Club House to Pizza Place

 This week we have looked over the fence from Grimaldi's former garage premises to discover a solid brick building now the trading premises of the business known as Papa Johns.  We should, however, remind ourselves of the early days of Fleetville and the local authority responsible for this part of St Albans.  Until 1913 the boundary of St Peter's Rural District Council met that of St Albans City at Albion Road.  In that year the city was authorised to extend its acreage as far as Winches Farm at Oaklands.

Work began shortly before the First World War on a club and organisational building for
St Peter's Conservative Club.

In the early years of Fleetville the Conservative Party representing the rural district met in a room above the shop of Ben Pelly on the north side of Hatfield Road to the west of St Paul's Church – although that church was just undeveloped land then.  By 1910 the city council was discussing the possibility of added areas; and the Conservatives were no doubt considering finding a nearby plot on which to build a club and administration building.  Was it coincidence that the organisation moved quickly to purchase land on the relatively undeveloped south side of the road just to the east of the cemetery where the land was cheaper, and at least for a few years the rates were also less expensive.

As with the Liberal Club on the north side of the road the arrangement of the proposed premises was for a central entrance with administration occupying the rear rooms and club premises for members on the first floor.  In order to fund running costs a retail unit was let on each side of the entrance.

The Conservative Club remained on the south side of the road until after the Second World War,
when it moved to the former homestead of St Peter's Farm on the north side, where it
remains today.

St Peter's Conservative Club was opened in 1911 and remained there until World War Two.  It is uncertain whether it was occupied during hostilities, but the Conservatives had moved along to the former farm homestead and cottage of St Peter's Farm by 1949, which is still its meeting place.

During the course of the war a military headwear manufacturer was bombed out of Southwark and were found premises in St Albans at the Conservative Club building, and once Peace had been restored the company settled into its new home for the next three decades or more, under the management of Mr Michael Stone. For the first time the building was known as Capstan House.

It seems that throughout the entire history of the building the retail units were only moderately successful.  The right unit remained a boot repairer under three successive tenants, William Atkins, H Woolford and E A Stuckey – the latter known as Fleetville Foot Clinic for a time from 1938 under Mr Stuckey.  The surviving records show only one tenant, William Hitchcock, for the left unit, so it is unclear whether or how this shop/office was used.

From the 1990s pizza retailer Papa John's has traded from here, but it has to be admitted your editor has no clear memory of when the Capstan House business closed and Papa John's opened.  A reader may be able to recall.

From left to right: Grimaldi's Garage, Calverstone military hat factory in the former 
Conservative Club, and W White garage. v The photograph was taken in 1964.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

The final building before Hatfield Road Cemetery, and added to the streetscape in 1914, was a workshop structure either acquired by or let to Arthur White who was a motor engineer.  Such was the fast-moving industry of personal travel, just five years earlier Mr White occupied a small workshop at the northern end of a former farm drive behind what later became the County Laundry opposite the Rats' Castle public house.  There Mr White described himself as a coach builder, which referred to horse-drawn vehicles as much as early motor cars.  We can assume he was skilled at the former since working with him was another trader, William Moore, a general farrier and smith.

This private drive along which William White had his farrier workshop was to the left of the 
former County Library.

The same drive today and named Montague Close, being part of a residential development.

Clearly, William saw how transport was developing and moved to his new garage directly fronting the main road.  From the street he was also able to dispense motor fuel.

The premises remained quiet post-war until is was used as additional repair and maintenance premises by Grimaldi Bros, one of the topics of last week's post.  In the 1970s the company name changed to W S Tyre Centre, those initials, we may recall, referred to West & Sellick further back along Hatfield Road next to the pedestrian entrance to Fleetville Junior School.

White's garage is now replaced by a residential development.

Today, a residential development known as Luna Place has replaced the former workshop; the barrel-roofed design reminiscent of a traditional rural workshop building.

We have now reached the western boundary of the Poor Six Acre Field (as it had been named and referred to at the 1840 Tithe record. Next time we'll find ourselves in a field sold to St Albans Council for the purpose of a cemetery.