& Station
Where I now live, all the area hereabout consists of contiguous suburbs of Watford town, the distinction between them more observable in some cases than in others.
Not automatically apparent is the difference between South Oxhey (essentially a post-war development of public housing) and the adjacent Carpender's Park (largely a post-war development of privately-owned housing), though each lies on the opposite side of the railway line to the other. Their shared railway station is "Carpender's Park", and the name is derived from the manor that used to be situated there. Legislation in the 1980s permitted purchase of rented public housing by tenants, so at least some properties in the South Oxhey estate are now owned by their occupants. Slightly surreally, set amidst this estate is an architecturally notable 17th Century chapel mentioned in Pevsner.
Travelling from Carpender's Park toward Watford brings you to Watford Heath, an attractive collection of houses around a green, with two pubs (The Load of Hay and The Royal Oak) and facilities for sports like tennis and crown green bowling. Immediately adjacent to Watford Heath is Oxhey.
Oxhey (not to be confused with South Oxhey), though built-up, retains (in part) a village-like character. Somewhat pretentiously—and probably encouraged by estate agents—the heart of Oxhey, a network of quiet residential streets, is commonly referred to as Oxhey Village. This is bisected by a major road on which I live with my family (not held to be part of the designated village area!). The village grew up in the 19th Century, housing railway workers, and was originally called New Bushey, after a larger village/suburb nearby.
Our own small house is a simply-built 19th Century, terraced worker's cottage—with all the attendant problems implied! Not long after we moved in, we received a letter from a local solicitor who wanted to know what to do with a bundle of papers relating to the property as they had no current legal value (all pertinent details being recorded with the UK Land Registry and the deeds held by the lenders of our mortgage). Out of curiosity, we asked for the documents to be sent to us and we were pleased to find they included Victorian, hand-written and wax-sealed transactions on parchment. One day I'll frame them and put them up on a wall.
Oxhey Park lies to our west, on the other side of the mainline railway:
Our railway station, itself, is at the north of the suburb, and in the early part of the 20th Century it was named "Bushey & Oxhey". However, during the Second World War, identifying signs were deliberately obliterated at all British railway stations so as not to give any guidance to potential invading armies. In the process, the ampersand was left unobscured here, so for some years after the war Bushey & Oxhey was humorously referred to by locals as "& Station". It is now known solely as Bushey station, though Bushey itself is a half-mile uphill to the east.
Bushey is a ribbon development, though it has now extensively grown both towards Watford and back from its High Street. The High Street now carries heavy traffic but, again, there are relic village characteristics including a duck pond in front of the church (the latter is Medieval with much Victorian restoration).
Here's Bushey High Street, looking west. Its public houses (pubs) lie in the other direction, though I daresay one could have a gin and tonic at the Conservative Club, the building (ironically) at the extreme left of the picture. Out of shot to the left lie the duckpond and St James' church.
Below is the aforementioned St James'. Dating at least from the mid-13th Century, with 15th and 17th Century additions, many features from those times can still be seen within. St James' has some interesting woodwork and good quality stained-glass. The church was sympathetically restored and extended in the late 19th Century by Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect of famous London landmarks The Midland Grand Hotel (now named The St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, fronting St Pancras railway station) and the Albert Memorial. During WWII, a bomb exploded near St James', shattering windows, and destroying the church's lych gate (which has since been replaced, second image below).
The former Masonic School in Bushey appeared in The Avengers episode Death's Door.
Further uphill to the southeast is Bushey Heath. In the days before metalled roads (paved roads) it was a popular location for highwaymen as the high ground gave good visibility of travellers approaching from London to the south.
Watford itself is to the north of Oxhey and is a medium-sized town with good road and rail connections to London and Birmingham (England's Second City). Historically, Watford was a centre for brewing, paper making and—especially—printing. It was the site of the last remaining gravure printers in Britain, now long closed. During the war, De Havilland made Mosquito fighter bombers nearby at Leavesden. That site is now Leavesden film studios, where the Harry Potter pictures were made and where, for those that like that kind of thing, The Harry Potter Experience is situated. There's no printing, brewing or paper-making in Watford, now, so far as I know, though the livery colours of Benskins, the erstwhile brewer, are still used in the painting of street furniture in certain conservation areas in the locality.
The area in 1933:
Also see Merry Hill Walk.