22 High Street Eaton Bray

22 and 24 High Street July 2012

22 High Street seems an unremarkable house, but it was once a shop. 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 the property [DV1/C235/91] discovered that it was owned by W. Gurney and occupied by Mrs. K. Impey, the owner’s sister. She paid rent of 3/6 per week.

The property comprised: a living room, a shop measuring 9 feet by 12 feet and two bedrooms. A brick and slate coal shed along with a W. C. stood outside. The valuer commented: “Small general shop. Small bay window”. The latter has now gone.

Bedfordshire directories were not published every year but every few years. Kate Impey is first mentioned in Kelly’s Directory of 1920 as a shopkeeper. She is also listed in 1924, 1928, 1931, 1936 and the last directory for the county, 1940.