Watton At Stone
Watton At Stone maps (2 available)
Map of Hertfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Hertfordshire
Personalised maps
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Watton At Stone books (9 available)
- 1 photos on Watton At Stone appear in 1 Frith books - View photos of Watton At Stone
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Watton At Stone and Hertfordshire
Watton At Stone memories
Read and share memories of Watton At Stone and Hertfordshire inspired by Frith photos
Childhood Memories
I remember when I was just a young teenager... you could roam around the village and just about everyone knew you.
I loved to wander down to Mill Stream Lane with my jam jar and fishing net and walk along the stream searching for stickle backs and anything else I could catch. The fields behind us would whisper in the breeze and the sunlight would filter through the trees and glisten on the water below. Life was not so demanding, not worried too much about stranger danger and you knew that you was nestled in a village that looked after its own.
I remember old "Snowy" who had worked for years in the local butchers shop.
I remember Mr ...read more here
Contributed by JOY ABBATO
Hertfordshire memories
Childhood Memories
I remember when I was just a young teenager... you could roam around the village and just about everyone knew you.
I loved to wander down to Mill Stream Lane with my jam jar and fishing net and walk along the stream searching for stickle backs and anything else I could catch. The fields behind us would whisper in the breeze and the sunlight would filter through the trees and glisten on the water below. Life was not so demanding, not worried too much about stranger danger and you knew that you was nestled in a village that looked after its own.
I remember old "Snowy" who had worked for years in the local butchers shop.
I remember Mr ...read more here
A memory of Watton At Stone contributed by JOY ABBATO
Goldings
Thousands of teenage boys would have spent their formative years at William Baker Technical School which was housed in the historic mansion of Goldings in the village of Waterford. In 1922 around 240 boys and staff marched from Stepney Causeway where Barnodos had their training workshops to the station where they travelled by train to Hertford. Forming up behind their band they marched past the newly errected war memorial laying a wreath in memory of Barnodo Boys who had lost their lives in the Great War, and onto their new home at Goldings in Waterford. Within the 110 acres a number of good sporting facilities were created for football and ...read more here
A memory of Waterford contributed by J Parsons
Heaven
This is simply my most favourite place in the whole world! No words can describe the peace and tranquility I feel when I walk along The Avenue with my family and dogs. The autumn months are my favourite! The range of colours in the trees, the conkers falling to the ground, and the sound of the branches swaying in the wind. Here I am at peace with the world. I wish it were longer, I could walk for ever!
A memory of Stevenage contributed by sharon dudley
Extracts From Watton At Stone & Hertfordshire books
There has been a church at Watton at Stone since the 13th century. It was originally dedicated to St Mary, but St Andrew seems to have been added in the early 19th century. During the Civil War, the Commonwealth soldiers used the church as a prison for their Royalist captives. Although much of the church is original 16th-century - the north chapel was built in 1570 - extensions and restorations were carried out in 1851 at a cost of £7,000. The tower is said to be haunted by a grey lady who threw herself from the top when she was spurned in love. It is an interesting fact that the present bells are not original: they were brought to Watton from a church in north London in 1978. In 1960, at nearby Stoney Hill, bricks were still being made by hand. Four brick makers were moulding and firing about 3,200 bricks per day. Every ten days, the kilns were fired in the outlying fields, and there appeared to be a guaranteed and continuing market for their product.
An extract from from"Hertfordshire Living Memories".
In 1901, Hermitage Road was a pleasant, open avenue. The building on the left in view
46642, left, is the Hermitage, home of Frederick Seebohm; very little of it still remains.
Windmill Hill is just visible in the background.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
A view of St Marys church in 1931, with the War Memorial in the foreground. In 1752, the Rewd William Cole wrote that the tower was `one of the most clumsy and heavy ones I ever saw`. Perhaps `solid` is a kinder description.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
In the 1960s, the Sun Hotel’s yard did not include
fire escapes from the upstairs rooms, as it does now.
Otherwise, there is little but the parked cars to give
a clue to the date of this photograph. The timber-
framed buildings, on the left, are believed to date
from the 16th century.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
This 1908 view of the churchyard from the south shows the gates that once protected the dead from body snatchers. J Shipley Slipper, a
dentist, held a surgery at Waldock’s on the left, but only on alternate market days - a long wait if you’d just missed him. George Savage’s
draper’s shop is by the gates on the right, and next door to him is Allsop’s, trading as a cash tailor under the slogan: ‘The Novelty House
for Neckwear’. The façade of his shopfront has been rendered, and scoured with lines to give the impression that it is built of stone.
Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll and the render is slowly falling off. Halsey’s is on the right: an advertisement in the window
draws attention to ‘Halsey’s Dog Food’ - packets of puppy biscuits surround it. Strictly speaking, the buildings from Savage’s to Halsey’s are
in the Market Place, whilst those on the other side are in the Churchyard.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".