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A Rainy Day in The Village in the 1970s

Here's a photo taken by Mary Hanson in the 70s. It shows Theobald Street in the rain stretching up through the original 'village'. Past The original Crown on the right, then The Wellington (just visible), towards Robinson's Folly which is out of sight. Most of the buildings on the left have been replaced now, and judging by the lack of traffic Mary must have been out on a Sunday!

Disaster On The Tracks

Here's a photo of a goods train derailment just outside the station in the 1960s.  Taken between Red Road and the Allum Lane Bridge it shows considerable damage to a number of wagons. We don't know what caused it - maybe you do?

No disasters like this in our current Exhibition Off The Rails which has now been extended until the end of the year because of the continuing interest.

#MemoriesMonday

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood : Your Reactions

Hanson's Tea Rooms

We had to feature a photo or two of Hansons to conclude our trip through the 'Most Missed' buildings of the area. Although not as iconic as the MGM Clock Tower, or as architecturally interesting as The Thatched Barn, Hanson & Maude's newsagents and tea rooms with home made ice cream and other delights provokes as many memories. 

Hanson & Maude's Interior

The Christmas Menu

In the 1990s

Looking at your comments and reactions to the whole series it seems The Thatched Barn and Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works top our list with the MGM Tower and the Village Hall close behind. Thanks to everyone for your comments, shares and reactions. Let us know your thoughts on

Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum
Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood, Part 8

This is the last 'Most Missed' building in our list.  Thanks for all your comments and suggestions and for your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Any building you feel we have forgotten? Let us know on
Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum
Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

The Cock & Hen Club

Our last building is not really 'Missed', but although the building is still in situ next to Barclays Bank today, the Club has long gone, and probably not missed that much.  But it's here because it's a perfect lead-in to our next exhibition all about the 'dark' side of Borehamwood, from criminality and dodgy dealings to policing and punishment.  So we are looking for more memories of this Club. We know the owner was Freddie Reynolds and his companion Marge who lived in Clarendon Road, that there were snooker tables and a long bar downstairs, that it was a centre for the black market during the war, and that there were rumours of 'naked ladies' among the youngsters growing up in the 40s. Does anyone know when it opened, or when it closed?  And was it a haunt of stars and film crew from the studios over the road?  Please let us know, in strictest confidence of course!

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood, Part 7

We are at our penultimate 'Most Missed' building.  Thanks for all your comments and suggestions and for your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Any building you feel we have forgotten? Let us know on
Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum
Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

Pubs : The Director's Arms

This building was only recently demolished and has not yet been replaced - there are ongoing planning disputes concerning the large site up Cranes Way.  And the pub, originally called The Bull & Tiger and latterly The Director's Arms, is one among many pub buildings that have been 'repurposed' or knocked down. Maybe we don't miss the buildings, but it's the sense of community, the memories of fun nights out, and the meetings with friends that are lost when a pub closes.

Here are a few Missed Pubs in our area - some buildings are long gone, some are now put to other uses.  What was your favourite?
Elstree :
The Plough - formerly the Swan, a favourite of Alfred Hitchcock, now derelict
The Artichoke - a favourite of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (among many other pubs), now The Shtiebel
The Holly Bush - a building from 1450, now a nursery
The Red Lion - demolished in 1935 to improve the junction between Barnet Lane and the High Street
Also The Farmer's Boy, The Green Dragon, The White Horse

Borehamwood :
The Red Lion - a favourite with stars from the studios opposite, now McDonalds
The Elstree Way Hotel - another star haunt, scene of 60s music gigs, now a roundabout
The Crowns - the Old Crown is now an office block under construction and the New Crown is now a Sainsbury Local
The Lord Nelson moved next door to a new building in 1935 and became The Mops & Brooms. The original pub is now a house.
Also The Woodcock, The Suffolk Punch

The Red Lion, Elstree, demolished in 1935, photo taken around 1900

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood, Part 6

Just a couple of  'Most Missed' buildings left in our list.  Thanks for all your comments and suggestions and for your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Any building you feel we have forgotten? Let us know on
Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum
Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works

The planned tube-train depot and repair centre for the Northern Line was already well under construction at the outbreak of World War 2.  When the Northern Heights Extension was cancelled in 1939, the buildings were turned into an aircraft parts factory. After the war the area was still owned by London Transport and it was decided in the early 1950s to enlarge the buildings and create the largest bus overhaul works in the world on the 53 acre site. The Works eventually included its own canteen, social club, hostel, power station, and the famous 'tilt test' area. Buses could be stripped right down, examined and repaired and rebuilt. It was officially opened on 31 October 1956 with a staff of 1,800.

The post-war standardisation and huge size of the London Transport fleet allowed maintenance along modern production line principles, with work being carried out on a number of buses at once. Several mechanics could focus on specific parts of the vehicle rather than a single mechanic working on a single bus at a time.

However, in as little as 30 years, financial pressures led to a decline in bus maintenance standards, and the scope for overhaul of vehicles was reduced. LT's Bus Works Restructuring Programme 1983-4 was followed in October 1985 by the decision to discontinue the practice of completely overhauling each bus every four or five years. Coupled with a shrinking fleet and the arrival of numerous types of non-standard bus not suited to the Aldenham concept, made it increasingly uneconomic, and closure of the Works in November 1986 was inevitable.

The site was acquired by property developer Slough Estates and stood mostly empty except for occasional storage of cars on the vast site until being demolished in July 1996 to make way for Centennial Park.

For more information and photos please visit our current Exhibition Off The Rails - The Line That Never Was. Photos copyright Steve Fennell and Tom Chinnery.

The Old Houses In Elstree - Follow Up

After adding this photo of The Old Houses in Elstree on Monday, we've discovered the exact dates of their building and demolition.  The false half-timbered front was added in 1923 by Sir Trevor Dawson to some existing cottages. Wyn Everett in her book described them as 'Elizabethan' but if you look at this photo taken before they were 'improved' you can't see any Tudor features. 

They were demolished in 1968 and the current flats and shops built as a replacement.  We would love to know what they were like inside before they were demolished.

Next weeks' 'Most Missed' is on the way...

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood, Part 5

Here is the next on our list of the 'Most Missed' buildings in our area.  They are in no particular order, and 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

Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum
Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

The Old Houses In Elstree

The Old Houses in the 1920s

Upon seeing the photos of this line of houses on Elstree High Street many people assume they were original Elizabethan half-timbered houses, and are shocked they were demolished in the 1960s. But their history is not that simple. A quick examination of the buildings shows that there are no overhanging upper stories or uneven roof lines which are so characteristic of Elizabethan construction. You only have to look at the 15th century Holly Bush Pub further down the hill to see what I mean.

The Old Houses In The Snow

Sad to say they were created in the early 1900s by Sir Trevor Dawson, the wealthy head of Vickers Armaments, at the same time as he built his 'country' retreat of Edgewarebury House. His penchant for half-timbering can clearly be seen on the still existing building, now The Manor Hotel. It seems he had a supply of timber left over and persuaded the Vicar of Elstree, Richard Eales, to let him use it on existing buildings on the High Street.  It could well be that the buildings he renovated were left over from Elizabethan times, but they were probably 18th Century. As a side note he used up the rest of his timber on a pub called the Duke of Marlborough somewhere on 'suicide' corner. We have never found the location of this pub, although mentioned in Wyn Everitt's biography. Any ideas?

The 1948 Olympic Marathon passes The Old Houses

The Old Houses in Elstree were demolished in the 60s and replaced by a particularly undistinguished block of flats and shops. But we have plenty of photos of them and of Sir Trevor's cortege passing down the hill in 1931 on the way to Elstree Churchyard.  You shouldn't believe your eyes sometimes - like his buildings Sir Trevor was not what he seemed.

The Old Houses in the 60s

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood, Part 4

Here is the next on our list of the 'Most Missed' buildings in our area.  They are in no particular order, and 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

Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk

Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum

Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts

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

THE OLD CROWN

No one reading will have stepped inside this building when it was one of the original Boreham Wood pubs in Theobald Street.  The Old Crown dates back to at least 1769 although rebuilt in the late 1800's, and ceased being a public house when the New Crown (now a Sainsbury's Local') was built in 1906. It was built for Clutterbuck & Co who were brewers in Stanmore and had pubs throughout Hertfordshire.  By this time with the coming of the railways in the 1860s the centre of the Village was moving from Theobald Street to Shenley Road, and the New Crown was ideally placed to capture those traveling by train and living in Glenhaven Avenue and Drayton Road and further.

Before the New Crown was built in 1906 an animal pound with a pond stood close to the site. Stray farm animals would be left there for collection by their owners. A large cottage in its own grounds was also here, although we have no details and it remains something of a mystery - any information appreciated.

But the Old Crown stayed in situ and had various uses from the 1900s onwards. This area around the building is a bit of a puzzle with Swaker's Yard - a hirer of horse and carts - being in the vicinity as well. It was used for a time as the offices for Roberts the coal merchants who had a yard on the other side of Theobald Street, and lastly as the commercial premises of J.A. Michell, makers of high quality record turntables. Once they departed for Stevenage the old pub became unloved, fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2020. There is now an office building rising on the site.  Our photos show the Crown over the years.

The 'Most Missed' Buildings in Elstree & Borehamwood, Part 3

Here is the next on our list of the 'Most Missed' buildings in our area.  They are in no particular order, and 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

Museum blog email: info@elstree-museum.org.uk
Facebook : www.facebook.com/EBWmuseum
Twitter : @EBWMuseumHerts
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ebwm2007/

Last week drew many comments on the unusual photo of the MGM Clock Tower. This week should draw out many memories :

THE THATCHED BARN

Commissioned in 1927 by a 'Mrs Merrick', of which not much is known, it was opened in 1934 on the A1 or the Barnet By-Pass. In the style of an American 'roadhouse-motel' but with an English twist with its thatched roof, it was ideally suited for 'stars' from the flourishing studios nearby to take their companions. With a large dining area, chefs, a swimming pool, and other facilities located a short drive from the expensive areas of north London it became a well-known attraction.

It was bought by holiday camps’ founder Billy Butlin in 1939 as his first hotel but then during the Second World War, his business was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). They turned the Barn into Station XV of the Inter Services Research Bureau and developed explosive devices, camouflage and coding equipment, using the local expertise found in the studios. It was run by film director and World War I RAF veteran Capt. J. Elder Wills,  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.

Restored to its original function in the 60s it was still attracting stars as well as locals to dances, swimming galas, etc. Unfortunately 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 to be replaced by the Holiday Inn which was built in style similar to the Barn. Now it's a Double Tree by Hilton Hotels and still in a prominent position for travellers.