Oaklands Blossom

 1919, and there were only occasional signs of activity between the former little triangular  entrance to Winches Farm via its track and its cherry trees, and the corner exit from Colney Heath Lane.  At the latter until recently the sounds of clattering booted soldiers walking to and from the little Hill End station as men came to or from long periods of leave.  Their training ground had been at the expansive grounds of Oaklands House.  Owner Sarah Fish and her daughters, having removed themselves to St Albans at the beginning of the war and were the last of Oaklands' domestic occupants.  Oaklands had been requisitioned for war purposes.

Nineteenth century Oaklands Mansion and its grounds when in private residential hands, and 
beyond the eastern limits of St Albans.

Two major events occurred in 1920, and one a decade later, which would forever alter the streetscape between Oakwood Drive and Colney Heath Lane.  Hertfordshire County Council made the decision to acquire the Oaklands Mansion, together with its grounds and the surrounding farm for the purpose of opening an agricultural institute; it is this event we will return to shortly.

This is the understated entrance view of Oaklands at the South Lodge and opposite to the
junction with Colney Heath Lane. Busy in the First War by soldiers, and busy today from 
the comings and goings of the College's students.

In the mid 1890s a land holding had been acquired for creating a mental asylum.  Part of this holding included Hill End Farm, but the Asylum authority prepared to dispose those parts of the farm they had no further use for.  The intention was to sell for development the land in the main  bordering Hatfield Road from near Ashley Road and Colney Heath Lane.  A small number of new homes appeared in the formative new district called Oaklands before the next event occurred c1925 with the sale of two fields belonging to Winches diminutive farm unit.

Since the thirties the Wynchlands shops have served an increasingly busy community.

The result became the homes of Wynchlands Crescent and, along the main road's northern frontage, a terrace of  shops and a range of semi-detached homes. By the end of the decade the number of incoming residents had created a busy little residential area which also crept along Colney Heath Lane, and in the 1930s, the beginnings of Longacres close to a recently gutted brickworks.

The third event was the sale of the remainder of Beaumonts Farm in 1929, leading to housing from Oaklands down to Beaumont Avenue and back along a number of residential roads creeping towards Sandpit Lane.  But even as these roads were being laid out the County Education Department was negotiating with developer Watford Land for the creation of two new senior schools which opened in 1938.

Meanwhile, the Agricultural Institute padded on, developing its courses with comparatively little external funding, adding as much as they could in the way of student accommodation, lecture rooms and labs, animal housing and agricultural buildings as could be afforded during a period of forty years or so.

From the beginning the former Agricultural Institute made what they could of the old farm's
buildings and facilities.
COURTESY OAKLANDS COLLEGE

And so we reach the next milestone to affect this corner of the eastern districts, when a fresh approach to tertiary education was introduced to the colleges of further education (CFE) and the agricultural college in St Albans, and further CFEs in Welwyn-Hatfield and Dacorum.  An unlikely new hub was proposed and accepted for the grouping of the existing satellites under a new brand called Oaklands, located at – well, Oaklands!

So begun further new and upgraded building work, and gradual closing over a number of years of the campus at 29 Hatfield Road; an adventurous new development programme had begun.  However, the planned national funding failed to fully materialise, and to compensate the College was left to find a way by using one of its fields for the building of the Raptors estate (Oaklands Grange) which opened onto Sandpit Lane.

News just released jointly by Oaklands College and Taylor Wimpey – which seems to give away which will be building the next tranche of houses on another of Oaklands' fields, formerly part of the Institute's orchards and fruit gardens.  The development will have the overarching title Oaklands Blossom; who could imagine a more delightful location to live!  However, I suspect the new homes will be named after Richard Blossom, the College's fourth Principal (1979 to 1992). Consultations having taken place over the past twelve months, planning consents have now been submitted to St Albans District Council.

A new leaflet shows the focus for proposed new works; Oaklands Blossom housing (top
left) and new college accommodations (centre).

The benefits to Oaklands College include the much needed heritage restoration and upgrade of the Mansion, supportive facilities for animal care, sports facilities upgrades, a new High Needs Centre for SEND provision, new recreation facilities for students and the wider community, and new facilities to support the county's film and television industry.  It will probably amount to the largest single programme of expansion and development in the history of the site since 1920.

But there is much more to this 2025 + future which promises as much for the community as for the college.  In addition to a mix of types totalling over four hundred homes, of which 40% are expected to be affordable.  Eighty additional houses will be for older and supported living and a local centre and community hub of shops and services "for existing and new residents" by which we assume this means residents living in any of the existing Oaklands roads would be included.  Open spaces and play areas are included, with new habitats and landscaping, and "a net biodiversity gain of 10%".  Finally, a site close to the new housing has been reserved for a future primary school.

Once the planning documents have gone live on the Council's website  we all have the opportunity to comment on one or more segments of the proposed programme.  There appears to be something for everyone in and around Oaklands.

Street Plates 11

 This month's selection of east end streets is as varied as any so far in this series; we have six to ponder over in November.

There are many roads which honour the countryside, particularly trees.  However, there is only one area where an entire development was devoted to trees; one, Woodland Drive, named after the variety of trees to be found on and around the former Beaumonts Farm before houses replaced them. An entire gather of street plates came to be planted. Beechwood, Elm, Hazelwood, Oakwood, Oakdene, Chestnut, Willow, Linden, Ashley, Pinewood, Redwood.  The latter two are softwoods historically to be found in the part of the farm south of Hatfield Road and near Colney Heath Lane.

Although there are many traditional 1930s houses in Oakwood Drive there are also a range of 
bungalows.

Oakwood Drive had been intended to link Hatfield Road and Sandpit Lane. a twin of Beechwood Avenue.  However, its length was shortened before the post-war continuation of building.  It was the only road in the series which contained a number of bungalows (although there are three in Hazelwood Drive) and Beaumont School which occupies land to one side of the road has only recently transferred its main access from the road to Austen Way where the facilities are much improved.  Interestingly it is one road where there are no street trees along any part.  And a 1958 primary school was appropriately named Oakwood. 

While Oakwood Drive was first named in 1930, a parallel residential road did not materialise at all, as the County Council negotiated with developers Watford Land to acquire the site for Beaumont School, and a whole swathe of land for playing fields between Hatfield Road and Sandpit Lane.  However, that missing road finally came to life in the 21st century as new homes have been constructed on the school's Hatfield Road playing field, the school having acquired replacement and much improved land, from part of Oaklands College, formerly Oaklands Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture.  

Recently built on part of the school's lower front field, which was a later addition to the
playing field area in the late 1940s, and the location of a small aircraft crash site.  Before
becoming a school site Watford Land had intended to build houses along the Hatfield Road
frontage; and before the school was planned an extension to Elm Drive had been intended.
But houses ended up here anyway!

In fact, three new roads have come into being: Shakespeare Close, Austen Way and Bronte Close, giving an appropriately named trio of literary connections with the school itself.

The Hatfield Road frontage of St Peter's Farm once extended from Lemsford Road as far as the western boundary of the current Fleetville Recreation Ground.  The rear boundary accommodated the track which later became Brampton Road.  A significant event for owner William Cotton was the acquisition of a swathe of his land for the Midland Railway.  The farm was later acquired by Earl Spencer, owner of an extensive acreage nearby.  Shortly before the turn of the 20th century Spencer sold a section of St Peter's Farm for housing (Lemsford Road) and for the park. Finally, residential housing developed along the rest of the farm along Hatfield Road.

The field adjacent to the farm homestead was acquired by Joshua Reynolds and in recognition of land owner Spencer and his family he named the road on which he built expensive homes "near the park and the railway station" Blandford Road.  The Marquis of Blandford, a subsidiary title of the Duke of Marlborough – a title of the Spencer Churchill family was honoured by Reynolds in the naming of his road linking Hatfield Road and Brampton Road.

Some location detail may be helpful here.  Find yourself along St Albans Road near the centre of Sandridge.  Suggest the Green Man public house where, opposite is House Lane, of fairly standard width for a residential street.  Pass St Leonard's Crescent and turn immediately left.  This is Woodcock Hill.  For a short distance this too is notionally wide but soon after passing Sandridge Primary School we lose that generosity and are left to navigate a narrow lane of single vehicle width with an occasional passing place.  Daylight is quickly lost by extensive tree cover which grows right up to the road edge, although there is open grassland beyond.

We continue to gain height until reaching the transmitting station and associated buildings.  The entrance to Fairfolds Farm is on the left as we descend and the narrow lane passes Nashes Farm Lane on its way ever further towards Coopers Green. No habitation bar one or two dwellings find themselves on such a lonely place, although archaeology has discovered Roman evidence of sorts.

At the topmost elevation of Woodcock Hill were Roman artefacts, which
of course you won't see; and a large transmitting station, which you definitely will!
COURTESY GOOGLE STREETVIEW

Most of us will not have spotted a woodcock.  Fortunately the RSPB have super pictures.
COURTESY RSPB

So we have established the Hill part of the street plate name – and quite a hill it is.  The mix of dense woodland and nearby open space may offer a clue about the rest, the most numerous bird life is woodcock hereabouts.  Although known as a wading bird it is not shallow water which is important here.  Woodcock are ground resting and hide in dense woodland during most daylight hours.  It is camouflaged and a commonly found game bird; no doubt welcomed in earlier centuries for consumption by rural communities.  The lane's name would give newcomers a major claim to one generous source of nutrition – with the land owner's permission of course.

Commercial developers do enjoy naming roads on their estates in series.  In the case of Jersey Farm most of them are short in length and may contain even shorter branches.  We have seen in Marshalswick roads having historic links to the home ground of its developer Thomas Nash.  One of the themes over at Jersey Farm centred on squares to be found in central London.  Of course there is little comparison to be found between the scale of the little and sometimes curly semi rural housing groups of Jersey Farm and the large formal and busy squares in office or hotel land in central or west London.

I count six closes which are named after London squares, of which there were many dozens to choose from!  Portman Square (illustrated here) are joined by Regents Square, Berkley Square, Mayfair Square, Langham Square and Chancery Square.

Mature trees along the perimeter of Portman Square. A small number of frontage trees and
ornamental firs form hedging points in Portman Close.

Most squares when created were for the exclusive use of the residents whose homes were built on most, if not all, sides of the square.  As a result they were fenced off and locked to outsiders, many being more open like mini parks, rather than growing to mini woodlands as can be found today (see illustration for Portman Square).  The limited comparison with Jersey Farm seems to be restricted to access to open space nearby. Such space was part of the planning brief, reducing the size of private gardens and adding a greater amount of Public Open Space to be shared by all.  I wonder how many residents have investigated their road's London equivalent, and whether or not they approved of the alternative!

No connection with a local zoo – there are no local zoos!  But the name has much to do with aircraft.  Really?  The land which at one time was the home of de Havilland Aircraft Company is now home to student accommodation and a variety of businesses.  Over twenty access roads have names related to the aircraft company.  

DH95 Flamingo in service with RAF.
COURTESY RAF

de Havilland designed and built a surprising number of types over its extensive history – de H was not all about the Mosquito and the Comets. Those who know their type numbers will also remember DH95.  The company had designed and built its first all metal body in 1938/9, intended for military personnel transport, with seating for up to seventeen passengers.  Fourteen are known to have been built and three of them entered service with Jersey Airways, presumably with a short life for the carrier, given the island's enemy occupation from 1940.

The same marque was given to a variant known as the Hertfordshire, seating a few more passengers, although it had a short life, having crashed near Mill Hill in 1940.  No further Hertfordshires were constructed.

de Havilland was proud of its designers, and in the case of the Flamingo chief designer of the type, Ronald Bishop, is also honoured nearby in Bishop Square.

Finding A Way

As a prelude to a new monthly series of posts on the rough-and-ready process of creating a community in our East End it might help to explore the circumstances individuals, builders and others began to occupy the "empty areas" beyond the established town, the boundaries of which had barely reached the foot of the town hill in Victoria Street in 1879.   In the nineteenth century town our forebears would have been able to perambulate along the streets, thoroughfares and cut-throughs past and between the buildings of the built-up areas.  Beyond these there were only the roadways leading to distant towns, more immediate villages and narrow lanes which passed farms, and reinforced by an informal network of footpaths and trackways, many of which had been in existence for as long as the land had been worked.

But in that mix not all paths were freely available, perhaps including what we might call today permissive routes, across fields or through farmyards.  Let's walk along 1880s road towards Hatfield.  We might have begun our journey from one of the cottages (no longer extant) close to Camp Hill hamlet.  

On our invented journey on foot we reach the privately owned track, now named Sutton Road, at Hatfield Road; our aim being to reach Dead Woman's Hill, now St Albans Hill, Sandridge. As many readers will already know the little building on the corner, recently closed in 1880, the rat-infested toll house. We walk eastwards along the toll road itself until reaching a junction of two footpaths and a private road. 

The toll road (until 1880) between the toll house on the left to junction to the far, top
right.  The footpath to St Peter's is the double broken line at the top.  Today this section is 
The Alley between Beaumont Avenue and Woodstock Road South.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The first footpath would take us in the wrong direction; it crosses a field and leads travellers towards St Peter's Church. The road (today called Beaumont Avenue) is gated and is the official access to Beaumonts Farm; at the far end are the farm's labourers' cottages and just beyond the northern gate is Sandpit Lane which would be convenient for our purpose.  However, we have no key to either of the locked gates, the wide cart ones or the narrow pedestrian one.  You would have to request permission from the land owner, Thomas Kinder.

Close-up of the first map's junction.  The brown road is Hatfield Road; the track to St Peter's is 
on the left while the beginning of the path crossing the farm is the righthand arm of
a V shape at the top.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The remaining option would be a footpath to the right of the road gate, accessible via a stile at a gap in the hedge line. The footpath would lead you past the farm towards Sandpit Lane along the edges of fields. Today we might think of our route as being Beechwood Avenue but is was a little further east and close to where a phone box was one sited close to the first house in Beaumont Avenue.  

The remains of the Avenue's South Gate after it had become disused.

The stile giving access to the to the farm footpath, to the right, out of
view, of the gate in the previous photograph.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

As the path led closer to the farm we would have passed, on the right, the remains of the former Manor House and almost immediately reach the private road to the farm homestead itself – today's extension of Farm Road – which we would cross and almost immediately reach the farmyard wall.  The path would continue northwards, passing a narrow pedestrian gate into the yard. We would next encounter the junction of three fields where our path forces us to turn left and then right a few yards further on.  

The farm complex is on the right; the farm road crosses the
map L to R; the broken line of the footpath passes the farm
between top and bottom.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The farm homestead protects by the stone wall in the below photograph.
COURTESY RACHEL TRAVERS

The footpath as it passes the farm (out of view to the right). The young men are walking
southwards towards Hatfield Road.
COURTESY RACHEL TRAVERS

At the turn of the century a small temporary corrugate iron cottage would be perched at this junction for a farm labourer's family.  However, for now, we continue until we reach a lane, Sandpit Lane.  Ahead we would have limited permission permitted to continue until  today's Jersey Lane. To continue in earlier times we would have possibly taken a risk by walking along the private drive belonging to the Marten family who owned the land.  However,  Marten, who had been irritated by commoners passing the frontage drive of his house,  obtained permission to have a lane built – he named it New Road, which became Marshalswick Lane – which enabled commoners to travel with or without animals or carts, until they reached the St Albans Road between the town and Deadwoman's Hill leading down to Sandridge.

Our journey complete we had been seriously limited in preparing our route by the permissions required by successive land owners and their relative benevolences.  Needless to say, many travellers took their own risks! 

Although improvements were gradually made as the new century dawned, this was the route taken by children living at Newgates Farm and its surrounding cottages in walking to and from their school in Camp Lane, once the new St Peter's Rural Elementary School was opened in 1898. Now called simply Camp School, this was a huge step forward for children living in the rural east end where formal education had previously been sporadic. Soon after the school's  opening parents from Newgates were taken to court for failing to send their child to the school even after extensive falls of snow made the journeys impractical.

Life on Beaumont's Farm gradually changed following the death of landowner Thomas Kinder, and a few years later sections of Beaumonts were sold, the farm homestead and remaining fields were rented out, and eventually, instead of growing crops the land grew houses.

65 and Counting

 Are there any books written about St Albans?  Yes, I know of about 65 and there will be several others, not all will be available to buy, or even to borrow at the library, but they will have been written and published at some time.  Occasionally, a title might be available from sources such as Abe Books.  For others you may struggle to locate a title.

To trigger your memory why not begin with https://www.stalbansowneastend.org.uk/more/books-about-St-Albans/ 

This link will take you to the first of two pages illustrating the covers of 65 titles, and in most cases the ISBNs by which they may be located.  Even if your local library does not hold a copy, it may be able to bring one to you via the inter-library lending service.  Of course there will be tiles which predate the ISBN system, but that's progress for you!

Many of the covers shown will be familiar; others will be freshly new.  You will also realise a few covers give you the impression artistically of being dated.  

Three of the four titles illustrated below are newly published in 2025, while one, new to this website, had been published back in 2016 – plenty of time to become familiar with at book shops or in the Local shelf at St Albans district branch libraries.

We'll begin with a pocket-sized book published a few years back:       St Albans History Tour by Robert Bard.  And it genuinely is a pocket-sized little package.  Possibly readers will be more familiar with the same author's St Albans Through Time.

The locations will be familiar but the photo editing including selective closeups of many of the early twentieth century postcard views, have produced fresh perspectives of groups and individuals within the street scenes portrayed.   Many of the images have been given a high contrast treatment which suggest to us that we are looking at something quite different. The book contains an absolute minimum of text, and although the same could be said of many of the "little books" portraying the city, in this case the small blocks of text are also brightly bold.  The author does not wish to present the images only to be supported by a label taking second place on the page. Hooray! the mini-volume also finds space for an annotated map. Published 2016 Amberley ISBN 978-1-4456-5761-5.

In The Secret War in St Albans 1939-1945 Michael Barbakoff takes readers on a visit to a number of buildings commandeered during the Second World War for use in signals intelligence and special operations.  He identifies the nature of the research undertaken at each location.  For readers with little knowledge of these matters a more comprehensive list of the operational organisations, their codes and other abbreviations, might help us in our understanding, but the author presents us with a comprehensive list of other sources that we, his readers, might find useful.  

This title is a handy companion to Pamela Shields' Hertfordshire Secrets and Spies published by Amberley in 2009.  Published 2025  Amazon ISBN 979-82839-2983-6.

A book appears to be "authentic," it seems, if its cover portrays a photo of the Cathedral taken from Abbey Mill Lane. St Albans A Potted History by Valerie Shrimplin has such a picture on its cover! 

Glorious colour photographs and concise chapters take us through historical time in fewer than 100 pages.  So, a history of St Albans in a couple of hours.  As you might expect from this blog we would highlight any references to our East End, and in this book there are just two: the former prison entrance, and an advertisement for a coat from Nicholson's old factory in Fleetville.  But we would certainly recognise every other building, and each would surely be on a route the City Tour Guides would visit. Commended for its range of photographic subject matter, and the viewing angles chosen. Even both sides of a Roman Ver coin.  Well done to the photo editor!  Published 2025 Amberley ISBN 978-1-3981-2083-9.

What can we say of St Albans and Western Hertfordshire in the British Civil Wars 1642–51, other than the length of its title?  Oh, and the author line; its contributors were John Morewood, Nick Martin and Gill Girdziusz.

This is growing into a delightful series of Concise Histories, beginning with Mistress of Gorhambury Lady Anne Bacon and then St Michael's Village from rural settlement to residential suburb 1700–1930 – more lengthy titles!  These titles are introduced in no more than 50 pages which do constrain the telling of the story.  You don't need to hunt for details of the Civil Wars connection with St Albans and the answer to the question why?  In one small-format and concise account the authors have presented an essential account in one place.  Well done to the publishers St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society; another lengthy title!  Published 2025  SAHAAS ISBN 987-0-9011-9426-8.

Street Plates 10

 Six more street plates around our East End to ponder over, perhaps as we sit on a boundary wall at the end of a road waiting for a friend to turn up.

No legend being alluded to here, but the loyalty of a friend being rewarded.  Arthur Road is at the Eastern end of Bycullah Terrace, the range of little shops opposite Morrison's supermarket.  But when these shops, and the cul-de-sac road known as Arthur Road, were first built at the turn of the twentieth century, the name Fleetville hadn't even been invented.  However, Thomas E Smith had a printing works in a little turning off Fleet Street, London's former "newspaper road".  He wanted to expand into colour printing which required more space – a lot more space – and chose a site in the fields on the east side of St Albans.  Its sale would benefit the St Albans School. The two men Smith chose to take charge of the new colour works along the road to Hatfield were Ernest Townson and works senior manager Arthur W Hall.  

Arthur W Hall

The "printing village," or Fleet Ville is it was first known, would have  consisted of about five residential roads had it been completed, but Smith lived to see three of them begin; what happened to the others is another story.  

However, the first was named in honour of the works senior general manager, Arthur Hall.  It is often assumed that employees and their families of the works were the sole tenants, but such was the number of homes being built in the vicinity at the time, Smith's new employees had many options open to them and therefore Arthur Road's homes were equally open to employees of an increasing number of other factories and workshops in the district.  

It didn't take long for the above printing works to become surrounded with other residential roads, and one site on the edge of the former Beaumonts Farm lay between Hatfield Road and the branch railway and named Castle Road – from the nick-name, Rats' Castle, given to the recently closed turnpike toll house nearby.  Councillor, manufacturer and developer Horace Slade purchased much land off Hatfield Road and now also purchased smaller sites adjacent to Castle Road, one of which, with the consent of St Albans' Council, was named Cape Road.

The turn of the twentieth century saw a number of roads in many parts of the country named in recognition of the British success following the conclusion of the two Boer wars in South Africa.  The Cape referred to was the Northern Cape.

As with Arthur Road in a city like St Albans assumptions about street names often jump to Royalty and titled families.  But the location of Edward Close offers another suggestion since several of the streets in the area surrounded the former orchid nurseries.  They are often species of orchid or the specialist plantsmen who have made rare plants famous or popular.  In this case keeping records of the names and natural environments of species, the books or registers gradually becoming more organised, and pre-eminent was Edwards' (or Edwards's) Botanical Register, which launched in 1815. The register was frequently updated under Sydenham Edwards and later editors.  By the time the fifth update had been published Edwards' name became synonymous with the publication and became part of the title: Edwards's Botanical Register consisting of a complete Alphabetical and Systematical Index of Names, Synonyms, and Matter

Edward Close is a short cut-de-sac and there are probably fewer houses than there were words in the full title of Edwards' publication!

But this is another orchid related street, and we should ask how many of its residents know of this connection.

Ardens Way is a 1960s residential road on a hill from Sandpit Lane via Briar Road up to The Ridgeway, Marshalswick.  Given that the word Arden has connections with woodlands and forests, and although there have been woodlands hereabouts, though not extensively, we need to look elsewhere for a connection, if there is one.

Arden's Marsh

Continue eastwards a short distance along Sandpit Lane until we reach House Lane, the entry road to Jersey Farm, and we come across a tiny hamlet of what is now limited to a short terrace of traditional farm  labourers' cottages of uncertain age. Its name is still known as Arden's Marsh.  Referring to older maps the name had been known variously as Hardings Marsh or Harden's Marsh.  Since the 1970s House Lane has met Sandpit Lane at a roundabout, but before then the connection was an oblique junction running behind the terrace of homes.  Now it is no more than a short footpath.  It is possible that its original name began with Hardings and only in more recent times did it morph into Ardens. Perhaps!

However it does seem probable that Ardens Way was named as such because of its proximity to Ardens Marsh.

Various attempts are made to bed the streets of modern residential estates into their historical landscapes, even if a certain amount of invention is required.  It is quite common for the traditional field names to be re-used as one of the modern streets.  When laying out the London Road estate in the early post-second world war period, a field bordering a section of Cell Barnes Lane had been known as Hopground Field.

Typical Kentish hop ground field.

Although no part of our East End was particularly known for the production of beers and other alcoholic drinks, fields used for the growing of hops were common and widespread.  Today many brands of drinks are nationally named and produced on industrial scales.  Transport is only one reason why this has not always been the case.  A key alternative reason is the variability of the natural water supply and beers, mead, ciders, and various other fermented drinks were created locally and consumed locally, even by children in lower strengths.  The fact that a former field has been known as Hopground Field suggests it had been used as such in relatively recent times.

Sunderland Avenue is in the district north of Fleetville and developed on land previously owned by Earl Spencer and building had begun from the late 1920s.  The roads have frequent references to ancient and titled families with connections to St Albans.  Titled families are fortunately straightforward to connect; they almost always leave strong historic footprints!  Charles Spencer, the third Duke of Marlborough (another St Albans connection) as Earl of Sunderland in the eighteenth century inherited a title passed from his elder brother.  It is not only the titles themselves which are recorded in history but the beneficial bodies and charities they become associated as their names are recorded.  Their influence assists those bodies on whose trustee and governor lists they appear.

Representing the Coram Foundling Hospital

In this case the Earl of Sunderland was a founding governor of the London Foundling Hospital in 1739.  Coram, the organisation is still known today as a key children's charity, and influential individuals remain keen to be associated with similar charitable causes.  We are sure that residents of Sunderland Avenue who are aware of the origin of their road's name will be additionally proud that Sunderland's association with Coram and his charity ensures its continued success in the 21st century.

A Gentle Family

 Take an occasional ample through Hatfield Road Cemetery, glancing at names on headstone, and we recognise a name which means something to us.  And so, in this occasional series, we pause at the name Gentle.  As I recall from a series of story walks a few years back I recall pondering that if ever there was a practical family for a mechanical world then the Gentle family would be ahead of the pack.

The location of the grave of Charles Gentle at the eastern side of Hatfield
Road Cemetery.

You don't have to delve far back in time before you discover that a family's previous generations didn't originate from St Albans anyway.  They either arrived from afar via the main roads or gradually migrated towards St Albans, generation by generation, from smaller towns and villages along the quieter byways.

A street view of Kimpton a little more recently than the leaving year of the Gentle family.

So arrived Samuel Gentle, who was born in Kimpton in 1808.  His previous port of call before reaching the city was Sandridge, which is where he first me his future wife, Mary Ann.  He probably took on an inn or alehouse for Samuel was a brewer. He did not stay there for long for most of their eight children were born in a house in Adelaide Street or in St Peter's Street.

This was a male dominated household, seven of the children were boys, so let's consider their various specialisms once they had left their schools behind. Daniel became a bricklayer – he and wife Caroline moved to Lambeth where they raised their own family of five.

Samuel junior became a cooper, probably supporting his father and older brother in their jobs.  Charles became a blacksmith.  David, like his brother Samuel, became a Cooper as well as a basket maker.  Philip moved away from St Albans and learned the trade of engine fitting.  One more child, William, but his trade is so far unknown to me.

In concentrating on Charles' family, partly because it is his grave which appears in Hatfield Road Cemetery and that of his wife, Adelia.  It is the name Charles Gentle who was probably best known to residents of St Albans.  Charles found a small house along a yard in French Row, making a success of iron founding.  As time went on he acquired more of the tiny plots around him in order to expand the business.

There were two girls and two boys in the family, and Charles junior took an absorbing interest in the work of his father, eventually joining and then taking over the entire business, but not before also working in the straw hat industry in Fishpool Street.  Some of the present Christopher Place shopping centre has been built on the former Gentle iron foundry, although there was an increasing need to move more of the heavy industries away from the City Centre after World War 2.

The top map (surveyed 1891) is a little more helpful than below (1911) in stating the presence of
a smithy; the location of a metal engineering works within the crowded buildings of
Dagnall Street, Verulam Road and French Row.
MAPS COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The former buildings many of which accommodated the Gentle metal engineering

works now accommodates the Christopher Place shopping area, which takes its name 

from a narrow cut on the site named Christopher Yard.

COURTESY GOOGLE EARTH

Charles junior's younger brother, Alfred, tried making shoes at first, but he returned to the family's core business and became a skilled mechanical engineer; his home in Church Crescent becoming appropriately named The Capstone.  Once retired would frequently be seen around town with his camera.  Although he would snap almost any scene his main passion of engineering would encourage him to take photos of bridges, roads under repair – in fact almost any hole in the ground, often to do with building construction.  Alf therefore managed to photograph street scenes before they disappeared in front of the bulldozer.  Much of Alf's collection is archived at St Albans' Museums.

Among the significant collection of Alf Gentle's pictures in the archive of 
St Albans Museums is this of a service tunnel below part of St Peter's Street.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

For much of this time a significant amount of the company's output was in the design and manufacture of bespoke engineering products for new and upgraded infrastructure in the city and surrounding districts; including in the Cathedral tower and Hatfield House entrance gates.

Post World War Two Gentle's moved their business to the former Hatfield Laundry
premises, which became the Tile Shop and later the Fleetville Emporium. The site is now
occupied by Trek Bikes from a new building.

From the early 1960s Gentle's moved to Fleetville and occupied the former laundry, and more recently became The Emporium.  Nevertheless Gentle's became popular with trades people and DIYers of all kinds.  So, the business had been in the city centre for a hundred years before venturing into the suburbs.  But this was not the only Gentle premises because a separate St Albans Welding was opened in Grange Street under the Gentle name, with all existing welding work moved over to the new business.  Meanwhile, along Hatfield Road, a regular parade of customers left with pipes of all lengths, radiators, pumps, tins of various liquids, tools – anything and everything to carry on their own trades, as well as domestic residents who have felt capable of undertaking their own domestic repairs and improvements.

Mammals, Leaves and Posters

 London has its Open House Festival for two full weeks in September, and many towns and cities around the country have their Heritage weekends (or longer) at the same time. Both London and St Albans  have just celebrated their 2025 events.  Well, mostly.  Many community and heritage events, especially those due to take place in the open air,  were postponed because of the threat of inclement weather – rain and strong winds.

Renovated platform of the former Smallford Station by volunteers of the organisation.

Occasional events take place both here at Smallford and at the next platform along the line,
Nast Hyde.

One such Heritage organisation, Smallford Station & Alban Way Heritage Society is a regular on the special weekend scene during the course of the summer period, and will now hold its Heritage Open Day on this coming Sunday, 21st September at the platform which at one time was Smallford Railway Station (find it a few hundred yards along Station Road from Smallford roundabout).  That implies you might be reaching the location by car, and these days you certainly can't do so by train!

But a wonderful method of reaching the location would be by taking a leisurely walk along the former track, joining the route from Abbey Station, London Road, Camp Road, Fleetville Hill End or Alban Point; or from the other direction from Hatfield Station.

Which is a ready opportunity to refer to a couple of related topics.  A few wildlife organisations have been releasing mammals whose numbers have been in decline.  Some newspapers carry regular repots of such events.  Not sure whether any releases have been taking place along the Alban Way at any time, but we could explore the possibility of voles along the stream and river banks in the vicinity.

Delightful walk along the tree lined Alban Way.  Colours will be turning red, golden and
bronze.

We have been recommended to enjoy the richer colours of autumn to be expected in the next two months as the leaves on deciduous trees turn to a greater range of reds, golds and yellows following this summer.

Apart from a warm welcome and cake when you arrive at the platform you won't be able to miss a new range of railway poster art on display under the general banner LNER, the name of the former owning company of the branch railway between St Albans and Hatfield.

Railway companies have always attracted potential passenger flows with pictorial detail about destinations and the scenic views along the way.  This set of six special posters has been designed by local artists.

Six new bespoke posters will be on show at Sunday's event, all created by local artists.

And if you have not visited Smallford Station for a few years, prepare to be amazed at the transformation!