RESCUE MISSION 5

 The Clarence Park Villas

This week's  hunt for a photograph takes us to the short section of Hatfield Road whose front windows are fortunate to overlook Clarence Park, although when they were first erected they overlooked The Fete Field which, after a few years became the recreation area of the new Park.

In fact, if this were strictly true there would be no need to carry out any searches for old photographs at all, for as the image below illustrates these houses are still standing and occupied – two floors and a basement level.  But we need to look at the history.

These are among the houses between Granville Road and Station Way along
Hatfield Road.

Until the 1860s the road, though narrow, was almost level, but had been widened and relaid to bring the roadway gradually up to bridge level for the new Midland Railway.  Shortly afterwards the field between the road and what is now Victoria Street was sold for development, and here begins the building of villa blocks between two new roads, Stanhope Road and Granville Road. Building later continued from Granville Road up towards the railway.  

Survey 1872: Hatfield Road from Camp Road (bottom right) to the new railway (top left).
The gradient is indicated by a planted nursery which later would provide the opportunity for
houses at basement level.

Survey 1897: Granville Road bisects Hatfield Road and most of the houses are completed.
The lower block has a driveway and would later become part of W O Peake.

Survey 1922:  The first purpose-built coat factory.

Survey 1937: The part-completed masterplan.

Survey 1962:  The works at its maximum development.
ALL ABOVE IMAGES COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

From the evidence of the upper development it is possible to assume  that the  designs of the lower section  also varied, maybe implying that the blocks would have been the work of more than one builder.

But we might never know, because this slightly earlier group of buildings, including houses round the corner into Granville Road, has been obliterated – twice – during the twentieth century.

The modern residential blocks from Stanhope Road (left), Granville Road (middle) and
Station Way (right).
COURTESY GOOGLE EARTH

First, a small coat factory arrived and moved into one of the blocks close to Granville Road.  This was the Peake family in 1911, and the location of their acquisition was considered to be beneficially close to the railway. During the next few years the company gradually acquired more of the existing houses and converted them into extensions of the expanding factory.  Clearly these were considered to be temporary expansions and a masterplan created a Neo-G Georgian style factory building to replace the former homes.

So, these original homes went under the bulldozer nearly a hundred years ago, though not all at the same time.  All of them.  So, of course, we now have no idea whether these were different from or similar to the homes still standing between Granville Road and what is now Station Way.

The end of W O Peake on this site came in the 1980s, and instead of retaining the impressive factory frontage the building was discarded and in its place the factory was replaced by residential blocks once more, and named Cotsmoor, after one of the Peake ranges of coats.

A photograph and  drawing of the 1922 factory.  It is the previous blocks of homes, shown on the
1897 survey which were previously where the factory (above) stood.

What, then, are we looking for?  Certainly not the current structures because we can photograph them any day of the week.  There are also a number of the completed Neo-georgian style factory, including rather gentle pen drawings.  What seem to be missing are the part–converted building range and the even earlier block of Victorian buildings between the former turnpike toll house – later a post office and grocery shop and more recently Chilli Raj  – and Granville Road.  An idea of the layout at the time of the 1897 map survey is the best we have.

Unless someone has found a street view on an early plate camera, perhaps taken on the opening event of Clarence Park in 1894.  Perhaps one just does not exist and those above Granville Road, with names such as The Cedars, Hazelmere and West View, is the best we can do.

COVER PICTURES 7

Community football

You will discover a football team on the front cover of St Albans' Own East End Volume 1. Not a team you will have heard of probably but it was very much part of the very early East End of St Albans.  Before the Park and before St Peter's Farm disappeared into quiet obscurity before becoming houses along Hatfield Road.

Before World War One Fleetville's first recreation ground was on Twelve Acres Field, in
Sutton Road opposite Nicholson's coat factory.  Here a team based around Albion Road lined
up for their pre-match picture.

We can assume that these were mainly residents in or near Stanhope Road and Granville Road, 
given their team name of Stanville FC.  It is likely they would be playing an early match in or near
Clarence Park.

Football as a player game as opposed to a spectator sport, grew up along the partly completed streets which made up those new developments around the new railway station: Granville Road, Stanhope Road, and very quickly Albion Road and Cavendish Road.  Young men-folk who had moved in were eager to become members of a patriotic team consisting of heads of household from their own road.  Or maybe be one nearby.  Later, public houses ran their own teams as the new Fleetville and Camp communities spread.  

The Adult Schools in overlooking the former prison had its own team, and no doubt The Crown Hotel did likewise.  Later, schools fielded their own teams of course, but it was those early street and pub teams which are still remembered through the postcard photos of the period, playing Saturday afternoon games with teams from other parts of the city, or local derby games from nearby.

A team from Marconi Instruments turned out one Saturday to play rivals from Ballito "down
the road".  Although the team members are not named, towel man/manager took credit for the
anticipated result!

Although this team and their mascot is not identified the location is intriguing.  The ground
is slightly sloped and seems to be not far from a newly built housing estate, which may in later
years creep down towards the players.

It was not always clear where the early matches were played, although there were many plots of land where houses were still to be built.  The park wasn't used for formal matches during the first few years of its life, although the district's first recreation ground was no doubt busy.  This was not the present ground, known also as Fleetville Park, but Twelve Acre Field between today's Campfield Road and the railway.  It was also reported that the field between Beaumont Avenue and Hatfield Road was made use of – undoubtedly without the owner's formal permission – as there had been complaints about the farmer not being able to use his own land for growing crops.

And don't think these games were informal knockabouts.  If we look in the sports columns of the Herts Advertisers of the time, you will find results under local, district and county leagues much as we still can today.  Team managers, team players, subs, referees and line runners would all have been residents of nearby streets; early teams from near the station where many were employees of the Midland Railway or the prison staff.  As the early factories set up and grew teams competed within the sports clubs of other firms across the town.  

There is a print from the Carlton Club, and this one is rare in having all
team members named. 1945/6.

We might guess where many of these 1910/11 players lived, for their team name was Glenfield FC; 
Glenferrie and Sandfield Road maybe?  It is this photograph which is reproduced on 
Volume 1 of St Albans' Own East End.

This photo taken outside the former Adult School between Stanhope and Granville roads,
proudly announces they are Benevolent Cup winners of the Mid-Herts League in
1924/5.  Towel man/manager was Charles Tuck whose house and business was in
Hatfield Road just beyond Sutton Road.

And one source of football interest wasn't a factory at all.  It was a shop, Bishop's Stores, whose owner also ran a boys' club, the Carlton Club which could field multiple youth teams.  Several images from the Carlton have come my way from former team members.  What is still missing, however, is firm information on the man behind this enterprise, who we assume was a Mr Bishop; yes?

His shop was at 113 Hatfield Road from before World War 2 until 1952.