Old Dairy Farm Hockliffe

Old Dairy Farm March 2015

Old Dairy Farm was listed by the former Department of the Environment in 1980 as Grade II, of special interest. According to the Heritage Environment Record it is believed to date from the 18th century. Built of red and grey brick, it was described as of two storeys, with a concrete tile roof and two casement windows with glazing bars. The house is situated on the west side of Watling Street opposite Woburn Road.

In 1911 The Dairy was occupied and run by Annie Norman, a widow, with her 13 year old son Arthur John Norman working as a milk carrier. Two older daughters, Daisy May and Annie Winifred, were working respectively as a shop assistant and an apprentice dressmaker at Dunstable, and a younger daughter, Eva Frances, was at school.

Under the terms of the Rating and Valuation Act 1925 every piece of land and building in the country was assessed to determine the rates to be paid on them. When Hockliffe was assessed in 1926 'The Dairy' was owned by Mrs C. J. Kilby and leased to her son-in-law A. J. Norman, presumably the Arthur John of 1911 who was now described as a dairyman and cattle dealer. The valuer said that "he apparently pays rent when he feels like it" but stated that the property would be worth about £20 per annum. The house consisted of a living room, parlour, kitchen and two bedrooms, described as in good order and "very nice". Outside there was a stable for two and a cake and meal hovel, constructed from brick and corrugated iron. All the other outbuildings were built from weatherboard and corrugated iron, and included a cowshed for four with a lean-to, a pigsty with four boxes, and a garage with an attached lean-to used for lumber.