Right trade, wrong place

The story of the eastern districts of St Albans has been gleaned from many sources, not least the recollections from people who were born and were brought up here, and continue to enjoy their lives as 'eastenders'.  Then, there are many written sources, all of which we have come to rely on for their accuracy.

Among these are the street directories.  Apart from the odd occasion when Amery is printed as Avery, or V Thomas becomes W Thomas, they are largely accurate.  So, when, during the first two decades of the 20th century, the villages sections of Kelly's directories listed Charles Simmons running a post office and stores in Station Road, I assumed that to be correct.

The Colney Heath sub-section, right at the end of these incredibly useful books, included, not only that village, but Horseshoes (the old name for the place we now call Smallford), Sleapshyde, Tyttenhanger, Wilkins Green, Nast Hyde, Roestock and Roe Hyde.  In all of those places there is only one Station Road, between the roundabout (used to be Smallford crossroads) and the bridge over the old railway.  There is a post office and stores in Station Road, but all of the buildings in that road are 1930s or newer.  If there was an earlier post office then that building would have been demolished.

I set aside the obvious question to ask first (why would a post office open in a community of perhaps fewer than a dozen households?)  The question instead asked: did anyone know of an earlier building, or a shop?  For two years we pondered but found no solution.

Former post office and stores, run by Charles and Ann Simmons, near the
Crooked Billet in Colney Heath.
Photo courtesy JOHN ROWLAND

This week a resident of Colney Heath, pouring over a collection of old pictures of his village, thought he had found the answer and passed one photo, of the former Colney Heath Post Office, to me.  Above the window is the name C Simmons.  Old maps were checked, as well as census returns; together with the photo it can be confirmed that the directory entry should have read "Charles Simmons, Colney Heath, post office and stores."  How could the entry have been printed consistently incorrectly for so many years?

There is, of course, one intriguing possibility, to do with the names of roads.  You have to imagine a time before the bypass which intersects the parish between Horseshoes and Colney Heath.  In 1900, where we now have a disconnected road (at the bypass) with three names (Station Road, Smallford Lane and High Street), it was one ambling lane.  Colney Heath villagers had
actively lobbied to have the station name boards read Smallford Station for Colney Heath.  The station was considered the villagers' own station.  Perhaps there was a time when the entire lane was known locally as Station Lane or Station Road.  In which case the directories would have been correct!

Perhaps that should be the next question:  It there any evidence, or recollection of the lane which connects Horseshoes (Smallford) and Colney Heath being known as Station Road throughout?