Watford Museum 3.35

Watford Museum is a local museum in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Watford Borough Council and is located on the Lower High Street in Watford. The museum opened in 1981 and is housed in a Grade II-listed Georgian town house which was previously the premises of Benskins Brewery. Its collection includes fine art, displays about local heritage, industry and sport, with a special collection related to the history of the Cassiobury Estate.HistoryThe mansion house at 194 Watford High Street was built for the Dyson family around 1775, although there are records of a brewery operating on the site since 1750. The three-storey, red-brick house, built in the Georgian neoclassical style, is fronted by a three-bay pediment with a central bull's eye window, and flanked by two lower wings which were added circa 1807. Tall, yellow-brick Victorian brewing premises once stood behind the house, although these have since been demolished.The house was bought in 1867 by Joseph Benskin and continued to operate as a brewery until it was acquired by Ind Coope in 1957. The mansion house was later converted into offices, and it was listed grade II by English Heritage in 1952. It became the site of the Watford Museum in 1981 and was officially opened on 14 March 1981 by the Watford-born actor and comedian, Terry Scott.