Club House to Pizza Place

 This week we have looked over the fence from Grimaldi's former garage premises to discover a solid brick building now the trading premises of the business known as Papa Johns.  We should, however, remind ourselves of the early days of Fleetville and the local authority responsible for this part of St Albans.  Until 1913 the boundary of St Peter's Rural District Council met that of St Albans City at Albion Road.  In that year the city was authorised to extend its acreage as far as Winches Farm at Oaklands.

Work began shortly before the First World War on a club and organisational building for
St Peter's Conservative Club.

In the early years of Fleetville the Conservative Party representing the rural district met in a room above the shop of Ben Pelly on the north side of Hatfield Road to the west of St Paul's Church – although that church was just undeveloped land then.  By 1910 the city council was discussing the possibility of added areas; and the Conservatives were no doubt considering finding a nearby plot on which to build a club and administration building.  Was it coincidence that the organisation moved quickly to purchase land on the relatively undeveloped south side of the road just to the east of the cemetery where the land was cheaper, and at least for a few years the rates were also less expensive.

As with the Liberal Club on the north side of the road the arrangement of the proposed premises was for a central entrance with administration occupying the rear rooms and club premises for members on the first floor.  In order to fund running costs a retail unit was let on each side of the entrance.

The Conservative Club remained on the south side of the road until after the Second World War,
when it moved to the former homestead of St Peter's Farm on the north side, where it
remains today.

St Peter's Conservative Club was opened in 1911 and remained there until World War Two.  It is uncertain whether it was occupied during hostilities, but the Conservatives had moved along to the former farm homestead and cottage of St Peter's Farm by 1949, which is still its meeting place.

During the course of the war a military headwear manufacturer was bombed out of Southwark and were found premises in St Albans at the Conservative Club building, and once Peace had been restored the company settled into its new home for the next three decades or more, under the management of Mr Michael Stone. For the first time the building was known as Capstan House.

It seems that throughout the entire history of the building the retail units were only moderately successful.  The right unit remained a boot repairer under three successive tenants, William Atkins, H Woolford and E A Stuckey – the latter known as Fleetville Foot Clinic for a time from 1938 under Mr Stuckey.  The surviving records show only one tenant, William Hitchcock, for the left unit, so it is unclear whether or how this shop/office was used.

From the 1990s pizza retailer Papa John's has traded from here, but it has to be admitted your editor has no clear memory of when the Capstan House business closed and Papa John's opened.  A reader may be able to recall.

From left to right: Grimaldi's Garage, Calverstone military hat factory in the former 
Conservative Club, and W White garage. v The photograph was taken in 1964.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

The final building before Hatfield Road Cemetery, and added to the streetscape in 1914, was a workshop structure either acquired by or let to Arthur White who was a motor engineer.  Such was the fast-moving industry of personal travel, just five years earlier Mr White occupied a small workshop at the northern end of a former farm drive behind what later became the County Laundry opposite the Rats' Castle public house.  There Mr White described himself as a coach builder, which referred to horse-drawn vehicles as much as early motor cars.  We can assume he was skilled at the former since working with him was another trader, William Moore, a general farrier and smith.

This private drive along which William White had his farrier workshop was to the left of the 
former County Library.

The same drive today and named Montague Close, being part of a residential development.

Clearly, William saw how transport was developing and moved to his new garage directly fronting the main road.  From the street he was also able to dispense motor fuel.

The premises remained quiet post-war until is was used as additional repair and maintenance premises by Grimaldi Bros, one of the topics of last week's post.  In the 1970s the company name changed to W S Tyre Centre, those initials, we may recall, referred to West & Sellick further back along Hatfield Road next to the pedestrian entrance to Fleetville Junior School.

White's garage is now replaced by a residential development.

Today, a residential development known as Luna Place has replaced the former workshop; the barrel-roofed design reminiscent of a traditional rural workshop building.

We have now reached the western boundary of the Poor Six Acre Field (as it had been named and referred to at the 1840 Tithe record. Next time we'll find ourselves in a field sold to St Albans Council for the purpose of a cemetery.

Across the Boundary

 

The red bounded area from the 1922 OS map is the part of Hatfield Road featured in this post.
Courtesy NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The triangular plot is the former laundry site following demolition, with the farm track to its left from the roundabout. To the right of the green patch is the detached house until recently owned by Burgess funeral directors.  Behind this are the factory buildings.  The semi-detached shop building in front of them will be part of the next post.
Courtesy GOOGLE EARTH

The same area as the top map but from 1937
COURTESY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND

The hedge line of the field marking the end of Thomas Smith's land, and on which Bycullah Terrace was constructed, left just enough space for a short road of terraced homes – Arthur Road – reaching the rear boundary of Smith's field and the extant public footpath. At the Hatfield Road eastern corner Mr Smith had constructed an employees' institute, available for "wholesome" activities at lunchtimes and evenings, each day except for Sundays, when a Sunday school was sometimes available.  

Foundation stone on the Institute building, located to the right of the Arthur Road street place, hidden behind more modern brickwork in the photo below.

The Institute photographed after modernisation in 1964.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

From 1914 the Institute was converted into a billet for soldiers under training in the district. With the closure of Smith's for printing, effectively after 1918, the building was fitted out as a small printing works under the management of J W Vernon until the 1960s.  A non-slip tiling product was then made before becoming an office building, confusingly called Quadrant which replicated the shopping district at Marshalswick.

The cottage which would form the start of the laundry.  Was this intended to be the left side of
a pair?

At this point was the field boundary and a private track marked the end of building development for much of the first decade of the 20th century except for five villas near Beaumont Avenue.  The track is a continuation of Sutton Road and Camp View Road on the Beaumonts Farm side of the dividing hedge.  Today it survives as Montague Close, but in 1907 a small cottage with front bay windows was built for Mrs Turner.  Behind this, with access from the track was workshop accommodation for William Moores' farrier and blacksmith business.  Moore's was contracted to both Oaklands and Beaumonts farms.  The coach building business of Arthur White joined him at the end of the track.

Hatfield Road looking towards Beaumont Avenue c1920.  The cottage is on the left, with the
extended laundry and the detached house after that.
COURTESY ST ALBANS LIBRARIES/HALS

After the First World War the cottage was taken over by Rosa Walker and run as a laundry, the land being owned by Samuel Handford.  He constructed a basic iron frame and brick building next to the cottage.  Large windows opened onto the footpath so that potential customers could view the work being undertaken inside. Hatfield Laundry took over the work and the process converted to dry cleaning and a same-day service.  In the 1960s competition from elsewhere resulted in its closure, and Charles Gentle opened a builders' merchant service and then specialised in tiles and plumbing products.

The Laundry and Gentle's share the building in 1964.
COURTESY ST ALBANS MUSEUMS

The Fleetville Vintage Emporium occupies the site.
COURTESY FLEETVILLE VINTAGE EMPORIUM

For a number of Fleetville people the building's most interesting period was yet to come as it became home to a collective of traders in "odds and ends" – collectables – and their enthusiastic followers.  It was known as the Vintage Emporium. The Emporium attracted many regulars, and while passers by may have wondered how quiet it sometimes appeared to be, it should be remembered there were other sales areas in former workshops at the rear.  There had been long-standing plans to use the land for housing, but gaining permission was a complex process.  The new development is now complete with a mix of one and two bedroomed flats. The former Emporium has now relocated as Fleetville Emporium to Hitchin.

The detached house, called Mariposa, for Thomas Oakley.  Factory space behind.

The next plot became number 223  on which a detached house, originally named Mariposa, was constructed. First built on in 1910 the house was owned by Thomas Oakley. The family operated a small timber yard to one side and this plot was separated and became 223a.  At the end of WW2 when many factories relocated to St Albans, the Oakley's timber yard became home to Mulcare Messer, which manufactured Qwiz Darts, and the builders' operative Cockcroft & Preece, also utilising space behind the detached house, which in recent years had been the base for Burgess Funeral Directors.  223a is now being developed for residential use as Napier Court, and Burgess has moved to premises opposite Wynchlands Crescent.

New development, Montague Close.

From this point there was a push to add more homes along the street, although we are not quite finished with an industrial patch along Hatfield Road as the new homes were soon transformed into further commercial premises, which we'll explore next time.