Remembering 1923

 Time to look back even further than last year as it is now we are at least one day into the new year.  As I have blogged previously I'm jumping back before our memories; back to 1923.  Why not indeed?  So here are a few events which St Albans people found to be recent by the end of 1923.

Walking out of the front door of the King Harry PH and into a quiet open space.  Such was the
1920s and earlier.  This view from Watling Street is deceptively quiet for even then this was considered a dangerous junction with poor sightline.
COURTESY HERTS ADVERTISER

King Harry corner: a long time before traffic lights appeared, the junction had long been realised as dangerous, but it would be much improved if various outhouses of the public house were removed.  Clearly any improvements didn't arrive early enough as the field (now St Stephen's estate) had already been purchased for housing and therefore constrained widening and visibility.

Cock Lane: the top of Hatfield Road between St Peter's Street and Marlborough Road is about to be widened.  So, with the benefit of hindsight we can conclude the road does not seem very wide today!  It also helps us to date the Blacksmith's Arms PH which was rebuilt further back from its original footprint.

Swimming certificates: for those of us who remember working hard for these little sheets of thin card, certificates for 25, 100 and 440 yards were awarded for the first time to children attending the city's elementary schools.

It was proposed that the market stalls should be lit by electricity; but these matters take much time to resolve and I recall it being the early 1950s before stalls not in The Square were converted from hissing hurricane lamps

In 1923 the Market Square became a car park on most days of the week (see item further down).
It is difficult to see Waddington Yard (now Waddington Road) in this photo.  In the left
background there is a narrow gap between the buildings, which opened out a little behind into
a yard, hence its former name.  The pub on the frontage was demolished to provide car
access and it became Waddington Road.
COURTESY ANDY LAWRENCE

In 1923, and a good time after the access to Spencer estate and Worley Road from St Peter's Street was still called Waddington Yard.  There was a public house on the corner called the Rising Sun.  This would be pulled down to widen the access.  This happened – eventually – and the name changed to Waddington Road.  But it all started in 1923!

A small parish school along Watford Road, St Stephens, was proposed for closure, with just 33 pupils left, although there had previously been over 60.  Interesting move as the field across the road was about to become St Stephen's estate, and a field on the other side of Chalk Hill (now cross by the A414 was M10) had just been sold for development. Fortunately, the closure was temporary.

The sale of Marlborough House in 1923 prompted a swift change in the Victoria Street 
streetscape.  The line of trees on the right are between Trinity Church and Lattimore
Road, but within a very short time they would be gone with the development of
Victoria Street and Marlborough Gate behind.

Marlborough House, off Lattimore Road, and formerly owned by Samuel Ryder, changed hands in favour of the newly arrived Loreto College. This also marked a huge change in the Victoria Street streetscape, which many residents subsequently recalled as a landmark year.

Oster Hills: this substantial private house was sold and became part of the St Albans hospital estate, initially for the accommodation for nurses; the name Oster Hills quickly became more widely known by St Albans folk.

The Poly: the end came for this much converted and altered cinema in London Road. It succumbed to fire originating from the projection room – in those days of highly flammable film.  The cinema was fully enlarged and rebuilt in 1928, and is still popular one hundred years later as the Odyssey.

Public toilets: in 1923 they were beside The Boot PH in Market Place and not well-favoured.  New toilets were to be built attached to the Clock Tower, but of course, these never materialised. Try the Town Hall or George Street!

You may have forgotten, or never knew, but 1923 was the year when The (Market) Square became a parking plot for cars; except for Wednesday and Saturdays of course.  

Not St Albans, but near enough, in the very early days of Welwyn Garden City – how excited St Albans people were to learn that news and its founder Ebenezer Howard. The Canadian-owned Shredded Wheat Company has decided to build its factory in the garden city.  Its arrival gave the new railway station its informal sobriquet: "a return to Shredded Wheat please!"

Though detailed reasons were not given it was announced that unemployment figures for the last year had fallen from 636 to 363. Which must have given many unemployed or lightly employed residents some hope in a dark world.

By the end of 2024 we'll discover what became the events of the year in 1924, but you won't need reminding of the events of the year on which we are about to embark; they will still be fresh in our minds.

Have a fruitful, enjoyable and successful year; we hope there is much for us all to look forward to.