History of Watford

ostponed, workers from the breweries stormed the high street to loot from the shops. Subsequent investigations into the slums deemed them unsanitary, and many buildings were knocked down and replaced with new housing.

By the 1920s, printing had become the biggest industry in Watford. The biggest printers in the town were Sun Printers Ltd and Odhams Press. Watford was the biggest printing centre in the world and many advances in printing were made in Watford. During World War II the prints were taken over by the government who used them to print propaganda.

In 1925, the Metropolitan Railway Company built a branch to Watford, opening a station close to Cassiobury Park. The company had long held an ambition to extend this route into the town centre and unveiled proposals to drive a tunnel under the park to the High Street. In 1927 it purchased the Empress Tea Rooms at 44 High Street with the intention of converting it into Watford Central tube station. The plans were opposed by local councillors and the scheme was not realised and Watford tube station remained as the branch terminus of the London Underground.

After the war, the printing industry began going into decline. Union activity was common in Watford and advances in technology meant much of the industry became obsolete. Odhams Press closed down in 1968 and The Sun moved out of Watford during the 1980s after market reforms allowed it to do so