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New Christmas Cards

#MemoriesMonday. Yes, it's time to dig out your Christmas Card list and get posting to friends and family.  We now have over 30 card designs for you to choose from, including 5 new ones for this year. They range from wintery scenes and snow covered buildings in Elstree and Borehamwood to Christmassy paintings of the area by local artists. Our new cards include local pubs in the snow.  Only £1 each, available from the Museum at 96 Shenley Road. Here are a few examples for you, but please pop in and look through our card book.

Allum Lane As Was

Today's photo on #MemoriesMonday is another from the Mary Hanson Collection showing a very empty Allum Lane with Nichol Farm at the top of the hill. The entrance to what is now the tip is on the right, and of course it's long before the large houses were built in The Stables  below the Farm. Quite a few memories there.

Visit from The Mayor of Offenburg

We recently had a visit from Marco Steffens, the Mayor of Offenburg, one of our twin towns. Here he is second left with Clive and Elaine Butchins, Museum Trustees and Maddie Hipperson, volunteer extraordinaire in the middle.  Accompanying the Mayor was Charles Kelly former mayor of Borehamwood and current chair of Elstree and Borehamwood Rotary on the left in our picture.

The Plough in Elstree

For #MemoriesMonday this week, it's good to return to this famous local hostelry. Back in the news because of plans to refurbish it and reopen as a pub after 7 years of neglect.  So here are just a few of our many photos of the original Plough over the years. 

First known as The Swan it was established in 1637, and became The Plough in the mid 1700s. Thomas Clutterbuck, brewer of Stanmore and owner of the HollyBush, the Artichoke and the Crown in Boreham Wood, took over ownership in around 1816 when it was occupied by James Pegler.  The inn was a coaching stop en route to and from London, and from about 1830 it became fronted in yellow brick when the present building was constructed. It had many publicans over the years, and became a stop for cars, charabancs and cyclists on Watling Street.

It became the regular for many stars from the studios who lived or rented along Barnet Lane, and Alfred Hitchcock was a well-known imbiber there in the 1930s. After The Plough closed it became an Italian restaurant, but that didn't last either, and it has been closed for too long.  One photo shows local historian Stephen Castle with the horse mounting block still in place outside the pub.  I wonder if any of the pub visitors missed their footing while mounting their horses after a night in the snug!  Let's hope the refurbishment keeps this unique feature.

International Women From Boreham Wood

To celebrate International Women's Day (#IWD) this Wednesday we have two notable ladies who were brought up in Boreham Wood and who became famous in their respective careers.

Joyce Richards was the first British woman canoeist to take part in the Olympic Games in 1948. Living in Drayton Road and teaching PE at Watford Grammar School for Girls she was asked to canoe for England and so practiced regularly on Aldenham Reservoir.  She qualified for the Games and competed against 8 foreign canoeists.  She didn't win a medal, but flew the flag for England and Boreham Wood.

Dana Wynter was born Dagmar Winter in Berlin in 1931, but brought up in Boreham Wood where her father, Dr Peter Winter, practiced.  She had a long and productive career as an actress on stage, film and tv. Her most famous film is Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but she made many tv appearances in the 70s and 80s.  Living in California and Ireland, she left Boreham Wood behind, though filming at MGM and BPI before leaving for the USA in 1953.

Memories of Allum Hall

For #MemoriesMonday we are thinking about Allum Hall and wondering what your memories are. The current house was remodelled from an earlier building in the 1880s, and Dame Anna Neagle led the fund-raising for the purchase of Allum Manor for the community in the 1950s.  Many stars from Associated British Picture Corporation, including Audrey Hepburn, helped with the cause.  Eventually a new Hall was built next to the Manor and opened in 1998 following a grant from Hertsmere of £2.5 million.  The photo is supposed to show the opening of the Manor, but we don't know who the lady is or when the photo was taken.  Maybe you do?  Looking forward to your memories.

The Story of 96 Shenley Road, Part 4

On #MemoriesMonday we reach our last part of the story of 96 Shenley Road, the home of the Museum. The old Village Hall was demolished and the current building raised in 2013 and opened in November of that year.  The pictures tell the story :

The Story of 96 Shenley Road, Part 3

This week on #MemoriesMonday we are revisiting the Village Hall, inside and out. The subject of many of our blogs and posts, it always arouses memories from everyone who reads them. However, the Hall was not going to stay like that forever as we shall see next week because '96' would rise on the same spot a mere 10 years ago.

The WI meet in the Village Hall in the 1950s

Jumble Sale in the Village Hall in the 1980s

The Story of 96 Shenley Road, Part 2

Here's another photo of Shenley Road featuring All Saints and the trees surrounding the Village Hall.  Next week we get to the Hall itself, long before 96 was built. #MemoriesMonday

Is It Really Ten Years?

This year is the tenth anniversary of the Elstree & Borehamwood Museum being opened in 96 Shenley Road. We all know that the Village Hall was there before the new building, but do you know what was there before the Hall?  Here's a photo of a bit further down Shenley Road showing the normal houses, pre-shops and offices and pre-Hall. We don't have a date for this photo, but you get the idea. Next week we have more photos before the grand '96' rebuild.  #MemoriesMonday