This central Watford road looks very different today but these pictures from our archive offer a glimpse of how it appeared in another era.

These photos were taken by a Watford Observer in November 1962 and show boarded up homes and businesses in Lower High Street, with the distinctive gas holder in the background.

Scroll down this page any you’ll get a taste of how parts of the town appeared in Victorian times, with a man cycling through the archway between derelict buildings.

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Another picture shows Fox Alley, next to the former Fox pub. This is believed to have opened in the 1850s and closed around a century later, before it was later demolished.

Watford Observer:

If you’re interested in Watford and its past, join the other 16,000 people who are members of the Watford Observer’s nostalgia Facebook group ‘We grew up in Watford’ via this link.

Watford Observer:

Watford Observer:

Watford Observer:

Watford Observer:

Watford Observer: