OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2026

As we say goodbye to the hottest summer on record and look to the colder, darker days of winter, we will be bringing back our home made soups

from 1st October.

We will also be offering our very popular baked potatoes once again! These can be pre-ordered each morning to save disappointment - just give us a call on 01582 461321.

Open from 8am daily, serving full breakfast, warming porridge and freshly made sandwiches.

In a rush for the train? Call us ahead of time and pre order a takeaway coffee, porridge bowl or sandwich!

Thank you for your custom and continued support.

Damien and the team

Thompson Close Cafe

OCTOBER 24 at CLARENDON FINE ARTS 1 - 3pm

Meet Sherry Valentine- Daines

View an exhibition of her latest work , from sophisticated society scenes to nostalgic childhood memories.

On the Harpenden High Street.

On Saturday 17 October at 10:15 for 10:30 am,

UNA Harpenden will be hosting a public lecture on UN Development Goals: How are they actually going? by Mike Pearson of UNA Harpenden at the Salvation Army, Leyton Green, Harpenden AL5 2TG.

Register here for the talk.

Oct 30 - Nov 1. Harpenden’s biggest indoor Art Exhibition.

October. Childrens competition to win a family day out at the Zoo. Organised by Travel Four Seasons on the Harpenden High Street.

Complete a form at TFS. Be amazed by the fabulous window graphics of wild animals to set the theme.

Oct 6.

Everyday Life in Inter-War Harpenden

Exhibition in the Museum in the Park

In 1986 the Harpenden History Society ran a competition for recollections of life in Harpenden before 1930. It attracted 20 contributions from as far afield as South Africa.

The exhibition in Harpenden’s Museum, on the lower floor of the Eric Morecambe Centre, on Everyday Life in Inter-War Harpenden draws on those memories as well as material from other sources, including the Society’s extensive photographic archive.

David Kendall, the Society’s archivist, said, “The exhibition provides a picture of what living in Harpenden was like in those days of growth between the World Wars, during which the Town doubled in size. The focus is on the High Street, Living and Working, Health and Childhood.”

Roger Butterworth, chairman, added, “During the period, the Waverley Silk Mill, formerly brewery, on the High Street, was demolished and was replaced by High Street Methodist Church, Woolworths (now the Library), Boots and Sainsbury’s first shop in the Town. When, in the 1960s, Sainsbury’s moved to their present site, Boots expanded into the space vacated.”

The exhibition, which runs to January, was conceived, researched and mounted by a team of volunteers led by David Kendall. The Museum, in the Eric Morecambe Centre, Rothamsted Park, on the lower floor, is usually open 11am-3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10.30am-3.30pm on Saturdays. Admission is free.

The Society is run by volunteers, with no governmental grant or subsidy. Membership of the Society helps to support the exhibitions. Members can attend the monthly talks given by local people on subjects of local interest. These are also open to the public; a voluntary donation of £5 is requested. Members also receive a hard copy of the regular newsletter, the current edition of which featuring the history of Harpenden’s Breweries is also available to read or download on the Society’s website: www.harpenden-history.org.uk

PHOTOS courtesy of the Harpenden History Society