The late Mr John Gloag, wrote down his memories of Watford before he died. Here he writes about a special barn.

IN the early years of this century on a piece of open land at the corner of Tolpits Lane and Hagden Lane, opposite Watford West Station, there stood a large barn next to Almond Cottage.

This barn was one of the few remaining links with the Harwoods Farm which extended as far as this area.

At the end of each harvest time we children would gather at the barn to watch, with interest, the large steam traction engine which supplied the power for a giant threshing machine. The bales of wheat would be brought to the barn on horse drawn carts from the surrounding farms, and would be passed through the threshing machine accompanied by a loud clanking from the engine and a continuous cloud of dust and chaff.

On completion the sacks of wheat were then taken away again in horse drawn carts to local mills, one of which stood in the Lower High Street, and another at Grove Mill, where the wheat would then be ground into flour. The remaining straw would then be returned to the farms for erection into hay ricks for animal feed during the winter months.

The barn has long since been demolished and an interesting link with Watford's past has been lost for ever.

July 1, 2002 15:00