Little Gaddesden a century ago
PERHAPS because Hemel Hempstead became a new town 50 years ago and changed so dramatically and quickly, we don’t appreciate how other places have changed albeit nowhere near so dramatically.
Mr Pratt's picture of the church |
Just recently the Dacorum Heritage Trust bought a collection of around 50 postcards of Little Gaddesden, many of them from the early years of this century.
It was a time when postcards were very much the ‘in thing’ for any town or village, not just a seaside or tourist spot.
Some of the Little Gaddesden cards were taken by Berkhamsted photographer Mr Piggott who preceded the better known Berkhamsted photographer Mr Newman and others were taken by a Mr R. Pratt of Little Gaddeden.
For heritage trust curator Matthew Wheeler this is of special interest. Mr Pratt is not a local photographer the trust has listed
The RTeading Room as it was named in 1900 |
Some light on the subject is given in the book ‘a century remembered’ produced by the village’s Rural Heritage Society just last year to mark the Millennium.
The book reveals that Mr and Mrs Robert and Tilly Pratt established a village stores and post office on the green at 42 and that Miss Evelyn Pratt took over the management in later years. It seems likely Mr Pratt was the photographer and sold the postcards in his shop, but can anyone tell us more? Are there more of the postcards somewhere? Please give us a call on HH 262311 if you can help.
The Manor House circa 1904 |
Several of the cards in the collection show the village church which dates from the 15th century, although it is said there was probably an earlier church on the site. The church stands on its own at the end of a lane and some historians speculate that there might have been an earlier village around it which the residents fled at the time of the Black Death - but there is no evidence for this.
Other cards in the collection show buildings and landmarks, some of which have changed and others like The Queen Beech have gone altogether.
The beech, stood in the Golden Valley and was blown down in 1928, but why the name? There is Queen Victoria’s oak in the garden at Ashridge which she is said to have planted when a young princess. 
The Queen's Beech |
One of the cards shows what it describes as “the village reading room”.
This building is believed to be on the site of an ancient cottage which was the home of John of Gaddesden. He was a leading physician in medieval England and was the first Englishman to write a textbook on medicine.
Nothing of the original cottage remains, and the present house was built in the 15th century, with many alterations and additions over the years with substantial and very carefully undertaken extensions in the mid 20th century.
But in the late 19th and early 20th centrury it was used as a village meeting room and social club. In the 1920s it became a residence again.
Much of the development of the village in the 19th century was down to Vicountess Marian Alford, wife of Viscount Brownlow. She created a programme of the refurbishment of older properties and the building of new houses for estate workers. A memorial to her still stands on the green.
Marian Lodge became Denison House. Marian Alford had it rebuilt in the mid-19th century and it later became Denison 
Marian Lodge |
The Manor House, pictured here in the very early years of the 20th century, was built in the 16th century.
Most photograhers of the area couldn’t resist taking a photo of the Bridgewater Monument at nearby Ashridge and village postmaster Mr R. Pratt was no exception with the view, below.
