Jersey Farm Local Shops

 You will have noticed no reference yet to the largest centre of local shops – The Quadrant.  We will, naturally, get round to it, but it does seem right to reference The Quadrant during the planning period for its much smaller neighbourhood and rival at Jersey Farm.

Jersey Farm homestead closed up and ready for redevelopment in  the 1970s, but consumed
by fire before enjoying its new lease of life as a community facility.
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Jersey Farm residential area had barely been conceived when its larger neighbour was already maturely complete with its retail offering open to the world.  In fact, much of the 1970s seemed to be occupied by arguments about whether or not there should be any houses at all at Jersey Farm; the original plans for the estate (or mini-town as it was referred to) included a northern bypass and two schools, but all were ditched as was a proportion of the housing stock, on the pretext of – well, that's another story!

The range of shops and the Blackberry Jack PH at and around The Harvesters (not, as shown, Harvest Court).  Aim for St Brelade's Place to park the car.
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The site for services and shops was to be around an upgraded farm house at newly named St Brelade's Place, a reference to the island and its cattle breed raised and maintained at the former farm.  However, a serious fire at the farm house scuppered the plan before it was even begun.  And so the services available to residents today were all new-build.  Today, if you drive along Sandringham Crescent, the main spine road, two other names will stand out before you ever see the word St Brelade's Place, which is a short connecting street round the back of the shops.  The first is the side road joining the main spine, which was given the name Harvesters; the second is the community and family pub on the corner, named Blackberry Jack, referencing a local legend.  The Blackberry Jack is the only public house which is part of a local shopping hub in this series.  Quite an accolade!

The Blackberry Jack community public house, operating under the "Sizzling" brand.

Another boost is the provision of doctor, dentist, pharmacy and post office services.  The local grocery is in the form of a Tesco Express – and without a grocery anchor any local shopping parade would become unstable.  It is supported by three other eating options; Chinese, Indian and a traditional fish 'n' chips.  And to complete a useful collection St Albans Cycles has a bicycle shop, which is brilliant now that we are all being encouraged to revert to two wheels and leave the car at home (or sell it).

Residents of the wider district or Jersey Farm itself will know there is more to the retail back story than is described above. With the early developments already progressing in the mid 1970s, the intended "supermarket" provider was slated to be Key Markets.  Which is when the backlash from a few of the Quadrant traders began.  Key's intention was to service both JF and Marshalswick with one large store – hence the term supermarket we suppose.  In time this brought Sainsbury into the fray, which proposed a larger footprint than Key had proposed or the developer was offering.  The City Council, as the planning authority, urged Sainsbury not to push so hard as there would be no increase in the number of homes at JF.  The term "mini-town" had had its day, St Brelade's Place would be an appropriately sized hub of local shops, expecting common sense to prevail.  As it still does.

Russet Drive Local Shops

 

Hill End Lane at the foot of the picture, with Russet Drive extending northwards between the two
blocks.
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Not far from Cell Barnes Local Shops is a very small group of shops alongside Hill End Lane in Russet Drive.  Although this road appears short in length, walk or take a car between the shops Russet Drive turns left and winds its way northwards to join a roundabout, passing a number of short culs de sac, all named after varieties of apple.  One of the features of the former Hill End Hospital upon which the new residential area of Highfield was built were extensive apple orchards.  It is Russet Drive, opened c2000, which gave the little group of shops and other facilities their name.

A bunch of Russet apples.

The retail units are not arranged in a strict line, but informally around a small car park.

The largest unit is a Spar general opening out onto four sides, and has by far the largest footfall.

Top: Spar General store. Second: front group of shops. Third; Community Surgery.  Bottom; YMCA building behind the car park.
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Backing up this prime shop are J Hoots, Pharmacy and a small surgery.

Alphamarque mobility specialists, Saints Barbers and Sushi 4U complete the series of units, although there remains one empty shop c2020. We should not, however, omit a useful free withdrawal bank machine.

Nearby are the YMCA Community Gym, Fusion Performing Arts and Tumble Tots.

Hill End Lane on the left.  The two red retail blocks with Russet Drive between.

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But, of course, the extensive Highfield Park and its Millennium Maze, meadows, woodlands and Village Green are on the doorstep.

Topics specialising on the former Hill End and Cell Barnes hospitals can be found in https://www.stalbansowneastend.org.uk and regular events are announced in the Highfield Park Trust website https://www.highfieldparktrust.co.uk

A section of Highfield Park.
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There is much variety to be found and not just in the immediate vicinity of Highfield; where Drakes Drive meets Ashley Road, Hill End Lane, Highfield Lane and Tyttenhanger Green Lane all benefit from the local shops.  Even the eastern end of Camp Road, which once thrived with small shops, now require householders to walk to Russet Drive as an alternative to Cell Barnes Lane.

Cell Barnes Lane Shops

 For the third of our short summaries about local shopping parades scattered around our East End we are visiting Cell Barnes Lane.  Until the early post-war period residents living in the Camp district called in at one or more of the traders whose businesses were spread intermittently along the winding Camp Road, which was the city's south-western residential limit, with the exception of a number of 1920s semi-detached homes on the Springfield estate along the northern section of Cell Barnes Lane.

This week's retail hub in Cell Barnes Lane, the road which crosses the picture from left to right. 
The shopping building is book-ended on the left by Cornerstone Church and the Adult Day Centre
(the former branch library) on the right.
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During the 1930s the Council had acquired ownership of a substantial amount of land forming the major part of Cunningham Farm, Little Cell Barnes Farm, and land holdings around Great Cell Barnes.  Post-war housing expansion would include developments to extend residential development from the end of Windermere Avenue as far as London Road.  Consequently, it was labelled London Road estate, but also known as Mile House estate.

Much of the land consisted of the active Camp Allotments, most of which would eventually also be built on.  However, moving allotmenteers to other available plots took time, and the need for the council to acquire a sufficient number of building licences delayed groundworks, and it was the end of 1959 before the first 250 dwellings were complete.  The layout  followed a familiar pattern for larger new estates; blocks of flats, shops, schools and community buildings were concentrated on what became known as a high density zone; in the case of the London Road estate this was either side of Cell Barnes Lane.

Two recent views of the eight retail units (but six shops) at Cell Barnes Lane Parade.
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It appears that the number of local shops was determined broadly by the number of homes in the development.  So, a block of eight shop units, topped by flats and maisonettes, was arranged on the east side of Cell Barnes Lane between Thirlmere Drive and Grasmere Road, sandwiched between a pair of community buildings: a community church and what was intended to be a community centre (the latter was re-allocated instead to a former building of Little Cell Barnes Farm, and the site on the corner of Grasmere Road instead became a branch library for the City of St Albans Libraries.  This site is now an adult day care centre.

The red and cream building is now the Adult Day Centre but was first built by St Albans City
Council for one of its branch libraries, now regrettably permanently closed.
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Cornerstone Church which, when first opened, was named Thirlmere Church as it was sited
on the corner of Thirlmere Drive and Cell Barnes Lane.

We may wonder today that the number of shops mentioned above was eight, for today there are just six.  But the units were numbered 191, 193, 195, 197, 199, 201, 203 and 205.  Two end projecting upper floors with six single units between, all the shop frontages  being protected by the balcony floors above.  In front of the paved walkway it had been intended there should be a grassed barrier strip behind the road as public open space, but right-angled parking bays were provided instead.  If these were to be local shops they would have been in walking distance from people's homes; instead, the assumption was made that residents would drive most of the time.

Rather surprisingly I have no record of the very early traders occupying the units in Cell Barnes Lane – readers who have a keen recall are welcome to get in touch by responding to this post directly, or by using In Touch from the website.  In more recent years the occupiers have been:

191    Blitz Autobitz

193    Laundry (in 2009); now Seaworld Fish and Chips

195    Martin's sub-Post Office

197    St Albans Pharmacy

199    Co-operative Food/Cell Barnes Co-op

201    Co-operative Food/Cell Barnes Co-op

203    Co-operative Food/Cell Barnes Co-op

205    Hulse Fruiterer (2009); The Smoke House Deli (from c2015)

It is thought that 195 had previously been a McColl's grocery, so perhaps a newsagent had been next to a smaller Co-op.  The range of goods and services available is generally those available at a local shopping hub, although it does lack an ironmongery – but in how many such parades are to be found an ironmongery shop these days?  Wine shops are increasingly popular but is not represented in Cell Barnes Lane, nor is there a public house, The Camp PH having closed and replaced some years ago (so too was The Mile House, although both the Rats' Castle and the Crown are very much in service).  CBL is fortunate in having both a chemist and a sub-post office, the latter with a posting box.  Cycle racks, notice panels, bench seating and mature trees add to the offer.  The southbound bus stop is a short distance beyond the shops, but in the northbound direction the stopping points are both some distance before and after the shops.  It would be useful if greater priority is afforded to the bus directly opposite the shops, especially as a pedestrian crossing is immediately north of the parade. 

Within a short distance are the combined Cunningham Hill Infant, Cunningham Hill Junior, and Windermere Primary schools, all of which provide busy parental footfall at the beginning and end of the school day.

The newly complete Warner House, Cell Barnes Lane.

The Cell Barnes electricity sub-station built in 1951.

As a pair of asides, a smart new building, Warner House, has recently been completed to replace the now-demolished Wavel House.  The new address provides flatted accommodation for 24 over-55 occupants who wish to downsize, so providing a range of larger homes for families.  Next door is the rather unsightly electricity sub-station, built in 1951 and intended to reinforce supplies directly from the then-new generating plant at Hoddesdon.  Perhaps, after 70 years the street side of the site would benefit from a refresh!