The Little Books 3

 This week's book takes a step up with the number of photographs laid out, and even selects a few leading images spread across its double pages. The title is St Albans in Old Photographs by Sam Mullins, published in 1994 (ISBN0750901209) within a series under the umbrella of Britain in Old Photographs.  As with previous books in the series we are exploring SAinOP appears not to be in print; however two copies are currently advertised for sale on Abe (www.abebooks.co.uk).

St Albans in Old Photographs not only has a more expansive  selection of images than in the previous two publications, but its division into twelve distinct sections gives more scope for presenting a larger number of themed scenes, recognisable locations, small groups and even individual St Albans' residents. Remembering that our inquiry centres on whether the Eastern districts are fairly represented in the total collection, we should first define those boundaries: any part of the city (the current District) which is east of the Midland Railway.  In the books St Albans' Own East End the historical boundary was the parish of St Peter, but if the author's brief was strictly related to the city boundary this extended to Oaklands and Hill End for the period under review.

Among the sections chosen were A Tour of St Albans, St Albans Abbey, Farming, St Albans Pageant 1907, Roman Verulamium, and Lost St Albans, the latter showing buildings no longer standing, although there are plenty of these among other sections of the book as well.

The first section is titled Market Day, including a super cover image; so the market provides a consistent connection between all three books so far surveyed.

 

You can almost smell the freshness of Clarence Park – fresh paint, new creosote; the pavilion in the background; the park keeper's lodge with an early sales point for refreshment.

The pavilion may be complete, but finishing groundworks are ongoing, ahead of its 1894 opening.

One section is given over to Clarence Park, so we should be able to tick off all of its contents as being East End based.  There are nine images, of which four feature the pavilion, the most impressive being the completed – and still empty – structure probably taken before the crowds set foot on the place at the very wet opening ceremony.

Of the seven pictures of farming scenes five have captions identifying the locations as St Germains and Verulam Hills, in other words Verulamium.  The two unidentified examples are also likely to be from the same collection.

A footpath has been laid along this view of Sandpit Lane, with the occasional opening onto the lane
from the south side.  On an original print can be detected a large board on posts.  The view
eastwards is from approximately Clarence Road, rising in the distance towards Hall Heath.

Rural Sandpit Lane features in the Lost St Albans section with the oft seen picture of two figures walking along the road space, ignoring  the recently laid footpath. The grounds of Marshalswick House hide on the left, with the future Spencer estate laying in wait beyond the trees on the right.

One photograph, said to have been taken in the Haymarket, London, shows two loaded carts which the caption informs us had been driven there from Butterwick Farm.

A collection of churches is included, of which St Paul's is featured while it is still scaffolded – and fortunately showing off the corner of a paved and metalled Hatfield Road and an all too rare gas street lamp.

The view of Alexandra House, Hatfield Road can be dated to between 1912 and 1914.  Fox's
chemist opened around 1912 and Barclays Bank is first listed in 1914 and may have opened
for business a short time before this.

Finally, the rather impressive Alexandra House at the corner of Hatfield Road and Clarence Road which, when first completed housed a chemist and a branch of Barclays Bank at the Crown corner.

The compiler was provided with a wide range of photographs at his disposal and few of these have appeared in other volumes, and so, as a set, the book contains an impressive collection.

But the fact remains that of 164 photographs of "old St Albans" only 12 could be confirmed as being located in the eastern districts (9 in Clarence Park, and one each from the Crown, St Pauls Church and Sandpit Lane.  A thirteenth was actually a central London view, not a Butterwick view.

While we love Verulamium, the Cathedral and the market, oh, and the city centre shops of course, rather more balance would have been helpful.  So the search is still on to find a Little Book which achieves that balance.

The sources are probably, in the main, from St Albans Museums and HALS.  If not we would be pleased to acknowledge.

Celebrating in the Park

 One recent issue which has concerned users of Clarence Park and the residents living in the vicinity of it, has been an application made by St Albans' City Football Club (SACFC) for the holding of special events at its ground. 

To gain some understanding of what might be proposed, we should home in on the word Special.  We might consider a match Final to be special, or an invitation match between two well known teams.  There have been matches in the past between SACFC and a Celebrity All Stars team.  All are intended to draw in extra spectators, create a new occasional income stream, and raise the profile of the Club.  Perhaps there might be two such matches in any one season.

At the opening of Clarence Park in 1894 – a few hundred spectators, but certainly fewer than three
thousand.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

There have also been special events taking place in both the football and cricket areas: rallies of a religious and secular focus, fireworks displays, and Torchlight Tattoos, some of which attracted huge crowds, with fleets of buses ferrying visitors to and fro.  Early in the life of the Scout movement rallies attended by national personalities; Annual Co-operative Society fund raising days, and other fund raising specials; most eventually being moved to Verulamium.  They resulted from a precedent established even before the park opened in 1894.  The recreation part of the park had not been previously known as the fete field for nothing!

The specialness of such wonderful days of joy were probably limited to two or three events each year, and while we have limited knowledge of how many people entered the park for most of these events, it is certainly true many of them transferred to Verulamium in the 1930s, and an even wider range of events was held there in the post-war period.

The special events which have been proposed by SACFC for fundraising purposes appear to have amounted to around twelve each year, in addition to the usual football matches.  These might be expected to attract more spectators as there develops a hoped-for  increased interest in football at the club.  But other organisations might claim an equal right to apply for special events.  Eventually someone has to decide on a limit, at what point special stops being special, when the interests of nearby residents need to be given more weight, and when the strain on the park's resources becomes excessive. 

How many St Albans residents in 1902 would have seen this photograph
of their new King and Queen?  But three thousand were reported to have
been at Clarence Park to celebrate anyway.

The Herts Advertiser reported on such an event when the park was less than twenty year old. 1902 was the year of the Coronation of Edward VI, and during the Coronation weekend a special event had taken place in Clarence Park.  No-one in St Albans, unless they had received invitations to Westminster Abbey, or were in a position to watch the procession, was able to view the proceedings on television or to listen to the "wireless", as the world was pre these technologies.

The newspaper did not describe the nature of the local event, nor whether the entire park was used.  At such an early period the current football area was only used as such in the winter months; during the summer it was marked out for the playing of tennis; the Coronation was on 9th August.  But we do know that the police estimate for the numbers present was 3,000, similar to the numbers intended for the proposed special music functions for next year.

We are informed that only one police intervention took place.  Security and crowd behaviour were in the hands of the City Police, working right on the edge of their area of responsibility – the added areas of the city did not extend to Winches until 1913.

There would have been a number of men spending drinking time at the nearby Crown Hotel for much of the day, and by the summer evening would have wandered across to the park to join in with the celebrations.  One man clearly the worse for alcoholic drink was in the recreation section looking for a fight,  behaving belligerently and aggressively approaching complete strangers.

A police officer made an attempt to remove the offender, but in the attempt to accompany him through the Hatfield Road gate next to the railway bridge, was seriously injured.  What we might today call "back-up" was sent for and the offender was removed to the police station in Victoria Street pending a hearing in court.

Three thousand celebrating citizens, with the temptation of a public house across the road, and just one reportable arrest; sounds like a remarkably well-ordered and organised time was had by almost everyone.  Let's hope that similar good nature can be found among guests to a similar number of special events at Clarence Park in the years to come. 

PARK FEST

 Surprising news that a topic of interest and concern has not yet reached the editorial desk of the local press.  Yet it has featured on the front page of this title's website and reached the in-boxes of all members of the Clarence Park Residents' Association and the Protect Clarence Park campaign group.

An events license application has been made by St Albans City Football Club for entertainment and music events at Clarence Park; twenty is the number quoted.

While it is not for this blog to take a comprehensive view on such an application, there are a few so-far unanswered questions which we should ask.

We are assuming that the boundary for the application is identical to the boundary of the football ground.  We are also assuming that the 4,999 person limit for each event has already been calculated as being the insurance capacity of the ground – and would that include allow attendees to stand or sit on the pitch, or does this area have to be kept free for escape routes, stages, or to keep the grass in good playing condition?  We note that the Club announces its match day capacity at 5,000.

Has a travel plan been published to model how up to 5,000 attendees would/could reach the ground and return to their homes; if necessary the provision of park-and-ride facilities in a number of out of town locations?

Has an agreement been reached with the emergency services for the control of crowds, emergency evacuation and a medical aid centre?

Have the organisers discussed with the police the likelihood of congestion prevention measures at or near the many junctions within a one mile radius of the event site?

Have discussions taken place, and agreements reached, about how residents will be able to leave and re-enter their own homes in the periods before, during and after each event?

Where will portable toilets be located: in the football area, along footpaths, or other areas of the park?  Will the events effectively preclude other areas of the park from being used for their own events on the same days, or individuals or families from enjoying the park's facilities?

Will the parking restrictions for the event need to be extended to the days before and after each event for the get-in and get-out procedures, and if so, what arrangements would be made for residents relying on street parking outside their homes?

One other item of information not included, so far as we can identify, is whether the events, presumably taking place in the short summer non-football season, are intended to last for one season only.  This omission suggests the option is left open for the event proposal to become regular over two or more years.

Is it intended that these events would begin in 2023?  And what would the ticketing arrangements be?

A further arrangement which might be modelled: are 5,000 individual spectators movements and behaviours follow a similar pattern at a typical match event as they might at an all-day entertainment and music event?

Finally, did the Club organisers consider the possibility of holding the events elsewhere than at Clarence Park? 

So many questions, but if  a project plan exists to answer them perhaps the Club could publish it and make it available  We could see obvious references to the proposal on the Club's website..

Just a thought!  If all of these points can or have been satisfied then we wish the Club well in its endeavour.  But it would be nice if nearby residents were offered an alternative event of their own by the Club.  We understand these events will essentially be fundraisers, but all fundraisers have costs, and this would be one of them.

On a historical note: the park does have a record of presenting non football events during the summer and autumn months before and after World War Two.  There were Billy Graham religious rallies, fireworks displays and Scout Organisation displays; all playing to capacity crowds, usually in the evenings.  On some occasions buses were laid on to deliver attendees to Clarence Road and to return them to the city centre at the end.

Clarence Park in 1946

Many of our popular sites in the city give the impression of being timeless; old friends, that since their creation have experienced few changes, just the process of ageing gently.  Clarence Park is one such location, now reaching its 128th birthday.  In 1946 when the RAF overflew the eastern side of St Albans the park was only 52 years old.  It is doubtful there had been an actual celebration – we would have other priorities at the time.  The photographic negative seems to have been ageing gently too, with well scattered specks across its surface; or perhaps it just needed a good clean!

Clarence Park in 1946; the three major land areas: cricket ground, football pitch, and the recreation ground bottom left.  The three circled features: wartime decontamination unit (orange/yellow);
refreshment chalet (red); spectator stand (green).
COURTESY HISTORIC ENGLAND

Clarence Park has received a few changes since its opening by HRH Duke of Cambridge in 1894: maturing flower beds, shrubs and magnificent trees; the separation of football and tennis, previously sharing the same plot according to season; the formation of a bowls club; the addition of a refreshment chalet and, for a time a cinder cycling track.  Not every facility proved successful; the original  bandstand of timber with wicker and thatch roof was the first to succumb, and although public toilets were added at The Crown boundary in the 1920s, toilet facilities are probably today in poorer state than they have ever been.

Aerial view a little further south.  The circled features: location of former roundabout and bucking
horse for children (turquoise); witch's hat and swings (blue). The green arrow locates the gateway between the two major sections of the park; and the pink outline shows the location of former
St Peter's Farm, now Conservative Club.  Granville Road is identified in orange at the
bottom of the photo.
COURTESY HISTORIC ENGLAND

The park when first laid out, from the entrance by Hatfield Road bridge. The shadow of the photographer's camera on a tripod is thrown onto the bend of the pathway from the bridge.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

The cricket pavilion, bottom left, with the refreshment pavilion in the centre.  The embanked and
fenced terraces of the football ground from a period before the turnstiles were installed.

An original pedestrian gate opposite Granville Road was finally closed in the 1950s, the result of increasing traffic in Hatfield Road just up from The Crown and therefore posing an increased risk of accidents.  In the second photograph the sun is shining across from the end of Granville Road as if forming a virtual crossing towards the park.

An end of bowls.

Also in the recreation ground near Clarence Road are two white patches which represented two children's features of the time: the cone, or witch's hat, and the old favourite of swings.  A small roundabout and bucking horse were sited near the gate leading to the cricket ground.  Today the much enlarged area has been upgraded as a very colourful playpark.

Though this example is not at Clarence Park the Witch's Hat provided enjoyment for all.

Though this example is not at Clarence Park the horse it is very similar. Hold on to your seats!

Designer's drawing of the new playpark where the former roundabout and horse used to be.

The circular interruption along the path across the recreation ground was the old bandstand – and is now the new bandstand.  But in 1946 the Parks Department had arranged regular seasonal flower shows on what was then a raised circular bed.

Today's bandstand is on the same site as the original timber structure, but I wonder how many
concerts take place here today.

Location of one of the Second World War underground shelters in the recreation ground, close to the memorial drinking fountain.

The first occasion during which the park was commandeered for alternative uses came during the First World War, its open spaces being used for troop training.  In 1939 the park was once more under threat.  A first aid centre and gas decontamination unit was set up in the area behind the cricket pavilion (orange circle in the top photograph).  Two unidentified buildings remained near the gate leading to the recreation ground.  Public underground shelters were excavated near the Hatfield Road path in the recreation ground.  They serviced employees from the nearby factory of W O Peake Ltd, as well as park users and nearby residents.  In particularly dry summers it is still possible to identify the long lost rectangles and square emergency exits in the parched grass.  In fact the regularly spaced square exit slabs stand out clearly on the edge of the shadows on the second aerial photo.  Several facilities for civilians were set up to encourage young men to maintain their fitness; and schools and clubs, including evacuated schools, continued to use the spaces for organised sport and games.

Public Toilets facing out onto The Crown junction, but now converted into a restaurant for 
Verdi's.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

Focusing on the Maple-inspired cricket ground, which was previously part of St Peter's Farm, we would find the early cinder cycle track has gone, and the two parallel light lines from the top two photographs indicate the 1920s addition of tennis courts (today they are multi-use courts) funded by a donation from Samuel Ryder.  At the northern end of the ground was a tiered stand seen in the 1946 photo (green circle).  Presumably it was for those not privileged to be admitted to the pavilion.  The stand was removed many years ago, but behind it was, and still is, a maintenance area and sensory garden.

This is the only image I have discovered of the refreshment kiosk overlooking the cricket ground,
with the steps of the cricket pavilion seen through the end of the kiosk's verandah.
COURTESY BETTY EWENS

A popular refreshment chalet next to the welcoming shade of a mature tree (red circle), occupied a grass triangle between the cricket ground and football pitch.  That little building has also been removed, leaving no refreshment facility in the park.  The Council built public toilets at the Crown boundary.  That was back in the 1920s.  The only other, rather rudimentary, facilities are near the football pitch and the bowling green, the latter available with a RADAR key.  For many years these have remained the only facilities  since the Council leased the Crown toilets to a restaurant business.  

Anyone enjoying the Park in 1946 and returning today would discover remarkably few changes.

Clarence Conservation

The previous post highlighted the details of Sleapshyde's Conservation Area and Character Statement, which is one of only three in the eastern districts out of 27 within the St Albans District.

The Midland railway marks the western boundary of the Clarence
Road Conservation Area and Clarence Road winds its way north-
south on the eastern side.  The houses which are coloured green
are locally listed.
COURTESY ST ALBANS DISTRICT COUNCIL

Today I am turning my attention to the Clarence Park Conservation Area (CA) and Character Statement (CS).  The zone is bounded by the Midland Railway, Hatfield Road, the rear of properties on the eastern side of Clarence Road (both lower and upper), and Sandpit Lane.  Many of us enjoy spending time in Clarence Park itself and we will often catch glimpses of houses which line Clarence and York roads, though we may be less familiar with Blenheim Road, upper Jennings Road and Gainsborough Avenue – although the latter contains no locally listed houses to form part of the collection.  Finally, there are four identified structures within Clarence Park, although one of these, Verdi's restaurant, is technically not within the park, a point I will briefly return to later.

The 1897 OS map shows the recently laid-out Clarence Park together with lower Clarence Road
prepared as far as what will shortly become York Road along the line of the footpath (FP).
At this point no work has begun on the Spencer estate, nor Brampton Road.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The Statement briefly confirms the area's history as land belonging to St Peter's Farm which had been owned by William Cotton (who was not referred to) before being partly taken for railway construction and the remainder acquired by Earl Spencer.  The park was formed from two tranches of land: the former fete field, which became the pleasure park and is the area adjacent to Hatfield Road; and the section purchased by Sir John Blundell Maple specifically for a cricket field and other active pursuits.  Only the latter is referred to in the CS, but the fete field was used by members of the public long before the formation of the park in 1894.  Lower Clarence Road and York Road were adapted road layouts which, together with the railway and Hatfield Road, were intended to envelope the park.  Earl Spencer added to this his residential estate reaching Sandpit Lane, the western part of which lies in the northern part of the CA.

The freshly laid-out pleasure park, the former fete field, with the drinking fountain donated by
Lady Maple, the first bandstand, and, in the background is shown the park keeper's lodge.
COURTESY ST ALBANS LIBRARIES (HALS)

The cricket pavilion and changing rooms.

Probably the main reason the park remains within this CA is its largely unaltered layout.  It is heralded as an untouched Edwardian open space with the lodge and cricket pavilion both recognised in the CA as original features; also the later-added pay kiosks and earliest football club rooms, the water fountain donated by Lady Maple which was installed soon after the park's opening; all are identified as locally listed.

The only structure which does not fall into the above categories is the building, formerly public toilets for The Crown local area, used today as Verdi's restaurant.  This is no longer in the park as the boundary fence was moved northwards in 1928 to provide extra visibility to avoid a potentially dangerous blind spot for vehicles emerging from Clarence Road. A short time later public toilets were built in this space which reduced some of the visibility earlier gained!

A group of the houses overlooking the park at the Hatfield Road end of lower Clarence Road.

Numbers 4 to 30 Clarence Road, as well as Alexandra House, are the first group to be locally Listed and the cottages fortunately have unaltered frontages. Alexandra House is the former Barclay's Bank and chemist shop when first opened.

Two pairs of large semi-detached villas just north of the park entrance in lower Clarence Road.

Many of the remaining semi-detached houses in lower Clarence Road and overlooking the park are described as Queen Anne/Domestic Revival style.  They are substantial and so similar but not identical, which prompts the question of their design.  The CS suggests there were at least three architects at work here: Percival Cherry Blow, Henry Hansell and Henry Mence, but others may have also been part of the practices.

An arts-and-crafts style house in upper Clarence Road.
COURTESY GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Most of the homes in upper Clarence Road are all on the list even though they were built in a variety of styles. Newer infill properties have been excluded.  However an arts and crafts corner house with a lych gate and well-protected with hedging, is feature at the Jennings Road corner.  A plot on the western side of upper Clarence Road which has remained undeveloped for over one hundred years is, for the first time, being built on and will probably become the largest house in the CA.

Houses in York Road were built between c1906 and the mid-1930s and all face Clarence Park.
COURTESY GOOGLE STREETVIEW

Most of the York Road homes, which are detached, are locally listed with the exception of three at the railway end which are later additions to the streetscape.  The much-changed house on the corner of Clarence Road which has been used as a nursery is not included on the list.

A house standing on a Blenheim Road corner.

A house standing on a  corner of Blenheim and Jennings roads.
COURTESY GOOGLE STREETVIEW

A similar plot of land in Blenheim Road was developed a few years ago (Sefton Close) following the demolition of a property.  Otherwise almost every house in Blenheim Road is locally Listed.

There were one or two surprising omissions in upper Jennings Road, which result from later building even though the designs appear to be well-proportioned and similar in design to nearby Listed homes.  The south side of the road was built from the 1930s and clearly does not merit Listing.  Gainsborough Avenue, which was also much later, contains no Listed properties along its frontages.

Park View

 In the previous post we virtually walked along Granville Road, one of the three roads which formed the 1880s residential development of Hatfield Road field.  At the Hatfield Road end of this road the residents had been given the benefit of their own entrance to Clarence Park once that had opened in 1894.  That gate is now blocked off, but from the perimeter path in the park it is still possible to to see where it was.  And that would have been quite a steep ramp from Hatfield Road.

Hidden behind the foliage is the former gate opposite Granville Road.  Today the old ramp has been
made steeper than the old path.

Where the Hatfield Road Bridge park entrance is the maximum height of the embanked road, and the timber zig-zag pathway before it was replaced recently.

Keep walking along the perimeter path towards the Midland railway and the surface of Hatfield Road on your left keeps climbing towards the bridge.  That helps us to understand how several of the Clarence Villas were built.  There had been little difference in the elevation of the land in what would later become the park – still the fete field in the 1860s – and that in the Hatfield Road field; just a gentle gradient.

In fact gradients play a key part in The Crown corner. Hatfield Road drops down from Cavendish Road to the Crown junction.  Turn left and there is a further fall through the entrance into Camp Road; turning right into Stanhope Road and the gradient increases, only levelling out beyond the Stanhope Road shops.  If you had walked along Hatfield Road from The Crown towards the city before the mid 1860s the ground would have been quite level until you reached the beginning of the city hill, where is the original Loreto College building.  Undertaking the same walk today would be very different, with a long steady climb to the bridge and then down again westwards past Lemsford Road; notice too the steep gradient turning left into Beaconsfield Road.  All of our route would be on made-up ground.

Just five years after the railway opening the embanked Hatfield Road (where the number 412.092 is on one side and the blue lake on the other) shows where the subsoil was placed. Beaconsfield Road is where the line of trees is drawn on the map.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

Hatfield Road between the bridge and The Crown junction with the embanked road on both
sides.  It is presumed the Nursery was to stabilise the ground before the villas were built.
The road leading towards the Goods Shed is today's Station Way.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

Much heavy manual work was undertaken in removing subsoil from the railway cutting and creating an embankment on both sides of the railway in Hatfield Road to enable traffic to pass over the bridge; it is that embankment we noticed when we took the perimeter path in the park.

Two views of the upper row of villas. To the right of the top view it is possible to spot the rear garden space is below road level.
Top view: COURTESY GOOGLE STREET VIEW

So, what has this to do with the Clarence Villas in Hatfield Road?  Look carefully and the architect has taken a design opportunity with those villas west of Granville Road. They were built with a lower ground floor – the original ground level – with a short flight of steps up to the front entry at first floor level above the new street level.  Although the front view from the lower floor would have been limited to the the embankment itself, the rear garden would have opened directly from the rear living space.  Extra living space without the expense of excavating deeper foundations.

The OS map of 1898 with the undeveloped plot (orange) in the middle of the
lower group of villas. A track from Hatfield Road leads to a narrow building 
against the rear boundary.  In a few years this would become the first site of
W O Peake Ltd, the coat manufacturer.
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

Between The Crown junction and Granville Road building development had been slower and the infill from the railway had been levelled out, providing for much easier house building.  Today we only have map evidence as none of the original homes survive.  But you will notice there is a large plot in the middle with a path leading from the road to a narrow building against the rear of the plot, much as we find in other occasional unfinished streets.  If anyone has an idea about the function of these narrow boundary buildings the author would be pleased to know.

In the same location as the 1898 map above, the Peake's factory has consumed the whole of
the Hatfield Road frontage and has built deep into Granville Road.  This is the OS 1963 map.
COURTESY ORDNANCE SURVEY OLD OS MAPS

In 1911 Mr William Peake moved onto the middle plot with the intention of making coats.  And the rest, as they say, is history; a history which came to dominate this part of Hatfield Road, and St Albans itself. Too detailed for this post and definitely requiring a blog all to itself.

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.

That Was the Year 2018

This line-up dates from c1954, when these children were surprised to meet Father Christmas along Hatfield Road (between Sandfield and Harlesden roads).  For further details see the foot of this post.

Was 2018 broadly the same as 2017?  Or will this year become a landmark year for you, your family, your street, or the district as a whole?  You must answer for the first three, but perhaps it is possible to pick out a small selection of changes which may or may not affect a wider number of people who live in the east end.  Whether they will ultimately improve our lives or just prove to be another irritation will depend on our personal point of view.

We'll begin with the construction launch of two significant housing developments: Kingsbury Gardens, formerly Beaumont School's front field (which, incidentally, had always been intended for houses under the Beaumont estates original 1929 plans); and Oaklands Grange, Sandpit Lane.  It is inevitable that their first residents will enjoy their first Christmas at home in 2019.  We'll try and remember to welcome them.

After noting progressive deterioration over a number of years the new access structure to Clarence Park's Hatfield Road entrance has been completed, and while not exactly originally as planned, it is  sturdy and very welcome.

Among the public houses no longer trading had been The Baton.  Former customers have since, presumably found other landlords to drink with, and after an uncertain phase M&S Food finally opened on the site and appears to be well patronised.  It is the second retailer to have crossed to the other side of The Ridgeway.

The residents' parking scheme for the 'Ladder Roads' in Fleetville finally launched recently.  Unsurprisingly, it has proved controversial, but it has made more obvious those commuters who have for a long time parked their cars in the scheme area or even beyond it and walked the last part of their journey to the station.  Parking and traffic in general will never have real solutions in Fleetville because the Real Solutions will never be accepted, by the Council, by the residents, probably by anyone.  But we will re-visit the scheme in six months.  And no doubt we will continue to grumble about the parking problems ten years from now!

Very quietly, improvements continue to be made to that green lung, Alban Way.  Undergrowth and a number of trees have been cut back.  A number of complainants have this year noticed re-growth and more open flanks to the path, new surfaces and signage, and helpful interpretation panels.  It is proposed these improvements will continue towards Hatfield.

The Green Ring, the Fleetville section of which has been open for a while now, was finally complete close to the end of the year.  Thus  far the voices in the ether have been rather quiet on any benefits, and so it is not possible to discover yet how useful residents have found it to be.  Cue comments by users.

November was also the 110th anniversary of the opening of Fleetville School, although it will be another four years before the specialist accommodation for infant children was opened for them. Anyway, happy birthday Fleetville School.

Right out on the edge of the parish the landmark and Listed Comet Hotel is shrouded behind solid fencing as the establishment faces its long-awaited upgrade, and we look forward to its re-opening.

Visitors to Highfield Park have discovered a new Visitor Centre which was opened in the summer; new extensions to its orchards and other park improvements have taken place.

We have benefited from short distances of new road surface, and most areas now sport new LED street lighting instead of those orange sodium fitments.  We have also learned (or not) to slow to 20mph while passing through Fleetville in our car – though at times some are struggling to reach that speed!  Meanwhile we continue to hold the record identified in the 1920s, of being a pot-holed suburb.

Which brings me to a couple of finishing questions.  How far down Marshalswick Lane do you now have to queue to reach the Five Ways (William IV) traffic lights at 5pm?  How many new traders to Hatfield Road and The Quadrant have we been able to welcome to our patch during 2018?

The image added to the top of this post is of course very seasonal, and it was taken around 1954 in Hatfield Road.  We know some, but not all of the children Ian, Shiela and Bruce Scotland on the right, Diana Devereux in the middle, and Father Christmas, of course.  The four children on the left have not yet been identified, and, more interestingly, what links all of these children to an event which took place just before Christmas in Hatfield Road?  We would love to discover.  Over to you.  Happy Christmas.