Of the publishing house in London, Ellen White commented,

It is in harmony with this instruction, that meeting-houses have been purchased and rededicated in Washington and in Nashville, while the publishing houses and the sanitariums at these centers have been established away from the congested heart of the cities, as outpost centers. This is the plan that has been followed in the removal of other publishing houses and sanitariums into the country, and that is now being followed in Great Britain with regard to the London publishing house and also the training school there. [Moved twenty miles from London to Stanborough Park, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, in 1906.] We are now given opportunity to advance in the opening providences of God by helping our brethren in these and many other important centers to establish the work on a firm basis, in order that it may be carried forward solidly.—Selected Messages 2:358.

In 1906, the Adventist church moved the publishing house in London to a piece of land in the country. According to the 1901 and 1911 census of the County of London, the population was about 4.5 million¹⁾, and if we include the suburbs, the population was closer to 7 million. About 17.5 miles (28km) northwest by rail was the much smaller town of Watford, population roughly 30,000.²⁾

The Adventist Church purchased about 75 acres (30 hectares) of country land about 3 miles (5km) north of Watford on which establish the publishing house. It was surrounded by fields, woods, and farms. Thus, the publishing house could move out of the big city into the country, and yet remain relatively close to the capital.

The committee sent to evaluate the property wrote, “We visited the property about ten days ago. Much had been told us of the natural beauty of Stanborough Park and now we can give no higher praise than to say it exceeded even our anticipation… The acres of wood surround on several sides the cleared portion of the estate, so that a spirit of quietness and restfulness will always pervade the grounds.”³⁾