Harpenden from the 1950s to 1981

Selection from Jim Jarvis's slides

By Rosemary Ross

The Society was given a large collection of 35mm slides of scenes in Harpenden from Jim Jarvis's extensive photographic output, which also includes many glass negatives of model railway locomotives, and of houses on the West Common estate built by Jarvis Brothers in the 1930s. The donation came through Mr Humm in the spring of 2013. Sets of slides relating to Harpenden Lawn Tennis Club have been passed to the club, and of scenes around Wheathampstead to the Wheathampstead History Society.

The Harpenden slides were digitised by Peter Boden, after they had been sorted into a geographical sequence. Dates on most of the slides help identify the historical sequence. Some photos show little change from Harpenden in the 2010s, but others provide evidence of buildings that have disappeared, notably some houses demolished to make way for the car park of Harpenden (Moat) House Hotel in the 1970s. Below is a selection from the collection, concluding in 1981 with one of Jim's many stunning studies of trees around Harpenden - most of which have not yet been digitised.

To enlarge and view the pictures, click on the first one and follow through the sequence by clicking on 'next' - or choose just one picture.