EAW022129 ENGLAND (1949). The South Oxhey Housing Estate under construction, South Oxhey, 1949

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EAW022129
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EAW022133
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EAW022131
  111° 192m

Details

Title [EAW022129] The South Oxhey Housing Estate under construction, South Oxhey, 1949
Reference EAW022129
Date 14-April-1949
Link
Place name SOUTH OXHEY
Parish WATFORD RURAL
District
Country ENGLAND
Easting / Northing 511613, 192832
Longitude / Latitude -0.38750016645143, 51.622756300648
National Grid Reference TQ116928

Pins

Kilmarnock road freshly built

steve
Thursday 24th of March 2016 04:26:49 PM
Kilmarnock Road was originally named as Ashdown Road on street maps and estate plans of the late 1940s. However, after some confusion with a road of similar name in Bushey (Ashdon Rd), this short road at the northern end of Caldwell Road was subsequently renamed. Comparatively few of the local residents refer to the old name as the change was implemented by 1951, as shown on the relevant page in the Kelly's Directory for 1952. Some of the older street atlases (Bartholomew's and Geographia) of the period still used the former version of Ashdown Road well into the following decade. David Reidy, an early inhabitant of Caldwell Road (1948-1969), can just recollect the original road name being used for a short period after the completion of this part of South Oxhey.

John Swain
Thursday 19th of May 2016 09:24:32 AM
Bramshaw gardens

Steve
Friday 26th of December 2014 07:06:55 AM

hoddy
Tuesday 23rd of September 2014 02:28:02 PM
Southern extremity of the housing estate would be located between Nascot Wood and the Greater London (Harrow) boundary to the south and west, and Pinnerwood Farm on its south-eastern margin over the next three years. Prestwick Road (B4542) was extended westwards into Oxhey Woods, to meet up with Oxhey Drive and Sandy Lane/Watford Road (B468). This zone between Herts/London boundary and Muirfield Road was finally completed in 1952 and included the opening of Greenfields Junior Mixed and Infants School, in Ellesborough Close, on September 8th.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 11:03:22 AM
The opening sentence should read...Nanscot Wood..., as opposed to Nascot Wood, which is located in Watford, several miles to the north.

John Swain
Sunday 22nd of December 2013 04:37:57 PM
Eastbury Pumping Station (Colne Valley Water Company) on Hampermill Lane.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:47:28 AM

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:45:26 AM
Watford Town Centre

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:42:01 AM
Oxhey Hall "Metroland", built in the 1930s.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:40:14 AM
Oxhey Golf Course Clubhouse, built in 1912.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:39:14 AM
Sherwoods Wood

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:37:33 AM
Area to the east of Prestwick Road was formerly part of Oxhey Golf Course until 1946.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:36:37 AM
Oxhey Municipal Golf Course

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:33:50 AM
Junction of Hayling Road with Prestwick Road.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:32:31 AM

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:31:19 AM
Warren Dell Primary/Infants School nearing completion before the formal opening on 16th May 1949.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:30:15 AM
Zone earmarked for shopping centre development in mid-1950s.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:26:27 AM
Oxhey Place 1910-1960.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:24:28 AM
Oxhey Drive near Beck Mason's Wood. The attached photo was taken on July 1st 2012, looking east down the length of Oxhey Drive, showing how much the housing estate has matured in the 63 years since the aerial image was taken. An estimated 20,000 road vehicles are regularly parked on the streets of South Oxhey each day/night, in contrast to the late 1940s!

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:20:28 AM
St.Meryl Estate, Carpenders Park.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:13:56 AM
Carpenders Park Station

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:12:39 AM
Woodhall Lane and Caldwell Road.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:11:05 AM
Site of Woodhall Junior School, which opened in 1954.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:09:36 AM
Site of Oxhey Wood Junior & Infants School, opened in 1950.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:07:11 AM
Northwick Road

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:05:04 AM

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:04:26 AM
Site on Chilwell Gardens of the estate's second senior school, Clarendon, which was opened in September 1951.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:03:27 AM
The writer has been assisting local author, David Reidy, compile a detailed history of Clarendon School, from its inception in 1951 until the merger with neighbouring Hampden School 16 years later, to create a split-site comprehensive school, Sir James Altham, which closed in July 1989. The book should be available as a private publication later in 2016.

John Swain
Thursday 19th of May 2016 09:36:08 AM
Muirfield Road

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 10:01:04 AM
Prestwick Road terminating at Little Oxhey Lane, close to the junction with Bramshaw Gardens.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:53:32 AM

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:35:14 AM

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:34:18 AM
Little Oxhey Lane, connecting South Oxhey with Carpenders Park, Watford Heath and Hatch End.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:31:59 AM
The 18-acre site of Hampden School, the first secondary school built on the estate and opened on 11th September 1950, although the buildings were not finished until a year later. The school merged with neighbouring Clarendon School in 1967 to form the short-lived Sir James Altham Comprehensive School, which closed in July 1989, thus leaving the estate without a local secondary institution.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:30:19 AM
Main line railway: London-Birmingham 1837; London & North Western Railway 1846; London Midland & Scottish Railway 1923; at the time of the photo, nationalisation resulted in the lines being run by British Railways, London Midland Region.

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:23:47 AM

User Comment Contributions

This shot of South Oxhey is taken in the south-east corner, looking north, and shows parts of the estate were already finished on the side adjacent to the main line railway. The left foreground and middle distance on this image would see further developments over the next three years, as the LCC housing estate eventually reached its target of 4,000 completed homes, providing accommodation for 17,000 inhabitants. The current population is in the order of 12,500, but this writer would estimate that upwards of 100,000 folk have resided in South Oxhey since its inception in 1946/47. Now there's a thought!

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 11:14:12 AM
In this view of the emerging housing estate at South Oxhey, looking almost due north towards the nearby town of Watford (73,000), many of the original building units have been constructed in this south-east corner of the development. The main collector roads, Prestwick Road, Hayling Road, Oxhey Drive and Gosforth Lane have already been laid out, and they would form the basic structure for the numerous short cul-de-sacs. Building of the estate was mostly completed by 1952, with later additions in the form of a shopping centre, further schools, churches and social facilities. In his book,"Poor but Proud", David Reidy considers that the early years continued until 1970, by which time South Oxhey had the appearance of a permanent town, nestling on the lower slopes of the South Herts Plateau, largely out-of-view of local residents from Watford or Northwood!

John Swain
Saturday 21st of December 2013 09:15:26 AM