Harpenden, Village Pond 1897

The pond on the Common

This pond used to be known as The Silver Cup Pond but I do not know where the name originated. Here was where children would sail toy boats or paddle. I have not yet come across a current photo or reference to this pond so I am wondering if it has survived health and safety strangulation. Would love to hear more about it.

Silver Cup Pond, Harpenden, Herts.

Having grown up in Harpenden I remember The Silver Cup Pond very well. Firstly, to answer the question posed, I'm sure that the pond was named after the pub that stands on the main road not far away, which in my time was the A6, in it's day the fore-runner of the M1. It is possible that the silver cup itself could have been a horse racing prize from the days when this sport could be seen taking place on the common. As well as the pond, there was also a sandpit nearby where we used to play. It was hexagonal, made of concrete, and had a short pillar in the middle, great for banging your head on! Having done the shopping, and after leaving Mary Ellen's tea rooms, where the ladies would sit drinking tea or coffee in their hats, our way home to Southdown took us not only past that pond, and the sandpit, but also the water regulating lagoons. These, our mothers assured, us were most dangerous, full of crocodiles they said, and we mustn't go near. We never did! The only use they had for us was that Miss Neil, our teacher at the school in Southdown, got tadpoles from there for us to look at. The Silver Cup Pond was great for sailing your boat in but I remember that during one of our 'sailing afternoons' my father once slipped over on the slimy bottom and got drenched. Great days, great memories.

How things don't change!

Oh my goodness.  I was bought up in Wheathampstead and I can still see it now, the newsagents on the High Street and the then "Old fashioned" chemist called Busbys at the end!

The Silk Farm

A delightful place to work if only for six months. We would lunch at the Brocket Arms or take a picnic into the grounds by the swimming pool. We did work as well; caring for the silk worms in the mornings and showing visitors around in the afternoons. My favourite task would be to walk the grounds collecting flowers and foliage for the arrangement in the hall. The downside was the 5 mile bike ride each way in all weathers.