Housed in Benskins House — the elegant 18th-century home of the local brewing family, who once owned half of Watford. The museum tells the story of the town from Roman Watling Street through the printing and brewing industries to the post-war commuter boom, with rooms set up to show how the brewing family lived.
There is a useful section on the Cassiobury Estate (with a model of the lost house) and a good display on Watford's printing industry, which at its 1960s peak produced most of Britain's mass-market paperbacks. Admission is free and the museum is a five-minute walk from the High Street.