Bits and pieces

The east end of St Albans gets its moment of glory on Sunday 8th July, when the Olympic torch is carried along Hatfield Road.  The accompanying motorcade will form up at near the Comet at Hatfield, and torchbearers will run along St Albans Road West and Hatfield Road, reaching Oaklands at around 4 o'clock.  Fortunately, this timing may enable Morrison's shoppers to clear the supermarket before then so that the Fleetville roundabout is not congested.  The route leads to the St Peter's Street roundabout and then Catherine Street before the motorcade re-forms at St Michael's for a speedier journey to Hemel Hempstead.  

Sander's loading platform, Alban Way, near Camp Road

The most frequent comment I have heard recently from those who have dipped into St Albans' Own East End Volume 1: Outsiders, is "I didn't know that .... ," to be followed by a particularly interesting piece of text which surprised them.  One drawing which drew the attention of two different people in one day was of the old Marshalswick House, home to the former Marten family.  Another was "that strange platform thing" on Alban Way.  The one referred to on this occasion was the remains of the loading platform on the west side of Camp Road's blue bridge.  This was the loading platform for Sander's the once-famous orchid specialist, whose nurseries were where SS Alban and Stephen Junior School is now.  The platform probably only had a ramp at the road end.  Although not designed as a passenger station or halt, I have no doubt that if an intending passenger signalled with an outstretched arm, the approaching train would stop. Nowadays there are an increasing number of people who have no knowledge of this horticultural wizard who produced classy orchids for those with expensive floral tastes – and that included royalty – who would visit discretely and leave their orders.

St Paul's Church, Blandford Road

Well done to St Paul's Church, who hosted another in its series of Community Days on Saturday 21st April.  Many events were accommodated in the various rooms of the recently extended and renovated premises; and concerts were held in the church itself.  I was there too, in the capacity of author, and there was much interest in St Albans' Own East End.  I was fortunate to share space with an exhibition based around the Olympics, comparing the 1948 Games with those for this year.  Also present was a medal winner from a recent Special Games, an event regrettably less well-known than the main Games and held in the year following.  I remember the first Community Day being very crowded; this year's event seemed almost as busy.

The author's caravan of events next pauses at the Fleetville Community Centre on Wednesday 25th April, where I shall be giving a presentation on an aspect of local history featured in the book: the long history of Beaumonts Manor.  As may have been advertised in an earlier era "illustrated by lantern slides!"  All are welcome at 7.30pm.

Popular at the libraries

While I was online ordering a loan book from my local library, I took the opportunity of searching for St Albans' Own East End.  I established that there are reference copies at Marshalswick and St Albans Central, which, of course can be consulted at any time.  What interested me more was that all of the loan copies at Harpenden, St Albans and Marshalswick are with readers, and not on the shelves.  News is obviously circulating and Hertfordshire Libraries' (HL) decision to purchase so many copies was clearly justified.

The Carnegie former library, Victoria Street

While on the subject of HL's online ordering website database, I was disappointed about one issue: the entry is listed as St Alban's Own East End, rather than St Albans' Own East End.  Fortunately, entering the title without any apostrophe still finds the book, but it confirms one piece of advice I was given at the start of the book project – and which I ignored – which was not to include apostrophes in the title!

Which is fine, except that if the title you really want has an apostrophe, do you show an apparent ignorance of its correct use and leave it out, or include it and live with continual mis-use when others use the misrepresented title in their communications?

Many names have long since lost their apostrophes in common use.  Hands up how many people write St Peter's Street?  What about St Alban's?  Both have now lost this punctuation.  In fact, the house style in the book does use St Peter's, St Michael's and St Stephen's, but simplifies the city to St Albans.  If that were not the case, the book title would have been St Alban's' Own East End!  Better, maybe to have none than too many.  It seems to me that we have to make a firm decision; either to leave apostrophes out altogether, or, if we include them we include them correctly.  To place them in the wrong position is probably as incorrect as to spell a word incorrectly.  Anyway Im off to the shop's to buy a few potatos'.  Just joking.

You may have tried to visit the website earlier in the week without success.  For the past four years the site has been hosted without charge, but this period has now come to an end, and I took the opportunity to move it to another server (for those who understand these things).  Having never carried out this task before, I had to learn a few tricks speedily.  Fortunately, the down-time was only a matter of hours and so far there have been no glitches.  

Do check the photograph on the Welcome page of the website, which came from the collection held by Fleetville Infants' School.  It is the football team of 1948/49 with new head teacher Mr R Dawe and teacher Mr Griffiths.  Although the copy on the front page is rather small for identification of faces, click on the image to reveal a larger version.  Is there someone in the team you recognise?

Changing Marshalswick

The Marshalswick referred to in the Herts Advertiser recently, in connection with development – or over-development – of plots, is the first estate of that name.  Grown out of the grounds of the old Marshalswick House (spelled Marshalls Wick in the book, in order to distinguish it from the mainly post-war estate on Marshalswick Farm) in the 1920s and 1930s, development did continue in the post-war period as well.

The concern at present is with owners who want to over-build on their gardens to produce buildings twice the size, or to sub-divide the plot to squeeze in another house.  There is also the possibility of one or more plots being purchased for replacement in the form of a group of smaller homes, or even apartments.

Naturally those who live there wish to see their locality largely unchanged, as, I guess, would most of us.  There are some restrictions on the planning opportunities, but that has not been sufficient to prevent some, quite substantial, changes taking place.  So, how long has this been going on?

Marshals Drive from The Wick

There have been several alterations and additions in Marshalswick Lane recently, and in Marshals Drive a complete re-build on a huge scale completed adjacent to Wickway.  A few of the Marshals Drive properties are small dwellings considering the width and depth of the plots they sit in.  That was a result of the building licences immediately after WW2, which limited the materials available.  Some of the original designs factored in the possibility of additions at a later date.  Not all owners took that opportunity.

We should remember that large houses in Sandpit Lane, such as The Dell and Monks Horton, and even Wickwood and St Johns, were at one time large houses on substantial plots.  These, of course, are all on the south side of the Lane, but they have now been replaced by smaller houses and apartments.  

It should not be forgotten where it all began.  A large house was built on the hill, which was re-built and extended by the Marten family.  This was demolished in the 1920s to enable a large number of families to occupy the grounds in roads as diverse as Marshals Drive, Gurney Court Road, The Park, Marshalswick Lane and Homewood Road.

It is all a question of time and scale; maybe it is also a question of whether we are individually affected.  As long as there is a healthy debate, there is no reason why gradual change at an appropriate scale and pace cannot be accommodated.  After all, just ninety years ago, only one family lived here!

A tale of three homes

Passing along Hatfield Road this week I noted how much the new flats, next to Queen's Court, stood out in the bright March sunshine, fresh cream pain sparkling.  Very soon they will be occupied and those residents will become the newest  along this busy road.  It was easy to forget that the city council had built a branch library here in 1959, and before that there had been plans for yet more shops.

This week I received an invitation to view a particularly fine house, in what the book St Albans' Own East End calls north Fleetville – that part between Brampton Road and Sandpit Lane.  Built in 1926 on Earl Spencer's estate it had, when new, been the subject of a feature in Country Life magazine.  Later, a brochure had been produced using the elements of the magazine feature.  In spite of its mixed history of previous occupiers, and a certain amount of internal alteration, the dwelling retains the charm and style of the house as designed.  It was clearly a house designed specifically for its first owner.  There are, fortunately, many such homes in this part of St Albans.

Scout camping, 1926-style.  HERTFORDSHIRE SCOUTS

The third home in the tale is not, as the top photo reveals, a permanent dwelling.  It comes from the wonderful collection held by Hertfordshire Scouts.  On the approach to Easter, fields surrounding the built-up area of the East End of St Albans, would once have echoed to the shrill sounds of youngsters enjoying themselves at camp.  Mostly they would be groups from the Scout Movement, patrols, packs and troops (groups) of scouts, cubs and guides.  But there would also be ad-hoc camps by groups of friends who happened to know a local farmer.  Scouts now have their own sites, such as those at Well End and Phaesels Wood, but I wonder how many informal camps still take place at locations such as Symondshyde and on the edges of all those copses still to be found.

We were all grandly entertained last weekend at an event which has come to be known as the Fleetville Festival.  You might call it a Concert Plus.  The Plus was an exhibition staged by Fleetville Diaries.  This year the theme was The Best Days of Our Lives; recollections and photographs about  schooldays through the eyes of a dozen and more contributors.

Part of an orchestra at Fleetville Festival.

The concert, performed by three different orchestras and bands, and two choral groups, proves that there is so much musical talent in the district.  The larger these groups become, the more space they occupy in Fleetville Junior School's hall, and the smaller is the remaining area for an audience.  In a way, it is a good problem, but the musicians do deserve a wider audience.  Congratulations to all who took part.

This is it!

The front page of the website had been counting down for several days.  Finally, on Wednesday 21st March 2012, the message changed to  'This is it!"   'This' referred to the day of the launch event, which was held at St Paul's Church, Blandford Road.  Over fifty guests joined author Mike Neighbour at an informal evening.  This was no dry gathering of academics, but a bringing together of people who expressed their fascination for local history through animated conversation, even though some had not met each other before.

During the evening Mike Neighbour gave a presentation on the development of Project SAOEE – the seven-year-long research which had made the book St Albans' Own East End possible.  Given that much had been gleaned from the Herts Advertiser, and that the newspaper gained from several hundred mentions in the book, its absence from the evening was widely noted.  However, Mike used part of his presentation to acknowledge the key role of local newspapers in recording the events of the community.

Until this point no-one had even spotted a copy of the book; but at the conclusion of the presentation Mike unveiled, first, an open copy set in splendid isolation on a burgundy-coloured cushion – burgundy is the key colour used in the book.  Then, with a flourish, off came the wraps hiding the piles of books pre-purchased by dozens of subscribers.  Theirs was a special, cloth-covered edition with dust jacket, and the author had also autographed the title page in advance.

The ordinary retail edition was also represented: hardback laminated covers with silky smooth pages, shining bright white against the burgundy table covering on which they were sitting.

Guests were, most of all, surprised at the sheer scale of the work.  The base facts 'hardback, A4, 368 pages' does not prepare the reader for the glorious volume of the work.  But it is only when the cover is turned and the inside glimpsed, that the wonder of the book is revealed.  Every open page is busy and the eyes and brain engage to explore the detail.  Between the text are photographs and coloured panels telling details of objects, special stories, and dateline events.

All over the room people were comparing their copies as they took in the measure of the purchase they had made.

It was not until the following day that the same open book was presented to the world on the front page of the website; and not until March 23rd, official publication day, that copies were dispatched via the local post office to others, or delivered by hand to those in the city.  How many other books get personally delivered by their authors?

And when did such an event last happen in St Albans?  Truly a red letter day.

Ten year plan for Museums

St Peter's Street does not look like this any more, and somehow
the building is made to look less dominating as it guards
Market Square.

The announcement this week of the District Council's ten year plan for the city's two museums must be welcome – and surprising – news.  In addition to a substantial addition to the size of Verulamium Museum, it is also to take on a wider brief, adding medieval to the ancient and Roman periods.

Meanwhile, in the city centre, an apparent solution to the dire state of the Museum of St Albans (MoSTA) has been found.  The Old Town Hall is a building looking for a purpose; and the museum  in Hatfield Road is a function with a poor building.  The intention is to bring MoSTA to the heart of the city, overlooking Market Square.

Although not widely known, we are still lucky to have the Old Town Hall.  There had been discussions about its future in the early part of the 20th century, and a proposal was put forward for its demolition, because it was very expensive to heat and even more expensive to keep its face looking clean.  Today, the future of the building seems secure, and if the museum moves here the more modern story of the city would be told in fitting surroundings and in a more central location.

I think it is a splendid idea, but its success will depend in being able to fund it, and to resolve the endowment issue over the present museum's Hatfield Road site; its sale would be an important part of the project.

The gentle lane

It will not have escaped the notice of regular drivers or walkers along Marshalswick Lane – the gentle lane of old and formerly known as New Road – how many addresses sport a builder's board at the boundary.  Even where no board exists, there is evidence of recent activity; the result of upgrading, extending, or at its most radical, demolition and re-building.

All of this current activity is on the southern side; the pre-war Marshalls Wick estate, even though several of the houses were not erected until the post-war years.  You bought a plot and paid for a bespoke design.  Which explains the variety of homes, from modest to 'manor house'. retiring to bold, two storey and bungalow.  Walk along the road today, and there is still evidence of the narrow lane along the footpath, where the hedge still forms the property boundary.

It's a far cry from the days when the bus couldn't get along the lane to serve the, then new homes of Kingshill Avenue on the other side of the road.

* * * * * * * * *

If you are still aching to tell a story about your school experiences, then it is still not too late to tell it.  The exhibition by Fleetville Diaries for 2012 is The Best Days of Our Lives.  It will first appear at the Fleetville Festival on Sunday March 25th at Fleetville Junior School.

How the Lane is changing; the south side is keeping many
builders in business as existing homes are upgraded,
extended, or simply replaced.

Email the author, or Liz Bloom of Fleetville Diaries (there's a link on the links page).  Better still if it includes a photograph.  The next three weeks will be busy but we will welcome any new contributions up to the last minute.