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Watton At Stone
Watton At Stone photos
Displaying the first of 12 old photos of Watton At Stone. View all Watton At Stone photos
Watton At Stone maps
Historic maps of Watton At Stone and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Watton At Stone maps
Watton At Stone area books
Displaying 1 of 8 books about Watton At Stone and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Watton At Stone
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Watton At Stone.
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Childhood Memories
I remember when I was just a young teenager... you could roam around the village and just about everyone knew you.
I loved to wander down to Mill Stream Lane with my jam jar and fishing net and walk along the stream searching for stickle backs and anything else I could catch. The fields behind us would whisper in the breeze and the sunlight would filter through the trees and glisten on the water below. Life was not so demanding, not worried too much about stranger danger and you knew that you was nestled in a village that looked after its own.
I remember old "Snowy" who had worked for years in the local butchers shop.
I remember Mr Warner one of our primary school teachers...looking back he was a steady influence in our lives and rarely raised his voice to his students even when we caused him to quieten us down from chattering too loudly.
There was a post office and a general store and dear old... Read more
100 Years of History
I am a collector of Wattons history. I have been collecting postcards, photos, in fact anything to do with Watton. I have old blacksmiths tools made by the blacksmith in 1910, over 600 postcards, stories and memories and a great deal more. I have been on TV with my collection. and done exhibitions, talks, village walks and talks. I travel all over the country to see ex Watton residents, seeking more items and stories to add to my collection. This is a hobby and it is nice to keep all the Watton bits togther in one place for people to be able to look at. The exhibition cost me over £600 (of my own money) to get together. I had free entry and over six hundred people attended. I have started to write a book with many photos and stories of the village, this is a book I feel I must write so the many people that have given me so many items can see they are being used well. If... Read more
Hertfordshire memories
Childhood
I remember spending the first twelve years of my life in Haltwick, we lived in Sunnny Side Cottage, my brother and I would go down past the pub to get water from the well and we would play in the woods and fields. We moved to Dane End when I was twelve, it was much the same just a nice peaceful place to grow up in. I sadly moved away and only came back to bury my father in Little Mundon Church some thirty years ago I and I haven't been back since. From the pictures I have seen it changes very little I will always rember going to the pictures in the village hall, making gokarts out of old prams and riding them down the hill from Gladstone Road, going up to the old chalk pit where they dumped lorry loads of army helmets it would keep us happy for hours, I would go to the orchard that used to belong to Billy Ives and... Read more
Vine Cottage And Blacksmith Shop
William Wright lived in Vine Cottage, Aston, there was a blacksmith shop beside the house, across the road was the orchard with many fruit trees and all the animals. I used to spend time there in the summer with Aunty Edith and Uncle William, I lived in a town in Gloucestershire so it was a wonderful treat for me to stay at the farm. We had to feed the animals morning and night, I was scared of feeding the turkeys as they would rush at the food buckets and I thought they were going for my legs, we collected lots of chicken eggs, did vegetable gardening, picked fruit, cleaned up the place a bit, walked to Walkern to visit my granny Clements, walked to Shephall to visit Aunty Joyce Canfield and Susan. On Sunday I went to Sunday school at the mission at Aston End.
Goldings
Thousands of teenage boys would have spent their formative years at William Baker Technical School which was housed in the historic mansion of Goldings in the village of Waterford. In 1922 around 240 boys and staff marched from Stepney Causeway where Barnodos had their training workshops to the station where they travelled by train to Hertford. Forming up behind their band they marched past the newly errected war memorial laying a wreath in memory of Barnodo Boys who had lost their lives in the Great War, and onto their new home at Goldings in Waterford. Within the 110 acres a number of good sporting facilities were created for football and rugby. The boys initially constructed a swimming pool from the damned river, and later dug an outdoor pool in the lower meadow. Each year the ball-boys for Wimbledon were selected and trained by the school chaplin, and the boys were able to build tennis... Read more
Evacuation During WW2
I was a student at the Norwood Technical Institute which was evacuated to Coles Hill House, Westmill. The house itself belonged to a military officer, and I guess it was taken over for evacuees. At the time I was there, there were 48 girls, a Head mistress, and I think about 4 teachers, a Matron and an Assistant Matron. Being during the war, we were all allocated our rations and the schooling consisted of our lessons, which were - cookery, our meals, housework, general upkeep of the house, gardening, growing vegetables, etc. We also kept chickens, rabbits and a goat (for milk) This experience was invaluable in later life as the staff were quite strict that everything should be done "properly". I understand that the N.T.A. is no longer in existence, now called South London College. I often think of those days and the companionship of the other students. Each year we used to host a Garden Party for the... Read more
Conrad And Co
My first employment was in the year 1945 when I started work at Conrad and company in Bengeo. I Cycled from Newgate Street Village every day. Conrad was a printing firm, and my first job was on a Cropper Charlton Press printing business cards and letterheads. The location of the firm was in the yard of a pub, I believe it was called the Greyhound. Next to the yard was a tobacconist shop run by a Mr ?. I stayed there until I was called up for National Service in 1949. Colin Maryan.
