Troutstream Hall Rickmansworth

A Memory of Batchworth Heath.

My great aunt, Miss Olive Howlett moved to Troutstream Hall around 1955. She retired as matron of St Columba Hospital ,St Johns Wood, and together with Miss Eva Birchett opened a home for the aged (then for females only). Whether they were the founders of the Troutstream Hall Trust or were merely employed by the trust I can't remember. Prior to this the house had been a private hotel. The bellboard still hung in the kitchen, the main feature of which was an extremely uncooperative coal-fired range tended by the caretaker/gardener - also of uncertain temper! My grandmother, my father and I would visit regularly, driving over from Uxbridge. We often took the picturesque route via Loudwater Lane where the trees on either side of the road made a beautiful green tunnel. It is more than 50 years since I was last there. I believe the home still existed until recently.