John Buckingham remembers building bonfires in the area of ground near where the Sopwell Youth Club is today. There were many other bonfire sites in the area and there was a rivalry between each group so the heaps used to… More about ‘Bonfire night – John Buckingham’»
Posts By: Sandy Norman
Living next to the gasworks and railway lines – John Buckingham
John Buckingham was born in 1943 in Leyland Avenue – right next door to the gasworks. He remembers his father having an allotment next to the railway line and it being bulldozed over; the digging of the cutting up to… More about ‘Living next to the gasworks and railway lines – John Buckingham’»
Prefabs in Sopwell
The years following Word War 2 saw the building of thousands of prefabricated dwellings all over Britain. Familiarly called prefabs, they provided homes for returning servicemen and their families. Many of them were built in Sopwell and some of them… More about ‘Prefabs in Sopwell’»
Ashwood Mews and The Brambles
The land behind 14-24 Prospect Road, which used to belong to Thomas Mercer and his workshop in the late 19th century, was later used for the development of Ashwood Mews and The Brambles. Some of the original buildings belonging to… More about ‘Ashwood Mews and The Brambles’»
Memories of the 1930s – Dorothy Grummitt
Dorothy Grummitt lives in Albeny Gate but was born in Gateshead. In the 1930s, she often used to visit her aunt and uncle in Park Street, St Albans. Her uncle worked as a carpenter at Handley Page in Radlett. He… More about ‘Memories of the 1930s – Dorothy Grummitt’»
From the USA to Ramsbury Road – Anne Wares
Anne Wares, born in New York, outlines the adjustments she had to make when she settled in the UK and moved to Ramsbury Road in the early 1960s. Very few houses in the UK had central heating, refrigerators or telephones… More about ‘From the USA to Ramsbury Road – Anne Wares’»
Living in Ramsbury Road – Anne Wares
Anne Wares was born in New York, USA in 1943. She and her husband moved into Ramsbury Road in 1969. She has researched the area where she lives and has produced a booklet called A History of Priory Park (Approach… More about ‘Living in Ramsbury Road – Anne Wares’»
Watling View fire station – Michael Clark
Michael Clark used to deliver milk in Sopwell and recalls that there was a fire station built in Watling View at the same time as the houses were built. Twelve houses were allocated to fireman. The fire station building proved… More about ‘Watling View fire station – Michael Clark’»
Memories of a milkman – Michael Clark
Michael Clark was born in St Michael’s village in 1942. He left school to become a milkman and within a month of starting the job, the family moved to Cottonmill Crescent. At that time, there used to be three dairies… More about ‘Memories of a milkman – Michael Clark’»
Living in Riverside Road – Barry Bateman
Barry moved to St Albans from Crouch End in May 1988. He chose to live in Riverside Road in Sopwell. Riverside Road started off as Longmire Road and had a bad reputation as a poor area. Nowadays it is seen… More about ‘Living in Riverside Road – Barry Bateman’»
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