Street Plates 4

 For those of us who have known St Albans for a number of years each of today's street names will be familiar.  Familiar yes, but occasionally can we bring ourselves to locate their whereabouts, visualise their location in our minds, or even know someone, a particular building or style of architecture typical of the area?  We can be forgiven if our recent arrival makes it inevitable that most of the district's roads are yet unfamiliar.

Baker's Close, but not now leading to V A Barrett, the baker's.
COURTESY GOOGLE STREET VIEW

This month's tour begins at Camp Hill, opposite to Dexter Close and where St Albans Rubber Company used to be.  Many of the early 19th century buildings, mainly small dwellings, were demolished earlier in the 20th century and post-World War Two were replaced by the occasional industrial building.  One was the bakery of F V Barrett.

Before the 1960s their bread and cakes were created at the back of their George Street shop.  In fact number 10 had been a bakery at least as far back as the 1850s.  Frederick V Barrett took over the established business c1940 and possibly as part of the post-war business improvements the products were made at the Camp Hill premises.  It seems that the George Street premises changed hands (to Arlow Antiques) at the same time.  How long the Camp Hill bakery survived is uncertain but there are now modern apartment buildings.  The access road to these buildings has appropriately been named Bakers Close – although as is common for street names the label omits the apostrophe!

The long distance trackway from which Marshalswick's The Ridgeway derives its name.

Less today when housing developers are substantial corporations, but in the period up to the 1960s road names offer clues of the origins of the businesses; house builders often being local or at least grew to become moderately sized successful family businesses.  One such which grew substantially between the world wars, brought their expertise from the north London suburbs to St Albans was Thomas Nash.  As a formative small company it made its mark in the Chilterns

A few of the roads in the Marshalswick which emerged from the late 1930s betray their employer's roots from High Wycombe.

It was not uncommon for a lengthy road to be created to link other roads within the residential area's network.  For eighty miles or so between the North Wessex Downs and the Chilterns – Avebury to Aldbury – is the cross country path/trackway known as The Ridgeway. It traverses the landscape and rarely remains level terrain but climbs and descends the chalky hill landscape.  The company, in creating the Marshalswick link road which begins and ends at different points along Marshalswick Lane, adopts the same name: The Ridgeway.

The first section, laid down in 1938 was named The Ridgeway West.  This fell out of fashion post-war as building resumed and names North and South were informally appended, although The Ridgeway was universally adopted for the entire length.

A corner of Highfield's apple orchards.

South Hertfordshire contained a number of mental hospitals from the late 19th centuries and among their commonalities, at least in their early periods, was the acquisition of small farms on the extensive open landscapes about the hospital buildings. The growth of fruit orchards was a connected feature.  None of the hospitals remain in their original forms, having either been demolished or reconfigured into residential accommodation, but one feature retained has been the fruit orchards.  The former Hill End hospital is an example.  Its apple orchards thrive. 

Hill End and its neighbour Cell Barnes have been replaced by the residential developments known as Highfield, and imaginative uses have been found for extensive open spaces, the former and often attractive grounds around the now forgotten buildings.  Highfield Park Trust manage these parklands and related facilities open to the public.

Of the apple varieties found in its orchards seven have been appended into the neighbouring residential roads: St Edmund, Bromley Way, Russet Drive, Grenadier Court, Greensleeves Close, Sturmer Close and Grafton Close.

The village centre at Sutton, Cambridgeshire.
COURTESY GOOGLE STREET VIEW

The sale of Beaumonts Farm began, in sections, during 1899; this to include those fields located south of Hatfield Road. The southern boundary followed the line of Camp Road, while broadly the eastern boundary was a field edge no longer visible but today encloses the Willow estate and the industrial estate which includes Brick Knoll Park.  Over on the west side Beaumonts Farm included the track which became Sutton Road, the second of two tracks which linked Hatfield Road and Camp Road.

The partnership between two well-known men of St Albans sprang into action as this part of the farm was was marketed.  A well-known chemist, Arthur Ekins was clearly the lead partner of the two; the other being Francis Giffin, a solicitor.