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Object of the Week : U for Underwear

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : U for Underwear

The Museum has a rather nice collection of lingerie produced by Keystone Knitting Mills.  As the history of Keystone has been covered previously in ‘K’, it doesn’t need repeating here.  Also, we all know what underwear is and what its functions are, so that’s probably best not repeated here either.  However, these are items of a Museum collection, so let’s look at a bit of history.

The earliest undergarment to be worn by human beings is thought to be the Loincloth and as Tarzan fans will know, sometimes in hot weather would have been the only item of ‘clothing’ to be worn.  In colder climates, the loincloth would be worn under other garments.  The fabric used for loincloths was believed to have been either wool or linen or a coarse twill. Scratchy.

As time progressed, men wore cod-pieces and ladies wore bodices which later became corsets.

By the early 20^th century, textile industries like Keystones were booming.  Whalebone corsets began to be relaxed and be replaced by the liberty bodice.  Advertising for underwear first began in 1910 in the US and by the end of the decade, the requirement was for ladies to have underwear in which they could pursue sporting activities, so the bloomers were born.

In the 1930s, the girdle revived the fashion for the corset, but without the whalebone and accompanied by a brassiere and garters.

From the 1950s onwards, underwear became more of a fashion item in its own right and items such as the Wonderbra, Pantyhose (or tights), brief and boxer shorts came into production.

Object of the Week : T is for Thatched Barn

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : T is for Thatched Barn

The Museum has a large collection of photos of the Thatched Barn, now the Holiday Inn on the Barnet By-Pass.  This building has had a colourful past and our archive photo collections reflect this.  There have been parties, summertime gatherings around the former heated swimming pool, car accidents in the 1930s, secret wartime activities and fires in the 1960s. Here are some unseen photos from the opening night collection in 1934.

The hotel had elaborate dining facilities and being so close to the film studios, it became a glamorous hang-out for the film stars of the 1930s.  It was bought by holiday camps’ founder Billy Butlin in 1939 but then during the Second World War, the building was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) who developed explosive devices, camouflage and coding equipment, using the local expertise found in the studios. By the end of the war, the building had fallen into disrepair and the owner went bankrupt.  But then, in the 1950s, the Ministry of Works used the Thatched Barn as its Building Research Station.

In 1962 it suffered the first of a series of fires which damaged the thatched roof for which it was famous. It then became a Playboy Club for a brief period in the Sixties but prohibitively high prices and an exclusive membership ensured its eventual failure.  The Thatched Barn was demolished in December 1989.

Object Of The Week : S is for Shopping

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : S is for Shopping

Carrier bags are contentious these days, outlawed for their plastic content but they also have an evocative quality, reminding us of shops past and present.  The Museum holds a collection of various bags from shops long gone in Borehamwood, together with other shop related items, including weighing scales, receipts and shop-front lettering as well as a large archive of photographs.

The story of shops and shopping in Borehamwood may be said to start with ‘Robinson’s Folly’; a row of shops on the east side of Theobald Street in 1871. In fact, Theobald Street was where almost all the earliest shops and houses were situated and was the original village centre which is why Borehamwood folk say “ going down the village” to this day.

In 1939, Borehamwood was a small town developing around its main thoroughfare, Shenley Road.  Until the mid-1920s, most shops and houses had been built at the west end of the road; the east end was mostly isolated.  By the mid ‘20s the film studios arrived and housing sprung up. New shopping parades followed in the late 1940s and were mainly completed by the end of the 1960s.  Shenley Road looks much today as it did then.

Tesco and Sainsbury’s were some of the first multiple stores to introduce self-service.  Tesco came to Borehamwood circa 1954 and was first positioned opposite Whitehouse Avenue, where Borehamwood Café is today.  By the late 1950s it then occupied the site where Lots of Rice now stands and then the current site of the Reel Cinema in the 1980s.  It finally moved to its present position on former Elstree Studio land in the 1990s.

Object Of The Week : R is for Red Lions – Three of them!

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week :
R is for Red Lions – Three of them!

Elstree and Borehamwood has had its fair share of pubs named Red Lion.

The Red Lion Hotel on the crossroads at Elstree was a timber framed building and first mentioned in 1656.  It stood on the East side of the High Street on the corner of Barnet Lane and was demolished in 1934 to allow for the widening of the road.

This is the Red Lion in Shenley Road which is now McDonalds but previously was a pub since the mid 1930s.  This was particularly popular with film stars from the Studios across the road, who would pop in for a drink and chat with fellow actors. A darts team from the old Red Lion in Borehamwood was almost crowned national pub champions when they took part in a tournament in the late 1940s. On Wednesdays in the 1960s it was home to the Boreham Wood & Elstree Folk Music Club where many up-and-coming artists played from Sandy Denny to Bert Jansch. And on Saturdays featured middle of the road and cabaret artists such as Lennie Peters, later to be one half of top popsters Peters and Lee.

Here we see the Old Red Lion in Green Street which closed in the late 1960s. In the 1940s and 1950s life used to revolve around the Red Lion pub and the area had a real sense of community.  The interior was described as very Spartan with bare boards on the floor and no carpets and served real ale. There was no licence to sell spirits and wine wasn’t as popular then as it is today. The pub had two bars but according to local memories, one was seldom used.

Object Of The Week : Q is for Queen – the Pearly variety

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week :

Q is for Queen – the Pearly variety

This is one of a large collection of unusual hand-made paper figures made by W.H Gilby.  Mr Gilby worked as a draughtsman at BSP Industries in Maxwell Road, Borehamwood, which was founded and owned by Ivor Bailey.  BSP was home to the largest European engineering drawing office of its time.  Ivor Bailey’s name might have a familiar ring locally too because he gifted the Maxwell Park community centre to the youth of Borehamwood in 1962 and financed the building work.

Mr Gilby was Ivor Bailey’s right hand man and he made the paper figures as table decorations for the annual dinner given by BSP.  Gilby also drew this image of the old Holly Bush inn.

Object Of The Week : P is for Phoenix and Paul Welsh

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : P is for Phoenix and Paul Welsh

In the Museum’s collection is this painting of a Phoenix, which hung in the foyer of Elstree Studios.

The Phoenix rising from the ashes logo was adopted to symbolise the Save Our Studios campaign’s success at putting Elstree Studio back on the map.  This photo of Paul Welsh, Chair of the Studio at the time, was taken in 1996 when the Studio reopened.  It shows Paul with actress Ingrid Pitt; best remembered as a Hammer films icon and for appearing in Where Eagles Dare, which was made at MGM in Borehamwood.

Object Of The Week : O is for Offenburg

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : O is for Offenburg

Offenburg is one of the twin towns with Elstree and Borehamwood, the other being Fontenay-aux-Roses in France.

Offenburg lies east of Strasbourg, near the Rhine Valley and Black Forest. Nice gateaux!  The name is literally translated as ‘Open Castle’ and in the 18^th Century, belonged to Austria. More information and photos can be found at the official twin town website: www.betta.org.uk  Betta standing for Borehamwood and Elstree Twin Town Association.

The Twin Town Association has donated many items to the Museum over the years, including these seen here: shot glasses showing the heraldic castle and the Offenburg flag; a Stadt Shield (City) and a framed photograph of a statue.  Betta was formed in 1982 but the town twinning movement has been going since 1945, shortly after World War II ended, on the premise that Europe should never again be torn apart by war.  The rationale behind town twinning is the pairing of towns or cities from geographically distinct areas, in order to foster human contact and share cultural links. It also provides an opportunity to share problems, exchange views and understand different viewpoints on any issue where there is shared interest or concern.

Object of the Week : N is for Nuclear Disarmament

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : N is for Nuclear Disarmament

A Borehamwood resident and prominent member of the TUC, donated a box of personal items to the museum some time ago. Amongst various papers and books, were items relating to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.  The donor had been a passionate protester during the 1980s demonstrations and amongst the belongings donated were fliers, posters, badges and papers.

Between 1980 and 1983, CND’s membership soared, in part in criticism of the Thatcher government’s CND objectives and heightened by increasing tension between the Superpowers.  This made it one of the largest political organisations in Britain and possibly the largest peace movement globally.  Glastonbury Festival played a key role during this period (a ‘first wave’ including the Aldermarston marches had occurred between 1957-1963), and June 1981 saw the first Glastonbury CND Festival.  You may recall the Government’s defence plans outlined in an official booklet ‘Protect and Survive’.  It was renamed by protestors as ‘Protest and Survive’.  This also formed part of a series of frightening public information films designed to instruct the public how to survive a nuclear attack.  In 1984, the drama Threads was  produced, which explicitly depicted the after effects of nuclear war.

The Trident missile replaced the Polaris armed submarine fleet and the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp focussed attention on the Cruise Missiles and tracked their movement around the country, blocking public roads.  Eventually the missiles had to travel under cover of night and with a police escort. 

The re-election of a Conservative government in 1983 and the defeat of left-wing parties in continental Europe made the deployment of Cruise missiles inevitable and the movement again began to lose steam.

Object of the Week : M is for MGM

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week : M is for MGM  

This year commemorates the 50^th anniversary of the closure of MGM Studios in Borehamwood.

MGM British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and construction for the Studios began on the north side of Elstree Way in 1935.  This site was bordered by Shenley Road and adjacent to Thrift Farm. The Studios were sold to J Arthur Rank in 1938 and during the Second World War were requisitioned by the British Government for war work.

Films made here included Ivanhoe (1952) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). The castle built as a set for Ivanhoe could be seen when driving into Borehamwood and was often mistaken for a genuine historical monument.  The mound where the castle was built, is now part of the Film and Heritage Trail which runs through the Studio Way estate.

In 1970, the Studios closed and in the early hours of May 1973, a fire swept through the site, damaging a number of buildings being demolished in preparation for use as a cold store by Christian Salvesen. During 1973, a film crew for the production Holiday On The Buses filmed some of the demolition work as part of the climax of the film.

In 1987, despite local campaigns and protests,  the iconic Clock Tower was demolished when Christian Salvesen finished operations at the former studio. Unfortunately none of the buildings were listed and the site was cleared for industrial purposes.  The former library and leisure centre were built on an adjacent site and the backlot became the Studio Way estate.  According to former Museum Curator, Alan Lawrence, only a few bricks remain from the original wall alongside the road, marking where the Studios once stood.

This Polaroid Swinger camera, in the Museum’s collection, was used by MGM staff to record actors and sets in the 1960s.

The Plaster Vase is part of the private collection of Paul Welsh and was loaned to the Museum for display.  The vase was used to decorate sets and actors’ dressing rooms with flowers.

A book about the history of MGM has been written by local historian Paul Welsh and can be purchased from http://elstreescreenheritage.org/

Object Of The Week : L is for Lamps and Lillies

Whilst the Museum is closed and our collections unable to be seen by visitors, we have created a weekly virtual museum with an Object of the Week feature from our collections.

Object of the Week :  L is for Lamps and Lillies

There are many Wartime related items in the Museum’s collection and this week, two objects have been selected connected with this period of history.

The first is a hooded lamp used by ARP wardens during the blackout. The hood prevented the light from shining upwards but was still bright enough to be useful. The lamp could be carried by hand or clipped onto a belt.

The second is a flier for a performance of Lillies On The Land at the Ark Theatre in 2012.  The play celebrates the Women’s Land Army of World War II. It was a story based on letters and interviews with original Land Girls.

So what was happening in Elstree and Borehamwood during Wartime?  A number of significant events occurred.  The Army took over Elstree Preparatory School to use for billets and training.  They also requisitioned British International Pictures and Gate Studios for use as stores, whilst the Ministry of Health claimed the newly completed Amalgamated Studios.

The Thatched Barn became the centre for the Special Operations Executive (SOE).  By June 1942 it was a busy hub of activity for the Inter-Services Research Bureau and because of its sensitive nature ‘did not exist’.  But, had you glimpsed inside at this time, you might have seen SOE parachutists jumping off the restaurant balcony and a small submarine undergoing tests in the swimming pool!

Elsewhere, A.B.P.C Studios acted as a store for materials including decoys.  Aeroplane parts were constructed in what was to become MGM Studios.  Laing’s factories along the Elstree Way also produced aeroplane parts and in Lyndhurst House, the army had set up a wireless interceptor station.

In 1940 when an invasion appeared imminent, many local men volunteered for the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers or Home Guard).  Locals referred to the area as a ‘garrison town’ because of the large number of troops stationed here.  A house in Shenley Road was hit by a bomb and a house on the corner of Cardinal Avenue and Hillside Avenue was destroyed by a high explosive bomb, and in 1944 a V1 (doodlebug) flying bomb fell in a field near Tennison Avenue. 

A family of four were killed instantly when a landmine hit a house in Fortune Lane, Elstree in 1940.  The Handbury family (Ralph Handbury was Managing Director of RKO Radio operations) came up to Elstree from Hampstead to escape the London Blitz, only three weeks before. The house, ironically called The Fortune, was destroyed.