The London/Hertfordshire border - Elstree

The London/Harrow/Hertfordshire boundary goes north east along Elstree Road, leaving it briefly across The Fishery and then continues along Watford Road to the crossroads with Elstree Hill and Elstree High Street where it meets the boundary with Barnet. The London/ Barnet/Hertfordshire border continues along Barnet Lane after the crossroads.

Tykes Water flows north westwards

Part of Elstree centre along with Aldenham Reservoir and Watling Street

Post to the west Aldenham Reservoir
Post to the east Elstree
Post to the south Elstree Hill
Post to the north Aldenham Park

Sites on the London, Harrow, side of the border

Elstree A small town at the top of a hill, eleven miles from the Marble Arch. It stands on a terrace, with views, over the Reservoir. Elstree was once ‘Idlestree’, but later ‘Illstree’ or ‘Elstree. It was an important centre for film studios and had the largest film factory in England. Studios built by John East in 1914 because it was a good place for location photography.

High Street
Holly Bush Inn. It is said that a secret passage once led from this 15th inn to St Albans Abbey
St Nicholas. Stones from Sullonicae used to build it but rebuilt again. . Largely a creation of 1853 although some of the material of the old 15th century building was .used. Rebuilt on the old foundation using columns in south arcade etc. 600 years old gargoyles. Fifteenth century pillars. Iron chancel screen by Bloomfield. Museum of bits from Temple of Diana. Arms of St Alban's Abbey in the porch. Founded by the monks of St. Albans in the fourteenth century, was rebuilt in 1853 and is an edifice of red brick faced with dressed flint in the Early Decorated style. It has a tiled roof and a western tower with a slated spire, a clock, and six bells. The font with cover of 1974- A 1603 alabaster was repaired and replaced
Schopwick Place c.1720. Listed grade II. There has been a building on the site since the early 16th century. The present house is early 18th red brick. There are grounds with a walled kitchen garden and bridge over a lily pond. The central section of the house was built c1710 but the cellars are 16th and a well in the kitchen dates from then, wings and associated pavilions were built in the 18th although th4e north pavilion was demolished. In 2002 a tunnel was discovered and it was thought it might connect to the church next door, but it was only a drain which seems to have been Tudor, residents of Schopwick Place include Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bruce and Sir Percy Everett Deputy chief scout, who wrote "Scouting for Boys" with Baden-Powell. It was used for a while by Stevenson’s Female Orphans and is now the Shuker family home.
Elstree Hall demolished. Probably on the site of Schopwick Place.
15, 16, 17 old shop now offices. Painted Brick two storey building Built in the early 19th and may have been a butchers’ shops in 1820 owned by William Hunt established his Butcher Shop
21 Forge
13 timber-framed house of c. 1500. Below the flint footings of the early building was the working area of a 13th- iron-smelting site, represented by a spread of burning and charcoal including pottery, ironstone and slag.
Elstree Hill House. This was Elstree School. Where boys between eight and fourteen years of age were prepared for the public schools and naval cadetships. The school was founded here in 1848 but moved to Woolhampton in the Second World War where it has remained. Red brick. Now a care home. In the Second World War it was used as a depot for the 4th and 5th Coldstream Guards.
Liberal Synagogue Elstree. The congregation was founded in 1969 as the Stanmore Liberal Jewish Congregation. In the 1970s they took over the former village school and turned it into a synagogue, school and community centre. Listed Grade II. Alterations in 1998, with sanctuary and halls.
The East, was a pub called the Plough with attached stables, it is now a restaurant. Yellow brick, two storey building which dates from 1830 - 40. Its rear pub gardens once had topiary displays. In the 1920s and 1930s it was a favourite pub of Alfred Hitchcock. The 19th stables associated reflect its use as a coach stop between London and St Albans road. Originally it seems to have been called The Swan in the 17th and the Plough by 1753. It was later owned by brewer Thomas Clutterbuck. There are the remains of a stone step for a mounting aid under one of the in-filled windows.
Elstree Free Church. Painted Brick single storey building. Built in 1876 as a Congregational Church, in 1971 became United Reform Church. Above the porch the building has a stone name plate saying ‘Elstree Congregational Church’, and a plaque dated ‘1876’.

St.Nicholas Close
2 yellow brick House. Built 1967/8, modern building with bedrooms on the ground floor and the living area on the first floor. Hans Haenlein of Hans Haenlein Associates, London in 1967 for Mr. E G Jacoby and built by William King & Sons Ltd, Watford. Metal external spiral staircase Studio-surgery
Wall - formerly the wall to Schopwick Place, Red brick built in the late 18th Now part of a building

Summer Grove
1 Neva Villa Semi-detached house in Yellow brick Victorian villas. One of five properties built 1886 on land which belonged to Hill House,
2 Park Villa, Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villas
Wall at the end of The Grove two metre high, buttressed, red brick part of an outbuilding on the north boundary of Hill House
3 Lime Villa Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villas.
4 Kent Cottage Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villas.
Bath Villa Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villas.
Hope Villa Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villas.
York Villa Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villa.
Star Villa Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villas.
Duke Villa Semi-detached house in Yellow brick Victorian villas.
Down Villa Semi-detached house in yellow brick Victorian villa.

Sites on the Hertfordshire side of the border

Aldenham ‘Reservoir
Sailing Club

Aldenham Road
Sports ground

Allum Lane
The Manor House. Grade II listed. Bought for the community as a War Memorial to the men of Elstree  and Borehamwood who died in World War Two. Opened in 1953 by American star Diana Decker, who was filming Will Any Gentlemen at the Associated British Picture Corporation Studios.

Barnet Lane
8/8b flats in old police station now flats. Red brick, two storey building two large fancy chimneys. It was built for the Metropolitan Police Station in 1892. Elstree was in Middlesex until 1974 and thus covered by the Met. METROPOLITAN POLICE’ is on the stone parapet.

Elstree Hill North
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 three houses. Red brick in mock-Tudor style c1890
Artichoke public house. First mentioned in 1750, it was re-built after a fire in 1870. It was bought by brewer Thomas Clutterbuck in 1787, and is famous for holding the inquest of the murder of a local gambler, William Weare, in 1823. Robert Field, the licensee, was jury foreman.
War memorial. Stone Celtic cross with steps it lists the names of servicemen who died in two World Wars and It was dedicated in a ceremony in 1921

Watford Road
The Fishery
Elstree Hill Open Space
Composers Park part of Watling Chase Community Forest

Watling Street
Roman highway. The Road into Elstree crosses the watershed
Elstree Hill Lodge. Former gatehouse, red brick, two storey with Tudor-style decorated chimney was part of the curtilage of Haberdashes Aske’s School built in c1890. A bathroom was fitted inside the house in 1903 while it was under the occupancy of Lord Aldenham.
Corner Cottage Semi-detached red brick, two storey building large central chimney stack, built c1800 as a cottage
Elm Cottage Semi-detached Red brick, two storey building large central chimney stack, built c1800 as a cottage
West View
Manaton House. Yellow brick, two storeys which may have formed part of an earlier village farm with buildings in the high street. There were once outbuildings at the back in a U-shape, they were demolished from 1881 and there housing on the site.

Sources
Hertfordshire County Council. Web site
Holly Bush Inn. Web site
London Borough of Harrow. Web site
Mee. Hertfordshire
Osborne. Defending London
Pevsner and Cherry. Hertfordshire
Walford . Village London
Walsgrove. Hidden Hertfordshire

Comments

Anonymous said…
I found this article very interesting.

My grandfather was a traffic policeman at the old police station in Elstree back in 1942.

it was lovely to read about different sites in Elstree and what certain buildings were.

Kind regards

Sharron D Crocker
mike said…
In Elstree, there are a couple of buildings with "Manaton" in their names, viz: Manaton House and Manaton Cottage.

Manaton is a West Country village, but some people from there have used the village name as their surname for centuries. Do you know if there is a link to a Manaton family, or to the village?
Best regards
Mike

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