Wow. Just how I remember Watford. Born there in 1980. Lived there till 1992 till I moved to Perth Australia with my father. This footage takes me back to my childhood. The young me would have been in there somewhere riding his bike with his mates getting into trouble. Great videos
I spent most of my school days (late 60s to early 80s) growing up around the Watford area, and so even by 1988 I barely recognised the place, and revisiting recently even more so, what the hell have they done to it! ...Charter Place destroyed.I guess the planners and developers think this new Intu (what a crap name!) will rejuvenate the town, turning it 'Intu' an ultra modern shopping centre, what they fail to realise, is that there's a much easier solution, reduce the rents of the existing shops to attract new and varied businesses to take up shop.This new Intu will look just like the rest, same old big name stores that you have everywhere else, the rest boarded up to let because they're too expensive.It would've been much cheaper to just clad over the existing Charter Place, and give it a facelift as they've successfully managed to achieve in other areas.Thanks for a great set of videos, was a real trip down memory lane! It really helps piece together the parts of Watford I remember well, and shows how much it's changed, or should I say destroyed in the last 30 years.Watford RIP
John Lewis gone , Trewins gone , Clements a frigging B & M store now , the heart’s been ripped out of the place . And don’t get me started on Charter Place . Fond memories of that being a kid of the 80’s , good old Mary Roses’s toy shop , then on to Beatties to check out the latest Tamiya r/c cars , happier times
Wow, great trip through my early life there. I would have been 11. Including my primary school (Orchard) and my first flat on Courtlands Drive (still a field on 1988!)
Thank you for uploading this it is wonderful to see my home town as it used to be, it is so very comforting , I liived in Vicarage road. . it has all changed so much now and seems to have lost something. But that is only my opinion. God bless
Thanks for your comment....I had an Auntie who lived in Vicarage road in the 1950s! I assume you already know of the other Watford drive abouts parts 2.3. and 4. and the cassiobury park clip and a drive up rousebarn lane in croxley green to the Clarendon arms ....all of these were filmed around the same time in 1988...
This is mad , starts off right where I live , Leavesden , you drove past the old peoples home Dale Court then that’s Leavesden Green Primary School on the left at 0:57 , and then that’s the Hare pub you pan to at 1:07 , it’s another old peoples home now . Shame you couldn’t pan to the right at about 6:30 , you’d have been passing my old school Watford Boys , I’d have been in the 5th form then
These are really great. Thank you so much for posting - and for having the foresight to record these! Do you have any other footage or photos of old Watford? I'd love to chat about the area with you!
Hi...I'm not sure you'll get this as my computer keeps messing up!! There are Drive around Watford parts one two and three also...I dont know if you know of these.....?? theres also one of cassiobury park 1988, which you should be able to find? theres also "old views of Watford Blue star played by willy wilsons Twangsters" You might have already seen??? " back to the campsite 1962" also" Drive up rousebarn lane to the clarendon arms at Chaldners cross in 1988..I used to know all these places along time ago!..................................
