EPW037384 ENGLAND (1932). The Watford Junction and the town centre, Watford, 1932

Any group relating to the growth and importance of Watford must surely include a picture of the Main Line station at Watford Junction and this is probably the clearest image available on the website.

Watford Junction has undergone many changes and facelifts since 1932, most particularly with the clearance of the old station buildings in Woodford Road, to be replaced with car and bus parking areas and a huge office block. Modern track equipment is now in place, complementing the new rolling stock.

The railway helped in the development of the town in the second half of the 19th century. The original railway line between London and Birmingham was laid in 1837, and this was followed in 1858 and 1862 by the branch lines to St.Albans and Rickmansworth, respectively. The current Watford Junction Station was built in 1858 and through the remainder of the Victorian era, it became a major employer in the town, with an extensive goods yard, cattle pens, large engine shed and crane. By 1896, Watford was fast becoming a commuter town as links improved to London and it was no longer "a genteel market town". The town's reputation for fresh air and clean water attracted outside charities to set up institutions, including the London Orphan Asylum, built east of the station and west of the River Colne in 1870, for children from Clapton, north-east London, after a cholera outbreak. Residential development continued apace to the north and west of Watford Junction, and Callowland soon became North Watford by the 1930s.