Ballards Buildings in Watford still existed 100 years ago.

This photograph may well have been taken in the nineteenth century, yet it depicts the deplorable conditions that residents in Watford were still experiencing a century ago.

The Watford Observer has once again collaborated with its friends at Watford Museum to recall structures, artefacts or enterprises from the town’s past that have either disappeared or been relocated, and this time we look back at the infamous Ballards Building.

Christine Orchard, the museum’s volunteer archivist, stated that there are few pictures of the cottages in Court 8 (Ballards Buildings) that clearly show the street entrance.

This photograph, dated around 1920, was one of the last photographs of this substandard housing area before it was demolished and the people relocated to new houses.

“The photographer was standing on New Street, and if they had turned to the left, they would have seen St Mary’s Church at the end of the street.

“Today, New Street is much more open and the whole site of Ballards Buildings is occupied by Church car park.”

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