Modern Living
With the building of the housing estates in the past 50 years, life in Watton has changed more than it did in the previous 1000 years. Few of the people living within the village now work in the village since, with the exception of some small industrial units in Mill Lane, there are few opportunities for employment (the Holden du Cros salmon packing factory in the High Street closed in 1988 and was converted to housing in 1994). Watton is now, therefore, `commuterland' and its people travel to Stevenage, Hoddesdon and other areas of employment (including central London at a 1994 cost of £1896 per annum!).
There are a number of shops in the village, but sadly the number seems to be decreasing despite the extra houses being built. However, in 1997, part of the grocery store in the High Street was opened as a separate hot food shop selling oriental and Beijing cuisine. The garage in the High Street closed in October 1999 and the site cleared for housing development.
The village boasts a wide selection of facilities, including the clubs and societies listed separately at the end of this booklet; all of them welcome new members (and what better way is there for newcomers to the village to meet people). Many of these report their activities in the excellent Parish News which is distributed free each month to all houses in the village; they can alternatively be contacted through neighbours or the local shops, or through the Clerk to the Parish Council, whose name is given on the notice board on High Street, almost opposite the George & Dragon[13].
Each year there is a highly successful Church Fête on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, but the Horticultural Society's Flower Show and Fête on the August Bank Holiday Monday has now ceased after 52 years of declining enthusiasm. Various smaller events are organised by the school, the scout and guide group and local societies.The recreation ground is used for outdoor sports and nearby there an indoor sports hall and is a floodlit multi-purpose play area for tennis, 5-a-side football and netball; there are children's play areas on the recreation ground and in Great Innings. Outside the village, there are swimming pools at Ware (open air), Hertford and Stevenage (indoor), with squash, badminton, bowls, ice skating and a ten-pin bowling alley also at Stevenage. Water sports are catered for at Stevenage (Fairlands), Welwyn Garden City (Stanborough) and at the Lee Valley complex. There are theatres nearby at Stevenage, Hatfield and Harlow and cinemas at Hatfield, Harlow, Broxbourne and Waltham Cross, and the Stevenage Leisure Park, opened in the mid 1990s, provides plenty of night life.
For the more practical, there are builders' yards and DIY shops at Hertford, Welwyn Garden City, Knebworth and Stevenage; and for the green fingered, there is Watton Nursery and larger garden centres at Bragbury End (Stevenage) and Great Amwell (Ware).
From time to time there are visiting mobile shops and there are take-away shops almost everywhere.
The mobile library calls every two weeks.
Early Social History
Indications of what life was like in the village can be gained from the `official' records such as the parish registers of births, marriages and burials and from the County Court records. In 1248, John de Tywe was accused of obstructing a roadway by digging a ditch across it and, over 400 years later, in 1653, Philip Collop was accused of obstructing a roadway by depositing timber on it.
However, the Court records tend to give a rather one-sided view of life at the time since, by definition, they only deal with those who did wrong (or rather more accurately, those who were caught). We know, for example, that common hobbies in Watton-indeed, in Hertfordshire generally-were poaching (including sparrowhawks, trout and ducks), unauthorised trading and producing illegitimate children. In 1701, for example, James Nicholls was publicly whipped at Hertford market place for stealing six of Philip Boteler's trout, value 10d. One legitimate birth worthy of note is that of Edward Penefather, son of Ralph and Marion, who was delivered at `The Bull'[9] in February 1608 as Marion passed by from market.
In the 17th century, there was a national shortage of small change and the more enterprising traders took advantage of the authority granted by Government to introduce trade tokens, which they gave and accepted as change. One Watton trade token was discovered in 1964, bearing the name Katharine Allen on one side and in Watton 1668 KA on the other. She was a widow and a woollen draper and the token is particularly interesting since she had, four years earlier, been accused of trading without having served an apprenticeship. It is not known if she ever did, but it is tempting to guess that she was still unapprenticed when she issued the token.
During the times of religious and social change of the 17th century, the Courts heard some interesting cases. In 1653, for example, John Greenaway, described as an alehousekeeper, was charged with harbouring thieves and wicked persons in his house and (even worse) of allowing them `to drink and tipple there and play cards on the Sabbath Day'. By 1661, one assumes that John Greenaway had died since an Elizabeth Greenaway, widow, was accused with Charles Turner, innkeeper, and Judith Foster, also a widow, of refusing to receive travellers in their lodging houses even though the constable had required them to do so (there is, unfortunately, no description of the travellers they had turned away).
William Mills was twice indicted for not attending church, the first time in 1678 with John Blundell and a Mr Plumer, the second time in 1686, with Thomas Fallowfield and Robert Pluckrose. (Robert Pluckrose later, in 1694, had a turkey worth 10d stolen by James Ellis who, like James Nicholls in 1701, was publicly whipped for the theft.)
Also in 1686, a Mr Crabb appealed against the removal of his licence to keep an alehouse on the grounds that false evidence was given. The charge had been of keeping a disorderly alehouse by serving beer, ale or other liquor between the time of the sermon bell and the time of leaving church! The Court was told that Crabb had been an old servant of the Boteler family and was of good reputation and credit; and the licence was (conditionally) reinstated.
With the building of the housing estates in the past 50 years, life in Watton has changed more than it did in the previous 1000 years. Few of the people living within the village now work in the village since, with the exception of some small industrial units in Mill Lane, there are few opportunities for employment (the Holden du Cros salmon packing factory in the High Street closed in 1988 and was converted to housing in 1994). Watton is now, therefore, `commuterland' and its people travel to Stevenage, Hoddesdon and other areas of employment (including central London at a 1994 cost of £1896 per annum!).
There are a number of shops in the village, but sadly the number seems to be decreasing despite the extra houses being built. However, in 1997, part of the grocery store in the High Street was opened as a separate hot food shop selling oriental and Beijing cuisine. The garage in the High Street closed in October 1999 and the site cleared for housing development.
The village boasts a wide selection of facilities, including the clubs and societies listed separately at the end of this booklet; all of them welcome new members (and what better way is there for newcomers to the village to meet people). Many of these report their activities in the excellent Parish News which is distributed free each month to all houses in the village; they can alternatively be contacted through neighbours or the local shops, or through the Clerk to the Parish Council, whose name is given on the notice board on High Street, almost opposite the George & Dragon[13].
Each year there is a highly successful Church Fête on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, but the Horticultural Society's Flower Show and Fête on the August Bank Holiday Monday has now ceased after 52 years of declining enthusiasm. Various smaller events are organised by the school, the scout and guide group and local societies.The recreation ground is used for outdoor sports and nearby there an indoor sports hall and is a floodlit multi-purpose play area for tennis, 5-a-side football and netball; there are children's play areas on the recreation ground and in Great Innings. Outside the village, there are swimming pools at Ware (open air), Hertford and Stevenage (indoor), with squash, badminton, bowls, ice skating and a ten-pin bowling alley also at Stevenage. Water sports are catered for at Stevenage (Fairlands), Welwyn Garden City (Stanborough) and at the Lee Valley complex. There are theatres nearby at Stevenage, Hatfield and Harlow and cinemas at Hatfield, Harlow, Broxbourne and Waltham Cross, and the Stevenage Leisure Park, opened in the mid 1990s, provides plenty of night life.
For the more practical, there are builders' yards and DIY shops at Hertford, Welwyn Garden City, Knebworth and Stevenage; and for the green fingered, there is Watton Nursery and larger garden centres at Bragbury End (Stevenage) and Great Amwell (Ware).
From time to time there are visiting mobile shops and there are take-away shops almost everywhere.
The mobile library calls every two weeks.
Early Social History
Indications of what life was like in the village can be gained from the `official' records such as the parish registers of births, marriages and burials and from the County Court records. In 1248, John de Tywe was accused of obstructing a roadway by digging a ditch across it and, over 400 years later, in 1653, Philip Collop was accused of obstructing a roadway by depositing timber on it.
However, the Court records tend to give a rather one-sided view of life at the time since, by definition, they only deal with those who did wrong (or rather more accurately, those who were caught). We know, for example, that common hobbies in Watton-indeed, in Hertfordshire generally-were poaching (including sparrowhawks, trout and ducks), unauthorised trading and producing illegitimate children. In 1701, for example, James Nicholls was publicly whipped at Hertford market place for stealing six of Philip Boteler's trout, value 10d. One legitimate birth worthy of note is that of Edward Penefather, son of Ralph and Marion, who was delivered at `The Bull'[9] in February 1608 as Marion passed by from market.
In the 17th century, there was a national shortage of small change and the more enterprising traders took advantage of the authority granted by Government to introduce trade tokens, which they gave and accepted as change. One Watton trade token was discovered in 1964, bearing the name Katharine Allen on one side and in Watton 1668 KA on the other. She was a widow and a woollen draper and the token is particularly interesting since she had, four years earlier, been accused of trading without having served an apprenticeship. It is not known if she ever did, but it is tempting to guess that she was still unapprenticed when she issued the token.
During the times of religious and social change of the 17th century, the Courts heard some interesting cases. In 1653, for example, John Greenaway, described as an alehousekeeper, was charged with harbouring thieves and wicked persons in his house and (even worse) of allowing them `to drink and tipple there and play cards on the Sabbath Day'. By 1661, one assumes that John Greenaway had died since an Elizabeth Greenaway, widow, was accused with Charles Turner, innkeeper, and Judith Foster, also a widow, of refusing to receive travellers in their lodging houses even though the constable had required them to do so (there is, unfortunately, no description of the travellers they had turned away).
William Mills was twice indicted for not attending church, the first time in 1678 with John Blundell and a Mr Plumer, the second time in 1686, with Thomas Fallowfield and Robert Pluckrose. (Robert Pluckrose later, in 1694, had a turkey worth 10d stolen by James Ellis who, like James Nicholls in 1701, was publicly whipped for the theft.)
Also in 1686, a Mr Crabb appealed against the removal of his licence to keep an alehouse on the grounds that false evidence was given. The charge had been of keeping a disorderly alehouse by serving beer, ale or other liquor between the time of the sermon bell and the time of leaving church! The Court was told that Crabb had been an old servant of the Boteler family and was of good reputation and credit; and the licence was (conditionally) reinstated.
