Shopping in Pinner Road, Oxhey Village
Stories from Oxhey Fair 2012 (oral history)
In Pinner Road, where you have the picture of the Watford Co-operative Society, years ago in the 19, er, late 1940s and 50s above the co-op was the Co-op Village Hall that had, um, weddings and functions , and um, a friend of mine in the 1960s remembers going to like a church meeting, um above there, and its now been converted into a beautiful two bedroom flat and I recently had to rent somewhere temporarily with my neighbour and we lived there for six months and the basement, the shop now is HairTech and there’s the basement which was obviously the store for the co-op. [I bet it must be lovely and bright] oh it’s huge, high ceilings, absolutely beautiful. And that’s where the stage was, that was the stage ran along the front there. And behind the stage was the large window and the original staircase is there so when you go in the door which is along the side here you go in the door and up the stairs is the original staircase and [……..] the original banister is still there and this widow’s still there , this one here [on the right-hand side of the picture] that big one, but now there’s windows here, they’ve put windows in there either side this window here is still that shape it’s a great big window, but, um [great fun] no, actually that window is still that’s the window at the side, because you go in just there, [near the bus stop] oh was there a bus stop [there was in the photograph anyway] oh goodness, there is just a sign now for Oxhey Village.
Thanks to Francis Frith for permission to reproduce the photograph
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I was also born in 1944 at 110 Pinner Rd and remember shopping at the Co-op and Suttons. The wedding receptions always seemed exciting affairs when we were kids and everything was still on ration. People did not move around much and we were very lucky with our neighbours who all seemed to look out for each other (or am I wearing rose tinted specs?) Roy’s family were good to us and I can remember watching ITV Sunday Night at the Palladium in his house then rushing back home with yet another excuse for being late home. I remember Cubs at the Methodist Church and youth club at the Baptist in Upper Paddock Road- organised “long games” in the woods near Oxhey Heath now all fenced off I believe – group firework parties in the long back gardens with baked potatoes in the embers of the fire.
I was born in 1944 ( during the last blitz on London)at 96 Pinner Road directly opposite the Co-Op store. I moved there in 1952 from Bucks Avenue and before that from Grover Road. My Great Grandfather was the Station Master at Bushey and Oxhey Station. He retired in October 21st 1912 after 25 years service and was presented with a large carriage clock which I still have today…and it still goes!. He was at the opening of the Carpenders Park Station …..and I have been told he actually named the station as he was very good friends with the Carpenter family. I remember going to Carpenders Park Station when it was just one platform. Herkomer painted a portrait of my Great Grandfather which was later used to depict Joseph for a glass window in the church in Bushey Village, next to the pond, as he had a long beard and was also friends of Herkomer.
I remember a shop three doors away from No 96 Pinner Road, before the Parish Hall, owned by Mr and Mrs Sutton.