The Maples and Maple Cottage in 1962 [Z53/54/26]

36, Maple Cottage and 38, The Maples, High Street, are semi-detached to one another and were listed by the former Department of Environment as Grade II (of special interest) - they were considered to be early 19th century. They are built, like most of the older properties in Harrold, of coursed limestone rubble. They have a banded tile roof, alternately plain and fish scales. Both comprise two storeys and attics - a box dormer window was added to Maple Cottage after 1962.

In 1927 property in Harrold was valued under the Rating & Valuation Act of 1925; every piece of land and building in the country had to be valued to determine the rates to be paid upon it. The valuer visiting Maple Cottage [DV1/C71/58] noted that the owners were the Misses Sanders and the occupier F.C.Chappell (noted in Kelly's Directory for 1928 as a timber merchant who had his business at Dungee Farm). The cottage stood in 0.180 acres and comprised a living room, kitchen, and bathroom downstairs, with one bedroom ("big"), and another two bedrooms ("small") upstairs; outside was scullery ("detached"), a small office (i.e. toilet and washing facilities) and coal shed. The valuer remarked: "water pumped"; "good garden" and "good position"

The Maples [DV1/C71/56-57] was both owned and occupied by the Misses Sanders. It stood in 0.288 acres and comprised a drawing room, dining room with a bay, kitchen, dairy, bathroom and wc downstairs with four bedrooms above. Outside lay a stone and slate barn and a "nice garden" with a "side entrance", also a stone and tile barn ("good"), two wood and tile pigsties and a yard, with  "2 fields at back". The valuer also remarked: "Leaded windows", "Quite nice looking but near road"; "Paying guests taken".

36 to 38 High Street in May 2008

Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has a number of 19th and early 20th century directories which sometimes list the occupiers of the Maples, those listed being:

• 1890-1894: Caleb leFevre, butcher and registrar;
• 1898: Mrs.Fairey and Mrs.Sanders;
• 1903-1936: Miss Mary Sanders;
• 1940: the Misses Sanders