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

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!

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!