Blog

Christmas Cards Advent Calendar : Day 4 : Sunday 4 December

Today's card inside our Advent Calendar is the Crown Public House on the right looking up Theobald Street

Christmas Cards Advent Calendar : Day 3 : Saturday 3 December

Today's card inside our Advent Calendar is the Station Approach in Allum Lane

Christmas Cards Advent Calendar : Day 2 : Friday 2 December

Today's card inside our Advent Calendar is Buckettsland Lane in Well End in the 1960s

Christmas Cards Advent Calendar : Day 1 : Thursday 1 December

We're starting our local Christmas Cards Advent Calendar today and we will be posting a different card every day up to Christmas. You may not send cards anymore, but at least you can enjoy the old photos and paintings of Boreham Wood and Elstree in the snow. All cards on sale in the Museum. Let's start with an old favourite : Elstree High Street in the snow around 1910.

A Christmas Card With Memories

On #MemoriesMonday we have a new Christmas Card for you. A super drawing by Alan Lawrence that shows the old Village Hall with a queue waiting to enter the 'Xmas Bazzar'. We've posted this picture before on Facebook and had so many positive reactions that we decided to make it into a card this year. On sale now in the Museum for only 50p. What memories do you have of seeing Santa in the Village Hall? And here's another Christmas Card of Santa relaxing after a hard day's shift :

Spooky Stories For Samhain

The Holly Bush on Elstree Hill

The oldest building in the area is bound to have the odd ghost or two, and so there is one well-known story from The Holly Bush on Elstree Hill.  Dating from around 1450 the building was originally centred on an open hall which became two storeys when fireplaces were introduced.

The first mention of it as an Inn was in 1786 when it was bought by brewery owner Thomas Clutterbuck and managed by a John Green. It became an important staging post for the coaches from London to St Albans, and was extended and developed over the years. Since the building was constructed the road level has risen, causing customers to step down into the bar.  Many of the original beams exist, including those supposedly coming from Newgate Prison, and the original inglenook fireplace. 

The pub was extended in the 1980s when the coaching arch was removed and the outside toilets moved to the rear of the pub. Recent conversion to a nursery has maintained the structure of the Grade II listed building, and maybe its ghost.  Trixie Cadle, landlady in 1970, awoke one night to see the outline of a man’s head and shoulders in the dark. The image disappeared when she switched the light on. Sometime later, her husband Raymond heard the stairs creaking and the bedroom door open but when he switched the light on, there was nobody there. A bearded man was also seen and his slow footsteps heard wandering around.  The Inn consequently featured in an episode of Most Haunted.

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood

Today we are beginning our list of some of the 'Most Missed' buildings in our area, in no particular order. We are adding them one by one, week by week, and would love to have your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. What are your memories? Which is your 'Most Missed'?  What iconic building have we forgotten? Let us know on

Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum

Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

THE VILLAGE HALL

The 'Village Hall' known as the Church Hall, was opened next to All Saints Parish Church on Friday 2^nd February 1926.  The following afternoon a whist drive took place followed by a public dance with the 'Pogo' orchestra of banjo, piano, violin and cello. On Sunday the hall was welcomed for use by the Sunday school. Thus began an extension of the social life of the growing village of Borehamwood.

The prefabricated corrugated iron structure of the Hall was inspired by the social hall belonging to the Wellington and Ward photographic factory in Shenley Road (known as the Dufay Hall when that firm had the premises.) The 1920s saw the era of ‘Tin Tabernacles’ made of this metal, which resisted bending.

By 1936 arrangements were completed for the erection behind the Village Hall of the new brick built Sunday School Hall. During World War II the Village Hall, because of the central position, was requisitioned for government use. In the early War years it was an A.R.P. Post and ambulance station, also used in liaison with Police and Fire Services and local Hospitals, and with public utilities for water, gas and electricity.  From 1943 the Village Hall did service as a ‘British Restaurant’ run by the government at subsidised rates, providing lunchtime meals, (ration book free ) for one shilling. Along with these activities, on Saturday afternoons the Hall was transformed for evening dances; a welcome social event for Servicemen and women based in the area mixing with local people.

In the 1950s both the Village Hall and the Sunday school hall were being used for a great deal of community and church related activities, meetings, dances, Easter and Christmas bazaars, The May Festival, Scouts and Guides, jumble sales, plays, film shows, exhibitions, cage bird shows, garden show, whist drives, annual dinners, talks, concerts etc. An interesting record of diversity.  A weekly ‘flea’ market thrived until it closed down. Blood donation sessions were held there as well on a regular basis. In the late 1950s and early 1960s ‘Lucky’ Parkinson promoted Rock & Roll shows in The Hall, and the likes of Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages, The Brook Brothers and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates would shake the foundations.

During the mid 1990s, a working party was set up with All Saints Church liaising with the Trustees to look into the future of the halls. One idea was to demolish the front hall, remove the wooden pews from the church and use the church space as a multi purpose facility for the community.  However, by this time the front hall had become rather dilapidated and despite a makeover it remained in a poor state. Yet the hall, being in such a central location was a much loved and missed feature of the village.

By October 2008 plans were prepared for the new community hall. This was to be a building of substance, balancing All Saints church itself, rising a storey above nearby shopping premises. The Library was to be accommodated with the inclusion of the Local museum and various meeting halls and rooms.  The multi functional community building of 96 Shenley Road opened in 2013.

Swipe Right For History

Just installed in the Museum is our new touch-screen display featuring many photos of Borehamwood and Elstree.  Swipe through and see if you can find yourself in the group shots of schools and businesses from the last 60-odd years of life in the area. See the local landmarks that have disppeared or are just hanging on, and events you will remember.  And don't forget our current Exhibition Off The Rails - The Line That Never Was while you're in the Musuem.  Looking foward to seeing you.

Here's a couple of examples :

Last Chances

Just a few days now to Christmas week when our current Holby City Exhibition will be coming to an end. This is your last chance to find out the answers to all those questions about the show you always wanted to ask.

And don't forget that Holby City itself will coming to an end in the new year. So this is another last chance to see behind the scenes and remember all the great characters and situations you've grown to love over the last 20 years.

In addition it's the last chance to get your local Christmas cards. Local scenes, some painted, some photographs - all very Christmassy. So pop into the Museum to get your traditional, non-digital, Christmas cards, support your Museum and only 50 pence each.

We Need Help!

We're looking for volunteers to help us run the Museum.

Any one can do it!

Please pop in for a chat or drop us a line to INFO

See our new video HERE