Autumn colour and going car-free...

We are very fortunate that "New" Harlow was built around a network of roads that were already there - Latton street, Netteswell Road, Latton Common Road and many others were all closed off to motor vehicles once the New Town was built around them and are now available for safe cycling and walking, meaning that those of us who prefer to leave the car at home where possible have an easy "off grid" way of getting from A to B across the town. I can make my way from home in Mark Hall to the Town Centre barely touching a "normal" road, and to the station in the same way thanks to the Town Park.

Of course at this time of year the pleasure is all the greater as another of the Town Planner's achievements comes into its own with the fantastic colours from all the planting. There surely can’t be a better time for a stroll around Harlow than autumn, when even on a fairly overcast day there is still a stunning array of colour. 

During the first Covid lockdown we did a lot of walking around the old roads - indeed on a few occasions it became a bit of a challenge to see how far we could go using as few roads also used by motor vehicles as possible - and it was surprising how easy it was. I even did one 5 mile run almost entirely on old roads, tracks and footpaths, with only a couple of short sections where I was sharing my space with cars. 

Those who don’t know Harlow often voice the opinion that it’s a real concrete jungle - but mostly nothing could be further from the truth - we all have an abundance of green space right on our doorsteps, and the majority of households have open countryside within a reasonably accessible distance, too. Precisely what Sir Frederick Gibberd intended with his plans for our town! 

Common as..

 One of the key tenets in the planning of the new town was a focus on community - for there to be both larger community centres such as Moot House and Tye Green Community Centre, and also smaller neighbourhood “common rooms” where more local get togethers such as coffee mornings or playgroups might take place without people having to travel a huge distance from home. My map from 1964 shows 12 of these dotted around the town and although some have been demolished and built over, many do still remain. 

Churchfields Common Room 

Some of the remaining rooms are still used for various “community” activities - the one above houses a martial arts club now, for example. 

Probably my favourite of those I have seen so far is this rather cute “prefab” style room at Glebelands - numbered 1 on my map and I suspect it may have been the first to be built. I’m not sure whether this one is still in regular use but it’s certainly beautifully cared for! 

Glebelands Common Room 

From the common rooms I have tracked down currently, one notable thing is how different they all are. From the tiny Glebelands one, we move on to the Ladyshot offering - rather larger and grander - and also these days with rather less windows than it was originally built with! (see here: HERE for how it looked when it was first built). 

Ladyshot Common Room with Ralph Brown sculpture

Now the long term home of the Harlow Amateur Boxing club, this is one venue that is in use pretty much 7 days a week, still, a albeit probably not for anything that Sir Frederick Gibberd might have expected! 

Halling Hill Common Room

Finally for this post, a style of building that seems almost more suited to somewhere on the Norfolk coast than a new town in Essex - this granite facing is commonly seen elsewhere in East Anglia. This one looks a little more neglected than most of the others I have seen so far - obviously damp and with quite an air of neglect. I wasn’t able to ascertain whether it is still used at all, or not. 

I also tried to track down one more of the Common rooms before posting this - my map shows one formerly in place at Pipers Hatch for Long Ley - however this appears to have been demolished when the new health centre at Sydenham House was built. 

Past and present...

 

Source: Harlow.gov.U.K. 

Source: Round about Harlow 

The Stow was Harlow New Town’s first “Neighbourhood centre” - areas designed into the town plan to ensure that each neighbourhood had shops sufficient to suit a family’s needs for day to day living, a Pub, post office, chemist, library and a bank. There was also a Health Centre close by providing in most cases Doctors and Dentists services.  Serving the town’s first residential areas of Mark Hall North & South and Netteswell, initially it was the “town centre” for those moving in, but as the town began to increase in size focus switched to The High and Stone Cross. 

A look through the list of shops at The Stow soon after it was built reveals some familiar names - Boots the Chemist has been there since the early days, for example, as has Dorringtons Bakers. “Big names” of the time include Freeman, Hardy & Willis (footwear), Sketchley (dry cleaners) & W.H.Smith & Sons (newsagents). In 1964 The Stow had 3 different butchers, 2 greengrocers, 2 bakers and no fewer than 7 general grocers - just imagine that, these days! This is a time that predates people’s heavy reliance on supermarkets as we know them now of course - indeed the closest Harlow had at the time were the Co-Operative society stores - still in evidence in some of the other neighbourhood centres although long gone from The Stow.

Source: Information board within The Stow today

Originally the area was not pedestrianised as the photographs above show - perhaps strange considering that one of the main features of the town plan for The High was the complete lack of cars within the central area. 

Source: www.photozone72.org.uk 

Now, things look rather different. No cars, but instead trees and flower beds which oddly serve to make the space feel smaller than the 1950’s appearance above would suggest. Boots and Dorringtons remain, but we have no butchers, no greengrocers, no bank and a library which is open so rarely as to make it sadly impractical for use by many working locals.  Two convenience stores are used mainly for the odd items that people failed to pick up on their main shopping trips - with Aldi just around the corner being the prime location for many of those. 

I plan to return to some form of regular posting here - in the first instance with some more of these “past & present” posts recreating old photos with views taken from similar locations today, to show how much things have changed - or not. Please do pop back and check for new posts, and thank you for reading.

Lighting the town up for Christmas

With Christmas shopping nights in full swing, it's lovely to see the Town Centre looking sparkling with its Christmas lights.

The Water Gardens itself...

Water Gardens Shopping...

...and Broadwalk

Remember also that there is currently free parking at Water Gardens (Asda) car park on Thursday evenings, and the Harvey Centre shops are open late for Christmas shopping.

Merry Christmas!

Wings Cafe, North Weald

** Sadly as of early 2025 Wings has closed **

Did you know that there are two cafes over at North Weald Airfield? Both are open to the public, and the newest - Wings - has now been open for business for ten weeks and things are thriving!

First thing you notice about the lovely light airy cafe is the great views out over the airfield - and this is a very active airfield with a lot of ex military jets buzzing about, remember, so there's plenty to watch! The Herts Air Ambulance is based right next door too, and the Paramedics, Doctors and Pilots have clearly realised the benefits of a good cafe right on their doorstep!

 Turning your attention to the menu - breakfasts are excellent - well priced and with everything from a Bacon Bap to the full "Strikemaster" to choose from.  Later in the day main meals are provided - with sausages and burgers coming from fantastic Epping butchers Church's. If you want something lighter then the cakes look superb - we'll be back to try those out soon!

While we were waiting for breakfast we heard a jet firing up and a few minutes later this Jet Provost T3 taxied by - proving my point about the airfield being good and active! This was quite quiet for a Sunday too, yet there was still plenty going on - a sunny Saturday afternoon would give you even more to see, and in the summer there will be tables outside to watch from.

 To give you an idea of the quality of the food, this was my "T5" breakfast - with one of the most generous portions of mushrooms I've had anywhere - full marks for that!  (I swapped beans for toast - something that they were more than happy to do) The pot of tea I also had was suitably generous too - close to three good cupfuls from that which is always good to find.

Public access to the airfield is good - simply approach the main gate as though you were going to the market then once through follow the red line to your left until you see the sign for Wings parking. Just remember to take care, drive slowly and cautiously, and above all remember that the planes have right of way!

Wings Cafe North Weald is open from Tues - Sun - 9.30am - 5pm


This post has been written as an entirely honest and independent review and without the knowledge or input of the cafe. 

We Will Remember Them...

Being unable to attend Harlow's Service of Remembrance today, I went to the War Memorial to pay my respects on Friday morning. For those who don't know, our War Memorial can be found in the Town Park, adjacent to the Greyhound pub and the large car park.

While I was there I met a lovely chap from the British Legion - Bob. He would usually have been out selling poppies he told me, but had come along to check that the memorial gardens were spruce and tidy ready for the service. What he discovered fell below standards, so he set to mowing grass and tidying. I spent half an hour happily wielding a broom for him - half an hour of my time to honour those who have lost their lives serving their country didn't seem like very much, I was extremely pleased to be able to help.

If you have attended the Service at the memorial this morning, or have watched the parade marching down to it, then spare a moment to think of the thousands of 'Bobs' all over the country, giving their time willingly to organise parades, sell poppies, and clean war memorials. Wear your poppy with pride.

This stone commemorates those from the town who have lost their lives in service to their country since 1945. Sadly there are apparently more names to be added to it.

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"

North Weald

North Weald Airfield is familiar with most Harlow-ites for its regular Saturday and Bank Holiday markets - but it has a place in history far more important than that.

Airfield Memorial & Former Station Office - now a museum

Royal Flying Corps Station North Weald Bassett first opened in 1916, and played a part in protecting London from the Zepellin raids of World War I, but found its finest hour acting as a frontline airfield during World War II and the Battle of Britain, with Hurricanes, Blenheims and Spitfires operating.

In the course of WW2 the now RAF North Weald station played host to many Squadrons including those made up of Foreign nationals - Americans, Czechs, Poles and also Norwegians. There is still a strong link maintained to this day with the people of Norway and part of the Airfield Memorial is a stone obelisk given by the Norwegians.

After the war NW continued as an operational airfield, with Gloster Meteors and De Havilland Vampires being commonly seen in the skies overhead in the late 1940's, and later the Hawker Hunters of 111 squadron moved in - known as the Black Arrows. Interestingly one of the aircraft you are most likely to see flying from North Weald these days is a black Hawker Hunter!

In early 1958, rather fittingly, the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial flight (then known as the RAF Historic Aircraft Flight) was moved to it's new home at North Weald, sadly its stay was to be cut short as in May of that year the RAF decided to take the step of re designating the airfield as non-operational, before eventually pulling out completely in 1964.

Hangar 11 collection Kittyhawk

Today the airfield is once more alive to the sound of aviation - from the the Gnat Display Team, and Hangar 11 Collection with their Hurricane, Spitfire, Mustang & Kittyhawk - all to be seen at airshows throughout the summer months - to the Army using the field for operational training with their Apache Helicopters - now a regular sight over Harlow. The Hertfordshire Air Ambulance is also based there.

Temporary Herts Air Ambulance G-ESCI

Sources are mainly credited via links in the text. Information also from Wikipaedia.