My predecessors in the Nostalgia hot seat have written much over the years about South Oxhey and how it came to be so, despite the risk of going over old ground, I’ll just mention that it was intended as an overspill community just after the Second World War.

By 1958, there were suggestions that residents were more neurotic than in other communities – and it was considered so marked that the BBC Tonight team did an investigation, the outcome of which was reported in the Watford Observer exactly 56 years ago today: January 31, 1958.

“The investigation drew thousands of local LCC [London County Council] tenants to their TV sets on Wednesday,” the report says.

And what was their reaction? Well according to the Watford Observer article, they felt “the BBC had done a good job in presenting a balanced report of local views on the subject”.

The report continues: “Children, adolescents, a Methodist minister and a railwayman were among the people interviewed. Their views as reported by ‘Tonight’ included an acceptance of a high degree of neurosis by some (the minister, Rev S. Weary thought neurosis might be due to heavy hire purchase commitments).

“Yesterday (Thursday) Mr G. Faversham, of Chilwell Gardens, said that although one of the ladies interviewed spoke of the people who were weekly moving back to London, he was sure many Londoners could be found eager to come to South Oxhey.

“Mr Jack Wythes, of Harewood Road, said it was unwise to accept unreservedly statistics compiled by medical men. What about all the people who have never been to see a doctor, he queried.

“The majority of people interviewed seemed to think that Oxhey life was all right, said Mrs C. Richardson of Little Oxhey Lane; and a teenage girl, Deanna Shepherd of Blairhead Drive, commented: “It is true that people have got houses because they were unwell.”

 

‘A bold multi-storey car park plan to save Watford from committing commercial suicide – ‘the inevitable fate of a town which fails to solve its parking problems’ – was presented to Watford Town Council by the Borough Engineer (Mr F.C. Sage) on Monday.”

So began a report in the Watford Observer of January 6, 1961, saying that the plan was looking way into the future, when parking facilities would be required for 3,500 vehicles.

“It provides for meter street parking for 500 cars, surface car parks (possibly metered) for 642 cars and multi-storey facilities for 1,996 vehicles,” the report continued.

Although the first multi-storey car park was built way back at the time of the First World War, it seems that even 53 years ago, the idea of such a structure in Watford was certainly grabbing the attention of the town’s premier newspaper.

“The report at this stage is little more than a framework on which the future car parking facilities for the central shopping area can be built,” it stated, adding that the council did, nevertheless, agree to the plan in principle.

“The fact remains that our roads are becoming so congested they can no longer be used as free car parks,” Mr Sage told the members.

So what would all this cost? Well for street parking, the plan was to charge 6d for one hour, 1s for two hours. Parking any longer and there was a 10s excess charge.

Meanwhile, the surface car parks (metered) offered three hours parking for 6d but it was 6d an hour after that. The proposed multi-storey would be 6d for four hours, 1s for four to 12 hours.

Of course, 1s (or 5p) to park in town for 12 hours seems absurdly cheap. But what does that mean in today’s money?

Well, if you multiply £0.05 by the percentage increase in the Retail Price Index from 1961 until 2012, you get to 94p – still significantly less than the £19 it would cost you to park in one of the intu Watford car parks for 12 hours today. Mind you, they wanted people to come to the town in those days.

Or, as Mr Sage put it: “The exercise is not to make money, but simply to ensure continued prosperity for this town.”

But schemes like this take time. “A policy such as this can scarcely be implemented in a year or two,” Mr Sage said, adding that the idea was “to proceed as the demand is felt and to complete the scheme by about 1970.”

In reality it took a little longer and it was 40 years ago tomorrow (February 1, 1974) that the Watford Observer ran a front page story headed “Give it a name!” Together with an architects model of what the “massive new town centre development” would look like, is a competition to name it.

Shop units, a market hall, a supermarket, a department store, a pub, a car park and residential and recreational facilities” were all promised from the £10 million project.

And Watford Observer readers had the chance to name it – and win £20 into the bargain (using the same criteria as before, that works out at nearly £200 today). The planned opening date was spring 1977.

“The selection committee for the competition will comprise Councillor Fred Hodgson (chairman), Alderman Edward Amey, Hubert Buckingham and Frank Hall, Councillors Les Hughes and John Riley – and the editor of the Watford Observer, Mr E.A. Foster,” the paper announced, adding: “the committee will be looking for a name which is short, modern and easily memorable. It need not have any historical connection with either the site or Watford generally, and indeed, the committee would prefer the name not be historical.”

Not only that, but “the name should be of not more than two words – preferably one – and ideally, should not include the word ‘centre’.” We all now know the outcome.

 

Finally this week, an appeal from Mike O’Connor regarding the Friars club of Aylesbury and concert photography from the 1970s.

Mike runs the Friars Aylesbury website – www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk – which documents concerts, press articles, tickets, posters and more about the club, from its early days in the late 60s to the present day. As a member myself back in the day, I can definitely confirm the great evenings that were had there certainly in the late 70s and 80s.

Well, Mike says the legendary rock venue also presented a number of concerts at Watford Town Hall.

He writes: “We know some of them were photographed and there are also no doubt a number of Observer articles. One that springs to mind is the episode at Watford in 1972 when Elton John had to be interrupted mid-song due to a security scare at the venue and an evacuation taking place before being allowed to resume.”

He continues: “We have a major exhibition at the Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury starting on March 1 through to July and anything we can do to enhance our section on the Watford gigs would be most welcome.”

So, if you have any memories, pictures or cuttings that fit the bill, please get in touch.

You can either contact Nostalgia, using the email address below, or Mike direct, on mike@aylesburyfriars.co.uk.

ONLINE TOMORROW: Two memorials it seems few now remember

These stories formed part of the Nostalgia column first published in the Watford Observer on January 31, 2014. The next Nostalgia column – with information about power cuts, Princess Anne's wedding cake, an exhibition featuring Herkomer, a buried river at Bushey and much more besides – can be found in tomorrow’s Watford Observer (dated February 7, 2014) or read online here from 4pm next Thursday.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford’s history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here watfordnostalgia@london.newsquest.co.uk