Mill Green Museum to open “Lost Buildings of Old Hatfield” exhibition

Mill Green Musem will be opening the “Lost Buildings of Old Hatfield” exhibition to the public from Thursday, February 2 until Sunday, May 14. 

The idea for the exhibition started with looking through the museum’s photography collection and seeing photographs of historic buildings in Old Hatfield that had been demolished in the redevelopments of the town in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

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Christopher Eden, the assistant curator at Mill Green Museum, came up with the idea during a walk around Old Hatfield. 

He said: “I live in Old Hatfield and walk through it on my way to work each day. I sometimes stop at the spots where these buildings used to stand and as there is no trace of them now, I thought it would be great to have an exhibition on these lost buildings.” 

One of the themes in the exhibition is the attempts made by local individuals and societies to save these buildings.  

Unfortunately, they were not always successful, but they did make strides with saving the 15th century house, 21 Park Street - the oldest surviving residential building in Hatfield and the 17th century North Place - today the Great North Business Centre. Demolition of Militia Cottage, 1972. (Image: Mill Green Museum)

Christopher added: “Batterdale was the worst affected area and was almost completely changed beyond recognition. 

“Almost every building of note in the vicinity has been demolished, including a fine 17th century building known as the Colonel’s House. 

“In the book ‘Commissions for the New Town: Hatfield’, published in 1971, the author wrote of what had been demolished in Old Hatfield that ‘a number of the old buildings were not worth preserving.’  

“I think visitors can come to the exhibition and make up their own mind if that is true or not.” Demolition of the Colonel's House, 1968. (Image: Mill Green Museum)

The exhibition will look at several key buildings formerly in Old Hatfield including: 

• The Pryor Reid Brewery Buildings, which stood on the site of the current Salisbury Square. Pryor Reid owned 22 pubs in Hatfield until it was sold in 1920. The buildings survived until the early 1970s when they were demolished to build Salisbury Square. 
• The Militia Cottages, which were built in the 1840s for the local militia. The site was known as Salisbury Square and the name was reused for the new Salisbury Square when that was built. Many local people protested about the demolition of these cottages, but they were pulled down in 1971. 
• Northcotts, an elegant Georgian house, just off the Great North Road. It had a variety of uses in the 20th century, including as a hospital in WW1. In 1971, attempts were made to turn it into a museum, but it was demolished and the site is now the Hatfield Social Club. 

Demolition of the Public Hall, 1968. (Image: Mill Green Museum)

The exhibition will include photographs, letters and objects connected to the buildings and visitors will also be able to hear audio recordings of former residents of Old Hatfield. 

“The exhibition will be of great interest to local residents in Hatfield to explore how the town used to be but will also appeal to a wider audience of anyone who is interested in history and historic buildings,” Christopher added. 

Pay £5 for adults, and £1.50 for children to get into the museum and gain free admission into the exhibition on: https://www.millgreenmuseum.co.uk/mill-museum/exhibtions/