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Topic ID 5861

Old Siam/Thai Rack/Guru/Maison Carton/Carton

Hi I am trying to find out a more detailed history of the building I own and recently refurbished. This is partly because I find this sort of history fascinating but also it is possible that restaurant customers may occasionally have some interesting past tale or maybe would just like to know about the building and immediate locality. I notice that there are a number of people on the forum who have been in this area for a long time or have had a a long standing interest in the Hertford buildings and I now find myself (although I have lived near Hertford for 40 years (Cuffley)) getting the bug. I have made a few visits to the Hertford Library, Hertford Museum, and County Archives, but I have limited time and I have only scratched the surface. This is what I have found so far: The address now is 6 Parliament Square but this changed a number of years ago. It used to be 1 Fore Street. The number 1 was on the shop front until at least 1973 but I guess that does not indicate when the address changed. Thai Rack was open roughly between 2000 and 2010. I remember it opening but I don't have a memory of the dates or remember the Guru very well. The Guru must have run from approx 1975? to 2000. Several friends of mine have recounted tales of the Guru owner, (nice chap by all accounts but taken advantage of by his staff (allegedly) after he had a stroke) running a mini disco in the building after hours with the nusic coming from a large beat box. Anyone else remember this? Prior to this it was Maison Carton. I believe Maison Carton was latterly a restaurant/cafe run by a Anne & David Ricketts (according the the licencee details above the door c1974). The Maison Carton shop front stayed the same from before 1948 until it closed c1975. The 1911 census shows an Annie Carton living at the property with her two children and a servant. And a picture from c1925 shows the shop being called 'Carton'. She was 37 in 1911. The property itself is at least 200 hundred years old. I know the Green Dragon Hotel (now Ladbrokes and above) and it's Vaults were built in c1903. I have pictures of both the old hotel and the new.The gap between my building and the old hotel was not developed and was behind a tallish brick wall. I believe that it was stabling/garaging for the hotel. The building (was Clement Clarke at one stage, now Employer Direct) between Old Siam and the Vaults was not built until after 1925 I believe. As I am sure a lot of you know the War Memorial was not unveiled until 1921, prior to this their was a triangular block of old buildings (called partly Parliament Row and partly Castle Street), home to Bruton's tailors, and before that Wiggington & Son (wine merchants) and also Nightingales. Because of this, the road outside Old Siam was fairly narrow and therefore hardly any front on pictures are available. The building is shown as being empty in the 1901 census but prior to that is appears that possibly a butchers (occupied by John Harris) and possibly before that a Hatters occupied by Thomas Judd b1801. In 1881 it was possibly occupied by a Watch & Clock maker Samuel Harry. Unsure about this because I am getting conflicting information from trade directories. Nos 2 - 4 Parliament Square (previously Churchill's) was no 3 Fore Street and has at various stages been Stephen Austin Printers and M & F Hilton (hatters or dress makers I think). Sorry if I have bored you all! Maybe some kind people will interested in filling in the gaps, correcting me. Happy to meet anyone to show you the pics (purchased from Hertford Museum). Many thanks