“A town without history cannot expect to have much of a future and so it is indeed a sad reflection that Watford is fast losing its links with the past. The oast house in Lower High Street, knocked down this week [July 1989] without the Town Hall planners even knowing, was a rare specimen and, without doubt, should have been kept.”

These were my father’s words, published in the Watford Observer. Proud to have been born and bred in the town, he was concerned by the ongoing relentless destruction of so much of its heritage.

I remember the oast house at 247 Lower High Street; a reminder of the town’s historic connections with the brewing industry dating back to 1619 and Watford’s first brewer - a certain John Day. From the 1960s, the oast house was part of Devon Service Station (Taylor Ericcson Ltd.); a garage selling petrol and tyres and hiring vehicles. Today, Europcar are based there.

Watford Observer: Looking to the Devon Service Station; the long-demolished Hit or Miss pub on left, 1979.Looking to the Devon Service Station; the long-demolished Hit or Miss pub on left, 1979. (Image: Lesley Dunlop)

Looking at my photo, compared to the premises today, I wonder what the need to demolish really was. More space to display cars, perhaps - at the cost of the town’s brewing history. It may seem a sliver of history, but Watford’s prosperity owed much to the brewing industry, of which there were a number of highly successful businesses over the centuries.

The oast house, together with the Georgian-era property at 221 High Street and the brewery at 223, were owned by Sedgwick’s; buildings that extended down Lower High Street from Water Lane to the old Watford Mill, destroyed by fire in 1924, the smouldering remains of which comprised my father’s first memory of Watford. The brewery site backed onto the river Colne, which once abounded with large trout, perch and pike.

Watford Observer: Sedgwick's Brewery advertisement with its Georgian-era property, 1915.Sedgwick's Brewery advertisement with its Georgian-era property, 1915. (Image: Lesley Dunlop)

The Sedgwick family took over the business and buildings from George Whittingstall in 1862; some dating back to the 17th century such as The George, a coaching house in Market Place. The brewery remained in the Sedgwick family for 62 years before Benskins bought it in 1924. Benskins increased production and built new maltings in 1932 before they, too, were bought out by Ind Coope in 1957. The brewery buildings were subsequently purchased by Watford Council.

My father had a soft spot for Sedgwick’s Georgian-era property, which he remembered with affection. Fronting on Lower High Street near a pedestrian access to Water Lane, the classic three-storey red-brick building had an ornate entrance with a fanlight and fluted ionic columns. Arches either side gave access to the rear for horses, carriages and delivery carts.

Despite being listed by the Department of the Environment, the property at 221 High Street and brewery complex were demolished in 1964. To quote my father from his book ‘Echoes of Old Watford, Bushey & Oxhey’: “As I pass the site of Sedgwick’s, or rather the Watford Brewery, I secretly mourn its loss and scorn those responsible for the desecration of Watford’s heritage”. There remains no trace of Watford’s old malting trade now, except in imagined shadowy reflections by the river Colne near the bridge at Water Lane.

Watford Observer: Lower High Street post-demolition car lot, 1979.Lower High Street post-demolition car lot, 1979. (Image: Lesley Dunlop)

Whilst we are focused on the Lower High Street, my own memories - apart from the oast house - are of demolition gang after demolition gang, decade after decade, following directive after directive and reducing centuries-old properties to rubble, with no apparent interest in Watford’s heritage. And it wasn’t just Lower High Street; the whole town suffered a similar fate. Whilst over the years many other towns have incorporated ancient dwellings or historic buildings within their town planning, Watford’s Dalek-like policy of ‘Exterminate’ was stuck in a deadly, ever-destructive groove for far too many decades.

Replacing worthy buildings in the Lower High Street in the 1970s with what I recall as rows of second-hand car lots added insult to injury for those with a shred of care for Watford’s proud past. Not that I’m slighting car dealers, but to put replaceable vehicles before irreplaceable buildings was to lose touch with Lower High Street’s past and the town’s historic legacy, so much of which has been lost.

Watford Observer: Demolition south of Watford High Street Station, from the later-demolished Swann's building, May 1979.Demolition south of Watford High Street Station, from the later-demolished Swann's building, May 1979. (Image: Lesley Dunlop)

If Watford’s residents’ strong views had been embraced throughout the decades, the town would look quite different today, with an interesting, eclectic mix of buildings. Old and historic properties such as Cassiobury Park Gates and Sedgwick’s Brewery, amongst very many others, would still be standing. We’re stewards of our heritage - a heritage that needs protecting for future generations to appreciate but, increasingly, demolition proved an all-too-easy solution.

It is to be hoped that the importance of protecting the few, I repeat few, remaining historic buildings in Watford remains paramount in the minds of all who care about the town.

Lesley Dunlop is the daughter of the late Ted Parrish, a well-known local historian and documentary filmmaker. He wrote 96 nostalgic articles for the ‘Evening Post-Echo’ in 1982-83 which have since been published in ‘Echoes of Old Watford, Bushey & Oxhey’, available at www.pastdayspublishing.com and Bushey Museum. Lesley is currently working on ‘Two Lives, Two World Wars’, a companion volume that explores her father’s and grandfather’s lives and war experiences, in which Watford, Bushey and Oxhey’s history will take to the stage once again.