Newsletter for September 2007
There has been one very major change on this site during August. Over the last six years this site has grown incrementally and one of the biggest problems has been providing information on the larger towns. The original idea of one page per place has provided unworkable, and where I have added "overflow" pages navigation has became difficult. As a result I have been reluctant to add extra information because it could be hard to find. Various partial approaches have been tried, such as the postcard illustrated walk around St Albans - and the tidying up of Tring and its surrounding villages.
So this month I decided to totally reorganise Watford. So far there are about 25 new pages (although some are incomplete and need some additional text, etc) and many other pages have been modified. Work still needs to be done on the book revues and by the end of September there will be pages on Watford photographers and postcard publishers.
The approach taken is to construct a new "home" Watford page which includes a navigation map containing all the key navigation links. The menu panel on the left also contains a summary navigation list. so you can navigate round Watford without having to return to the Watford "home" page. Give it a try by visiting WATFORD. Give it a try and let me know what you think about it, as if I get favourable feed backs I will extend the approach to other large towns in Hertfordshire.
Other changes include a review of the book Picturesque Hertfordshire which includes many excellent line drawings which will be used to illustrate various place pages, and a link to the web site Images of England which provides useful descriptions of listed buildings.
| Web Page Title |
Note |
| The Brewers and Malsters of Baldock, Early 19th Century | My 2004 answer to Jeanette about William Penn has been updated with additional information, including a map, from the recently published book Brewers in Hertfordshire. |
| SIMMONDS, Watford, circa 1845 |
 If,
like Vivian, your ancestor lived in a slum, it is often difficult
to find any pictures which show what it looked like. This sketch of
Ballard's Buildings, Watford, can be
considered a lucky find. |
| Mangrove, Lilly/Offley |
 Richard
has drawn my attention to the entry for Mangrove
Hall on the
Images of England web site, and I have used the opportunity to
make further use of this valuable new site. |
| Thundridge | Using Google Books, Teresa found a 1802 quotation of the poem used by Cussans to describe the ruined church at Thundridge - and this led to discovering the original 1750 poem, about Minsden Chapel, quoted in Hine's The History of Hitchin. |
| TAYLOR, Hertford, 1861-1890 | Marilyn cannot find the death or burial of her great-grandfather and I suggest some further places where she might look to find information on him after the 1861 census. |
| NORRIS, Berkhamsted, 19th century | Diane has provided a lot more information about her ancestor, Henry Norris and agree that we have now solved the problem of his parentage. |
| WOOLLATT, Sandridge, 19th century | Katherine found some of her Woollatt ancestors mentioned in connection with the murder of Edward Anstee (see The Murder of Edward Anstee of Marshall's Wick Farm). I provide some relevant press cuttings from my own files - and wonder if there is a link with the Burchmore family. |
| Little Gaddesden | Rosemary kindly drew my attention to a web site which contains information of John of Gaddesden. |
| HILLS, Sandon, early 19th century | Iris's email address has been brought up to date. |
| Caldecote | Richard kindly pointed out that the picture on the page showed the wrong church - the old picture has been removed. |
| PHIPPS, Broxbourne, late 19th century | Sue has produced additional information to help Karen - and I have added a map showing the location of Goose Green, surrounded by woods, which is appropriate as Sue and Karen's ancestors were woodsmen. |
| The Cotton Mill, St Albans, 19th Century | In his will William Harris refers to property lost "by the Providence of God...in the Cotton Mill" and David wants to know to know more about the Mill. I produce a map, and other information, and suggest that further work may depend on manuscript documents currently held at HALS, or possibly elsewhere. |
| Criminal Records at the National Archives, Early 19th Century | Patricia has kindly provides a brief outline of some of the records she has consulted at The National Archives which can be a valuable source of information - but not always easy to search. |
| The Red Lions of Hertfordshire | In 2004 Eddie expressed an interest in the Davis family of Red Lion Yard, Berkhamsted. Kathryn is a descendant and would like to contact Eddie - but I don't have a contact email. Can you help? |
| BLANDFORD, Leavesden Asylum, Late 19th century | Was June's ancestor the Sarah Blandford who was in Leavesden Asylum? If she became distressed after her husband's death in 1865 she could have ended up in the workhouse - and then transferred to Leavesden when it opened in 1869. |
| HAMPSON, Watford, late 19th Century | When John asked about his grocer ancestor in 2004 I told him that the grocer's shop had been flooded. I have now added links to further pictures of flood in the area. |
| Callowland - later North Watford |
 On
a day when I was working in the Watford
"Spring Clean" Raymond asked about his grandfather's role in
building houses at Callowland. I was
unable to find any direct reference but took the opportunity to look at
the history of Callowland in more
detail than I might otherwise have done. |
| PATRICK, Hemel Hempstead, Early 19th century | Joseph Patrick was a paper maker born in Hemel Hempstead who travelled a lot. A son was born in France and Chris wants to know who his mother was. |
| SAUNDERS, Redbourn, early 19th century | Tony is having difficulty in finding a record of his ancestor, having checked the most likely sources, I suggest that, if the winresses at another wedding signed the register (rather than just made their mark with a X). The page How can you be certain about ... may also be relevant. |
| Croxley Green | David has provided a link to a website with the history and photographs of a large medieval barn which needs friends to ensure its preservation. (I find this particularly interesting as the barn must be even bigger to my gt-gt-grandfather's huge barn which was at Water End and it now "preserved" as a restaurant at St Albans.). |
Downer
