Established | 14 March 1982 |
---|---|
Location | 194 Watford High Street, Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°39′07″N0°23′28″W / 51.652043°N 0.391166°W |
Type | Local museum |
Accreditation | Hertfordshire Association of Museums; Museums, Libraries and Archives Council |
Curator | Sarah Priestley |
Owner | Watford Borough Council |
Public transit access | Watford High Street |
Nearest car park | On site |
Website | www |
Watford Museum is a local museum in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Watford Borough Council and is located on the Lower High Street in Watford.
The museum opened in 1982 and is housed in a Grade II-listed Georgian town house which was previously the premises of Benskins Brewery. [1] [2] Its collection includes fine art, displays about local heritage, industry and sport, with a special collection related to the history of the Cassiobury Estate. [3]
The mansion house at 194 Watford High Street was built for the Dyson family around 1775, although there are records of a brewery operating on the site since 1750. The three-storey, red-brick house, built in the Georgian neoclassical style, is fronted by a three-bay pediment with a central bull's eye window, and flanked by two lower wings which were added circa 1807. Tall, yellow-brick Victorian brewing premises once stood behind the house, although these have since been demolished. [4] [5] [6]
The house was bought in 1867 by Joseph Benskin and continued to operate as a brewery until it was acquired by Ind Coope in 1957. The mansion house was later converted into offices, and it was listed grade II by English Heritage in 1952. [5] It became the site of the Watford Museum in 1982 and was officially opened on 14 March 1982 by the Watford-born actor and comedian, Terry Scott. [7]
The museum celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011. [7]
The museum will be closing in October 2023 for about two years so that it can move into a refurbished Watford Town Hall. [8]
The museum has a significant fine art collection, which includes the notable Cassiobury Collection. Works on display include artworks formerly of the Earl of Essex's collection at Cassiobury House, with paintings of the Cassiobury Estate such as A view of Cassiobury Park by John Wootton, View of the South-West Front of Cassiobury House by J. M. W. Turner, Cassiobury Park Gates by Charles Vickers and an 1831 painting of the Cassiobury House Winter Dining Room by William Henry Hunt. [9] The museum also houses portraits of a number of Earls of Essex. [10] [11]
Among the other works of art on display are oil paintings of the Dutch and Flemish schools, with works by Adam François van der Meulen, Klaes Molenaer, Pieter Neeffs the Elder and Adriaen van Ostade, as well as paintings by Turner, Peter Lely, Ronald Pope and Joshua Reynolds. [12] A number of acquisitions for the fine art collection have been assisted by grants from the Art Fund, including paintings by Henry Edridge, Sir Hubert von Herkomer, William Henry Hunt and John Wootton, and a set of 21 engravings from the Illustrations of the Book of Job by William Blake. [13]
The museum's sculpture collection features works in works in bronze, copper and steel by Mary Bromet, Charles Browne, Charles Dyson-Smith, Jacob Epstein, Mario Negri, Ronald Pope and Takaaki. [14]
Displays in the museum document the development of Watford Junction railway station, and a small gallery dedicated to the history of Watford Football Club includes sports memorabilia and a stage costume worn by Elton John. [15]
The museum holds an archive collection of documents, printed ephemera, photographs and diaries related to Watford townsfolk, local government, nobility and businesses. [16]
Around a third of the museum's collection is on display.
Watford Museum is located on the lower part of Watford High Street, around 160 metres (0.1 mi) south of the Harlequin Shopping Centre. The nearest railway station is Watford High Street London Overground station; after 2017 this will also become a London Underground Metropolitan line station. The museum is within easy reach of the A41, the M1 motorway, and National Cycle Route 6.
Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, PC, also spelt Capel, of Cassiobury House, Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English statesman.
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new creation. Possibly the most well-known Earls of Essex were Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to King Henry VIII, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1565–1601), a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I who led the Earl of Essex Rebellion in 1601.
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 mi (24 km) north-west of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne.
The Cassiobury Estate is a suburban residential area of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. It is bounded to the south by Cassiobury Park, the main public park in the town, to the west by playing fields next to the River Gade, and to the northeast by Hempstead Road. It is mostly characterised by 1930s Mock Tudor houses.
Watford High Street is a railway station in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. It is served by the Watford DC line on the London Overground network. It is the only station on the line's sole deviation from the West Coast Main Line.
Little Hadham is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. At the census of 2001 it had a population of 1,081, increasing to 1,153 at the 2011 Census. It is bypassed by the A120 road, which connects it to the nearby town of Bishop's Stortford. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bury Green, Church End, Cradle End, Green Street and Hadham Ford. Little Hadham, together with the neighbouring village of Much Hadham, are collectively known as The Hadhams.
Cassiobury Park is the principal public park in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It was created in 1909 from the purchase by Watford Borough Council of part of the estate of the Earls of Essex around Cassiobury House which was subsequently demolished in 1927. It comprises over 190 acres (77 ha) and extends from the A412 Rickmansworth Road in the east to the Grand Union Canal in the west, and lies to the south of the Watford suburb of Cassiobury, which was also created from the estate. The western part is a 62-acre (25.1 ha) Local Nature Reserve managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The park hosts the free, weekly timed parkrun 5 km event every Saturday morning at 9 am, starting on the field near the Shepherds Road entrance to the park, and finishing by the bandstand.
Cassiobury House was a country house in Cassiobury Park, Watford, England. It was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Essex. Originally a Tudor building, dating from 1546 for Sir Richard Morrison, it was substantially remodelled in the 17th and 19th centuries and ultimately demolished in 1927. The surrounding Cassiobury Park was turned into the main public open space for Watford.
Cassiobridge was a proposed London Underground station in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. The station would have been part of the Croxley Rail Link project, a scheme to extend the Metropolitan line to Watford Junction railway station. It would have been served by Metropolitan line trains between Watford Junction and Central London via Baker Street. The railway line would run over Ascot Road via a viaduct and the platforms would have been situated on the east side of the road. Entrance to the station would have been from the west side of the road, with a ticket hall and other facilities at street level. Passengers would gain access to the platforms via stairs and lifts and a short footbridge over the road.
North Watford is an area in the town of Watford, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is now primarily a residential area which developed as a result of expansion from the town during the 19th century.
Nascot Wood is the colloquial name for the largely residential area of Watford (Hertfordshire) that is located to the north-west of the town centre. The area has a relatively large number of mature trees, which help give it more of a leafy character than some other parts of the town. The name relates to one of the main roads in the area - Nascot Wood Road, and the local administrative ward - Nascot. The boundaries of the area are formed by the railway tunnels to the east and Hempstead Road to the west - beyond which is the Cassiobury Estate.
West Herts College is a college for further education in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The college has campuses in Watford and Hemel Hempstead. As of 2017 the college has 5,900 students on study programmes or apprenticeships.
This article provides brief details of primary schools in the borough of Watford in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. Some Watford children attend schools in the neighbouring boroughs of Three Rivers and Hertsmere.
Benskins was the pre-eminent brewery in Watford, and Hertfordshire's biggest brewer until its acquisition by Ind Coope in 1957.
George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex FSA was an English aristocrat and politician, and styled Viscount Malden until 1799. His surname was Capell until 1781.
George Edward Doney (~1758–1809) is believed to have been born in Gambia around 1758. He was transported to Virginia as a young boy and sold into slavery. He came to Watford, Hertfordshire in around 1765, as a servant for the Earl of Essex at Cassiobury House, continuing to serve the family for 44 years.
Watford Central, a planned London Underground station in the centre of Watford, Hertfordshire, was to be the terminus of a proposed extension of the Metropolitan line from the present-day Watford tube station to the High Street opposite Clarendon Road. The proposed station booking hall has long gone, however, the facade was retained and a new building constructed behind it. It is now The Moon Under Water public house.
Arthur Algernon Capell was an English aristocrat who succeed to the title Earl of Essex in 1839.
George Devereux de Vere Capell, 7th Earl of Essex, was a British aristocrat. He succeeded to the title Earl of Essex in 1892.
St Mary's Watford is a Church of England church in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It is an active church situated in the town centre on Watford High Street, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) outside London. St Mary's is the parish church of Watford and is part of the Anglican Diocese of St Albans. Thought to be at least 800 years old, the church contains burials of a number of local nobility and some noteworthy monumental sculpture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.