Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

MY HOMES

I lived in the high street from 1947 till about 1963 first at No37 then at No65

A beer with my Dad at Ye Olde Greene Manne

In the distance you can see Ye Olde Greene Manne pub on Batchworth Heath. My Dad and I sat in the pub garden and drank beer one hot summer's day in 1965 and my mum took a photo of us together which I treasure as a lovely memory. Can you believe we were wearing tweed sports jackets, coloured shirts and ties... [more]

The Artichoke on the Green

I used to walk or ride my bike past the Artichoke public house almost daily while running errands from the small group of shops opposite the church.
There used to be a small cycle shop, news agent, grocers shop, and a garage, with the Sportsman public house at the north end of the group.
In the warmer months the publican of... [more]

Walking in the river

From the concrete slab bridge by the watercress beds to the park near Scots Hill we would wade in the river with bare feet, I was only nine years old then.
The river bed was a fine golden grit that was easy to walk on. The water was always clean and clear with minnows and bullheads in abundance. ... [more]

Saturday morning pictures at the Odeon

School days were OK but on Saturday morning the walk/run from Croxley Green down into Ricky was always an adventure. We would go down Scots Hill or down the track opposite the church at the bottom of the Green and come out by the cinema we called the flea pit. Then a short walk into the town.  Normally what seemed like... [more]

Ah, summer !

Each summer we would set off, my mam and dad and I and the dog, Raq, in our 1938 Morris 8 to travel from Hartlepool to Rickmansworth to stay with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Sally Charters who had the grocery shop in Norfolk Road (number 55, I think it was). It was a huge adventure every year, setting off at... [more]

Hertfordshire Photographic Memories

The next three views give us a novel opportunity to stroll along the High Street over a period of sixty-eight years, and witness some of the numerous changes which took place before its eventual transformation into its present role as a pedestrian precinct. In this photograph the High Street has an almost deserted aspect, apart from two stationary carts; the Post Office is on the left and... [more]

Amersham, Chesham And Rickmansworth Photographic Memories

Although Church Street has had much rebuilding in recent years it still retains its character and is one of the best streets in the old town. Beeson and Sons on the left occupy premises built in 1863 when Talbot Road was laid out. On the right, all the red brick cottages went about 1900 to be replaced by the buildings seen in view... [more]

Hertfordshire Photographic Memories

The grand frontage of Sir James Thornhill's 18th-century mansion, built in Portland stone and with its gigantic Corinthian portico, situated on a hill overlooking spacious parkland. By the time this picture was taken, the arrival of the Metropolitan railway in the town ten years earlier had seen part of the extensive grounds sold for housing development. The house was no longer lived in after... [more]