The Garage

 Between the twin shops, which were the subjects of the previous post, and the Beaumont Avenue corner were a small number of villa homes which had been built before the First World War, although these are not for us to discuss here.  To the east of the two shops were two adjacent plots which had been acquired by Mr A Johnson of Grosvenor Road, presumably for investment, for they remained empty until the mid-1920s.  Two further properties,  a detached house (233) and a bungalow (235) and both owned by George and Arthur Curgenven respectively, were eventually subsumed in to the business originally launched by the Currell family. There was also a triangular plot at the rear, next to the alley (Crosspath) which belonged to the Oakley family of Sheephouse Farm, London Colney.

A pair of plots purchased by Henry and Sydney Currell in the mid 1920s is bordered in orange.  To
its right is a house and bungalow built at the same time but eventually demolished to enlarge the
commercial premises; the house to allow for an exit from the site, and the bungalow to provide
multiple parking for car sales and rentals.  The green plot was originally owned by the Oakley's of London Colney. Map published in 1937.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

What would happen here was connected with Henry George Currell who, in 1907, moved with his family from North Mymms to Burnham Road and then Princes Road (later renamed Woodstock Road South) in Fleetville.  A son, Sydney George, was born in 1909, and in 1927 father and son jointly set up a haulage and motor repair business by acquiring the two plots 229 and 231 (the orange block in the map above).  At the road end a house was constructed for Sydney and from which the business was run, while workshops occupied the rear and later expanded onto the former Oakley nursery garden (edge in green on the above map) as Currells' business grew.  People walking along the alley always had a clear view of the business premises, and foliage permitting, would still do were it not for the size of the current building.

When first opened in 1927 there was just one access, but as the number of visiting vehicles grew a one-way system developed with a separate exit on the eastern side of the site, the space for which required the demolition of another house.

Expansion of the business widely advertised in the Herts Advertiser, this
in 1937.
COURTESY HERTS ADVERTISER

Given the space, and the servicing facilities available, the business expanded in the mid thirties, first into house and office removals, and a little later into a carrier business, which made efficient use of vans and trucks which might otherwise lay idle.

This photo was included in the previous blog.  Of the three properties to the right, the first was 
Sydney Currell's house, the second, belonging to George Curgenven, was demolished for
the exit driveway, and the bungalow far right belonged to Arthur Curgenven and was
demolished to provide multiple parking for rental cars.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

Currell's remained under family control until 1948 when the wide-ranging nationalisation British Transport Commission was formed and road haulage was rebadged British Road Services (BRS). Most of its vehicles were painted National green or National red.  From then on the comings and goings along Hatfield Road became more frequent and vehicle sizes larger.

BRS transferred to the Transport Holding Company in 1963 and was  charged with disposing of those premises not required.  The site was soon sold to Valliant Coaches and then Smith of Maddiston Haulage.  Before the end of the decade we were all offered the opportunity of calling in as Sydney Currell's house was taken down and the Hatfield Road Petrol Filling Station opened, initially with attended service.

Five separate plots eventually became one transport hub!
COURTESY GOOGLE EARTH.

Competition from a duplicate station across the road owned by St Albans Co-operative Society on its former bakery site eventually ensured that neither survived in the face of increasingly larger petrol stations owned by the major oil companies.  The former Currell's site turned its attention to car sales and to vehicle hire, which is why we had Milcars and Thrifty Car & Van Rental more recently.

This site has certainly entertained a busy schedule in the past (almost) one hundred years.