Listed buildings in Watford

Watford has seen much change but still has outstanding heritage and architecture to enjoy. Thank you to Watford Council’s Planning Policy team for their care of historic buildings in Watford, and for creating this section of the website with us.

Watford Tunnel - south entrance to west tunnel

London-Birmingham Railway tunnel entrance. The tunnel entrance is 25 feet high and 24 feet wide, and the tunnel is 1 1/10 miles long, excavated from chalk and gravel. The ten men were killed when one of the six vertical shafts, 8-9 feet in diameter, gave way in July 1835. It took a month to clear out, and the hole became a ventilation shaft

1a Carey Place

Timber-framed house. 1a Carey Place and 137 and 139 High Street were originally one house

1a Carey Place

Timber-framed house. 1a Carey Place and 137 and 139 High Street were originally one house

1a Carey Place

Timber-framed house. 1a Carey Place and 137 and 139 High Street were originally one house

Watford Met Station

The Metropolitan Railway spur line to Watford was planned in 1912, but not actually opened until 1925. The original plan had been to cut the route through Cassioury Park, but the council turned that option down. Watford Met station opened on 2 November 1925, with Metropolitan Railway electric trains to Baker Street and LNER steam trains to Marylebone for the first few months.

14 Chalk Hill

Timber-framed farm house. In the loft are trusses identical to those at 129-131 High Street

St Andrews Church

The original designer, Samuel Teulon, was responsible for the design of 114 new or restored churches throughout his career. The south aisle was by the architect William Wallis Baldwin in 1865

Salters Almshouse

These almshouses were built by one of the City of London Livery Companies, The Salters’ Company, sometimes also known as the Drysalters. They were designed to house impoverished pensioners moved from the Company’s cramped City almshouses

Bedford Almshouses

Francis, 2nd Earl of Bedford had these properties built to house 8 poor women from Watford, Chenies and Langley. The buildings were nearly destroyed in the 1930s to make way for a carpark, but a public campaign, led by Councillor Bickerton, secured their survival and refurbishment

St Mary's Church (during buillding)

The church of St Mary’s is the central parish church of Watford and is Watford's oldest building. The date of the first church on this site is not known, but no part of the existing building dates from earlier than about 1230

St Mary's Church - 1830

St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church

Clutterbuck Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

In the vault beneath the tomb, the bodies of a number of the Clutterbuck family are interned. One of them, Robert Clutterbuck, lived at Watford House and wrote ‘The History and Antiquities of the County of Hertford’. In the 1770s he owned much land formerly associated with Watford House

Clutterbuck Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

Dalton-Clest Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

The sarcophagus honours the memory of Elizabeth Maria Dalton (died 1832) and her husband Christopher Dalton (died 1852), as well as John (died 1832) and Elizabeth (died 1847) Guest – who were the parents of Elizabeth Dalton

Morison Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

Interned in the chest tomb are the remains of Ralph Morison (died 1780) and his wife Elizabeth Morison (died 1772), as well as their two children William and Elizabeth Morison

Tomb 10 m south of chancel, St Mary's Churchyard

The Harty tomb contains the remains of William Harty, a resident of the town, who died in 1794 aged 70. Also buried here is his son, William, who is described as “late of Kingston, Jamaica”. Other members of the family are also buried here

Dundas Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

The tomb is in memory of James Dundas (died 1793) and his wife Christian Dundas (died 1792), as well as their daughter Herriot Dundas (died 1786). James was the commander of the ship ‘Earl Fitzwilliam’ in the service of the East India Company, one of several people from Watford who served in India

Deacon-Stacey Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

The chest tomb is in memory of a number of people who were part of the extended families of Deacon and Stracy

Fawcett Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

The chest tomb is in memory of John Fawcett (died 1799) and his wife Mary Fawcett (died 1802), as well as their daughter Ann Lewin (died 1808) and her husband Thomas Lewin (died 1829). Also Thomas Henry Lewin (died 1795) and Henry Lewin (died 1798) – both sons of Thomas and Ann Lewin

Fig Tree Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

This tomb is known in local folklore as the ‘fig tree tomb’, in reference to the fig tree that used to grow from around the base of the structure. Popular with Victorian tourists, it is said to be the tomb of an atheist who had argued about whether there was a god or life after death. To end the argument, they asked for something to be buried with them that could then germinate. If it grew from their heart and out of the tomb, it would prove that life after death existed. A fig tree grew did grow; however, during restoration work in the late 19th Century, it was discovered that the fig tree grew from a church vault, rather than the tomb. The story is also questionable as it is unlikely an atheist would have enjoyed a burial spot right outside a church. Ultimately, the tree was killed by frost in the early 1960s

Fig Tree Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

Shipton-Finch Tomb, St Mary's Churchyard

The Shiptons and Finches buried here represent the earliest burials found in any of the local chest tombs, with Isaac Finch Junior dying in 1725, six years before his father. The Finches can be traced in the Watford area from as early as the 17th century, and in particular during the 18th – 19th centuries when they are connected with Frogmore House in the Lower High Street

Headstone of George Edward Doney, Church Street

George Edward Doney was born in Gambia, West Africa, c1758. He was sold into slavery and taken to Virginia, USA, where he most likely lived on a cotton or tobacco plantation. Although the circumstances surrounding his arrival in England are unknown, he entered the service of the 4th Earl of Essex in 1766, aged about eight years old. There is no information as to his role in the Earl’s household, but given the quality of the tombstone and affectionate inscription, we know that he had earned the position of particular distinction and affection within the family.

The tomb was Listed, along with a number of other structures elsewhere in the country, to mark UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade in 2008. (List)

He served the family of the Earl of Essex for 44 years and it is possible that he is shown in J M W Turner's unfinished painting "Harvest Home"(1809