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Thatched Barn
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The Thached Barn was a two-story mock-Tudor hotel built in the 1930s on the Barnet by-pass in Borehamwood, that was bought by holiday camp founder, Billy Butlin, before being requisitioned as Station XV by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in World War Two, and used to train spies. In the 1960s, it became a Playboy Club, and later it became associated with Elstree Film Studios, and used as a location for TV series The Saint, and later The Prisoner. The original building was torn down at the end of the 1980s, and replaced by a modern hotel., now the Holiday Inn Elstree,
927, the Thatched Barn was commissioned by a Mrs Merrick and opened in 1934 as a "roadhouse", and a place where film stars could meet a lady.
une 1942, the Special Operations Executive moved its Camouflage Section and main workshops to the Thatched barn.
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Encyclopedia
The Thached Barn was a two-story mock-Tudor hotel built in the 1930s on the Barnet by-pass in Borehamwood, that was bought by holiday camp founder, Billy Butlin, before being requisitioned as Station XV by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in World War Two, and used to train spies. In the 1960s, it became a Playboy Club, and later it became associated with Elstree Film Studios, and used as a location for TV series The Saint, and later The Prisoner. The original building was torn down at the end of the 1980s, and replaced by a modern hotel., now the Holiday Inn Elstree,
1930s: Roadhouse to the stars
In 1927, the Thatched Barn was commissioned by a Mrs Merrick and opened in 1934 as a "roadhouse", and a place where film stars could meet a lady.
1940s: SOE Station XV
In June 1942, the Special Operations Executive moved its Camouflage Section and main workshops to the Thatched barn. creating a research facility to create camouflage, explosive devices,, and coding equipment. Station XV was ran by film director and World War I RAF veteran Capt. J. Elder Wills, who recruited stage prop experts and even magicians; British stage magician Jasper Maskelyne was associated with the Station.
1950s: Building Research centre
In the 1950s, the Ministry of Works used the Thatched Barn as Building Research Station, for example, to test concrete.
1960s-1970s: Association with Elstree Studios
As an expensive hotel close to Elstree Film Studios, the Thatched Barn was used by film stars and film makers. Director Michael Winner says that during the days before you could telephone America directly from outside London, he would drive to the Thatched barn to phone California, to cast his film Chato's Land (1972).
Trivia
Film stars known to have visited the hotel include:
External links
- Thatched Barn history: Tommy Norton, "Playboy girls to rat bombs" in Borehamwood & Elstree Times, 9 December 2005 ()
- Unmutual Prisoner Locations Guide ()
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