory of Great Amwell or of a photo of Great Amwell.

Nineteen years pleasurable living in Great Amell.

My family of four childen, my husband and I, moved into part of a large country house known as 'Ravenscourt', standing in 3 acres of land: we named our semi "Little Ravenscourt'. Within our back garden stood a beautiful large 'Indian Bean Tree' (catelpa), which the children loved to climb on: in the spring it was covered in small orchid-like scented flowers which attracted many bees ~ some of which would fall drunk onto the lawn. The flowers were the forerunner of long bean-like growths: hence its name. Opposite the house was a narrow lane, which led to a thickly grown bluebell wood. Near to the village Church (where one of our daughters was married) was Amwell Pool, a part of the New River with an attractive island at its centre: once each year they held a pagent there for all to enjoy. Our 19 years in Great Amwell will be remembered as among the happiest of our lives.

Shared on 05 May 2007 by Edith Wood-Smith.

Hertfordshire memories

The Crown Inn

Not really a memory - rather a request for information. My grandfather, Alfred Pain, was licensee of the Crown Inn from possibly the late 1920s through to the middle 1930s. If anyone has any memories/information/photos of the public house and/or my grandfather's time there, I would be most grateful to hear them.

Incidentally, my mother, Doris Bird, used to live in Hoddesdon Road and it was through working at the Crown that she met my father. Any memories of her or her parents, Florence and Arthur Bird would also be gratefully received

Shared on 29 May 2008 by Colin Pain.

St Andrew's Church

Wow, I have many fun memories about St Andrew's Church, living next door for many years and being a member in my younger years. To me it was like my second home. Does anyone remember Skipp? He was a lovely man, I got many a telling off for ringing the church bells, which I did on most days ,driving the neighbours crazy until they put new doors on. Not because of me, but things got stolen inside the church, so my bell ringing stopped, and sadly so did the trust for people to visit inside as it sadly had to be locked. Thank you, thieves. I have a lot of love for this church and very happy memories, and remember clearly to this day Mr Stevens the old vicar, who witnesses my first kiss, and said he would book me in for a wedding. I was only nine, bless him.  I will say to this day as I drive by the church  I look up and smile cheekily.

Shared on 04 December 2008 by Sonia Thompson.

Netherfield House

Netherfield House is now up for sale, the estate agent lists it beautifully, I have photos of the house as it was, and am glad to see that the current owners kept it beautifully as a house of that age should be

Shared on 13 September 2008 by Marlene Harris.

Extracts From Great Amwell & Hertfordshire books

Displaying a selection of extracts from Frith books about Great Amwell, inspired by Frith photos.

Hitchin Town and City Memories

In 1901, Hermitage Road was a pleasant, open avenue. The building on the left in view 46642, left, is the Hermitage, home of Frederick Seebohm; very little of it still remains. Windmill Hill is just visible in the background.

This is an extract from Hitchin Town and City Memories.
Read more and see photos from this book.

Hitchin Town and City Memories

A view of St Marys church in 1931, with the War Memorial in the foreground. In 1752, the Rewd William Cole wrote that the tower was `one of the most clumsy and heavy ones I ever saw`. Perhaps `solid` is a kinder description.

This is an extract from Hitchin Town and City Memories.
Read more and see photos from this book.

Hitchin Town and City Memories

In the 1960s, the Sun Hotel’s yard did not include fire escapes from the upstairs rooms, as it does now. Otherwise, there is little but the parked cars to give a clue to the date of this photograph. The timber- framed buildings, on the left, are believed to date from the 16th century.

This is an extract from Hitchin Town and City Memories.
Read more and see photos from this book.