Old Sandons House - 1 High Street Eaton Bray

Old Sandon's House about 1820 [Z105/12]

Old Sandon’s House was listed by the former Department of Environment in September 1980 as Grade II, of special interest. The department dated the property as 17th and 18th century “with later modifications”. The front block comprises two storeys with attics and is built of brick, though the left had side has some timber framing. The roof is of modern clay tiles. The listing simply says “Rear wing largely rebuilt”. The earliest known depiction of the property is from about 1820 as can be seen from the picture at the head of the page.

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 listed in 1927 and the valuer visiting the property [DV1/C202/87] found that it was owned and occupied by W. G. Chanin.

Directories for Bedfordshire were not published every year but every few years. Kelly’s Directory for the county lists William George Chanin as a baker in 1914, 1920, 1924 and 1928.

The valuer noted that the Old Sandon's House comprised two living rooms, a kitchen, a washhouse and a pantry (“large”), with four bedrooms above. He commented: “Dormers bricked up”. The valuer opined: “Old and Poor house”. Another hand has written: “Rotten old house”.

The bakehouse measured 13 feet by 10 feet 6 inches and contained a five bushel oven. A flour loft measured 20 feet 6 inches by 10 feet 6 inches. There was also an annexe (“not much use”) measuring 7 feet 6 inches by 15 feet,

A large weather-boarded and corrugated iron barn used as a store, a large hen house, a brick and tiled open cart shed and a three stall stable. Adjoining the house was an orchard of 1.642 acres. The trees were a “mixture old and young, mostly old”.