They manufacture silence

Sometimes headlines do something special: they capture your attention.  I know, all headlines are supposed to do that.  But "Factory Wins New Contract" is not half as captivating as "They Manufacture Silence."  Well, it worked for me.

A Herts Advertiser article in 1966 opened with this paragraph:
"Firms have sold refrigerators to Eskimos and sent coals to Newcastle.  But in a noise-conscious age a St Albans' firm, Dawson Insulations Ltd, of Guildford Road, has built its success story on SILENCE."

This firm, then, were so quiet that I hadn't even heard of it.  Begun by Mr Charles Dawson at Hemel Hempstead, the firm moved to St Albans c1960.  The article gives no further information about its location along Guildford Road, but 2 million square feet of insulating material per year will not be possible in a domestic garage.

The article continues: "Rockets, motor cars, trains, road drills, aeroplanes, computers [computers in 1966!] and washing machines all create noise and vibrations.  A range of high-efficiency noise-damping or sound barrier materials, made by Dawsons, help deal with the problems created by noise and vibrations."

The firm had 20 employees, and its production manager was Mr Martin Pascal.

The article continues to detail a few contracts where noise has been a considerable issue, and how the company managed to reduce it.  I hope it used its products to dampen sound from the machines it used at its own factory!

Were you one of those twenty employees, or was another member of your family?  How long did they remain at Guildford Road?  Which building did they work from?   So many questions, but it would be great to know more about the success of this "quiet" manufacturer.  Its history deserves to be recorded.

Me ... and my grandma

Camp School senior class early 1900s.  Courtesy Darren Stanton.

The first photograph was taken c1900.  These were some of the earliest pupils of Camp Elementary Schools, probably twelve year-olds in Class 1 of the Senior School.  Within a short while these children, boys mainly, will be leaving to take on employment, while it was common for girls to remain a little longer.  Perhaps a former pupil is no longer present, having gained a place at the High School or St Albans School.  Note, there are 22 pupils present, and it is assumed that constitutes the whole class of the year group.

In the very early 1900s many of the pupils will have walked to school from hamlets such as Tyttenhanger Green; the number of houses at Camp would have been relatively small.  However, given the Fleetville Schools did not open until 1908, one or two from Fleetville may be in the line-up; and the supplier of this picture assures me that at least one child lived at Castle Road.

Camp School junior class c1940.  Courtesy George Smith.

Now for the second photo.  Same school, then known as Camp JMI School, with children only up to the age of 11.  This group may have been the top group of c1940, or those in what we now know as Year Five.  The class now has 43 children present, and there may well have been one or two more, not at school on the day the photograph was taken.

Look to the right of the 1940 picture, and across the entrance porch ... was taken the 1900 photograph.

Notice too, that in both pictures the boys and the girls are in separate rows (but spot the exception).

Most, if not all, of the boys in the top picture, will have joined the call to arms in a few years time; how many of them survived to return to civilian life later?   Many of the children in the bottom picture had fathers, uncles, even older brothers, who had been called to serve in the later war.  How many of them still had that father/uncle/brother five years later?

The chance of recognising a relative from 1900 is fairly slim, but the possibility of of recognising someone from 1940 is that much greater – and the subjects themselves will now be in their eighties.  Is there anyone who can say, "That's me!" ?  Or perhaps you can spot your mum or dad.

A Walk to the Station

When the idea materialised, of local newspapers bolstering their incomes by extra advertising, many of them hedged and issued their usual end-of-week issues, while introducing a mid-week edition with a limited amount of "lighter" editorial and bulked up by advertising and "advertorials" – advertising features.  This edition they delivered free to your door, or gave away at the local station.

That began in earnest during the 1980s, but wasn't actually new, although the free bit might have been!  The Herts Advertiser regularly produced advertising features on one of its middle pages in the 1930s.

Recently I was directed towards another short-lived mid-week edition of the Herts Advertiser, called Hertfordshire News.  It was published from the end of WW1 until 1922, and appeared to provide extra page space for events taking place outside of St Albans, in the huge swathe of the county then covered by the paper, from Hitchin and Hoddesdon, to Barnet and Berkhamsted.

Smallford Station from the road bridge.  Courtesy Roger Taylor.

I was encouraged to seek the microfilms of the Hertfordshire News for one reason.  In 1920 a report described the retirement of Smallford's stationmaster. Mr Thomas North.  "Approaching 70 years old Mr North even now blames the worry of the war as though it were [sic] necessary to excuse himself the fact that he is retiring."

It appears that Mr North's workload was considerably increased by the billeting of soldiers nearby.  Although it is not more specific, Mrs Fish, the owner of Oaklands House, is known to have handed her home over to the military while she went to live at the town end of Hatfield Road.  In addition to soldiers under training there were many POWs on the estate.

The article states "When Smallford, in common with many other quiet English country places, became the scene of military activity, as many as 20,000 soldiers were being stationed for training in the neighbourhood."

This information, taken together with the apparent "worry" experienced by Mr North during the war, gives us a rather distorted picture.

Twenty-thousand.  That, indeed, is a huge number of passengers being served by a tiny country station, and we may wonder how the single track branch railway coped with the strain, let alone Mr North.  I think the truth is slightly different.  While there may have been around 20,000 soldiers and POWs at Oaklands between 1914 and 1919, that number would not have been there for the full period.  Given that training is unlikely to have taken more than two months, and may have been considerably shorter, it is doubtful whether more than 600 or 700 would have been residing at Oaklands and its outbuildings at any particular time.

The only puzzle might be, why Smallford was used rather than the nearer Hill End Halt.  But then, Smallford did have an extensive assembly point at the yard.  You may have a different idea; or maybe both stations were used!

Recognisable faces

Last week, on the Welcome page of the website, was displayed a photograph which had first appeared earlier last year.  We would like to know more about it, should anyone recognise the subjects.

This is a still from a home movie shot in the late 1950s.  It was introduced to the public when that movie joined others in a compilation for a video called "Bygone St Albans", designed for nostalgic  home viewing.  Among the Abbey and Verulamium scenes, model boat regattas and a variety of events recorded in the warm summer sunshine some of us remember from that time, was a brief pictorial record of a picnic.  A family picnic: mum, dad and two children; but we don't see dad because he's behind the camera!  The narrator states that it was taken at Marshalswick and narrows it down by helpfully referring to a location beyond Woodstock Road.  Sandpit Lane is mentioned, and the partly wooded scene is on a hill slope.  This might be at Newgates, or the woodland near Skys Wood Road.

The end of the video helpfully provides credits,  presumably people who have lent or given their home movies.  So, in the hope that one or more of the names mentioned might jog someone's memory, even if you do not recognise the three subjects – or the school uniform badge – here they are: Edna & Charlie Garden; John & Nancy Everett; Suzanne & Rob Cranley; Nigel & Joan Wedgebury; Hilary Tootell; Joan Stanley; Walter & Margaret Wright.

Another photo has made a previous appearance, and can still be found on the website's photo library page, is this one.  A Home Guard unit for the east side of St Albans was first of all based at Oaklands House at the start of WW2, but was

soon re-located to a training hut at the junction of Central Drive and Hazelwood Drive.  Being an unfinished housing estate there was plenty of rough open space, and the opportunity to dig trenches.  This is the hut in the photo, on the roof of which someone has wittily painted "Home Sweet Home."

Of the twenty-one men lined up, the name of only one is known – front row, second from right.  I recognise him, because he was my father.  Although there is a slight possibility of one or more of the men still being alive, it is much more likely that sons, daughters, nieces or nephews of the volunteers will be looking at this photo.  Do you recognise any of the platoon?  Or have any other photos of Home Guard activities from WW2 been passed down to you?

Email: saoee@me.com

An estate called Jersey Farm

Although there had been previous hints of development,  the Land Commission's decision in 1969 rather sealed the matter, suggesting the former Jersey Farm could become a "mini-town."  Not that many people at the time were in favour; the City Council for a start.  A number of Marshalswick residents weren't overflowing with enthusiasm either.

Between the proposals for a St Albans North-East bypass, the opportunity to tip waste nearby, controversy over whether or not to include a primary school, and even whether or not there should be a link road between the proposed development and Marshalswick, all exercised local people during the first half of the 1970s.

Probably the most controversial of all, was the shopping provision intended.  If you recall these times you will know that the anchor store was to be provided by Key Markets.  If memory serves correctly this was to be one of around five retail units of which Key was to be the supermarket.  Supermarkets in the 1960s and 70s were actually quite modest affairs compared with today, but many Quadrant traders were concerned enough to take a cautious interest in the plans.

No, it wasn't Key's plan which galvanised the district, but a much more prominent name altogether.  Sainsbury declared its interest in providing a retail site.  No doubt if its plans were modest – as modest as its current Locals – the battle-lines would never have been drawn in the first place.  At the time, of course none of the major supermarket retailers had developed the concept of 'locals', whether in the forms of Local, Express, Metro, M Local or Convenience.  Just BIG and BIGGER!.  At any rate bigger than the footprint already allowed for in the layout plans for the estate.  Sainsbury was interested in the site, not for Jersey Farm's future residents, although they would, of course, be welcome, but strategically a much wider catchment.

And around a dozen Quadrant shop owners went into over-drive – to drive away the Sainsbury "monster".  Of course, Sainsbury has become hugely successful at Griffiths Way; Waitrose at King Harry, and Morrison at Fleetville.  So it is interesting to note that Jersey Farm has its Tesco Express, and Sainsbury is now well-established with a Local right next to the Quadrant.  Everybody happy?

If you have memories of those early Jersey Farm days do email St Albans' Own East End at saoee@me.com  We will post a selection on the main website.

Spring and summer exhibitions

We get the occasional exhibition devoted to the east end of St Albans; and Fleetville Diaries has annually presented an exhibition as part of its programme.

2014 is different, in that at least three exhibitions may be expected, and all are of fascinating general interest to residents.  While none is yet far advanced, the author is involved in curating all three and so is able to provide readers of this blog with an introduction to what might be expected.

The first to air will be CAMP ROAD by Fleetville Diaries.  This 16-panel display reveals the history of development along what once called Camp Lane, from Camp Hill to Ashley Road.  Beginning with the little community at the top of Camp Hill, it also reveals the difficulties horses encountered, the alternative route, and how it was possible to avoid paying the toll on the Turnpike (Hatfield Road).  The estates on either side of the road grew slowly and the shops came and went.  Of course, allotments flourished in their hundreds, some of them between the houses; and way out east, the lane was eventually intersected by the ring road.  Nearly fifty photos are included, including one of a horse in a trench, and the arrival of the Rubber Works (currently Dexter Close).  It is displayed at Fleetville Festival on Sunday 23rd March at St Paul's, and Larks in the Parks at Fleetville Rec on Sunday 29th June.  There will be other dates, still to be announced.

Kingshill Avenue, Marshalswick © Mike Neighbour

The people of St Leonard's Parish Church are presenting an exhibition celebrating the 900th anniversary of the formation of the parish, formerly part of St Peter's.  The exhibition, THE STORY OF A PARISH, will open at the Museum of St Albans on Friday 25th April for a period of one month.  In addition to telling the story of the parish church, there are sections on the village of Sandridge, its people and occupations over a long period of time;  an explanation of what came to be known as Sandridge New Town, based on the daughter parish of St Saviour; and the thriving and energetic residential estates of Marshalswick and Jersey Farm, together with their daughter church of St Mary.

Difficult-to-reach Smallford Station © Mike Neighbour

Finally, a project, previously mentioned in these blogs: SMALLFORD, THE STORY OF A COMMUNITY AND ITS STATION.  Since preparations are still at a formative stage the title is provisional.  The project group has been meeting regularly at the University, and between times, has carried out wide-ranging research.  The exhibition is part of a longer project related to the renovation of the still-extant Smallford Station.  So, the exhibition will relate the story of the hamlet itself, and its satellites; the construction of the railway between Hatfield and St Albans; the impact of the railway; economic activity which was attracted to the line side; Smallford Station itself; and the goods which were moved along the tracks.  The Smallford Project is an excellent example of collaboration between enthusiastic people with a variety of skills and interests.  The exhibition is slated for sometime this summer, but no further details are yet available.

Here are, therefore, at least three events for you to pencil into your diaries for 2014.

Fill it up

The newest location where you can replenish your tank of petrol is probably Morrison's, and that has been around for some years now.  The oldest still in operation is the Shell filling station at Smallford, begun as an independent by Ralph Pinnock in the early 1930s.  As we will discover below, the number of locations at which we can "fill up" has fallen significantly in the last decade, and if evidence from our east end is anything to go by, the numbers peaked in the post-war years up to c1970.

It seems there are three criteria for survival.  Location, not only along a major road but in a position to be noticed, aided of course by bright and colourful canopies and signs; second, large sites which can accommodate several pumps and the ability to get waiting motorists off the road; those large sites are also expected to serve more than petrol, of course.  Shops for groceries and other general purpose goods are a must.  Third, the retailer's profit on a gallon (or litre) of fuel is counted in a small number of pennies, so a large through-put and ancillary services are important, to keep a business bouyant.

It may be a shame sometimes not to have an attendant on hand to serve us, and perhaps clean the windscreen.  Those were the days.

Part of Grimaldi's Garage photographed in 1964.
Courtesy MoSTA

From the earliest days of motoring Hatfield Road, Fleetville, sported four filling stations on the south side of the road.  First was Mr Tuck (near the Rats' Castle), who would fill you up on the road, by swinging the delivery hose over the pavement.  Then, where Kwik-Fit is now, was A Hobbs who had a couple of pumps by the edge of the pavement.  Further still was Mr Grimaldi, who had the largest and most modern site in the fifties.  Two glazed sculptured pumps stood at the drive-ins, lit internally by night with white, green and blue fluorescent tubes.  Magnet and Topps Tiles are here now.  Finally,  Robb Butler dispensed petrol from a small square site, now houses, at the junction with Cavendish Road.

Pinnock's Garage at Smallford in c1930, operating from a
wooden shed.  Courtesy ANDY LAWRENCE

From  the mid-sixties two filling stations opened opposite each other.  One partly replacing Tuck's and run by the Co-op (now replaced by two blocks of flats), and the other which pre-war had been Currell's Garage, and opened on an enlarged site, the only station on the north side of the road.  Until recently, Milcars had operated from here.

Much has changed today, but the Smallford site is still
a petrol filling station.

Away from Hatfield Road, when The Quadrant first opened the key double unit in the centre was acquired by Mr Cockram, and became Marshalswick Motor Company.  When the corner site in Marshalswick Lane became available, he built a much larger showroom, enabling Bishops Stores to expand in the parade.  By 1966, he sold the business, presumably for a healthy profit.  The purchaser was Gerald Ronson's Heron company, which opened large numbers of filling stations under the family Heron name.  The original Cockram building no longer exists, but it is a highly successful Sainsbury's Local petrol and shop business, trading very much in the Heron mould, relying on high through-put to keep the price of fuel at the low end of the market.