42 High Street Eaton Bray

40 to 44 High Street about 1930 [Z50/39/34]

At the beginning of the 20th century five houses in a row in Eaton Bray – 40 to 48 High Street were all businesses. Number 42 was a hairdresser’s.

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. Eaton Bray, like most of the county, was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting 42 High Street [DV1/C235/84] found it owned by James Gadsden, the shopkeeper at 34 High Street. The occupier was L. Donovan who paid rent of five shillings per week. The valuer commented: “Lock up hairdresser’s shop”. The shop measured 10 feet by 14 feet.

Directories for Bedfordshire were not published every year, but every few years. Leslie Spencer Donovan is first listed in 1928 and is listed in 1931, 1936 and the last directory for the county, 1940.

42 High Street July 2012