| Watford owes its origins to the point at which the River Colne
was forded by travellers between London and the Midlands. The
original name of ‘Watter’s Ford’ (named after a local landowner)
was eventually contracted to Watford.
By the Medieval age, Watford consisted only of one long high
street with a market place next to St Mary’s Church. (In 1100 Henry
I gave Watford a charter to hold a weekly market.) It is along this
high street and around the churchyard that today’s oldest buildings
survive – the Church and a number of timber framed houses or shops.
Being just half a days journey from London, Watford became an
attractive country retreat for noblemen who wished to maintain
contact with London.
Watford remained an agricultural town until the arrival of the
Industrial Revolution, which brought with it the Grand Junction
Canal in 1798 and the London to Birmingham railway in 1837. These
changes were the foundation of the excellent communications that
the town enjoys today. Subsequently the town expanded slowly from
its medieval core. The ‘New Town’ sprung up adjacent to the
original railway station beside St Albans road, with other areas
such as Oxhey and the Estcourt Road area also emerging after the
1860's.
After the Great War, house building took off once again in the
1920's with the construction of the southern part of the Cassiobury
Estate and the first municipal housing – notably, the Harebreaks
Estate. The growth of the town in the 1920's continued into the
next decade with large numbers of semi-detached houses being built
in the northern half of Watford, including what is now the Tudor
Estate and the completion of Cassiobury. The 1950’s saw further
Council built housing at Meriden and Woodside in the north and at
Holywell in the South.
The development of the Town Centre occurred in the 1960’s and
1970’s with the ring road, underpass by the Town Hall and
multi-story car parks all servicing the growing town centre. This
growth did not slacken during the 1980’s and 1990’s, with Clarendon
Road being redeveloped with a second generation of office
buildings. Even more significant was the construction of the
Harlequin shopping centre, which has transformed Watford into a
renowned shopping destination.
Today the population of Watford stands at approximately 80,000
and the continuing growth of the town is evident all around us.
For more information on the history of Watford, visit the
Watford Museum, at 194 High St, WD17 2DT. Web site, www.watfordmuseum.org.uk.
Notable Watford People
Watford was the birthplace of:
- Geri Halliwell, singer and former Spice Girl
- Vinnie Jones, English football player and actor
- Nick Knight, cricketer.
- Josh Lewsey, World Cup winning England rugby player
- Mo Mowlam, Government Minister
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