Watford Character of Area Study

Character Area 18 Period Generally 1930s. Includes 1900s – 1950s. Heights Predominantly two storeys. Some bungalows. Urban grain Intermediate form. Block size / structure Regular pattern of blocks varying in size (450m x 80m). Generally larger block sub-division than Victorian/Edwardian development. Plot sizes Typically 8m x 40m. Gaps between buildings of 4m- 5m. Streetscene Suburban streetscene. Wide carriageways (6-7m for total), with pavements of 2.5-3.5m widths – some of which feature street trees. Limited street furniture. Building lines Generally consistent building lines behind front gardens. Front boundaries Marked by hedges of varying heights, brick walls or timber fences. Many original hedges / walls are now open frontages to allow car access. Roof forms Generally hipped tile roofs, with brick chimneys. Windows Originally metal or timber framed windows. These have generally been replaced since with various types of uPVC windows. Projecting two storey bay windows are common. Materials Materials include variety of brick types, render and mock-Tudor style timbering. Tile roofs. Car parking Large proportion of houses have garages as later additions to the side. Majority of parking is accommodated in front drives. Some on-street parking. Landscaping Front gardens typically 6m deep. Rear gardens typically 15m-25m deep. Hedges are relatively common in rear gardens, but less so in front gardens. Street tree planting along some pavements. Limited green space outside of gardens and formal parkland/playing fields/allotments. No grass verges between carriageways and pavements 103 Character Area 18A 104 Area 18A Summary This residential character area is located on the eastern side of the Borough, at the border with Hertsmere. It is bordered to the north by the Colne Way (A41), while there are industrial estates to the west and south. To the east is countryside, which includes the River Colne, while to the west is the St Albans Abbey Railway Line. The area was previously occupied by farmland and the complex of buildings off Bushey Mill Lane that made up Bushey Lodge Farm. In the 1930s the area was developed as the Bradshaw Estate and Bushey Lodge Estate – principally by the local building firms of Rice Brothers and Clifford & Gough. By 1939 only a small proportion of plots on the northern side of the new housing estate remained undeveloped. A number of these were developed during the 1950s with new housing in a similar style to the earlier phase of development, while some plots were developed by the Local Authority during the 1960s in a more modernist style. The architectural style of the housing estate is fairly consistent and reflects mass produced housing using standardised housing designs. However, houses to the north of Bushey Mill Lane generally feature ‘tudorbethan’ styling – with timber and render to front elevations. The character of the area is overwhelmingly suburban and is dominated by tree lined streets of residential properties. In general this suburban area has moderate levels of pedestrian/vehicular activity. However, there are more significant traffic volumes along the primary routes connecting the estate to Stephenson Way (A4008) and the Colne Way (A41). The district centre on Bushey Mill Lane and Knutsford Primary School generate more significant pedestrian movements. Other Features x A landmark building is St Peter’s Church, which is located on Bushey Mill Lane. The hexagonal church building dates from 1966, while the rectangular church hall building to the rear dates from the 1930s. x Two – three storey parade of shops and detached public house at junction of Bushey Mill Lane and Tudor Avenue, with garages to the rear and car park. Contemporary with wider housing development. x Knutsford Primary School, set back off Balmoral Road, is a larger scale building with car park and outdoor play space. It was rebuilt in 2000. x Residential development from the 1960s on Woodmere Avenue, Hillrise Avenue and Douglas Avenue is largely of two storeys and of brick with pitched roofs. Has communal green spaces and garage blocks. 105 Tudor Avenue (left) Knutsford Avenue (right) 106 Character Area 18B 107 Area 18B Summary This residential character area is located on the western side of the Borough, close to the border with Three Rivers. The area is bordered by the Metropolitan Line Railway to the south and east, while Cassiobury Park borders the area to the north and west. The area was previously occupied by the parkland of the former Cassiobury House, with a property called Swiss Cottage to the west. During the early 1920s the Cassiobury Estate was sold off for redevelopment, while Swiss Cottage was burned down during the 1940s. The new housing estate was planned as a private residential development and was developed in a piecemeal fashion during the 1920s – 1930s. The main developers were the local firms of Brightman & Pleasants and James Goss. Subsequent development has been limited, with some infill development and redevelopment on various plots. The architectural style of the housing estate is fairly consistent and reflects mass produced housing using standardised housing designs. The character of the area is overwhelmingly suburban and is dominated by tree lined streets of residential properties. In general this suburban area has moderate levels of pedestrian/vehicular activity. However, both the Metropolitan Line Station and the car park for Cassiobury Park generate significant activity levels at the edge of the area. Other Features x Watford Metropolitan Line Station dates from 1925 and includes commercial premises. It includes a small area for car and cycle parking. x The houses at 90 – 92 Gade Avenue date from 1955 and are set back from the street down a private lane. x Five detached houses are set back off the western side of Gade Avenue. Oakview development dates from 2003 and is of a higher density than neighbouring housing development from the 1930s. Gade Avenue (left) Cassiobury Park Avenue (right) 108 Character Area 18C 109 110 111 112 Area 18C Summary This largely residential character area is the biggest one in the Borough and covers a significant proportion of North Watford. It is located to the north of the Victorian/Edwardian part of Watford and the municipally developed Harebreaks Estate. It is bordered to the east by later twentieth century commercial and residential development, as well as the St Albans Abbey Railway Line and a series of playing fields and parks. It is bordered to the west by the semi-rural character areas of Grove Mill Lane and Russells Nursery, while to the south-west there is later twentieth century residential development. It is bordered to the north by residential development from the later twentieth century, as well as open space, leisure land uses and major road infrastructure. Until the 1920s, this area was largely occupied by farmland and woodland, while the area to the west of Ridge Lane was occupied by parkland relating to the Russells Estate. Previously a rural area, built form was limited to some ribbon development along St Albans Road and the buildings relating to the various farms which occupied the area. As well as the lodges to the Russells Estate, there were groups of buildings at Lea Farm (Cow Lane), Garston Farm (Garston Lane), Kingswood Farm (Sheepcot Lane), Gammons Farm (Gammons Lane) and Leggatts Farm (Leggatts Way). The pre-existing route network consisted of what are now known as St Albans Road, Hempstead Road, Ridge Lane, Sheepcot Lane, Garston Lane, Gammons Lane and Cow Lane. During the 1920s development began in the southern part of the area. Shops and houses were built along the eastern side of St Albans Road – opposite the newly built Harebreaks Estate, and on the southern side of Bushey Mill Lane, while housing development got underway further west along Gammons Lane. Further north, the Seventh Day Adventist Church was built in 1927 at the eastern end of the Stanborough Park Estate (an area detailed further in the section on character area 35A). However, the vast majority of development in this area took place during the 1930s with the construction of various privately built housing estates to the north of the 1920s development. New development was linked with the construction of the new distributor roads through the area, with the ‘Watford By-pass’ (A41) completed by 1929 and the ‘North Orbital’ (A405) completed in 1932. In the early 1930s the Bushey Mill Gardens Estate (area around Northfield Gardens) and the Leggatts Rise Estate (area around Leggatts Wood Avenue) were developed to the south of the A41. From 1933 the largest part of the area, between North Western Avenue, St Albans Road and Kingsway, was developed as the Kingswood Estate by the Hillingdon Estates Company. Development started on the eastern side of the area and gradually spread westwards, with the interruption of WW2 resulting in development around Orbital Crescent being completed during the 1950s. Adjacent to the Kingswood Estate, the North Watford Cemetery and associated buildings were completed in 1931. On the eastern side of St Albans Road, the Garston Park Estate was developed from the mid-1930s onwards, with the northern section around Woodhurst Avenue completed during the early 1950s. Development of the Lindifarne Estate around Trevellance Way took place during the late 1930s, while new cul-de- sacs of housing were developed at the western end of Leavesden High Road 113 from the late 1930s, with housing at Poundfield completed during the 1950s. To the south-west, the Leavesden Green Estate was developed from the mid- 1930s onwards, with early development on the eastern side – along streets such as Maytree Crescent and Leggatts Close. New housing planned during the 1930s was only completed on the western side of this area, by Hempstead Road, during the 1950s. During the later twentieth and early twenty first centuries various pockets of development or redevelopment occurred around the area, but it largely retains its inter-war character.

Load more