Hertfordshire Genealogy: Book: Tring in 1947

While the storm over the threat from Berkhamsted may have blown over, Tring town, and the rural district, had to deal with inclement weather. The Parish Magazine reported that Since the last week of January the Girls’ Friendly Society meetings have been rather spoilt by the weather. Very few members were willing to brave the rigours of our Church House in the arctic spell we have just had. The Sunday School Teachers’ Course which was to have been given in February by Mrs. Beauchamp had to be postponed because of the bad weather conditions, while the snow and very cold weather prevented Mrs. Jenkins from coming on March 6th, so the Mothers’ Union meeting was cancelled. The Curate, the Rev. J. A. Davies wrote that our Lenten programme has been unavoidably curtailed to a minimum owing to the lack of fuel for heating the Church during the worst period of this year’s unforgettable wintry conditions. … It is very pleasing to note that even though the Church itself was bitterly cold, the attendances during this period were not considerably depleted.

A Watford man was fined at Berkhamsted Magistrate Court on Wednesday on pleading guilty to stealing wood from The Flats, Wigginton. He had been seen cutting trees and loading wood on to a trailer behind his car.

Gazette, 30th May

The surrounding countryside was affected by the heavy snow, and the following rapid thaw, Aldbury suffered from floods as the water poured in a torrent down Trooper Road, the "Valiant Trooper" was flooded and empty barrels in the cellar were well afloat. The Village Pond overflowed, spread across the roads, and caused damage in many cottages.

Flooding. – Tring N.F.S. pumped approximately 2,500,000 gallons from flooded parts of Station Road and Cow Road during last week’s thaw. The crews, in shifts, worked day and night. Water entered four out of eight houses in the danger zone.

Bucks Herald, 21st March

Mr. H. N. Hedges, Surveyor to the Tring Urban District Council reported that the recent visitation of frost and snow was the worst he had experienced in his 30 years work in Tring. After the first falls it was possible to clear the main roads as usual, but subsequently that proved to be impossible. Snowplough gangs were out on two Sundays and there was also Sunday work on clearing the gullies. The main bus route was not stopped although there was single line traffic for a time owing to one heavy drift. The Chesham ‘bus service was affected and the Hastoe and Northfield Roads were blocked for some days. There was severe flooding at Cow Lane and the pumps of the N.F.S. were used to clear water from the houses. The ordinary scavenging work [refuse collection] had been severely disrupted.

Councillor Batchelor referred to the concern of Cow Lane residents about flood damage to their houses and the cost incurred by having the N.F.S. to pump water away. … In reply … the Surveyor said the clearing of the ditch from London Road to the Station road would only have meant a bigger rush to the danger point than occurred. … The Chairman expressed the Council’s view that the Surveyor and his staff did their very best to mitigate the misery and trouble caused by the floods.

The Annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Alban, First Martyr of Britain, on Easter Monday, [April 7th] is the main item of news this month. This year we decided that our usual habit of cycling would be a bit hazardous owing to the general inclemency of the weather, so we went by bus. As it happened it turned out a beautiful sunny day, though there was a very strong wind.

Parish Magazine, May