Crittall style

 Searching through historic copies of the Herts Advertiser a number of themes are revealed, such as the display advertisements in the 1930s for house builders, as we explored in the previous post. So this time we will extend the same theme by discovering the range of designs and styles which such businesses erected in the newly acquired fields which extended St Albans between the wars.  Many were plain fronted with few embellishments; occasionally a one-type model which limited variety along the streamline. There are many examples of homes constructed in what might be called  "tudorbethan" with external timber mock beams on projecting eaves – many variations on a similar theme. Brickwork, sometimes in more than one colour, may give way to rendering, to provide a more pleasing frontage.

Many features of a modernist (sometimes labelled Art Deco) are included in urban settings,
including stepped wall capping, metal windows emphasising horizontal lines, vertical
windows and slab roofed porches.

Occasionally architects produced designs from the, then fashionable modernist stylebook, often sporting flat roofs and distinctive front elevations which may include solid first floor balcony fronts, bay windows with wrap-around (Suntrap) profiles. Both horizontal and vertical features are empasised: vertical windows often set above the front doors; and an emphasis on horizontal lines in the glazing bars,  narrow window openings and line relief brickwork. Simple slab porch tops, stepped tops to the front elevation, all traditionally painted in white on top of rendered brickwork. For the most part architects would select from the palette of features and the first to go would be the flat roofs, preferring instead a traditional pitched roof.

Traditional roofs and open porches to blend with other styles in the road; nevertheless, tall vertical
windows, sun trap bay windows and white rendering combine to illustrate a form of modernist
style along Beechwood Avenue.

Black painted glazing bars, short first floor balconies over the front doors and rendered white or
cream in Charmouth Road.

Examples of Modernist design were not often employed in our East End examples are to be found on the east side of Beechwood Avenue (c1937), a single house in Rose Walk (early 1950s) and a number on the west side of Charmouth Road (c1938).  Fortunately, alterations and extensions which might have complicated or otherwise modified the structure or style are rarely evident, and while our appreciation of the architectural end result will always be subjective the proportions, if radically altered would stand out.

Horizontal lines in brick on the first floor, double sun trap bays, even on the later extension. Echoes
of the horizontal lines are also in the railed fence.

We can't proceed further without reference to one engineering company whose output contributed much to modernism, whether in  homes or commercial buildings, and that is the engineering company  begun by Francis B Crittall in the 1840s.  Its history had been the production of metal window frames which had a long, maintenance-light life compared with timber.  We may be more aware today of the coldness of steel, and of course all windows before recent decades were single glazed, but fashion was always prominent, and metal fames were narrower and allowed more light into the room. 

By the early 1920s W F Crittall (Crittall Windows) had become synonymous with the fashionable modernist style which the company embraced.  We would recognise the metal glazing bars, over the years redesigned to echo the requirements of emphasising the horizontal glazing bars, including curved panes and width/height ratios which, even today, are considered unusual – often referred to as slim frames.  By the 1950s the company's output had galvanised zinc finishes or were in lighter aluminium.

There was much fashion for coloured glazing in the 1930s, and Crittall's was no exception. While more traditional picture scenes and sunbursts were common elsewhere, Crittall's top glazing offered geometric designs as an alternative to plain.

Curved glass is still available for replacement, although where replacement uPVC frames have
replaced the originals the sun trap end section is usually replaced with a flat end at 45 degrees.

The company's manufacturing centre is at Witham, Essex.  Nearby at Silver End Crittall's constructed a small estate of modernist design homes for its employees, and although none feature the curved end bay windows which epitomise the hallmark of a modernist design, the homes here are unquestionably showing off the company's window products.

There may be other isolated examples in St Albans of this type of design – something to look out for in our leisure walks around our patch.

Adverts in the HA

 We are very familiar with the style of advertisements – in colour of course – and the page layouts in today's Herts Advertisers; and when we compare this with a substantially older style the change hits us as a surprise.  Rather old-fashioned; monochrome; plain.  But such changes have realistically crept up on readers gradually, and differences would have appeared minimal in the short term.  Here is a selection of display adverts appearing in the newspaper before the Second World War.

H C Janes Ltd was one of the key house builders during the 1930s and in St Albans one of the estates the firm was responsible for was the even numbered side of Elm Drive.  Appreciating that new homes could be plain and the street scene off-putting when potential purchasers arrived to view, the company arranged for street trees to be planted to soften the landscape.  Other builders paid for trees and shrubs to deck the front gardens for the owners' arrival. The next advertisement illustrates how building societies became more popular and encouraged savers "for your future home".  The alternative was an "easy terms" equivalent over a number of years.  All who aspired to become home owners were offered considerable choice of properties between the wars; the concept of homes to buy rather than homes to let was seen as a family investment.

One building society local to St Albans was the St Albans Permanent Building Society, whose leading light was Cecil Preece.  With Cockcroft builders the company maintained premises in Fleetville.  It was not  unknown to find similar connections with other complementary businesses.   In this example the building society's new Spencer Street premises was highlighted as a contract for J T Bushell.

House builders often sought a competitive edge against other nearby builders; one might offer double skinned walls, boarded lofts,  driveways or styled front gates and front doors.  Burgess builders, having acquired plots along almost the whole of Oakwood Drive (the Dalehouse estate), went even further in providing a choice between bungalows and houses, and also laid a concrete road surface at a time when this was often left for the local authority to manage on behalf of house owners later.

Builders were naturally proud of the individual structures they had won contracts for, and so were ready to list them in their advertising. Bushells, in Catherine Street, were therefore particularly satisfied with their construction of Verulamium Museum in 1939.  While we may recognise the external view, the original internal and unextended exhibition area has been much forgotten by residents who visited in its earlier days.

Whereas the majority of earlier homes had been short terraces, J Hammond & Son Ltd, whose base was opposite St Peter's Church, constructed fine well-proportioned semi-detached homes, including along Beech Road.  As with many homes of the 1930s period many have since been provided with side and/or rear extensions and any number of loft conversions and enclosed porches, producing a rather muddled street scene compared with the clean complementary designs of the originals.

There was much experimenting with materials and building methods in the 1930s.  Concrete attracted the attention of commercial builders in particular and appropriate advertising appeared over a wider area; although even Hoddesdon, home of Bell & Webster, was home territory of the Herts Advertiser in those far off years.  We know of at least one local building which was a B&W speciality undertaking government contracts during the Second World War: the Day Nursery (1942) at Fleetville, now Fleetville Community Centre (adapted 1979-82).

Finally, commercial companies occasionally discover there is more to be gained for them and their customers if an existing building can be adapted and upgraded – today we might call it repurposing.  Northmet Electric first generated electricity in 1908 from a site in Campfield Road – part of its frontage has also been repurposed.  When it came to marketing the sale of electricity and electric goods Northmet Electricity, later to become part of the Eastern Electricity Board, took possession of Ivy House and nearby premises in St Peter's Street north and St Peter's Close.  In a period when it was largely the wealthier residents who owned their own properties and who therefore had control of the facilities to make their homes more comfortable, the range of showroom spaces would have made their customers feel "at home".  So it is appropriate to observe that in the adjacent residential road of St Peter's Close there were  advertisements by Mandley & Sparrow, house agents, at the same time.  A prominent photo along a spaciously laid out road was a large  detached home of traditional design.  No doubt already completely fitted for electricity, both lighting and power.  It should be added that the house shown may have been from another location where similar homes had already been constructed.

Community Football

 This week we are going to unpick a few community football issues from the very early years of our East End, and we begin with what is believed to be the first known amateur team which was formed c1890 from the residents then living in the new homes east of the Midland Railway, Cavendish, Albion, (upper) Camp, Stanhope and Granville roads.  A club by the name of Stanville FC was formed, the portmanteau name using Stanhope and Granville in its name.

Stanville FC adult team (there was also a reserve and junior squad) c1897.  However the setting is
not identified.  The gentleman centre back row is undoubtedly Thomas Oakley, who in this year was Mayor of the city.  Whether Mr Oakley had a formal connection with the club is not known, but he was present on this occasion!
COURTESY CHRIS REYHOLDS

Stanville's name appeared regularly in 1890s editions of the Herts Advertiser, playing other district teams, such as Abbey, Hatfield, Campfield (after 1995), Harpenden and Redbourn.  A report on one match in 1891 describes a home game played on its home ground in Hatfield Road.  This tantalising fact is set to test us.  Clarence Park is still three years from its opening, although the field from which the Hatfield Road side of the park was created had previously been a meadow known as the Fete Field and available for public events by the city's residents.  Another possibility was part of a field just east of St Peter's Farm.  The 1898 OS map shows unbuilt land on the corner of Stanhope and Camp roads, the green in front of St Peter's Farm, and a corner site on Hatfield and Lemsford roads. Perhaps these plots

were rather small for such a game.

How long the Stanville club lasted is uncertain, but the Adult School which opened in Stanhope Road in 1911, soon created its own football team, under the management of one of its members, Charles  Tuck, who ran a motor garage business in Hatfield Road, east of Sutton Road.  We might speculate that players from Stanville moved over to the Adult School team if some of their friends also transferred, or perhaps Stanville Club closed in favour of the Adult School.

The St Albans Adult School team from 1921, taken outside the School in Stanhope Road.
The team trainer/manager, Charles Tuck, is on the left of the middle row.

We know of another community street football team thriving in 1911, Glenfield FC – another portmanteau from Glenferrie and Sandfield roads, where the majority of their players are thought to have lived.  Once more, we have little idea of the lifespan of the Glenfield team and whether it was able to manage the frequent transfer of residents living in the rented homes in that part of Fleetville.  No doubt, as with other local teams, good or enthusiastic teens and adults from further afield would be encouraged to participate.

Another street football team was Glenfield FC, where many of the players lived in Glenferrie or Sandfield roads.   

We are, of course, not surprised by the existence of a football team in part of Fleetville in 1911; after all much of Fleetville east to Beaumont Avenue was either complete or in build before the First World War.  Whether such teams were able to re-form in the 1920s is uncertain.

However, there is an intriguing announcement in the Herts Advertiser during September 1898: the fixture list for that season up to the following April.  The list was headed Fleetville FC !  So, let's discover where the name Fleetville came from.  The printing works was in build during 1897, was completed during 1898 and named The Fleet Works, after the company's London address at the lower end of Fleet Street.  The rest of 1898 was taken installing machines and searching for a small number of skilled employees, although there were no houses closer than Cavendish Road, and Camp district was empty other than Camp Hill.  Factory owner T E Smith laid out plans for his Ville of workers' homes opposite the works, and placed advertisements for builders from 1899.  The name of the proposed development was initially Fleet Ville.  It would be a further year before a small number of homes in Arthur and Tess roads became habitable, and a year later than that when a few homes on the Slade building estate were also ready.

This photo of c1911 shows the locality which had been first identified as Fleet Ville and then as
Fleetville from 1898.

To have a ready name, Fleetville, for the residential district seems to us far too early, but ready it obviously was; to have sufficient residents, both adult and junior, ready to form teams also appeared far too early, but ready they obviously were.  In September 1898 the team – under whose management we know not – applied for affiliation to the district Football Association, which was accepted.  The Association had already received entries for the Cup from the following teams: St Albans A team, Campfield (probably from the Orford Smith printing works), Abbey, Harpenden, Elstree, Ware Excelsior, Stanville, Hatfield and Fleetville.

At the end of the first half of Fleetville's first season the Herts Advertiser announced that a member of its junior team was to be censured and cautioned for disorderly conduct during a cup match against Stanville FC – a local derby!

September 1898 was probably the first occurrence in the newspaper of the name Fleetville.  The usage of place names not officially titled and created, usually takes time for people in a locality to become acquainted with such words which enter the common language naturally.  Fleetville apparently entered the local lexicon far earlier than we had all imagined.