Newsletter 59

Hatfield Local History Society No. 59 NEWSLETTER Dec. 2005 SECRETARY: Mrs. C. Martindale EDITOR: Mr. F.J.Cox Chris Martindale has arranged for speakers for next year to follow the most informative and Letters Editorial entertaining historical story of the soldier at Waterloo and the The past three months have Lost Gardens of Hertfordshire Abingdon been quite hectic for your com- which evoked the possibility of Your September newsletter was mittee. To accomodate those a visit to Panshanger gardens passed on to me by a local acquain- next year. tance, Mr, George Relph. I found Ms members who could not attend Laurence's article most interesting, meetings during working hours, because I had been there. meetings have been held in the We are grateful to Ron King- I was in Shenley military hospital at evenings with the added prob- don for the gift of a projector for the end of the war with pneumonia. In lem of a meeting place. We are our meetings. the spring of 1945 I was sent to Bush most grateful to Pat Sherrard Hall for two weeks convalescence. and Miriam Gaskin for converting Tony Lodge has negotiated I remember a mellow building with their lounges into temporary for a visit to Nast Hyde house lovely grounds, but I don't remember a stream. committee meeting places. on Sunday 14 May. Tickets, limited to 35, will cost members The stay was memorable, because while there I saw my first jet plane. It £5 to include tea and biscuits As chairman, Terry Pankhurst was a De Havilland twin boom Vam- represented the Society at the and a donation to the MENAT pire. As this whistled overhead, I Hatfield Town Council Annual charity and will be allocated on stared up in amazement. When I Service at St. John’s church. a first come first served basis. looked down again, I realised that I Contact Tony Lodge. was on my own - all the battle hard- Friendship House has been ened soldiers had flattened them- booked for members’ meetings selves to the ground at the first sound until next May and Terry has We have been invited to par- of a penetrating whistle overhead! negotiated costs and conditions ticipate in a Christmas event to With best wishes to your Society. be organised by the Town of hire. He hopes to start oral Ernest Kohn history recordings during the Council on Saturday 17 De- coming winter. Frank Cox will cember between 10 am and 4 Worthing co-operate with the museum re- pm. This will be held at the I thought I was getting on at 92 yrs, garding the listing and storage of Community Resource Centre, but Jim Parker at 192 beats me! (Well the tapes. Number One, Hatfield. The spotted - Sept. Newsletter error. Ed.) Guides will be distributing Fly- I was working in Fore Street in the early 30s and remember 2 young men Jim Parker’s excellent display ers and there will be live cover- age by Hertbeat FM radio. coming up the hill every morning to of the DH Dove aircraft was old Petit’s grocery shop opposite Chris, Joan and Miriam will prominently displayed in the win- Whitehead’s the butcher. I left Fore dow of the library and occa- work together on this and hope Street soon after and worked at Wel- sioned considerable interest. for support from members. Our wyn Garden City. I was called up in stall will include a display of 1940 and have only been back to Reg Coleman has addressed publications and panels of earli- Hatfield twice, once to my father’s the pupils of the De Havilland er projects. If you are prepared funeral and once to the Flower Festi- School on the subject of WW2 to help, talk about us to the val in the garden of Hatfield House by evacuees with references to public and recruit new mem- kind invitation of Lady Salisbury. Gladys Brown’s recorded memo- bers phone Chris. Yours truly, G. Austin Prime ries. HATFIELD’S OLD CHALK SALISBURY VILLAGE MINES Open letter to Councillor Atkinson, Welwyn Hatfield Council Subsidence in Briars Lane By Maurice Richardson Firstly let me explain why I, a resi- am convinced that it will take more dent of St Albans, I am sending this than the re-generation of the Town We went to the meeting in Briars letter to you. The matter to which I Centre, if it ever happens to the ex- Lane school and were fascinated to refer is one which I think you may be tent projected, to make Hatfield an see videos of some of the tunnels. able to relate to as you live in the appealing place to future prospec- They got the pictures by making Ellenbrook district and it is also some- tive residents. Nevertheless I re- shafts down which they dropped a thing of considerable interest to me. main hopeful that somehow it can camera. You could almost imagine I recently picked up the enclosed become, once more, a desirable miners in the Victorian era emerging brochure and, as someone who was from the tunnel openings. location and trust that the elected born and brought up in Hatfield and The meeting was chaired by Bob representatives will not remain Jewell on behalf of WH Council and have spent most of my life in the area, oblivious of the unfortunate trends there were reps from HCC and the I was appalled to find that in the entire that have led to the present situation consultants etc. About 30 residents glossy brochure no mention is made of and will do everything in their power attended, and those closely affected Hatfield, although to my mind Astwick and re-double their efforts to restore were mainly concerned to know Manor has always been part of Hat- real pride to the community of this when work would start and be com- field! The description refers to Welw- historic town. pleted and, in some cases, to be yn Garden City and St Albans, but given a written confirmation that there are no photographs of attrac- Brian Lawrence their property was not affected, so tions in Hatfield (e.g. the Old Town or (Verbatim et liberatim) that they could pass it to their insur- Hatfield House). Furthermore, the “Dear Brian ers. They were promised that this Please except my thanks for your would be done. maps on the back show Hatfield in We were told that over 900 dyana- less prominent type than all the other letter and the copy of the sales litera- mic probes were made (I gathered towns shown. "Coopers Green Lane" ture. I have contact Frosts and have that this meant testing from above is in bolder type than "Hatfield Tun- raised the issue with them because I for any indication of holes or non- nel"! There is no mention of Hatfield like you have been upset by the lack solid matter) and a smaller number Station despite it being closer to prop- of connection the developers have of shafts down to 11 - 20 metres erties than Welwyn Garden City or St made with Hatfield as a clear example below ground. They identified a Albans Stations which are highlighted the one about Salisbury Village near number of places where there had and the address quoted carefully St Albans. been a shaft from the surface, but it avoids the inclusion of Hatfield even So I as past Chairman of Hatfield seemed as though the tunnels from though the postcode is clearly a Hat- Town Council and councillor for the them may have been interconnected. north ward in which Astwick manor is The English Partnership provided field one. These omissions cannot be about £1 million for the investigation, coincidental and I think the reason is located. Further being one of the an assessment will now be made of clear to anyone who has a grain of local councillors who approved the applica- the best method of filling each area, knowledge. tion to allow this redevelopment are eg concrete or expanding foam, and Of course, the content of a develop- some what disturbed by what you a request will be submitted to EP for ers' and agents' brochure is entirely have presented to me? funding probably in November. EP their decision but I am in no doubt You are right to bring this to my at- are expected to take about 4 months whatsoever that the wording has been tention and be rest assured I will be to come up with an answer, and the carefully chosen as they feel that any addressing these agents and devel- team were optimistic that EP would reference to Hatfield would tend to oper with a view to stopping this under fund all or much of the work. If the make the apartments less attractive to value of our fine Town prospects looked gloomy, say early next year, a public meeting would be prospective purchasers. I seem to re- I have taken to task the estate called to enable public and political call that when housing development agents for their sales material and pressure to be applied. In the last began on the airfield a few years ago have sent them a video of Hatfield resort funds might have to be pro- the location was also described as back to the future which will show the vided by the local authority, with the being between St Albans and Welwyn quality and history of Hatfield. possibility that householders' insur- Garden City. Please let others know about your ers might be involved. June/July I am sad to say that Hatfield has contact as I would like to hear from all could be the start date of the work, suffered badly over recent decades about this so we can start the change with completion about six months by comparison with its neighbours, Regards.” later particularly Welwyn Garden City and I Cllr.

Load more