Welham Green From 1900-1953

Changes in half a century

by Mrs Rosie Simmonds written in 1953

The Village Institute, North Mymms 1900s
Image taken by G Knott, from the Peter Miller collection

I was born in Welham Green, left at the age of ten, and returned 52 years later. Our old house has been demolished and the site occupied by the Men's Institute. The fresh water tank is still there, having acquired a new lid. The well on the green, from which no doubt the village took its name, has been decapitated and its top covered by a concrete slab.

The history of Chuck's bakery North Mymms

North Mymms Notes - No 5

Jonah Chuck starting his round from his Dellsome Lane bakery
Wife Beatrice looking on from behind the gate
Image c1900 by G. Knott gifted by P.Grant, from the Images of North Mymms collection

For almost 150 years, the Chuck family of Welham Green supplied the homes of North Mymms with bread, first from their cottage at the junction of Pooley's Lane and Huggins Lane, using a small wood-fired oven, and later from their bakery in Dellsome Lane, where they had installed a coal-fired oven.

Chancellor's School - The Background

One morning in September 1964 children began walking through the gates of Chancellor's School for the first time. It marked the end of a campaign by parents and local residents for the village to have its own secondary school. Lilian Caras's history sets out the circumstances leading up to the building of the school and charts its development.

The Water End School

by Peter Kingsford

Drawing of Water End Girls' School by Fanny Ruth Faithfull c1850s
Image from the former NMLHS, from the Images of North Mymms collection

The School for the girls of the parish and for the infant boys until 1926, stood at Water End from 1847 to 1960. The accommodation was for 130 pupils so that during those 113 years of social change thousands of children passed through the school. What kind of influences did they come under?

Welham Green 1914

Nash's Corner, Welham Green pre 1920s
Image from A Nott / G Knott, from the Images of North Mymms collection

Our village of Welham Green lies between Hatfield and Potters Bar and has grown from a hamlet, as I first remember it, to what it is today. I still live in the same house that my father built about 1905 before he was married, so I have many memories, some of which I will tell you about.

Notes and sketches in Hertfordshire

The front cover of the magazine

During renovations to a cottage in Huggins Lane, Welham Green, in April 2000, a local builder came across a time capsule of historical treasures jammed behind a cupboard attached to the wall. As he began to move the wooden structure, items began spilling out of a cavity. Among the pens and papers that fell to the floor was a dusty and sooty copy of the monthly magazine, ‘The Illustrated Carpenter & Builder’ published in 1930. The magazine, then in its 53rd year displayed a cover price of two pence.

During the Great War

The Marshmoor Warblers
Image from A Nott, G Knott, from the Images of North Mymms collection

My mother was born during the last few years of the old Queen's reign and her first memory was of sitting up in her father's arm watching the firework display in celebration of the Relief of Mafeking.

She was 16 and a half when the Great War broke out and when the Zeppelin raids started over London. My grandfather sent my grandmother and a girl cousin away to Wildhill for safety.

Marshmoor WWI prisoner of war camp

North Mymms Notes - No 12

Photograph of Marshmoor POW camp guards 1918
Image from the Peter Miller collection

A WWI prisoner of war (POW) camp in North Mymms, built by the inmates themselves in 1916, and housing 210 captives, was, it's claimed, used as a source of cheap labour for the local timber industry, with interns being paid 1d (the equivalent of about 20p in 2018) an hour.

Leggatts Estate Auction Brochure 1911

The North Mymms garden city that never was

The main house on Leggatts Estate
Image from the Peter Miller collection

Brookmans Park might have ended up on the edge of a garden city if the sales pitch on an auction brochure printed in 1911 had been acted upon. The proposed Leggatts Estate on the Great North Road was described as a "unique opportunity" for creating "a higher grade garden city" with its 3,000 yard frontage on The Great North Road.

The North Mymms Ratepayers' Handbook

Do you remember this booklet?

Document from the Peter Miller collection

Was this 28-page publication carrying classified adverts, articles, photographs, and local information a one-off?

According to local historians, it was published by the North Mymms Ratepayers' Association in 1948.

The Association was formed in 1929 and  morphed into the North Mymms Residents' Association during the 1980s, finally expiring in 1999 due to lack of volunteers to run the committee.

The association had a Green Belt Preservation Committee, which became the North Mymms District Green Belt Society in June 1976, and which is still going strong in 2018.

The booklet below has been loaned to this site by local historian and archivist, Peter Miller, so that it can be uploaded so more people can access it. You can expand the document below, as well as download and print it.

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North Mimms rifle range

Compiled by local historian Peter Miller

The 2/13th Firing Party, North Mimms Musketry Camp. September 1915
Unposted postcard and unknown publisher, image from the Peter Miller collection

When the First World War began on 28 July 1914, Britain had a small, regular army of about 250,000 men, supported by reservists, territorials and yeomanry. A major campaign was started to encourage men to volunteer, but most new recruits had no previous military experience, and required extensive training.

Brookmans Park's WWII spigot mortar emplacements

Defending the transmitter and railway bridge

The spigot mortar emplacement close to the Brookmans Park Transmitting Station
Image by David Brewer released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

Hidden in the hedgerows and woodland surrounding the Brookmans Park Transmitting Station are the remains of three wartime spigot mortar emplacements. One is in good condition, one is partially buried in earth, and one was excavated in 2018 by local historian Peter Miller the joint author of this feature.

Images of North Mymms Collection

Local history digitised and enhanced

Photograph of the three volumes of Mike Allen's Images of North Mymms series

Many of the photographs on this site are taken from a local collection called Images of North Mymms, a project started by local historian and photographer Mike Allen following the closure of the North Mymms Local History Society (NMLHS).

The mystery of the Holloways of Welham Green

North Mymms Notes - No 8

Is this photograph, taken c1900 of the Holloways of Welham Green?
Image from A Nott / G Knott, from the Images of North Mymms collection

Another in Mike Allen's series of 'North Mymms Notes' in which he researches the stories behind the images he has curated for his 'Images of North Mymms' project. This time it's the story of the Holloways of Welham Green.

The photograph above apparently shows Mr and Mrs Holloway outside their house in Station Road, now numbers 50 and 52. It's said they ran a sweet shop and, according to Mike's research, it's thought Holloways Lane is named after them.

The image was taken c1900. Look closely at the picture and you will see a frail looking man with a blanket pinned around his neck. The woman is holding her glasses and has her eyes closed; perhaps she wasn't keen on having her picture taken. Also notice the poor condition of the thatched roof; was this really a house or a was it a 'cart shed', as Mike queries in his piece.

North Mymms In The County Of Hertford

140 YEARS OF HISTORY

1762-1901

This 26-page book was reprinted by the former North Mymms Local History Society in 1999. The image on the front cover is from an engraving by J. Hassell, published in London in 1816. An image of the aquatint engraving, courtesy of local historian and archivist Peter Miller below.

The 100-year campaign for Welham Green station

Welham Green connects to the rail network

The first train to leave the new Welham Green station on Monday 29 September 1986
Image from Ron Kingdon, part of the Images of North Mymms collection

It took 100 years of campaigning by local residents, but finally, on Monday 29 September 1986, the first passenger train departed from Welham Green station.

The mass dial of North Mymms 1584

North Mymms Notes - No 1

The mass dial at St Mary's church North Mymms
Image from Mike Allen, from the Images of North Mymms collection

If you visit St Mary's church in North Mymms, look up at the corner of the building just above a large tomb, and study what looks like a broken piece of stone. If you spot it, you will be looking at the remains of a mass dial, used before The Reformation to mark the time of mass and other services.

The medieval mysteries and curios of North Mymms church

North Mymms Notes - No 4

The stoup at St Mary's Church, North Mymms
Image from Mike Allen, from the Images of North Mymms collection

There is a sedilla, a piscina, and a holy water stoup, but was there ever a rood and rood screen, and were there medieval paintings on the walls? Local historian Mike Allen has been researching some of the historical mysteries and curios at St Mary's church, North Mymms.

Forty years ago In Brookmans Park

by Peter Kingsford c. 1995.

Just over 40 years ago, one got off one's bike and pushed it up Moffats Lane. It was impossible to ride up for the Lane was a farm road, an unmetalled country lane with the north side lined with 1930s houses and the south side, farm land.

North Mymms pillboxes; part of the local WWII defences

The outer London anti-tank defence line

A type 24 pillbox in the fields of Boltons Park Farm owned by the RVC
Image by the North Mymms History Project released under Creative Commons

Situated almost a mile apart in the south-east corner of North Mymms are two WWII pillboxes, part of the local defences set up to protect London from invasion between 1939 and 1945.

One is standing in the corner of a field at Boltons Park Farm south of Hawkshead Road the other is in the grounds of Queenswood School. Both are type 24 boxes and are on private land with no nearby public access.

The North Mymms History Project has acquired images of both pillboxes thanks to the cooperation of staff at Boltons Park Farm and Queenswood School.

The changing face of Brookmans Park

How the villages residential roads have changed

The following collection of pictures has been curated and digitised by local historian and photographer, Mike Allen. They show how Brookmans Park has changed over the years. The images, a mix of photographs and old postcards, are from the Images Of North Mymms project, which has gathered almost 4,000 images of the parish and made them available online.

North Mymms tank traps

The local strategic line of WWII defences

Tank trap on the north side of Bradmore Lane at the junction with Station Road
Image by Peter Miller for the North Mymms History Project

Cross the railway bridge at Brookmans Park, walk north on Station Road, turn left down Bradmore Lane, and there, hidden in undergrowth, you will see groups of concrete blocks on both sides of the lane. They are part of a network of thousands of obstacles put in place to prevent German tanks rolling through the British countryside. North Mymms has a number sites set up to deter attack.

Sale Details For Muffets House, North Mimms 1803

Document from the Peter Miller collection

The brochure for the sale in 1803 of Muffets was loaned to this site by local historian Peter Miller so that it can be uploaded for others to view.

North-Mims 1815 Farming Stock Auction Poster

Auction at Brookmans Park Farm 1815

An auction poster for the sale of "Valuable Farming Stock" at Mr. Fitch's Brookman's (sic) Park Farm in North-Mims (which is what the parish was called at the time), on April 27, 1815, included 6 Good Milch Cows, 3 two-year old Heifers, 3 yearling Ditto, a pair of working Oxen, and 2 weaning Calves; 3 two-year old Colts, and 1 yearling Ditto; Sow with 11 Pigs, and Ditto with 9 Ditto; about 10 Loads of Beans, 16 Qrs. Oats, and 1 Qr. of Malt; Waggon, Carts, Ploughs, and Farming Implements.

The London twin-wave broadcasting station Brookmans Park

This history of the London twin-wave broadcasting station Brookmans Park is a "Descriptive Souvenir" published in 1930. It is reproduced on this site with the permission of the BBC.

Growing up in Brookmans Park in the 1950s

By Ann Gillard

A postcard of Brookmans Park in the 1950s
Image from Ron Kingdon, from the Images of North Mymms collection

My parents came to Brookmans Park in 1951. We lived in the Gardens, on the corner, where the road 'rounds' into Westland Drive. There was a house being built, I can remember playing amongst the sand and bricks when the builders were not around.

Gobions Estate North Mymms Hertfordshire

The cover of 'Gobions Estate North Mymms Hertfordshire'

This booklet was first published in 1993 by the now disbanded Gobions Woodland Trust which gave permission for the contents to be published on this site. Gobions Wood is now managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. Some images from the original booklet have been replaced with resolution images from different sources and attribution added. In such cases the attribution was not in the original version.

A Brookmans Park childhood in the 1950s

By Colin Hawksworth

Postcard of the Brookmans Park Hotel in the 1960s where, aged 16, the author had his first pint
Image from Ron Kingdon, from the Images of North Mymms collection

I went to the Primary School around 1952-58 when it was run by Mr Harris. This was in the days of corporal punishment, and I suffered the cane (on the hand I remember), and no doubt richly deserved it.

I was not traumatised, and appear to have suffered no long-term distress. I remember Mr Harris as a firm, fair headmaster, who towered above me (I was five or so), who at one stage congratulated me on what was probably a fairly average performance as "The Mad Hatter" in the school hall.

Brookmans Park in the 1950s

By Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan's house on Bluebridge Road, Brookmans Park
Image from the Brookmans Park Newsletter

My parents moved to Brookmans Park in 1949 (having lived for a year or so before that in Hawkshead Lane), and I lived in Bluebridge Road, in the house immediately behind the lamppost in the photograph above - the first of the pair of ones made to look old.

The History of North Mymms in Hertfordshire - Video

A documentary produced by the former North Mymms Local History Society in 1986 about the parish of North Mymms.  The film was made by the late Hugh Baddeley, and was loaned to local historian, Mike Allen, to digitise and make available online for the benefit of the local community. The narration is by Phil Elgar. The video is 32 minutes long.

 

The Great North Road through North Mymms parish

Cattle crossing The Great North Road in 1966
Image from Ron Kingdon, part of the Images of North Mymms collection

Although the ‘Old North Road’ was the road through Hoddesdon and Ware to Huntingdon, the road through Barnet, Potters Bar, Bell Bar and Hatfield was always an alternative and much used. In medieval times the tenants of the Manor were responsible for the maintenance of the highways within their parish and they served their turn as ‘Surveyor of the Highways’, when appointed by the Manorial Court.

North Mymms Amateur Dramatics Society 1964 - Video

This video provides a reminder of the activities and energy of the former North Mymms Amateur Dramatics Society. Shot in 1964, it was directed and edited by John Colville. Originally a cine film, it's was transferred to VHS and now digitised. Photographer and local historian, Mike Allen, loaned his copy to The Brookmans Park Newsletter so that it could be shared with the community.

My love affair with steam began in Brookmans Park

By Trevor Alcock

Trevor Alcock's love of trains began as a boy in Brookmans Park
Image from Ron Kingdon, from the Images of North Mymms collection

I found the articles by Colin and Mary very interesting as we are of the same age. I am also fascinated with the stories about Gobions Woods, where the majority of my spare time was spent as a child.

I am so pleased that some one has preserved it, because it is truly a unique place. I have been fascinated to read about the history of the area, and now regret the damage I must have caused when we played some wild games there.

North Mymms Park Sale Details 1870

The 1870 auction brochure for North Mymms Park has been loaned to this site by local historian and archivist Peter Miller so that it can be uploaded for others to view.

The first page of the brochure for the sale of North Mymms Park
Document from the Peter Miller collection

The sale included Hawkshead House, Abdale House, the Manor Tollgate, 361 acres of timbered park, a 57 acre deer park, three compact farms with "excellent homesteads and labourers cottages" totalling 1168 acres.

Also in the sale was The Home Park at 57 acres including six "substantial" cottages, and The Wood Lands, 234 acres, including four "commodious" cottages.

 A PDF of the brochure, which you can download and print, is below.

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James Chuck - My Life in the Village

Oral history recorded by Albert Thom

James Chuck on a tractor at Potterells in the 1940s
Image from L. Maxwell, from the Images of North Mymms collection

James Chuck was born on 18 June 1903 in a cottage which then stood on the site occupied by the car showroom, in Welham Green in the Parish of North Mymms, Hertfordshire.

On The Home Front

In September 1939, soon after Germany invaded Poland and war had been declared, the vicar of St Mary’s Church, North Mymms, the Reverend Leonard Buxton, sat down in his study to write a special edition of his parish magazine. Six years later, following the ending of the war, the then vicar at St Mary’s, the Reverend Lionel Hamel-Smith, composed another message to parishioners. Both pieces of writing feature in this collection of articles about 'The Home Front' in North Mymms during the Second World War 1939-45. Website editor, January 2018.

The Day Brookmans Park Lost Its Bank

Village bank closes after 50 years

Lloyds Bank, Bradmore Green in 1994 - Image from N Akers and the NMLHS

Brookmans Park only bank closed in 2000. The Lloyds bank opened in the 1950s, but was closed as the renamed Lloyds TSB in 2000, despite a campaign by locals to keep it open.

The bank blamed a "drop in footfall" for the closure, although more than 300 local people signed a petition to try to keep the bank open. Despite their efforts, on Friday 14 April, 2000, the Lloyds TSB closed its doors to the public for the last time.

The village used to have a branch of the Abbey National building society, which closed in the 1970s.

The following six embedded PDFs are stories from the former Brookmans Park Newsletter charting the closure.

January 10, 2000

January 16, 2000

January 19, 2000

January 21, 2000

February 3, 2000

March 15, 2000

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The apothecary who built Moffats House

Moffats House taken in the 1980s
Image from the NMLHS, part of the Images of North Mymms collection

Peter Sambrooke, was born in the parish of S. Ann, Blackfriars, London, and baptised in the parish church there on December 2nd 1625. He was the son of Samuel and Dorothy Sambrooke, (sometimes spelt Sandbrooke and other variations). His father died and was buried in ‘the old vault belonging to the parish of S. Ann on December 31st 1642.

White's Corner - Welham Green

By Sue Mason & Sidney King

A postcard of the crossroads at White's Corner, Welham Green c1900
Photo by George. J. Knott, from the Images of North Mymms collection

White's Corner was originally known as Town's Corner, taking its name from Miss Town, who had the first shop there, a single-storey building erected in the early 1900s. The shop later passed to the Smithsons, and Esme, the son, started the first coach service in the village, meeting trains at Brookmans Park station and providing a door-to-door service to St. Albans on Saturdays.

Victorian Lives in North Mymms

Victorian Lives in North Mymms, is the fourth in the series of books by the late Peter Kingsford following on from his first, A Modern History of Brookmans Park 1700-1950. Peter's second book is North Mymms people in Victorian Times, and his third, North Mymms Schools and Their Children. All have been reproduced in full on this site following permission from Peter and the now-disbanded North Mymms Local History Society.

North Mymms Schools & their Children 1700-1964

'North Mymms Schools & their Children', is the third in the series of books by the late Peter Kingsford following on from his first, 'A Modern History of Brookmans Park 1700-1950'. Peter's second book is 'North Mymms people in Victorian Times' and his fourth is 'Victorian Lives in North Mymms'. All have been reproduced in full on this site following permission from Peter and the now disbanded North Mymms Local History Society.

A Modern History of Brookmans Park 1700-1950

'A Modern History of Brookmans Park, 1700-1950', is the first in a series of four books by the late president of the North Mymms Local History Society, Peter Kingsford. His second is entitled, 'North Mymms People in Victorian Times'. Peter's third book is, 'North Mymms Schools and Their Children', and his fourth, 'Victorian Lives in North Mymms'. All have been reproduced in full on this site following permission from Peter Kingsford and the now disbanded North Mymms Local History Society.

Brookmans Park Evacuees

By Marjorie Tether

A policeman helps young evacuees prepare to leave London for their temporary homes
Part of the Civilian Evacuation Scheme in Britain during the Second World War
Images from Wikimedia Commons (image not part of original feature)

Taking in evacuees

We came to Brookmans Park in September 1938 as a newly married couple, having designed and built our house ourselves in Bradmore Way, which was an unmade road and full of pot holes.

When the 1939 war began, we were approached by a rather officious lady who told us to take evacuees from London. We were not told what sex, age or religion.

Potterells

Editor’s Note: The following text and images are taken from the autumn 1986 edition of Issue 21 of the Hertfordshire’s Past magazine. The article, written by John Brushe has been reproduced as it was in the original booklet after the author, an archaeological historian, gave permission for the article to be reproduced online. You will notice that North Mymms is spelt North Mimms. The image above this introduction is the cover for the original piece.  Website editor, January 2018.

North Mymms - Parish and People

Dorothy Colville was born in the parish of North Mymms. She was educated at the North Mymms girls' school. Four years apprenticeship as a pupil teacher was followed by two years in a teachers' training college where her special subjects were English, history and needlework. She held teaching posts in Royston, Beckenham and Barnet. In 1949 she returned to North Mymms girls' school to be its last headmistress. Plans were then in hand to replace the little school within two years, but in fact the new school was not opened until 1960.

North Mymms People in Victorian Times

'North Mymms people in Victorian Times' was written by Peter Kingsford, a local historian who wrote several books about the history of North Mymms. The text and images are reproduced here as they were set out in the original book, which is now out of print.

North Mymms Residents' Association holds its final meeting

70 years representing the community

In July, 2000, the North Mymms Residents’ Association (NMRA) folded. It had served the local community since 1929, with a short break for the war. The decision to close the NMRA was taken following a fall in membership and a lack of interest. The final meeting attracted just four people, including officials.

News of the closure was covered on the former Brookmans Park Newsletter, that article is embedded below. Beneath that is another embedded article published the previous year in which the NMRA appealed for new members and set out its main concerns.

NMRA seeks new members in 1999

Memories of Swan Lodge, Bell Bar

By Nikki Greenleaf

Photograph of Swan Lodge in the 1900s
Image from G. Knott, from the Peter Miller collection

The 1960s

My grandfather, Mr W.E.C. (Eustace) Greenleaf, owned and lived in Swan Lodge, Bell Bar for many years - probably around 30 or more. He, and then my father (Donald), owned Brookmans Park Motors on the Great North Road, as well as in Bradmore Green (some people may remember Gordon Simmons who ran the one in Brookmans Park), and the Old Coach Station in Bell Bar. My father also lived at the Swan, and later bought Bremners' Garage and established the Hatfield and District Caravan Company on the A1.

A History of Brookmans Park Transmitting Station

A postcard of the BBC's Brookmans Park Transmitting Station 1930s
Image from the Peter Miller collection

The Brookmans Park Transmitting Station, situated on the A1000 road between Potters Bar and Hatfield in Hertfordshire, played a crucial part in the history of broadcasting in Great Britain. It was the first purpose-built twin transmitter station in the world capable of broadcasting two radio programmes simultaneously when it was completed in October 1929. It also played a part in the early development of television broadcasting.

How Brookmans Park Primary School came to be built

The entrance to Brookmans Park Primary school taken in the 1980s
Image courtesy of the former North Mymms Local History Society
Note: The image above was not in the original document

This book, The history of Brookmans Park School by Lilian Caras was first published in 1983, and revised in May 2000. It tells the story of the campaign for a primary school for Brookmans Park through to the opening.