Horses made good neigh-bours

9:26am Tuesday 29th January 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Without buses, lorries, trains or cars it was more than likely that horses, rather than dogs, were a man's best friend in the early 1900s.

Borehamwood's equestrian history can be seen through the many roads in the area named after species of horses or horse-related jobs.

One of the features of the area, which arrived just before the war, was the Home of Rest for Horses.

The home had originally been established in London in 1886 by Ann Lindo, who was appalled at the treatment of horses on the streets of the capital so she canvassed support to create a home of rest for horses, mules and donkeys.

The first patient was an overworked cab horse that Miss Lindo arranged to be cared for at a farm in Sudbury, near Harrow, and by 1908 the society flourished and was able to buy Westcroft Farm at Cricklewood.

The rest home moved to Borehamwood in 1933 and stayed until 1975 at the Westcroft Stables in Furzehill Road.

The Westcroft Stables had 75 sheds for horses built on a 25-acre site.

In 1962, the home was able to rent an additional 30 acres of land next to the stables, which meant it was able to accommodate more than 80 horses at any one time.

The horse home left Borehamwood in 1975 for a new site at Speen Farm in the Chilterns and is still there today.

Borehamwood resident Nancy Callegari said: "I remember going to visit the stables when I was a little girl in the early Seventies and the next time we did so it was a housing estate.

"I remember the horses being in stables with their life history being written on each door. They were all working horses in retirement. In those days the milkmen used horses and so did coalmen.

"I don't know if they waited for all the horses to die before building the estate or if the horses were moved elsewhere.

"I was too young at the time and it's only pure coincidence that I live there now.

"All the roads on the estate were named after links with horses including Clydesdale, Suffolk, Cobb, Percheron and Shetland or had links to horse-related professions such as Saddlers, Farriers and Hackney."

Alan Lawrence, trustee at Elstree and Boreham Wood Museum, said: "What you have to remember that whatever is now carried around in lorries, trains and cars were all carried with a horse and cart back then.

"During the war, the Home Guard Battalion had a mounted detachment in Borehamwood with 16 horses so they were used for purposes other than work.

"They were also the main attraction at the Elstree Gymkhana during the Forties and Fifties. This event would be held every year opposite what used to be a school and is now Hill House residential home in Elstree.

"Opposite the school was a big sports field where the gymkhana took place and it was a huge horse show that attracted horse enthusiasts and families from all around Hertfordshire.

"During the Second World War horses came back in vogue again when a lot of deliveries were made by horse and cart but by 1958 most of the horses were not used."