Island Of Philae, Pharaoh's Bed c1857 (ref. 1820) | hung from the hook on the
extreme end of the wrought
iron inn sign. Some inns
displayed a wheatsheaf to
inform customers that a
new brew of beer was ready
for consumption; the Swan
hung the grapes to tell
patrons that it was open for business.
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Abbots Langley, the Ovaltine Dairies c1960 (ref. A150030) | In 1865, George Wander, a Swiss chemist, devised a new malted barley nutritional drink called Ovaltine. The company
bought Parsonage Farm at Abbots Langley and Numbers Farm at Kings Langley in the 1900s, and the Ovaltine model farm
was established at Langley in 1929. It was modelled on the farm created by Louis XIV for Marie Antoinette. By the 1950s,
Ovaltine employed 1,400 staff at Langley - the lives of few local people were not influenced by the company or its
suppliers. The poultry farm kept one of the largest flocks of laying poultry - over 50,000 White Leghorns - whilst the dairy
farm at Bedmond Road boasted a herd of prize-winning pedigree Jersey cattle. By the late 1960s, demand for the product
had dropped and parts of the farm had fallen into disrepair; in 1975, the 185ft Ovaltine chimney, which had been built
using a quarter of million bricks for £7000, was demolished at a cost of £8000.
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Abbots Langley, Ovaltine Farm c1960 (ref. A150049) | The Causeway development, carried
out between 1955 and 1957,
created a parade of shops, flats and
dwellings on the site of Causeway
House, which was finally demolished
in 1957. It was built in 1720, and
until 1857 had been owned by
Miss Caroline Henty, the niece of the
Edwardian boy’s adventure story
writer, G A Henty. The first occupiers
of the shops when they opened in
1958 were Mr Hall, consulting
optician, Davis TV and radio sales,
Christy’s gentlemen’s and children’s
outfitters, and Mrs S Henderson,
ladies’ hairdresser. The timber-faced
building in the distance was the
local dental practice.
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Abbots Langley, Causeway Parade c1960 (ref. A150028) | The Causeway development, carried out between 1955 and 1957, created a parade of shops, flats and dwellings on the site of Causeway House, which was finally demolished in 1957. It was built in 1720, and until 1857 had been owned by Miss Caroline Henty, the niece of the Edwardian boy's adventure story writer, G A Henty. The first occupiers of the shops when they opened in 1958 were Mr Hall, consulting optician, Davis TV and radio sales, Christy's gentlemen's and children's outfitters, and Mrs S Henderson, ladies' hairdresser. The timber-faced building in the distance was the local dental practice. | Add your own Memory
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Abbots Langley, Breakspear College, south side c1960 (ref. A150037) | Originally known as Langley House, this was the home of Robert Henty, brother of G A Henty and of Lord Kindersley, Director of the Bank of England. In 1928 the Salvatorian Fathers of Wealdstone bought Langley House, and part of it became the Roman Catholic church for the area. By 1930, a school had been established in the stables under Sisters Claudia and Ellidia. It was known as Breakspear College in memory of Nicholas Breakspear, Pope Adrian IV, who was born at Abbots Langley. The property was sold in 1986 to Dr John Munro, who converted it into an allergy clinic. Today it is empty and boarded up, awaiting planning permission for the main house to be broken up into individual dwellings. | Add your own Memory
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Amwell Hill, the Church of St John the Baptist c1955 (ref. A155003) | The small Norman church at Great Amwell stands close to the New River and contains a memorial to Robert Mylne, one of the engineers to the New River Company. The tower was added to the church in the 15th century, and later this was surmounted by a spire. The village stocks still survive near the church, and so does the pigeon-house to Amwellbury. This was converted to a tasteful dwelling during the 1990s by the Hertfordshire Building Preservation Trust. | Add your own Memory
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Amwell Hill, the New River c1955 (ref. A155002) | Various schemes had been proposed to bring fresh water to London; it was around 1600 that Edmund Colthurst identified the springs at Chadwell and Amwell as an ideal source. Work began on the New River with funding from Hugh Myddleton in 1610, and despite a number of delays through objections by local landowners, the project was completed within a few years. The photograph shows the idyllic and peaceful scene near the source of the New River, a contrast with its southern end in the bustling capital. The memorial on the right is inscribed with John Scott's words: 'AMWELL! Perpetual be thy stream: Nor e'en thy spring be less: Which thousands drink who never dream: Whence flows the boon they bless'. | Add your own Memory
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Ashwell, Forester's Cottages, High Street 1951 (ref. A149006) | The cottages were threatened with destruction shortly after this photograph was taken, but popular opinion prevailed and they were saved. The Hertfordshire Building Preservation Trust, in collaboration with Hertfordshire County Council, carried out a major restoration in the 1960s, and they now stand proudly as a memorial to what might have been lost. Almost opposite Foresters Cottages is the headquarters of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain, and members' cars often visit the village. Spring afternoons provide a fine sight as some of these elderly 'ladies and gentlemen' parade through the streets and lanes. | Add your own Memory
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Ashwell, Ashwell Museum c1960 (ref. A149042) | Truly one of the finest small museums in Hertfordshire, Ashwell Village Museum was founded in November 1930 and is based on the collection of Albert Sheldrick and John Bray, made when they were schoolboys. Probably its most attractive artefact is the building itself, which was constructed in the early 16th century: the Town House was owned by Westminster Abbey and later by St John's College, Cambridge, and was used to collect rents and tithes. Later on it was used by one of the village tailors as a workshop, but it fell into disrepair; it was eventually saved, at a cost of £25, to become the museum. | Add your own Memory
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Ashwell, the Church of St Mary the Virgin c1951 (ref. A149012) | The spire of St Mary's dominates the village and the surrounding countryside. It has overlooked pleasure, tragedy and, it is said, the supernatural. When the Black Death raged through Europe, Ashwell was not spared, and a desperate villager scratched on the wall of the church: '1350 - miserable wild distracted the dregs of the people alone survive to witness and tell the tale'. This is the tale of the great storm which was believed to have blown away the last infectious air. Another graffito demonstrates the frustration of the stonemason - it reads: 'the corners are not set correctly - I spit on them'. | Add your own Memory
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Ashwell, Chantry House 1951 (ref. A149002) | The thatched roof and plastered walls of the Chantry House typify the construction of the houses and cottages in Ashwell. Even the barn (left, behind the delivery van) is thatched. More expensive later buildings were of brick with a tiled roof, although, of course, the earlier church is built of stone. There is a village story that one Friday evening around 1850, Georgianna Covington was on her way to choir practice when she noticed a figure coming towards her. As she entered the church, she turned and to her horror saw that the hooded apparition had no head. She staggered into the church and fell senseless on the floor of the chancel, causing fear and fright amongst the choir who were assembling there. | Add your own Memory
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Ayot St Lawrence, the Old Church c1955 (ref. A99002) | The remains of the old church lie to the west of the village. It was built in the 12th century with later additions and renovations, including the tower of around 1500. The church fell into disuse when the new church was built in 1799. When he built Ayot House, Sir Leonard Lyde found that the old church had blocked his view, and began to demolish it without permission from the bishop. He was forced to cease the desecration as soon as news reached the bishop, but the work had proceeded too far, and the ruins stand today as a reminder of his folly. | Add your own Memory
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Ayot St Lawrence, Shaws Corner c1955 (ref. A99011) | The home of George Bernard Shaw has remained unchanged since his death: his hat still hangs in the hall, whilst his typewriter stands on his study desk where he wrote 'Pygmalion', 'Back to Methuselah' and 'Saint Joan'. It is said that he chose the village as his home when he noticed a tombstone in the churchyard which reads: 'Mary Ann South, born 1825, died 1895. Her time was short' - if 70 years was short, he was sure that this was the place for him. Indeed, GBS lived for 94 years, and died in the garden of the New Rectory after falling from a ladder whilst pruning his fruit trees. The house and its contents, including the photographs of prominent Socialist leaders (on the mantelpiece, left), were bequeathed to the National Trust; they, and the annual Midsummer Art Festival, attract many visitors every year. | Add your own Memory
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Ayot St Lawrence, the Village c1955 (ref. A99010) | The post office at Ayot was used by George Bernard Shaw in a rather lesser known play, 'A Village Wooing'. The postmistress, Miss Jisbella Lyth, was a personal friend, and considered it an honour to deal with his voluminous mail. The village had been owned by the fathers of the Cathedral of Westminster, but it was passed to the descendants of the Norman de Mandeville family in 1120. | Add your own Memory
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Baldock, White Horse Street c1960 (ref. B9040) | The Rose & Crown (left) was 'a Family & Residential Hotel'; next door was the Greyhound. The missing sign above the glass canopy read 'Teas'. The striped blinds in the distance belong to Booths, ironmonger and draper. The last of the five hitching posts stills stands outside the Rose & Crown, a popular stopping place for cyclists and motorists. In October 1903, William and Ernest Hart, driving their 24hp Darracq, rested at the Rose & Crown, and reported, 'Had three punctures in 50 miles ... cracked differential case, noisy gears and all sorts of trouble. Glad to turn into this haven of rest'. | Add your own Memory
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Baldock, The Gates c1960 (ref. B9032) | The gates were said to have come from the Leper Hospital at Clothall. Close to the John Wynne Almshouses, buses turned in front of the buildings and the open space was used for stalls on market day and for attractions when the fair came to the town. The Mayflower Gift Shop survives, but much else has changed. | Add your own Memory
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Baldock, High Street c1955 (ref. B9014) | A rare Lea Francis convertible is parked outside Randolph Antiques. Between the houses in the distance was the site of the Roman Catholic church dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St Augustine of Canterbury in 1926; it was never completed, and the remains were demolished in 1977. Next door to Randolph's stands the Cock pub, an old establishment and one of a portfolio of Baldock public houses owned by John Izzard Prior in 1823. The gardens in the foreground are at the corner of Mansfield Road close to the Lodge. The Lodge was originally the entrance to Elmwood House, located close to the site of the Kayser Bondor factory built c1919 for the Full-Fashioned Hosiery Company - this later became a large Tesco store. | Add your own Memory
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Barkway, Main Street c1965 (ref. B281012) | In 1700s and 1800s, Barkway lay on the main coach route from London to Cambridge. The Angel Inn (later the Wheatsheaf) served as the main staging post for travellers. In the early 1800s, it was owned by William Woolard, whose Newfoundland dog, Neptune, guarded the gate at the far end of the building. William Phelps, alias Brighton Bill, the pugilist, died here after his brutal encounter with Owen Swift in 1838. The white milestone (centre) is the last of a series measuring the route to Cambridge. The stones were erected in the early 1700s by Drs Mouse and Hare of Cambridge University. | Add your own Memory
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Benington, Church Interior c1960 (ref. B406022) | It is recorded that the site of the present St Peter's Church was used as a place of worship as early as the 9th century at the time of King Bertulph of Mercia. After the Norman Conquest, the manor was held by Peter de Valoignes, and it was from him that the church took its dedication. The building has been restored on number of occasions, and when the tower was renovated in the early part of the last century, some of the stone heads were re-carved to represent the workmen. One particular head resembles Josef Stalin wearing his renowned cap - however, in fact it represents David Warner, the sexton. It is believed that he negotiated a deal with the mason. 'Give me a price of a mug of ale', the mason is said to have told him, 'and I'll put your mug on the tower!' | Add your own Memory
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Berkhamsted, St Peter's Church c1960 (ref. B407044) | The parish church of St Peter, which dates from before 1222, was built on the site of part of the old St John's Chapel at the side of the Roman Akeman Street. In 1870 it was restored and clad in faced flint to a design by William Butterfield. The surplus flints from the interior were saved and used to build Sunnyside Church of St Michael and All Angels, which was dedicated in June 1909. Among the treasures of St Peter's is a window commemorating the Hertfordshire poet William Cowper, who was born at Berkhamsted Rectory in 1731. | Add your own Memory
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