Neighbours in Smallford
Memories of World War Two in the village of Smallford
By Geoffrey Smith
Names of Some of our Neighbours in Station Road
I have tried to remember as far as possible the residents of Station Road, starting at the junction with Wilkins Green Lane and moving towards Hatfield Road. To the best of my recollection they were as follows:-
(a) Right hand side
Delft Cottage - Mr & Mrs North
Post Office and Stores - Mr & Mrs Parsons and their son Alan
Alma - Mr & Mrs Allen (coal merchant) and their son Sidney
Clifton - Mr & Mrs Smith, & children, Alan, Geoffrey & Valerie
Springfield - Mr & Mrs Halliwell and their son Jack
Glencote - Mr & Mrs Keath & daughters Sheila and Janet
Homestead - Mr & Mrs Pearce, their sons David and Michael, and Nurse Reed (District Nurse & Midwife)
From here on my memory gets a bit muddled as to exactly which house was which, but the following are those I can remember (in no particular order):-
Allandale - Mr Woollen
Clough Mellin - Mrs Franklin and daughter Freda
Max Gate - Mr & Mrs Marshall
Beere Cottage - Mr & Mrs Jenner
San Sheil - Mr. Walter Barguss
The Gables - Mr & Mrs Jobling
Cherry Trees - Mr & Mrs Boggis
Claremont - Mr & Mrs Stokes
Oak View - Mr & Mrs Buckland
Ethelrene - Mrs Hard
Sudbury - Mrs Hopkins
Caedron - Mr Preston
Hollydene - Mr & Mrs Platt and their son, whose name I can’t recall
Hawthorn - Mr & Mrs George Butcher, artesian well engineer
The Poplars - Mr & Mrs Keerie, sons Arthur & Douglas & daughter Valerie
The Standard Orchard - Mr & Mrs Bacon
Anchordown - Mr Parker
Horseshoe Villa - Mr & Mrs Pinnock
(b) Left hand side
Station House - Mr & Mrs Haynes (Stationmaster)
Alpha - Mr & Mrs Christensen (owners of the tomato nursery) and son Peter, who was confined to a wheelchair having suffered polio as a child.
Hatfield Road (HorseshoeVillage)
Ivy Cottage - Mr & Mrs Norris
Four Horseshoes P.H. - Mr & Mrs Albert Foyle
Three Horseshoes P.H. - Mr & Mrs Joe Latchford
Sam’s Café - Mrs. Mellett
Horseshoes Motor & Engineering Co. (lock-up garage and petrol station)
Sear & Carter, NurseryGarden
I do not have much recollection of the people who lived in Sandpit Lane, which was of course, the other side of the main St. Albans to Hatfield Road, and I would not have gone there, unless with a parent. However, there are two other roads, some of whose residents I do remember.
Wilkins Green Terrace
1 Miss Douglas
2 Mrs. Faulder and daughter Betty Pales
3 Mr & Mrs Bygrave, with sons Dennis & Bob
4 Mr & Mrs Major and daughters, Sylvia, Olive & Dorothy
5 Mr & Mrs Bawden
6 Mr & Mrs Earnshaw
7 Mrs Tomblin
8 Mr & Mrs Rivers
Wilkins Green Farm
Mrs. & Mrs Simpkins
Springfield Crescent
1 Mr. & Mrs Roddy and sons Patrrick & Terry
2 Mrs Blisset and daughter Edie
11 Mrs Rogers (who is best remembered as a most eccentric lady, who bore the brunt of many practical jokes by children. Her response was to throw a bucket of water over us. We daren’t go home wet, for fear of a beating!)
12 Mr & Mrs Mason
14 Mr & Mrs Carpenter and daughter Thelma
15 Mr & Mrs Iddenton and sons Roy & Frederick
17 Mr & Mrs King and daughters
18 Mrs Pugh, daughters, Daphne and Celia, and son Michael
20 Mr & Mrs Last and sons, Jack, Kenneth and Alan (known to all as Dickie, due to his diminutive size).
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Marginally off-topic, but does anyone know when the Four Horseshoes closed down?
I used to come through Smallford on the old 330 bus each day to school. Most bus conductors (remember them?) used to call out “Horseshoes”. The clever ones called out “Three Horseshoes” on the way to St Albans, but “Four Horseshoes” when travelling the other way.
I lived in Ivy Cottage for first years of my life. I remember Venus the horse that was kept in the field near us. We then moved to 10 Springfield. We use to take a shortcut along the side of the field from Hatfield Rd to Springfield Rd. I remember Mrs. Rogers. She lived opposite us in Springfield RD. She was a lovely person and always was so kind to us scruffy kids. Rita Norris.
I remember Geoff who was pally with my brother. He also remembers Stubbs and Roddy ….we all went to the Grammar School after Fleetville I M.
I enjoyed reading this so much. I lived in Smallford from the age of 9 ( I lived at No 1 Springfield Road) with my lovely mum, brother and three sisters from 1962 and I remember some of the neighbours mentioned, including Mrs Rogers but by then, she was living in one of the bungalows. We had such a wonderful childhood living in Smallford and I treasure the memories. Thank you so much for this wonderful article.