The prospect of a football match being played so close to a railway line seems unthinkable today but things were rather different when this wonderful picture was taken.

The Watford Observer is delighted to share pictures from the archive at Watford Museum and this week we look back at this view of a football match being played.

Watford Museum’s volunteer archivist Christine Orchard said: “In the early 1930s there used to be a football pitch roughly where Greycaine Road and Garnet Close meet today.

There were no goal nets for this gameThere were no goal nets for this game (Image: Watford Museum)

“The factory to the right was the Greycaine Book Binding Company Ltd and the footballers are likely from the company and are playing a visiting works team.

“The rail line in the foreground was a siding off the Watford to St Albans branch line and, as there’s no net attached to the goal posts, I wonder if you'd be required to go and get the ball back if you scored at the railway end!

The approximate site of Greycaine Book Binding Company's football pitch and buildings in 2020The approximate site of Greycaine Book Binding Company's football pitch and buildings in 2020 (Image: Google Street View)

“The pitch was relatively short-lived and had gone by the 1940s and an iron foundry built in its place.”

Visit the Museum Facebook page or website www.watfordmuseum.org.uk to see more historic photos.