Ashtonville 70 Luton Road Chalton

Ashtonville - 70 Luton Road February 2016

This striking property stands out from the lower dwellings all around. Being called Ashtonville suggests it was built for someone named Ashton, however, neither censuses nor directories from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries list anyone with this surname.

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. The valuer visiting Ashtonville [DV1/C127/79]  found that it stood in 0.799 of an acre, and was owned and occupied by Alfred Bird who owned the row of terraced cottages now called 4 to 22 The Lane. The basement comprised a kitchen and scullery. The ground floor contained three reception rooms and another kitchen. Four bedrooms and a bathroom lay on the first floor with an attic above. Outside stood a brick and slate stable and large coachhouse with a loft over both buildings. The valuer enthused: "Wonderful!! Ornamental palatial dolls-house".

Ashtonville three-quarter view February 2016