The Half Moon and Holloway's Brewery, Hemel Hempstead

Breweries

Alister has provided a useful update on the history of the Half Moon public house, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, at the end of the 18th into the early 19th century. The earliest known owner was a Dr Hugh Smith (does anyone know anything about him), and through marriage the pub became part of the estate of the Holloway's Brewery. On the death of George Holloway in 1827 the brewery was sold but the following pubs were transferred to Weller's Amersham Brewery.

Bull, Markyate

Half Moon, High Street, Hemel Hempstead

Leather Bottle, Leverstock Green

Queens Head, Corner Hall, near Two Waters

Red Lion, Nash Mills

More about the Half Moon

Sales details of Holloway's Brewery, 1827

First Hand Account of Xmas Truce by Aylesbury man who trained at Hemel Hempstead

On 16th January 1915 the Bucks Herald published this detailed account of the Xmas truce by Sergeant Ernest. Charles Whiskin, of the Queen's Westminster Rifles. He was born in Aylesbury in 1870 and had worked on the Bucks Herald. It is of particular interest to me because the Queen's Westminster Rifles trained at Leverstock Green, under Colonel Shoolbred (for whom Ernest worked in London) and are mention a number of times in my book The London Gunners come to Town.

See Account of the Queen's Westmister Rifles training at Leverstock Green

The Queens Westminster Rifles at Leverstock Green

Military

I have just posted extracts from The War Journal of Bernard Joseph Brookes which I recorded in 1994 when I was drafting The London Gunners come to Town. It covers the period from August 1914 to the beginning of November, 1914.

My original notes are shown unchanged (apart form some minor formatting differences) but I have added some brief biographical details and a portrait photograph of Bernard taken later in the War.

One interesting a feature is that in 1994 I added a footnote about Military Firing Ranges which reads:

The firing range used was probably in the grounds of Mr Secretan's house, The Dell, at Bennett's End, presumably a disused brick pit. The main military ranges were at Gorhambury, and at Chalk Hill, Westfield Farm, St Stephens. However work on constructing these ranges only started towards the end of September and the earliest record I have found of them being used in November, after the Queen's Westminster's had left Leverstock Green.

So I had the answer to the question "Where is the Chalk Hill firing range?" all along - but in an obsolete format - which my searches were not recognizing it!

The RFA come to Hemel Hempstead August 16th 1914

Military

Extract from Chapter 9

The London Gunners Come to Town

Life and Death in Hemel Hempstead in the Great War

As soon as War had been declared arrangements were put in hand to move the Royal Field Artillery brigades of the 2^nd London Division to Hemel Hempstead. This was to be the second military “invasion” of the town in less than a year, as the area had been the jumping off point for the 4^th Division in major army manœuvres in September, 1913. The big difference was that during the manœuvres the majority of the troops were only in the area for a couple of days, and they were entirely accommodated in tents, so that apart from the extra traffic there was little effect on the civilian population.

The RFA marching North through Bushey

By Monday, 10^th August, an advance party of officers were hard at work looking for billets for both men and horses. By the end of the week they had requisitioned many buildings including the Town Hall and the Corn Exchange in the High Street, the Brotherhood Hall, and Boxmoor Hall. Open areas such as Gadebridge Park, the Old Recreation Ground and the adjoining fields of Hand Post Farm were got ready to receive the gunners.

The 6^th Brigade R.F.A. in Hand Post Farm with their H.Q. in St Paul’s Sunday School beyond

The main bulk of the troops of the 5th and 6th Brigades R.F.A. arrived by train between 4 p.m. and midnight on Sunday, 16th August, and a large crowd of locals turned out to watch them arrive. Their arrival was not without incident. As the troops marched under the railway bridge in Marlowes a dense cloud of smoke belched forth from a cottage chimney, followed by tongues of flame. P.C. Gillett was quickly on the scene and the police held the crowd back as pieces of chimney pot crashed into the roadway. The Fire Brigade, led by Chief Officer W. J. Williams, galloped down Marlowes for the second time in 24 hours and extinguished the fire. Some hours later P.C. Gregory was regulating the traffic in Hand Post Lane when Frederick Hall of Luton decided that he wanted “to assist his country” and started to interfere with the military horses. On being told to go home he became quarrelsome and abusive and was subsequently fined 7s 6d with 6s 6d costs, or imprisonment for 14 days, for being drunk and disorderly.

Many of the townsfolk were startled by bugle calls at about 5.30 the following morning. Within a week the bugle calls in the town were dispensed with (undoubtedly as a result of civilian protests) and, for different reasons, an order was issued to ensure that all public houses closed at 10 p.m. Many local firms found that their carts and wagons were requisitioned for military purposes, and their bright colours were rapidly hidden with a uniform coat of grey paint. On Monday, 19^th August, the Queen’s Westminster Rifles marched into Leverstock Green, while on Wednesday, the 7^th Brigade R.F.A. arrived in Boxmoor, and over the following weekend the 8^th Brigade R.F.A. moved into Apsley. With so many horses and men moving about there were numerous minor accidents, and a room in the Hemel Hempstead Institute was taken over as a military hospital.

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LOCAL WAR NEWS

Mr A. Weston, of the Broadway Hall, Boxmoor, had a busy time on Wednesday. At short notice he was called on to provide a substantial meal for 600 hungry Tommies. The meal was served in the Boxmoor Hall, the Boxmoor Schools, the Parish Rooms, and the Oxford Club Brotherhood Hall. Mr Weston had to deliver it cooked to the places named, where the various messes took charge of it. The fare provided consisted of roast beef  and plum pudding, and it was greatly enjoyed, the plum pudding being received with cheers.

*     *      *

The Army authorities have put the public houses out of bounds for the soldiers after 9.30 p.m.

*     *      *

Some of the horses, fresh at their work, have been rather a trouble through their kicking habits. On Wednesday evening one of the animals dropped down in Marlowes, and expired in a very few minutes. Many spectators quickly gathered round, and the carcass was covered with straw to prevent people from gazing at it.

*     *      *

The improvised cook-houses have been objects of considerable interest. The food is cooked in a somewhat crude manner, but what does it matter so long as Tommy says his “grub” is good.  

Newspaper Wedding Reports can be useful

Aldenham Parish Church - Where the wedding took place

I spotted a report of the wedding of Miss Georgianne Royd and George Finch at Aldenham in 1867 because it was one of the earliest references to photographs taken by Frederick Downer of Watford.  However a note of the family and bridesmaids, followed by look up in the census returns, shows how Rev Charles Leopold Royds (vicar of Aldenham in 1851 - 1881 censuses), Rev. Richard Mountford Wood (curate then rector of Aldbury 1851 -1881 censuses) and Rev George Finch (vicar of Leverstock Green 1881 and 1891 censuses) were related.

In practice mentions of weddings and funerals are only very brief before the abolition of the newspaper stamp duty in 1855, and Mr Average and his wife are unlikely to be mentioned, beyound perhaps a simple name and date. After 1855 the number of different papers increased and the number of pages also increased  so there was more space - and this example for 1867 (see actual text) is longer than most from this period. Toward the end of the century papers were still bigger, and competition was significant and, for example, there were very long list of names in connect with the Cox double wedding at Harpenden in 1893 or John Marnham's funeral in 1903. However after the First World War more papers started to include photographs - and lists of attendees tailed off.

Basically, if your ancestor had some standing in the town were a paper was published it is always worth checking local press when you have a date for a marriage or funeral between about 1880 and the First World War. Outside these dated you might be lucky, as in this Aldenham case - but don't be surprised if there is nothing.

Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead

I have just added this post card showing the village pond at Leverstock Green, which was posted in 1913 bu "E. A. W." who had just moved into No.1. Belconey Cottages. The card was published by H. W. Flatt, of Boxmoor. At the same time I have restructured the Leverstock Green pages to include an improved menu, and additional links to additional material.