Oxhey memories
Here are memories of Oxhey and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Oxhey or a Oxhey photo.
Oxhey Infants School
I used to go to Oxhey school which was opposite Bushey and Oxhey station. It had outside toilets and a little bike shed with a bench where we used to play ball against the walls. There was a church (which I think is still there) where we sung hymns and such. Or maybe it was the church hall, too far back to remember it exactly. I used to walk to school from the Bushey Hall Road, a long way for a child of only 6. There used to be a little bakers opposite the school where we were sometimes allowed to buy a cake for breaktime. Hard to believe that was 55 years ago.
The Bushey Arches Traffic!
I first saw Oxhey in 1956 when I would take the train from Hatch End to Bushey & Oxhey station (as it was called then) on Saturday afternoons to see Watford play football at Vicarage Road in the old Third Division South. The station is just around the corner from this photo. Chalk Hill is no longer a two way traffic road as it has become part of a giant roundabout which snakes around shops and the Bushey Arches railway viaduct. There appears to be a 142 bus travelling down London Road into Chalk Hill on its way to Watford High Street and the Junction station. These days it is all much changed with traffic snarled up in a giant jam at all hours of the day. Just a few yards away by the traffic lights is The Victoria pub. Around the corner is The Railway pub. Nearby is a gents hairdresser - Don's. Little did I think as an eleven year old going to football matches in 1956 that... Read more
Camping at Carpenders Park Farm
Before living in Oxhey I lived in nearby Hatch End and one of our Scout Troop's nearest places to camp for a weekend was Carpenders Park Farm in Oxhey Lane. We would pack everything we needed for a couple of nights camp on to the 1st Hatch End Scout Troop's "trek cart" and then we hauled two miles up Oxhey Lane. Its not until you pull a trek cart with a heavy load that you realise just how long the hills in Oxhey Lane are! A weekend’s camping gear seemed to weigh half a ton. Mrs Brazier answered the farmhouse door and showed us where to pitch in the orchard. The first time I went was with my friends Nicky Orpwood and "Tiddles" (Quentin Tildesley). Although Mrs Brazier let us camp in her orchard she failed to warn us there were cows and one shitted all over our frying pan which Nicky left overnight on the grass! Its hard to imagine pulling a trek cart along Oxhey Lane now... Read more
Memories of Hertfordshire
"The American University"
The school was converted for use as the campus for The United States International University in Europe. I was fortunate to be working as a Careers Advisor in nearby Watford whilst it was operating as a university and so I had wonderful opportunities to go inside. I can recall the Dean showing me around and encouraging me to play the organ in the chapel! The old school housed a university library and student bedrooms for young people from all around the world to "live-in". Sadly neither the school nor the university survived. We can still see the old school in all its glory as the location for so many old films produced at the nearby Elstree Studios. Nowadays the site is empty and awaiting the decision of the council planners for a massive housing development. This is so sad as the location lends itself so well to its original purpose of education.
School Souvenir Video And Dvd
A souvenir video called "The Bushey Years" has been produced using film and photographs taken during the years the school was at Bushey and much much more. For full details and an order form please call 01603 435084 or e-mail to prhibbett@aol.com cost £14 inc p&p
Peter Ibbett Archivest of The Old Masonians Association
Bushey Pond is Still There in 2006
This 1953 view of the pond is instantly recognisable as so little has changed in the 21st century! I lived just down the hill in Oxhey Village between 1981 and 2006 and would regularly walk up to Bushey by this pond. In earlier years I would walk with my young son David and feed bread to the ducks. At one time there was a small duckhouse in the pond and it was so lovely to see families of ducklings. The parish church is behind the pond and there is a narrow path through the steeply sloping churchyard that eventually leads you to Attenborough Fields and a pleasant stroll through the meadows back to Oxhey Village. I have done that so many times with my family and really enjoyed these walks - particularly on a summer evening.
International University High School
I graduated from the International University High School in 1983. It would be great to hear from anyone else who was there at that time.
Miss It!
I graduated in 1986 from the High School - maiden name of King - and I am so sad to never be able to go back and visit - such amazing memories!
When friends' reunions come up I wish I had one too.
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