Squeezing One More In

 Continuing our detailed virtual walk along Hatfield Road, and in some cases imagine we are early residents exploring the "mile of shops", last time we had reached Sandfield Road.  The next block now takes us as far as Harlesden Road, although there is sufficient material this time to proceed roughly halfway – twelve properties  would be too many for a single post!  However, the perfect photo to begin with is Andy Lawrence's newly acquired picture of what the photographer had termed "The Promenade".

A c1912 photo of the properties between Sandfield and Harlesden roads.  Sun blinds are
prominent, with Mr Gibbs showing a corner version to further highlight the location of his
shop.  Note the three first floor bays nearest Sandfield Road, one of which is missing in a
later picture below.
COURTESY ANDY LAWRENCE

Since we left Glenferrie Road we would have been, in an earlier time, at the hedge line looking into a field formerly known as Long Moody, and already, by 1902, the corner plots now have buildings on them. At Sandfield Road this was a fine shop owned by Samuel J Gibbs who aspired to furnish the tenants and owners of the homes then being built around him.  As a corner shop he was able to display two full windows, and as intended the Gibbs family lived above the shop.  But as he became more successful the shop began to expand upstairs.  Around 1910, Mr Gibbs therefore purchased number 4 Sandfield Road behind the shop – not far to travel to work! It was, in fact the only house, close to the Hatfield Road boundaries; otherwise land remained open until number 20, so what happened to number 2?  Well, on the 1922 map a house seems to have been constructed on the rear garden of number 4.  Perhaps an initiative of Mr Gibbs who felt he did not need a rear garden.  So, even in those early days of the district extra houses were already being squeezed in!

Mr Gibbs handed the business on to Henry Lewis, and by the mid thirties Mr Graham Henderson opened a "curios and oddments shop" here, before moving it along to the Laurel Road corner after the war.  The biggest change came with the re-forming of the Grimaldi business in the early days of peace, and its petrol and car maintenance business was augmented by a Rootes car sales showroom at number 149.  Yes, two band new cars could be displayed inside the shop.  Fleetville went into car sales!  For a while you could purchase refrigerators and freezers from here, before Barclays upgraded the premises and moved its bank from the Crown, which it clearly felt was advantageous for business.

Here is number 149 on the corner after the occupation of St Albans Refrigeration in the 1960s.
A pillar-style police call box stands on the pavement corner, and we are just a short time before
new-style road signs.  Every change of occupant, it seems, has brought a different side facade
on the Sandfield Road frontage.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

The arrival of Barclays Banks has also created modernised and smart external frontage.  For
the first time the building is without its first floor bay window.
COURTESY BARCLAYS ARCHIVE

The next pair of shops came four years later, but were undoubtedly built by the same company as the corner shop.  Today, however the cohesive design is lost as the first floor bay window was removed in the later conversion to bank premises. Although number 151 spent some decades in George Weatherhead's care as a china shop, and then Charles Chuter for outfitting, undoubtedly the most well-known owner began here during the Second War: Frederick W Hickie.  When petrol is in short supply people turn to their bikes; then radio continued its popularity and we became curious about the new television service, Mr Hickie and his son were happy to serve.  Since the mid-sixties insurance and legal services have ventured into the suburbs to demystify one of life's needs which had formerly been found in the side roads of the city centre, sometimes above shops.

Hickie's bicycle and radio/tv shop in the 1950s, with father and son at the doorway.
COURTESY THE HICKIE COLLECTION

The complete development as it looked in 2012.  Again, the first floor bay window and projecting
eaves are now absent.

Number 153 was one of the first shops to break away from from the notion of each trader having his or her own single shop.  Charles Chuter ran his outfitter's from two adjacent properties from the 1920s, thereby signalling that retailing often needs a variety of footprints to work in.  Soon after the war Westminster (later NatWest) moved to join other chains in serving Fleetville, and in recognition of its success, later moved to larger premises which we met last time on the west corner of Sandfield Road.

Number 157's first occupant was James Andrews who sold the comprehensive range of
accessories, fitments and finishings to homes the company had built.  This would later
become Percy Stone's newsagent's shop.
COURTESY (name temporarily mislaid – to follow shortly)

The next pair of shops was clearly intended for a specific purpose.  James Andrews owned a building business.  He had acquired land on the opposite side of Hatfield Road for his builders' yard.  The righthand shop was in the care of his wife for the sale of builders and finishers accessories – and no doubt became the firm's office.  To the left of the central vehicle arch a shop was available to let, which provided a regular rental income; a trade which, until the 1970s, served as one of Hatfield Road's regular and frequent grocery shops.  Peep through the arch next time you are passing and the service buildings to the rear are still in regular use by the present occupiers of both shops: SK Carpets.

James Andrew's shop was on the right, but he owned both shops with access to workshops
through the arch; the left shop was let to a succession of grocer's.

Number 157's longest owner was was also one who had three successive trading addresses and saw Fleetville's very birth. Percy Stone's first store was where the Rats' Castle is today.  He later moved to Bycullah Terrace, before moving again to 157. Although generally known as a newsagent's we would recognise its product range in any newsagent's we walk into today (except perhaps the lottery tickets). There are many former teenagers who will recall their daily roles as paper boys, propping their bikes against the wall under the arch before climbing the steps into the shop.

It is along this section of Hatfield Road where the feature of the ground floor front elevations follow the street line, while the first floors are turned to face due south.  Although the two shops at 155 and 157 are modest in floor area, space being reserved for the arch, the first floor accommodation over the arch provides some compensation.

A Boundary Road

Hatfield Road passes St Peter's Farm and bends right
after passing the pond in 1879.  This is pre-park and there
is no sign of Clarence Park Road.
COURTESY HALS

In the previous post we noted the impressive little corner building, Alexandra House, which became home to Barclays Bank until the late 1960s.  So far, however, we have only explored part of the former open space which was the frontage of St Peter's farm homestead and its cottage.  Land agent Dorant retained control of the corner plot for later development, and before proceeding further we need to ask questions about this corner, for until 1894 or thereabouts there was no corner, merely a bend in Hatfield Road.  In designing the layout of Clarence Park for John Blundell Maple a wide residential boundary road was created and along it a number of villas were proposed.  No doubt the intention was to claw back some of the expenditure on the park through these plot sales.  We'll return to the history of Clarence Park Road and Upper Clarence Road – as they were named – on another occasion.

The 1897 map shows Clarence Park Road and the park
 laid out, but no development surrounding the farm.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

If you have visited the park and left via the Clarence Road gate you might have taken in the view on the opposite site of the road (photo below).  This is what you would see: a 1920s detached dwelling to the right of Clarence Park Mews, with a gap-filling post-WW2 home on its left.  Thereafter begins the line of large villas.  The Mews was originally the cart entrance to the farm's barns and stores.  These survived and were rented out for furniture and other storage and in recent times have been converted for residential use.

View across Clarence Road, the space between the two houses was the
former farm cart track leading to the barns, now Clarence Park Mews.

Clarence Park Mews.

The space between the farm track and Hatfield Road was made available for development and three terraces of homes were built; each terrace had hung tiling at first floor level, arched front porches, and the end properties in each terrace slightly projecting with their front doors set back.  There were occasional references in the press  to the benefits of occupying a home opposite the park.

The Valuation Office records for the period up to 1915 show the block of land with their houses owned by W J Elliott of Chequer Street.  William Jermyn Elliott, born in the West Indies, was a piano dealer, whose shop was at 20 Chequer Street.  I am not certain whether he was also the developer of 2 to 30 Clarence Park Road or whether he acquired the estate after completion as an investment.  Today they remain largely as built, even showing evidence of small cellars and one or two original paths. A few still maintain little decorative front gardens, but most have utility gravel or pavers, bins, and car parking for small vehicles.

The terraces viewed from the park
(above) and from the road (top).

To the Hatfield Road end of the first terrace was added Alexandra House, which incorporated number 2 Clarence Park Road.  As an end of terrace dwelling it looks rather different from those on the ends of the other terraces.  Alexandra House consisted of a house and two shop units.  When the paint was hardly dry in 1903 the left shop was rented by chemist Frederick Fox who, for the previous nine years, had plied his trade on the corner of Laurel Road.  It seems likely Mr Fox saw the location of Alexandra House as not only closer to the homes in Stanhope Road, Clarence Road and Granville Road, but the wider corner location giving more visibility, even though he was moving further from the growing district of Fleetville itself.  Herbert Pike open his chemist shop between Sandfield and Harlesden roads after Mr Fox had moved downhill.  When Mr Fox retired from the corner the business was taken on by chemist partners Shields & Warren who remained until the 1970s, since when it transformed into a bridal shop.

The two retail premises and flat above.  Part of the bank premises appears to have included a basement.  The first
floor hung tiles from the terraces continue around the frontage.
COURTESY BARCLAYS ARCHIVE

The more prominent building with block facing is undeniably a bank which you would recognise as such even without the sign.  Opened just before WW1, it became the first such service in the Fleetville district.  Barclays moved further eastwards to the corner of Sandfield Road c1970, by which time all of the major banks also  had a presence here – before all of them left the district again. None of the new-style banks have arrived in their place either.  The Crown Barclays has had many transformations since, and is now a money transfer business.

So, in a period of fifteen years the wide frontage of the former farm's green space had been replaced by houses and shops; a period during which the whole of Fleetville between the Crown and the Recreation Ground and its parallel roads had been developed.