Pump House Jazz Club

The Pump House Jazz Club has been a thriving jazz venue in Watford for the best part of 48 years. It was founded in 1972 by Trevor Hodgkinson and Neville Marsh, in the newly acquired buildings that were to become the Pump House Theatre and Arts Centre. The first bands were alternating each week between Trevor Anthony's Jazz Men and Richard Leach's Northside Jazz band, which formed a great basis to establish traditional jazz in the Watford area. In the late 1970s the Club was set on a more formal footing with Reg & Margaret Bright booking different bands each week. A typical month saw Ken Sims All Stars, Trevor Anthony Jazz Men, Northside Jazz Band, Monty Sunshine and Main Avenue Jazz Band. Since those heady smoky nights, the Pump House Jazz Club is still thriving - in fact it is becoming the Preservation Hall of Hertfordshire & London attracting the top jazz bands on the circuit.