The Hudson Family of Frogmore Hall, Hertfordshire

When this 1851 receipt, for £10,000 came up for sale on ebay, and no-one else bid, I thought it would be worth investigating who it was that was so well off - and what property in Hertfordshire did they have.

It turns out that William Hudson moved to Frogmore Lodge, Aston, circa 1810 and it remained in the  family until 1914, although it is clear that they also had a London home.. Around 1886 it was replaced by Frogmore Hall.

More Information

The Old Stables, Aston House, Aston

I have just asked if there are any surviving pictures of this building when it was still the stables of Aston House, near Stevenage, which has now been demolished. The stables have been preserved and converted to residential use and is now known as the Clock House.  

Aston

When it was listed (Grade II) in 1948 it was described as follows:

Late C17 or early C18. Flemish band brickwork with red stretchers, grey headers, red cutter brick band quoins, window arches. Large moulded brick cornice. Hipped tiled roof behind parapet. Central wooden clock turret astride roof ridge carrying octagonal arcaded cupola and wrought iron weather vane. 1st floor 7 windows, 4 blocked circular, 3 oval. 4 ground floor round headed windows. Modern doorway on right.

If you have any old photographs of this building (or know where some can be found) please let me know.

More High Resolution Post Card Images

Post Cards

Over the last few weeks I have been adding additional post cards to the web site and updating information about others.

• I have collected some more data on cards by the school photographer Percy Buchanan, including a card of Queenswood School which may well have been taken by him circa 1904 when he was working for the Photo Tourists Association.

Ickleford

• A Frith post card of Ickleford posted in 1939 has a number suggesting it was taken in 1902 - but the image is the same as one published circa 1906 by Blum & Degan - suggesting some business arrangement between the firms. - But what?
• I have posted an attractive view of Watford High Street, by Hartmann, published circa 1903.
• I have posted two additional "Children" cards by the Misses M & A Austin of St Albans



High Leigh House

• I have posted a view of the North Front of High Leigh House, Hoddesdon, (no publisher identified) with an interesting frank mark advertising the use of telephones.

• The post card of Ludgrove School, Handley Common  is now known to have been in circulation in 1910 - so cannot be later.
• I have recorded that the post card of Aston village with two girls was also issued in a tinted form.

Click here to see all recent post card images.

Croquet at Aston Rectory in 1868

Playing croquet at Aston Rectory in 1868

Michael is a descendant of the Rev George Augustus Oddie, and this picture shows a game of tennis being played to the lawn of the Rectory in 1868.

Croquet was very much a Victorian game, played on the lawns of the larger houses. The rules were only published in 1856 and the first croquet club was set up in 1868, the year this picture was taken.

George's sons went to Haileybury School and there is already a picture of Henry James Oddie on this web site.