IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Monica Close, WATFORD, WD24 4GZ

Viewed from the Brocklesbury Close overbridge, the Image is visible at the top of the hill.

The Centre is on Brocklesbury Close at its junction with Raphael Drive, and has room for up to 50 people seated or 75 standing. It was built by Watford Borough Council in 1990.

This is the view in the opposite direction from Image looking towards the rear of Image The road in the foreground is Reed's Crescent while Exeter Close leads towards the former orphanage. The houses on either side of Exeter Close are new build showing how well the modern architecture has been designed to match the old 1871 orphanage building.

The orphanage was built between 1869 and 1871, replacing the former building in Clapton in East London after an outbreak of typhoid fever there in 1865. The orphanage was built at a cost of about £63,000, originally housing 450 children, but increasing eventually to 600 (400 boys and 200 girls). The London Orphan Asylum charity was founded in a small house in East London in 1813 by Dr Andrew Reed, and moved to the Clapton site in 1837. It subsequently incorporated the Royal British Orphan School. At the time of its centenary in 1913 it was estimated that 7,200 children had passed through its doors. In commemoration of its founder it became Reed's School, Watford, in 1939, at which time it had 260 boys and 190 girls on its roll. The whole orphanage was converted into residential accommodation in the 1980s as the Reed's Estate.

The Chapel dates from around 1870 and was built at a cost of about £5,000. The appearance of the building has been compromised by the loss of its tower from the right hand end at some time. A postcard from 1912 depicting the chapel shows the missing tower as a slender structure built in the same style and proportions as the two towers to the left, but larger and taller. The building is Grade II listed and was converted into residential accommodation along with the rest of the former orphange around the 1980s.

This is the view from the opposite end of the walkway looking back towards where Image was taken from, and from Norbury Avenue towards Reed's Crescent. The main tower of the original orphanage seen in Image is visible at the end.

The residential area of Reed's Estate comprises the converted buildings of the former London Orphan Asylum plus some new build housing in its grounds. This is the view looking away from the original orphanage, from Reed's Crescent towards the new housing at the end of Norbury Avenue. This walkway is about 140 metres long. For a history of the former orphanage please see Image For a view from the other end of the walkway please see Image For a view in the opposite direction from this point please see Image