Villiers Roads shops c 1921
The family grocer
By Beverley Small
Do you have memories of shopping in Villiers Road?
Arthur Hall says “This shop looks familiar, is it on the corner of Upper Paddock Road, and Villiers Road? If so I can remember it becoming an ironmongers called Crawley’s, Mr Crawley ran the shop with his Wife. They also sold electrical goods, I can remember buying a radio from him in 1950. I was 18 and thought that it took a long time to warm up. The shop would have given ‘Health & Safety’ a headache, as they were allowed to store paraffin in bulk, for dispensing into customers own cans, when you entered the shop you would notice the smell of paraffin, probably due to spillage.The butchers next door existed but I cannot remember the then current name.”
This page was added on 09/11/2013.
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My Grandad was E.S. Palmer (known as Stan)
He and my Granny Hettie ran the shop with several staff Charlie Hill Emmy Waller Ivy ? etc
I had many many Christmases there. So many memories with my Mum and Dad, Sylvia (nee Palmer )and Dennis Adams who is still living at the age of 102
I renmember the queue for Grandads cooked ham. and bacon. All the orders being prepared in the back room and the deliveries in his A35 Van
Happy Times at the Keyser Hall and the Rifle opposite.
When they retired from the shop they moved but only over the road to the bungalow next to the rifle. !
Many many happy memories of trips on the bus to the town and always to Clements. !
This is a beautiful photo of one of my great grandparents grocery shops. I would so love to get a copy for my family history album.
My grandparents had the shoe shop in Villiers Road.Their name was Mathews.
The butchers next to Crawleys was Dewhurst and I worked there as a boy. Does anyone know the name of the shoe repairs next to Hockers in Villiers Road.
My further memories of Villiers Road, are that when we walked from Carpenders Avenue to Bushey and Oxhey to shop, we noticed that there were many pubs. For example there were 2 pubs at Watford Heath, the ‘Load of Hay’ & ‘The Royal Oak’, proceeding along Pinner Road towards a small grocers shop, on the left, opposite Villiers Road, on entering the road, we noticed that the first building on our right there was another pub, and further along a further 3 pubs, plus 1 at the top of Paddock Road. Villiers Road was like a small High Street in a village, it had most of the essential shops, there were Butchers, Grocers, Confectioners, Newsagents, Bakers, a Fish & Chip shop, Chemist, Post Office, nearby in Capel Road were 2 Greengrocers, Turners, & Browns, a Pet Shop & Drapers, Capel Carpets, they expanded, and now have a large shop in the St Albans Rd, Watford. Palmers was the largest grocers in Villiers Road, situated on the corner of Capel Road. There was, however, a Co-op Grocers at the junction corner of Oxhey Avenue’ and Pinner Road. I wonder if any of the locals can remember the very old cottages in London Road called ‘Crook Lodge Cottages’ at the end of which was a large semi-detached house, The first part of the house, next to the cottages, was owned by a Mr & Mrs Gransby, the second half was a pub called ‘The Merry Month of May’, and the Land Lord was a Harry Guest, the pub faced Lipscombe Farm fields at the top of Merry Hill Lane, the cottages whose toilets were separate, and at the bottom of each garden, were eventually pulled down, but the house remains, with the pub closing and restored to being part of the the ‘Semi’.
I believe I referred to some very old cottages in London Road as ‘Crook Lodge Cottages’ I would like to make a correction, as it should have been ‘Crook Log Cottages’.