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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.

Woolies Was The Best

A long running store in Borehamwood since the mid 1950's, and much missed. When it first opened most products were only 6d. A bit like the pound shops now, but with better pick'n'mix. And don't forget their own record label Embassy Records with cover versions of hit songs at half the price.  Even Elton John recorded as 'Stevie Wonder' for them. What are your Woolies memories on #MemoriesMonday?

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 :

New Foyer Exhibition Launch

Michael Finlay Painting Exhibition

Last week we opened our new Exhibition in the Foyer at 96 Shenley Road. An exhibition of the dynamic paintings of Michael Finlay. Michael was a set painter at Elstree Studios and the films he worked on have inspired his art.

As Michael says, "My paintings are inspired by the many productions I have worked on in the scenic department, the locations I have visited and lived in (often for months at a time), and the characters I have met along the way. My paintings are at times sensual, evocative, dramatic and inspired by fantasy."

Take a look next time you are in 96 having a coffee, before going upstairs to the Museum of course, and try to guess which films have inspired the paintings. 

Which films? Michael again, "the Peruvian temple from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the temple in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Victorian streets in Young Sherlock Holmes, the cave set from Never Say Never Again, the ruined tower in Highlander, the emperor’s throne room in Return of the Jedi, Gotham City in Batman Begins, Tangiers in The Bourne Ultimatum and so many more."

The launch was attended by Mrs Barbara Graham, the Mayoress of Hertsmere, Sandra Parnell, Mayoress of Borehamwood and John Graham, Mayor of Hertsmere.

Over The Rainbow In The Wood

Today's timely photo for #MemoriesMonday is another from the Mary Hanson Collection.  Showing Shenley Road with a lovely rainbow and probably taken from Hanson's shop. Note the garage and Green Shield stamps sign in the foreground and the red phone box over the road.  Because we always get the date wrong, we're leaving it to you to tell us. Mid-60s?

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.

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

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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
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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!