Topic ID 1976
I live in Hertford, but come from Lancashire originally. Imagine my surprise when, on tracing my family tree, I found that over 100 years ago I had ancestors living here. They lived in various streets named after trees - Oak, Elm, Ash which seem to no longer be in existence. Does anyone know whereabouts in Hertford they were?
Reply ID 25733
Elm Drive is in Bengeo
Reply ID 25749
They were all Streets - Oak St, Ash St, Elm St. It must be an area that was completely demolished. It was still around in the 1920s though. I'll try asking at the museum.
Reply ID 25776
The museum have copies of old maps of Hertford that you can buy. They are from around the turn of the century.
Reply ID 25781
Thanks - I have a feeling they may have been in the Baker Street area.
Reply ID 25799
You are exactly right. Oak Street and Elm Street ran parallel to Ware Road off of Baker Street. Can't find Ash Street though.
Reply ID 26417
Round the area of the old Gaol I think, part of my family had a fish and chip shop in Ash Street, what is now the Red Cross and car park!
Reply ID 26418
I have one of the old maps I will look and see if I can find it for you
Reply ID 26492
On the 1897 map as you came down Baker Street from ware Road Elm street was on the left, Oak Street on the right then a bit further up baker Street and Ash street was on the rightyou then came to something which could be a small river with a footbridge over and the Militia Barracks were on the right joining up with London Road about where the Fire station now stands. I hope that helps
Reply ID 27239
Thanks Marilyn. I wonder why the streets were demolished.
Reply ID 27243
They appear to have come down around the time of the slum clearance in the early part of the 20th Century, so my guess would be that they were deemed unfit for human habitation.
Reply ID 27366
I am sure you are right, as yet i have not found any pictures of them but will add it to my list of jobs for my next visit to HALS!
Reply ID 29856
I have just found a really clear photograph showing these tree streets - on pages 102 and 103 of Len Green's Hertford's Past in Pictures. Sorry - I don't have a scanner but I'm sure Steve will have a copy and maybe post a link???
Reply ID 29858
quote:Thanks I am pretty sure I have that book in the "library" off to look now!
Originally posted by nora batty
I have just found a really clear photograph showing these tree streets - on pages 102 and 103 of Len Green's Hertford's Past in Pictures. Sorry - I don't have a scanner but I'm sure Steve will have a copy and maybe post a link???
Reply ID 29863
This is the photo Nora mentions. Elm Street is toward the top running right to left and parallel to Ware Road below. [img]../images/elm_street.jpg[/img] The bigger picture (910K) is [url="../images/ware_road_addis.jpg"]here[/url]
Reply ID 29866
Brilliant - thanks for that (and to Nora for alerting me that it had been posted!). I'm sure I have that book somewhere in the loft......
Reply ID 29873
Wonderful, now got to work out which one is the fish and chip shop where Grandma and Grandad met! It was owned by Grandma's Brother in Law and Sister! PS Steve I don't think Elm Drive is in Bengeo is it[?] The Elms etc are up the top of Stanstead Road these days!
Reply ID 29938
Fascinating photo - can anyone put a rough date to it?
Reply ID 29961
The building you can see on Ware Road is Streets Coaches on the Corner of Baker Street, so if we can find their dates it will help, I think they started with horse drawn vechicle then went on to the first pantechnicans/ omnibuses etc but I could be and am frequently wrong! I would guestimate early 1900's as I know that is around the time the fish shop was there, Grandparents were married in 1921. There seems to be a motor vehicle in Baker Street and the large picture has Addises in it, when did they start? Also the Militia Barracks are still there so would need to find out when they went. Just a few pointers for others to hopefully date for us.
Reply ID 29962
quote:Thanks Marilyn. I wonder how the photograph was taken? It could have been taken from a plane I suppose - but I reckon it may well have been taken from a balloon [?][?]
Originally posted by Marilyn
The building you can see on Ware Road is Streets Coaches on the Corner of Baker Street, so if we can find their dates it will help, I think they started with horse drawn vechicle then went on to the first pantechnicans/ omnibuses etc but I could be and am frequently wrong! I would guestimate early 1900's as I know that is around the time the fish shop was there, Grandparents were married in 1921. There seems to be a motor vehicle in Baker Street and the large picture has Addises in it, when did they start? Also the Militia Barracks are still there so would need to find out when they went. Just a few pointers for others to hopefully date for us.
Reply ID 29966
It was post-1920 as this is when Addis moved in.
Reply ID 29968
quote:I knew someone would know!
Originally posted by nora batty
It was post-1920 as this is when Addis moved in.
Reply ID 88828
Interesting to see that the archaeologists have uncovered the foundations of all the houses in Elm Street. [img]../images/forum/elm-street-foundations.jpg[/img] Compare and contrast ... [url="../images/ware_road_addis.jpg"][img]../images/elm_street-highlight.jpg[/img][/url]
Reply ID 88832
It's hard to compare and contrast unless you highlight the row you are comparing with. I assume it is the row of properties running from the bottom right hand to the top.
Reply ID 88835
Where Hertford Glass now is top left is where Streets Coaches etc was in the older photo corner of Baker Street. So I think that is the foundations of the street running along the centre of the old photo. Could be the "gap" is that where the houses change the way they face.
Reply ID 88836
quote:Highlight added as requested
Originally posted by Ewoowar
It's hard to compare and contrast unless you highlight the row you are comparing with. I assume it is the row of properties running from the bottom right hand to the top.
Reply ID 88839
Phew I was right!!
Reply ID 88840
The houses were build shortly after the County Gaol was demolished in 1878. They were knocked down in 1964.
Reply ID 88843
quote:Those are actually the gaol footings. They extend more than 1m below ground level and are more than 1m wide at the base. The layout of the ground plan is almost identical to a 1784 plan of the gaol held at HALS. The Victorian houses were however, built on the pre-existing footings, though few of the Victorian walls survived as the build quality was not to the same standard as the 18th-century foundations.
Originally posted by Steve
Interesting to see that the archaeologists have uncovered the foundations of all the houses in Elm Street. [img]../images/forum/elm-street-foundations.jpg[/img] Compare and contrast ... [url="../images/ware_road_addis.jpg"][img]../images/elm_street-highlight.jpg[/img][/url]
Reply ID 88846
I imagine even back then it was full of out-of-towners who'd come to steal our women and rape our sheep. Or was it the other way round?
Reply ID 88847
Well Hertford women haven't changed much over the years so I expect the sheep had good reason to be worried.........[}:)][;)][:D]
Reply ID 89249
quote:
Originally posted by Marilyn
The building you can see on Ware Road is Streets Coaches on the Corner of Baker Street, so if we can find their dates it will help, I think they started with horse drawn vechicle then went on to the first pantechnicans/ omnibuses etc but I could be and am frequently wrong! I would guestimate early 1900's as I know that is around the time the fish shop was there, Grandparents were married in 1921. There seems to be a motor vehicle in Baker Street and the large picture has Addises in it, when did they start? Also the Militia Barracks are still there so would need to find out when they went. Just a few pointers for others to hopefully date for us.
Reply ID 89250
Hi. I am new to this forum and wanted to say thank you so much for the photo of Baker street Elm Street, Ash Street, Oak Street etc. and the surrounding area (including Addis's factory with TWO tennis courts in contrast with the poor bleak streets which are the subject of this topic) My grandparents owned the little General Store, Adams, in Baker Street about two thirds of the way down towards the barracks and were there probably from about 1910-ish. My mother was born there in 1913. (I was born in Bengeo in 1941 and visited my grannys shop many times as a child so I remember the area and the people there pretty well). The vehicle in the photo looks a bit like an open-topped single deck coach going by the 3 white dots of headlight reflections(?) at the front but I could be wrong. I have no idea when the photo was taken but it looks more 1920s than 1930s to me. The last time I was there was probably 1950 when we left Hertford for good. I think the shop was still open, just, but not for much longer. The shop was open all through the Thirties and the war years. I will write more when I have time. But thanks for so many memories being jogged. It was a special place for me. Good old Oak Street, Ash Street, Elm Street and Baker Street. They were all, literally, Dead End Streets, but such characters and history!
Reply ID 89260
It could well be one of Streets Coach's they had the place fronting Ware Road, you can see the name up. I wonder if it is 1928 the same as the other ariel photos in the Hertfords Past section? Admin: should this move to the "Hertford's Past" section do you think?