25 to 33 Station Road Toddington

25 to 33 Station Road June 2015

This terrace of five 18th century houses was listed in 1980 by the former Department of the Environment as Grade II, of special interest. The listing applies to numbers 27 to 33 only, but it is possible this may be an error as the properties are described as having five Yorkshire casements with glazing bars and five sash windows to the ground floor – this appears to be a description of the entire terrace; however, the listing then mentions only four original doorcases with cornice rather than five. All the properties have colour-washed plaster and an asbestos tile roof [HER6492].

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. At this time the entire terrace was owned by Charles Sharp. The valuer describes the properties as of stucco and slate, formerly thatched. The left hand cottage, number 25, was smaller than the others. It was rented by Mrs Susan Everett for 3s per week, a rise from the pre-war rent of 2s per week. With a living room, a kitchen, and two bedroms inside, and a timber and slate barn and earth closet outside, the valuer described this as "really [a] very small house" [DV1/C82/46]. Numbers 27 to 33 were leased as follows: number 27 to Miss Clarke for 4s per week; number 29 to Arthur Buckingham for 3s 6d per week (increased from 2s 2d pre-war); number 31 to Joseph Brazier for 3s 6d per week (increased from 2s 4d pre-war); number 33 to W. Franklin for 4s per week [DV1/C82/47-50]. All four also had a living room and kitchen downstairs, two bedrooms upstairs, and a barn and earth closed outside. There were slight variations in size; number 31 had a lumber room and was described as "bigger at back", and number 33 at the end of the terrace was slightly wider than its neighbours.