Sixty-one years ago

Last month a photo appeared here of the former Sutton Road railway bridge.  It had come from an 8mm film shot in 1954, believed to have been taken by a resident of Cambridge Road.  The film is available to be viewed at the BFI Player website (search "St Albans").

The opportunity should not be lost in identifying other scenes from that film.  For those who remember the scenes as they were the experience will be pure nostalgia.  If you are younger, you will certainly identify the locations.

We begin with a screen grab from Wellington Road, taken from the junction with Cambridge Road.  The film followed these three children on their bikes for some distance along a largely car-free road, and now they have paused near the camera to chat, and maybe decide what they might do next.  They all appear to feel quite safe.  The children probably lived in the road.  Today they would be about 68 to 70 years old, and today it would not be possible to take such a photograph of an empty roadway.

The comprehensive play park at Clarence Park today is generously provided with equipment.  But many of us recall the swings, the bucking horse, and that spinning roundabout which could be made to travel in either direction as fast as a child or teen could push it.  Hold on very tight!

The far eastern end of Camp Road led to the entrance of Hill End Hospital.  There is a small roundabout there today; the Lodge is still identifiable, though, somehow not as imposing today with its plainer windows.  The entrance gates to the left of it have gone, and with them the former hospital buildings behind.  Was it actually possible for a Green Line bus to stop right on the corner, as the stop flag seems to indicate on the left of the picture?

There are a few roads which rarely get a mention; one of them is Springfield Road.  Don't know there it is?  Look for it at the junction of Camp Road and Cell Barnes Lane.  It is T-shaped, and this nice shot discovers one of the Ts.

It is not surprising that the man is pushing his bicycle, for this is Camp Hill.  The building in the background, at the foot of the hill, is the former Campfield Press (Salvation Army Printing Works). The grass beside the hill would later be occupied by the Herts Advertiser and, more recently, Centurion House.

Double deck buses under London Transport ownership were still the norm, and this full vehicle on the 341 route to Hatfield shows an advertisement for Martell's as it turns from Stanhope Road into Hatfield Road.

The same bus pauses at the stop opposite to Martell's coal office (the former coachman's house for the Crown Hotel) – a nice connection with the photo above.  Further along the road was the shop of E Hooker, a well-known glass trader and maker of stained glass windows.  The old sodium street lamps are still in situ; they had caused such a rumpus among a number of women in 1938 because of the yellow lights' effect on the way their faces looked after dark.

Later in the year I'll post a few more screen shots from this lovely home movie.

More jelly and cake

As many readers are aware I am keenly interested in celebrations, particularly street parties.  Even though permission has to be obtained from the council, there is something vaguely guerrilla about walking out into the middle of a road – your road – and taking over the space, having first blocked it off at both ends.  Daring?  I should say so, or that is how it would appear when you are a child!

My first street party was in 1945, on the lower part of the south end of Woodland Drive.  I have no personal memory of it as I was only one-and-a-half years old (at that age the extra half makes all the difference), but I was definitely there!  So, it was quite exciting to discover a street party in full swing in almost the same spot one blissfully warm July Saturday afternoon as we were walking along Central Drive.

Victory street party Cavendish Road 1945  COURTESY LINDA FULLER

I know that there have been other parties between this and that very first 1945 event, so there seems to be an ingrained culture for celebrations in this particular road, and I would imagine there are still one or two residents who recall the biggest of all the Woodland Drive parties in 1953, so large that a procession, fancy dress, sports races, teas and presentations of books to the children had to take place on the field where Oakwood School is now; and all topped by a fireworks display and bonfire on the land now occupied by Irene Stebbings House.  We called it "The Green".

Enlarged section Victory street party 1945 COURTESY LINDA FULLER

Only two weeks later I was offered a copy of a street party picture from Cavendish Road – the Victory Party.  I had heard that a party may have been held in the road in 1945, but until now had not been furnished with any proof.  Well, here it is.  This one was not particularly "guerrilla" as it was tucked away on the little stub of the road just below the Cecil Road junction, and would therefore not have impeded road traffic.

The fence behind the group separated the road from the premises of Sander's orchid nurseries, and is now the pleasant site of SS Alban & Stephen Junior School.  With flags aplenty, and a sunny day, it appears there was a large squadron of Cavendish Road children present in 1945.  It is, of course possible that it was a joint effort with Albion Road.  It has always amazed me how such parties became so well furnished; no doubt schools and churches came to the rescue, and possibly a miscellany of chairs from nearby homes.  In 1945 a householder heaved his radiogram (for a definition refer to a dictionary) into the front garden to provided suitable music, and a piano was heard playing through windows flung open at the front of another house.  All very jolly.

Behind the fence today.

Fortunately, the Cavendish photo is sufficiently detailed to be able to identify individuals; so, if you were there on that glorious day, you may just remember the simple food laid out: sandwiches, jelly, cake and squash, parents having saved up coupons and used a few of their precious rations.  A complete list of known street parties is listed on the website: www.stalbansowneastend.co.uk ; and now there are two more to add.

Mind your head!

Last week the British Film Institute launched its online Player, having digitised hundreds of community films which are now available for us to see when we want to, rather than being inaccessible in film vaults.  The East Anglian Film Archive was probably one of the first to begin collecting amateur footage (although someone may be forced to correct me on that information).

It did not take more than a day or two before emails began arriving asking whether I had seen a film taken of St Albans in 1954.  I hadn't then but I have certainly viewed it now, and what a little treasure it is.  I have selected one screen shot which demonstrates what difference 61 years can make.  Many of the film's scenes might have been taken recently, if we ignore the clothes people are wearing and the cars being parked or driven.

But this one is very different.  When anyone now talks about the Sutton Road railway bridge most of us have to rely on the briefest of recollections, or use the notion of a simple bridge slung across a road with a steam train passing over; we just have no memory of it at all.

So, let me take you to the site.  Sutton Road, where the Alban Way crosses between the Morrison's side and Coach Mews.  Ordinary road, level, good sightlines, no overhead obstructions.  What's the problem?

Former Sutton Road railway bridge looking towards Hatfield Road.
Courtesy British Film Institute and East Anglian Film Archive.

Now wheel back the decades and pause on 1954, and look at this photo.  I know, that cannot possibly be Sutton Road, can it? But it is.  Of course the bridge abutments have been removed to enable a gentle slope to be excavated down to road level.  But look at the sign which warns of a ten feet headroom.  Then the dip carved out of the road; without that hollow the headroom would have been more like 6 or 7 feet, which is all that would have been needed for a mid-19th century private farm track, which is what Sutton Road was.  The road on both sides was full width after the houses arrived, and for decades a battle of words ensued between the railway company and the council to have the road under the railway bridge widened, and paid for by the Great Northern.
Some of us may have been told of the frequent flooding at the bridge, partly resulting from run-off from Hatfield Road, partly because cutting down into the ground brought the water table perilously close to the surface.  Welcome to the Sutton Lakes.  That's what many locals called this little spot during wet weather.

When this scene was taken the year was 1954; passenger rail services had stopped in 1951, but freight traffic – mainly coal and scrap – continued well into the 1960s.  As soon as the line was officially closed the bridge deck was removed, but it was still a while before the re-levelling and widening of the road took place and you could drive a bus along Sutton Road.  Not that one ever was driven along the road (unless you count the buses which turned into Sutton Road from Hatfield Road and reversed into Castle Road before making their return journey 'into town'.

This picture is a historical gem from a notorious little corner of St Albans' Own East End.

Getting engaged

No, not engaged to be married, but engaged with a particular interest group.  Choose an interest, any interest or activity, and there will probably be a group we could join somewhere in the St Albans district.  If not here, perhaps within a five mile radius of the Town Hall.

An increasing number of us are taking an keen interest in local history, or our family's history; and that's great for this blog, the website St Albans' Own East End, the local history group Fleetville Diaries, and for the St Albans & District Local History Network.

The Network will this year celebrate its fifth birthday.  It throws a bash each October at Verulamium Museum, but, of course, the nature of the event is in the form of a one-day conference.  This year's conference programme was published on Friday last, and what a variety of topics will be covered.

Smallpox in St Albans, investigating the local story (Elanor Cowland, former curator, Museum of St Albans)
Agincourt Veterans in St Albans (Peter Burley)
Medieval Lives and Liberties (Elizabeth Adey)
"Look What We've Found" (Catherine Newley, Curator, Museum of St Albans)
School Log Books: a Rich Resource for Local Historians (Patrick McNeill, Wheathampstead)
Archaeology and Town Twinning (Brian Adams)
Vickers Experimental Tank (James Brown)
Flicks in Fleetville (Mike Neighbour)

If you are unfamiliar with the term flicks, those of a certain age and urban upbringing will have referred to a cinema visit as "going to the flicks"  after the irritating flickering experience sometimes noticed on the screen.  Of course the observant will already have noticed that this presentation is offered by the author of this very blog!  If, by any chance, you are puzzling over where "the flicks" might have been in Fleetville, then book your place now for Saturday 17th October, 10:30 to 16:30 at Verulamium Museum.  Booking is essential as the number of places is limited.  Email sanetwork@me.com

Soup, Soap and Salvation

General William Booth

One hundred and fifty years ago a couple made history.  Through the dedication of Catherine and William Booth was formed the East London Christian Mission, which was later re-branded The Salvation Army.  It was in the earliest days that the Mission, serving the poorest and most desperate families of Mile End, that the motto "soup, soap and salvation" summed up its prime function.

While, today, we see the SA as a benevolent organisation with a huge international reach and wide-ranging support networks, the early days were very different.  Through its street work campaigning against the effects of alcohol, such was its success that street riots broke out, often at the behest of breweries and publicans, whose trade was negatively affected.

Courtesy Salvation Army

Courtesy Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is well known for two publications, which it printed at Mile End: The War Cry and Junior Soldier.  With the increasing volume of copies produced each week, production was moved to St Albans, and soon afterwards its musical instrument works also moved next door, in Campfield Road; neither building exists here today.  But The War Cry does, and Junior Soldier has a modern offshoot, KidsAlive.

The organisation's main base in St Albans, its citadel, is in Victoria Street.  It had arrived in the city to carry on its evangelising work, and in 1883, purchased the former private baths and swimming pool site in that road. Later the structure was rebuilt with a fine frontage.  But the Army encountered the same battles here as elsewhere, and police had to be marshalled to quell the frequent riots.

The Salvation Army had other sites in the city too.  The little church on Camp Hill was opened by the Salvation Army as a Sunday School in the late 1950s, having borrowed other accommodation in the interim.  A site in Fleetville had been acquired from the brewery Benskin's.  Now, that WAS a coup!

The printing works after extensions in Campfield Road.

Many people living in St Albans, whether or not they worked at the printing works, felt the Army was part of their lives.  Its brass band turned out at the then-new housing estates in rotation, and I recall it playing on Sunday afternoons on spare ground at the junction of Central Drive and Woodland Drive.  On Sunday evenings, whether they had cycled or walked, the band finished up in the Market Square outside the (old) Town Hall, band players playing and songsters singing, the familiar gusto hymns we knew from our own churches and schools.

The Citadel in Victoria Street.

If we lived in the Camp and Fleetville districts we all knew at least one Salvation Army family, and possibly several.

Today the Salvation Army may appear to be a very different kind of organisation from the traditional one some of us remember, but if there is one service the Army has always been known for it is putting in touch parents and their offspring when the latter have encountered issues which resulted in them leaving home and tearing apart from their roots.

On this one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, happy birthday Salvation Army.

A Lark on the Rec

The District Council's crazily simple idea of devoting a family fun day of the year at some of the recreation grounds around town certainly has caught on.  There was a choice of five locations in Harpenden, Colney Heath, London Colney, Folly Lane (Victoria) and of course Fleetville.

Being an outdoor event it is heavily weather-dependent, and of course the only rain in the last week – and likely during the next week – arrived  at around midday on Sunday, just as Larks was about to begin.  The stage itself was under cover and the children's choirs and Fleetville Swing Band performed in the dry, but to few visitors.  Their efforts were rewarded by as many as could who left their stands and stalls to gather around the little arena.

The rain soon passed over and crowds soon gathered.  Although not quite up to last year's numbers, several hundreds had visited by the end of the afternoon, and most seem to still be there at 5 o'clock.  Can anyone put their finger on what makes Larks on the Rec a success year after year – for it is a regular success?  And what defines success for this event?

Judging by many visitors success comes from not being too organised, not being too intense and most definitely not about being constantly hammered for money.  So often we feel as if we must fill our pocket with loose change to satisfy the needs of the stallholders and organisers; two pockets if we are accompanied by children.  None of that was evident on the Rec.  Which encourages us to be generous on the odd occasion when we have the option to give.

"Will there be enough for people to do?" is often the worry.  It seemed that what people wanted most of all, was not to be entertained (although we were), and not to be given opportunities to fill every active second with "doing something" (although there was plenty to occupy us).  Instead visitors were happy to sit down on the grass, or come across people they knew and engage in conversation.  Often we would come across an informal activity created there and then in a space, wherever it could be found.

Larks is a smiling event, a friendly gathering of local people.  Conversations were often had with people they had never met before.  Those who live here possibly took it for granted, but the atmosphere certainly impressed a few who were just around for the weekend before returning home to other parts of the UK.  Larks on the Rec was most definitely in the spirit of the friendly district of Fleetville; after all, the Rec is at its heart.  Long may it continue.

Could we start again, please?

In 1914, as this photograph demonstrates, Hatfield Road has been much improved!  Not that we, in 2015, would appreciate that.  But considering that only fifteen years previously, this was a narrow lane, supposedly only wide enough for one cart to pass at a time.  So in that context, the road is certainly much improved.  After all, the County Council had kerbed and paved one side – the side where shops were opening up.  Not that many users were attempting to use the footpath; pedestrians were perambulating the full width of the roadway, and cyclists too.  Since everyone was travelling in the same direction, we may presume they are leaving the factories to make their way home.

Incidentally, the bushes on the left indicate that the shops east of Royal Road had yet to be built.

Fast forward another two decades and a second pavement will have been added, and motor traffic would have been sufficiently busy for an official parking zone to be created in Royal Road, and a bypass created between Ellenbrook and The Noke, via London Road and Watling Street, partly to relieve the congestion along Hatfield Road.

Bycullah Terrace in 1964
COURTESY ST ALBANS' MUSEUMS

During the forties the amount of traffic reduced considerably as severe petrol shortages kicked in and men were serving in the Forces.  It was during this period that young cyclists demonstrated their skills – or foolhardiness – by accelerating to the point where Andrew's, the greengrocer was, and still is, and freewheeling towards Sutton Road.  Naturally, what a waste of energy if you didn't actually do anything, and so little tricks were attempted, such as throwing out one's legs to the side, or drawing them up to the handlebars, carefully kneeling on the saddle, or taking one or more passengers over the rear wheel.  It was, naturally only a matter of time before accidents were had, but those who tried it must have thought it great fun.  Don't try this at home, or even in Hatfield Road!

From the sixties onwards parking became an increasing issue, the road was widened again, Sutton Road became busier after the former railway bridge deck was removed, and eventually the factory site which had been Ballito hosiery mills and Marconi Instruments, was developed as a retail centre.

The complexities of the road and its many junctions and access points now included light-controlled crossings and roundabouts – two of each in no more than three hundred metres.  Where, at one time, almost all of the children from the two schools would have walked to school, with or without their parents, now a significant proportion appear to be taken and collected by car.  Further, since most children attending the junior school on the south side, actually live on the north side, the crossings are well-used and help traffic to slow to a halt.

Which brings us to the latest improvement, added as a result of the Green Ring, which crosses Hatfield Road at the Post Office crossing, is a 20 mph limit zone from Morrison's roundabout to the Emporium.  I am sure this is useful at quiet times, but it is possible that travelling above this limit is pretty-well impossible anyway at the busiest hours of the day.  If only we could start again in designing Hatfield Road, Fleetville ...  No, no, no, let's not even think about it.  Nobody likes change. Except that, check the photo again; isn't that just what has happened, a great deal of change.

Further along Hatfield Road is a temporary yellow sign announcing Street Lighting Not Working.  It must rank among the least helpful notices for road users.  During the day no-one cares; after dark no-one can read it!