17 Church Road Flitwick

17 Church Road about 1900 [Z1130/50/20]

17 Church Road is an attractive old property. It was listed by English Heritage in May 1985 as Grade II, of special interest. The listing dates the house to the early 18th century. It is timber-framed with red brick infill between the posts and it has a clay tiled roof. The house comprises one storey and attics and originally had two rooms downstairs. There is a 20th century flat-roofed extension at the rear.

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/C272/11] judged it to be built of brick with a slate roof! The owner, not surprisingly given its proximity to Flitwick Manor, was Miss Brooks. The occupier was J Whittington who worked for Miss Brooks and whose rent, deducted from his wages, was £5 per annum.

Accommodation comprised a living room, kitchen and scullery, with two bedrooms in the roof. Outside was a weather-boarded and thatched stable with an open stall, a weather-boarded and thatched open cart hovel, a weather-boarded and thatched coal barn and a weather-boarded and thatched henhouse.

17 Church Road April 2017