As I am a author and local historian, and have I lived in Borehamwood since 1952, I am always looking around to see what’s left in our town, especailly now that we are continually faced with redeveploment. To sum it all up from a local history point of view, there’s not very much left.

It’s sad to see through my own eyes what was once our local land marks: the village hall, The Crown public house, and the big stages of the Gate studios in Station Road.

I was out with my camera on Bank Holiday Monday and I just happed to remember reading some of my local notes, that there used to be a school in Theobald Street. I remembered seeing an old derelict building hidden away down one of the little side streets. I thought I’d go and see if it was was still there and to my surprise it was.

I rememeber seeing a picture of this building in a book that was first published in 1988 and it looked exactly the same as it did today. That’s nearly 26 years ago.

I have carried some of my own research about the history of this building and it turns out that it was originally a school built in 1896 and in 1908 it was known then as the National School (for infants). The school had an attendance of 66. Will it be just another piece of forgotten history of Borehamwood joining the other hidden redevepoment plans?

Vic Rowntree

Grove Road, Borehamwood