This site in the High Street has been redeveloped numerous times over the centuries. It’s previously been an Eastern Electricity shop and The Entertainer toy shop, but for more than two centuries it was a pub that was once home to a cycling club.
The Watford Observer has again teamed up with Watford Museum and is delighted to showcase some pictures from its archive – this week we remember the Green Man pub.
The museum’s volunteer archivist Christine Orchard said: “The Green Man was established around 1730. Daniel Podmore had the pub from around 1881 (his name is on the sign above the door) and the licence was transferred to Mrs Hannah Podmore in 1892.
The Green Man in January 1975, not long before it closed
“Like a number of pubs around the town, the Green Man wasn't just a place that served ale. The sign over the arch reads ‘Horses & Traps To Let or Hire, Good Stabling and Lock Up Coach Houses’.
The location of the Green Man when it was The Entertainer in 2017. Picture: Google
“Another interesting long panel at roof-level states that the pub was the ‘Head Quarters of the West Herts Bicycle Club’. The Watford Observer of 1882 mentions an annual meeting and club dinner held here. I assume when the club first formed they were riding Penny Farthing-style cycles with a front wheel larger than the rear.”
Watford Museum is open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
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