Croxley Green History Project

09/09/2024

Today is a poignant day as it saw the last (for present time) meeting of the Welcome Club at the Red Cross as they have been ousted due to the British Red Cross wanting to give the lease back.

Funding in the building in 1960s was touch and go and in 1965 an anonymous local resident wrote a preceptive poem about the situation. Perhaps there may be a local resident who would like to write the next few verses and become imortalised in local history?

04/09/2024

Wow, where do we start? Peter James Gardener aka Jamie Gunn, 60s pop star stalwart resident of Croxley Green and a nice guy was born in Croxley Green in 1943. Hopefully it’s all here on a page to commemorate Pete Gardner with his life as a pop star and also as a resident of Croxley Green. Lots of stories and lots of pictures with some never seen before photos of Croxley Green.
We are so grateful to Pete’s family for sharing his scrapbook and helping to keep such an important piece of local history for posterity.

Peter James Gardner born in Watford on 16th June 1943, Pete's schooling saw him attending St Oswald's Church School in 1947 then on to Malvern Way and Little Green Junior Middle School. Durrants Secondary Modern followed and finally Watford Technical Coll

02/09/2024

With thanks to Croxley Green Parish Council who paid to have the Parish Map scanned and to be availble as a free download on our website. The file is 50Mb and get your copy for future posterity.

15/06/2024

Croxley Revels Saturday 22nd on the green Croxley Green. In anticipation of a fantastic event, why not look at a bit of Revels history and even look at our archives of Revels past? You might see yourself in a picture and if you have any photos to share they are always gratefully accepted.

The Revels is the embodiment of the community of Croxley Green and is one of the prime factors that give the village its unique identity.

12/06/2024

Christmas will be in 196 days and why not look back on a Christmas past 2005 at the Red Cross in Croxley Green and hope you have community venues like this when you get older.

October 1965 - ​It is now three months since the Appeal was launched to raise £3,000 for this project and it is a long time since a local matter aroused so much interest.

03/06/2024

D-Day Commemorations - Thursday 6th June

Join the Parish Council in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings as Croxley Green Parish Council stands alongside hundreds of local authorities nationwide. This significant event marks a pivotal moment in history when Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, turning the tide of World War II.
As we pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought for freedom, join us for a special ceremony on The Green, where we will honour the memory of the courageous soldiers who landed on the shores of France on June 6, 1944.
Together, let us reflect on the valour and resilience of those who served, and reaffirm our commitment to preserving the legacy of D-Day for generations to come. Join us as we unite in remembrance and gratitude for the heroes who shaped the course of history.
There will be numerous symbolic events taking place throughout the day to mark the anniversary.
Timetable of events;
8:00 am – Proclamation – carried out by our very own town crier the proclamation will take place outside the council offices, followed by a tour of participating schools.
8.30 am – Raising of the official D-day flag.
11:00 am – Reading of D-day heroes.
12:00 pm – 6:00pm – D-day History exhibition at the Parish Council Offices.
6.30 pm – Ringing Out for Peace – All Saints Church will be joining churches across the country ringing the church bells as a symbol of peace.
8:50 pm - Main event taking place on The Green. The lighting of the beacon will take place on the Triangle of The Green where the road spits Northbound, just in front of the victory tree. The road between this and the Revels site will be closed with the viewing area on the Revels site.
For those needing accessibility i.e. those in wheelchairs can comfortably view the ceremony via the closed road.
9:00 pm – Tribute to Scottish Piper William Millin.
9.10 pm – International Tribute.
9.15 pm – Lighting of the Beacon and Lamps of Peace.

01/06/2024

June 1971 - Hot Car Magazine has a photo shoot featuring G. H. Browning to truck with pictures taken on the Green.

George Browning and George Simmonds wanted a high capacity, go-anywhere, powerful, easy-to-operate tow-truck with small over-all dimensions for operating in narrow lanes, and confined spaces. And they found themselves looking at a Short wheeI base Land Ro

29/05/2024

30th May 1885 - William Charles Beauchamp was born in West Dean, Wiltshire.

Some time after 1901, William moved to Croxley Green. In 1910 he married Ada Louisa Sills, a local girl living with her parents Frank and Louisa and family. Ada was born on 21st July 1886 and was baptised at All Saints Church on 5th September the same year. The family were living in New Road when William arrived in the village.

Family history and personal memorabilia for William reveals his career changed during World War One 1914-1918. He was employed in the local John Dickinson Paper Mill as a Firefighter.

William Charles Beauchamp was born in West Dean, Wiltshire, 30th May 1885, to parents Charles and Amelia. When William was five years old he and his sister Mabel, aged seven, were living in Downton, Hampshire, where, according to the 1891 Census.

25/05/2024

As we mover nearer to the 80th Anniversary of D-Day we have all available censuses on the Croxley history website and especially the 1939 Register. Why not have a look to see who lived in your house in 1939 and if you lived, and still live there, we would love to hear from you and hopefully record your memories.

https://www.croxleygreenhistory.co.uk/1939-register.html

The 1939 Register is of importance because the 1931 census was destroyed by fire and the 1941 census did not happen because of WW2 and so the next viewable census to be released will be in January 2052

The 1939 Register was conducted on 29th September 1939. The information collected it was used to create identity cards for when rationing was introduced in January 1940, and the distribution of ration books. Information in the Register was also used to ad

15/05/2024

As we enter Community and Local History Month we have added a new page to the Croxley History website that shows plans of Croxley mill that were saved when the mill was being demolished.

The very large and in high detail image files are free to download and we hope you enjoy looking at the in depth detail of the plans.

Plans of Dickinson Mill that were given to the Croxley Green History Project in 2024 by ex Dickinson Finance Director Mark Stephens

07/05/2024

If you are thinking about starting your family tree then Ancestry have 4 months for £20 that ends tomorrow. (normal price £55.96)

When the 4 months paid runs out, you account still hold the files and names you have saved by this time.

Discover your family history and build a family tree with the world’s largest genealogy website. Search birth records, census data, obituaries and more!

06/05/2024

On 6th May 1949 both Malvern Way and Little Green Schools opened. They have remained linked until this day and residents will have many fond memories of attending both schools.

We are always looking for pieces of local history and we would especially like to record the memories of residents who went to local schools many years ago. You can contact us on email [email protected] of via the contact page on the website.

Enjoy the day and your memories.

Extract from a January 1949 edition of the Croxley Community News - THOSE NEW SCHOOLS - At last it seems that the efforts of this Association over a period not of months - but year will soon see fruition.

16/03/2024

Colin Abbiss a long standing resident and Captain (for over 50 years) of the 2nd Boys Brigade, Baptist Church, Baldwins Lane, passed away recently. A service was held yesterday 15th March at the church where his life was celebrated and remembered. The CGHP were fortunate to interview Colin and his wife Rhiannon about their times living in CG. They are available to read and listen to here;

Colin & Rhiannon Abbiss - Memories of Croxley Green Recorded 7th May 2022

13/03/2024

13th March 1986 was the date set to elect the first 16 councillors of Croxley Green Parish Council

The first meeting of the new Parish Council was held on the 3rd April in the Library.
The meetings continued to be held in the Library until land next to the Community Centre became available. It was agreed to purchase and erect a pre-fabricated building on that site and this was delivered in two ready-made sections on Friday 2nd April 1993.

The Parish Council will represent the interests of those who live, learn and work in Croxley Green and will collaborate with others to deliver, maintain and improve the range of services available to the community.

15/02/2024

15th February 1942 saw the invasion of Singapore by Japanese troops and many allied troops were captured and became prisoners of war. One of these soldiers was William Charles Owen and thankfully he survived and returned to Croxley Green.

​William Charles Owen was the son of Charles and Eva Owen. He was born on 20th December 1918 at 63 Norfolk Road, Rickmansworth, the home of Eva and her parents. William’s father Charles, the son of Henry and F***y Owen, 32 New Road.

26/01/2024

Your local history website is always growing behind the scenes and in the last 9 months we have added 270,000 words and 87 pages to the website.

We have 387 pages, 872,763 word and circa 6,300 photos and images.

Recording local memories is of great importance to us and we always are looking for people who are willing to have their memories of Croxley Green recorded for posterity and perhaps you know of someone?

Have a look at our website as you may find something interesting.

Croxley Green History Project is a community-based history and archive project that allows the residents of Croxley Green to identify and celebrate their heritage.

06/01/2024

6th January 1947 ​Molly spent two years and eleven months at Ramsden Heath until she was released on as Lance Corporal. Her release document records that she was exemplary, trustworthy and hard working.

We are grateful to her family for sharing photos and documents of her happy life in Croxley Green where she was married to her husband Reg for over 70 years.

Mary Brown, known as Molly, was born in Burnley, Lancashire on 26th November 1923. There is not much information about Molly’s family life, prior to her wartime experience. Her occupation until 1944 is known to have been a presser.

04/12/2023

Saturday 4th December 1993 at the Parish Office, we were pleased to welcome quite a number of local residents and around 300 maps were sold. Everyone has been generous in their praise of the work. At the time of writing, about 900 maps have been sold. The costs, incurred by the Parish Council, will be covered after 1000 sales and any further income will be used for local community projects. We thank everyone who has worked on and supported the Map Project, which is a fitting celebration of Croxley Green. We have already thanked the artists, Daphne Simmons and June Thomas, and our researcher/scribe, Norma Stubington but would add our thanks to all who believed in and supported us. Maps may still be purchased from the Parish Office between 10am and 2pm on any weekday morning or from the Library during normal opening hours. The give-away price is £3.00 per copy, size 28" x 22", including protective cardboard tube. A special thank you to Library staff for promoting and selling the map so effectively.
Ernest Burdis & Margaret Pomfret.

Archive editions of the Community News that became the Croxley Resident with editions going back to 1948.

01/12/2023

December 1970, a visit from Mrs Howard the District Nurse to the Christmas lunch led to an article in the District Nursing magazine. Even in 1970 the Welcome Club had 250 members and a waiting list of nearly 50.

October 1965 - ​It is now three months since the Appeal was launched to raise £3,000 for this project and it is a long time since a local matter aroused so much interest.

17/11/2023

17th November 1983 saw the sad passing of Herbert Geoffrey Wells who served in WW2. Memories of him and other are in the WW2 Memories section of the website.

​I came to live in Croxley Green with my parents in January 1945. I was 12 years old and went to Durrants School. My family had moved from a tiny village in Essex not far from Basildon and the Tilbury docks that were across The Thames from Gravesend.

11/11/2023

11th November Margaret Hobbs remembered when at Yorke Road school (pre WW2) that "a few girls went to the Boys School to make laurel chains to hang round the War Memorial, we always went there for a service and 2 minute silence."

Yorke Road School - From The Croxley Green Resident issue 199 The school was opened in 1875, It was a church school and during the first week about 70-75 pupils were enrolled but the numbers varied a lot as it wasn’t compulsory to attend.

06/11/2023

6th November 1894 saw the birth of George Gray and the 1911 census had him living at 237 New Road. After service in WW1 the 1939 register shows George living at 27 Springfield Close.

As we move towards Armistice, please do not forget those who served from Croxley Green.

George Gray was born on the 6th November 1894 to parents Frederick and Susan Gray living on Scots Hill. He was baptised on the 2nd December 1894 by Astley Roberts, vicar of All Saints church, recorded in the church archives Baptism register.

28/10/2023

28th October 1941 saw Reg Beckley enter military hospital for wounded servicemen and he stayed until January 1942. We are grateful that local families share their memories and photographs with us for future posterity.

Reg was born on 4th April 1922 to parents Elizabeth (Jarlett) and Alfred Beckley. The family lived at 87 Norfolk Road, Rickmansworth. Elizabeth was born in Greenwich, London but Albert was resident in Rickmansworth.

19/10/2023

19th October 1901 saw the birth of Dr. Julius Grant and during World War Two, Grant used his expert knowledge in the properties of paper to develop specialist papers for "war related" activities.

His expertise was put to use on the Great Train Robbery and also announced that the Hi**er diaries were a forgery.

Dr Julius Grant was born on 19th October 1901 in the East End of London. He was always interested in chemistry, He attended evening classes at Queen Mary's College, London, obtaining a degree in chemistry and then went on to take his doctorate at King's

17/10/2023

17th October 1880 saw the birth of Charles Henry Blois Bisshopp who became the vicar of All Saints Church (1917-1933)

This page is a good example of how we can go off on a tangent in researching people as we were sent a picture of a tankard that he was awarded whilst at Pembroke College, Cambridge and so researched him further.

​Charles Henry Blois Bisshopp was born in Ipswich, Suffolk to parents Gertrude and Edward Bisshopp, an architect and Diosian surveyor. Charles attended Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was ordained into the Church of England.

15/10/2023

15th October 1872, 151 years ago today at the Court at Balmoral, All Saints Church was consecrated.

Whereas the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England have, in pursuance of the Act of the eighth and ninth years of Her Majesty, chapter seventy; of the Act of the nineteenth and twentieth years of Her Majesty.

12/10/2023

12th October 1867 (156 years ago) saw an advert in the Watford Observer that a purpose built beer-house, "The Rose" had been erected and was now available for auction together with the four adjoining newly built Rose cottages.

Sadly the pub is no longer with us but you can see where it was here

​The Rose was built on land at the lower end of New Road towards the Watford Road and close by to The Red House. Approximately thirty acres of farmland belonging to Hollowtree House.

10/10/2023

10th October 1893 saw the death of Sarah Ann Todman who was the landlady of the Sportsman on Scots Hill.

Her probate record is a good example of how mistakes in records can sometimes mean you miss the information you are searching for. The official record had her living in "Crouchley Green" which clearly is wrong.

https://www.croxleygreenhistory.co.uk/the-sportsman.html

08/10/2023

8th October 1854, Charles Barton Smith was baptised in Gravesend and went to to be the Manager of Dickinson's Mill and founder of the Dickinson Institute

The family lived at Lindiswara on Watford Road (long demolished) buy you can see family photos of the house here

​Charles was born in Gravesend Kent and baptised Charles Smith on the 8th October 1854 at St George’s parish church, Gravesend. His parents were Thomas and Mary Anne Smith. Thomas Smith was born in Rochester Kent c1823 and Mary Anne Smith (nee Jury) wa

06/10/2023

6th October 1890 saw the birth Sidney Martin King and in 1911 he was living at 89 New Road.

Sidney was one of the many soldiers from Croxley Green who served in WW1 and thankfully he returned alive and lived a long and happy life passing away in 1975.

​Sidney was born on 6th October 1890 to Daniel and Alice King. The 1911 census recorded by Alice, describes her husband as a retired farmer living with his family in Lawn Villa cottages, 89 New Road. Daniel is 89 years old and Alice is 52 years.