The Lodge Husborne Crawley

The Lodge and Lodge Cottage about 1920 [X21/756/4]

The Lodge is quite an ornate property standing on Crawley Green and larger than it looks at first glance. It was listed by the former Department of Environment in February 1987 as Grade II, of special interest. The department dated the property to the mid 19th century. It is built in mottled red brick with yellow brick dressings and has a 20th century tiled roof.

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 Lodge [DV1/C53/88] found that it was rare in Husborne Crawley in not being owned by the Duke of Bedford. The owner occupier was Miss Gertrude Ellen Fryer.

The property stood in a third of an acre and the ground floor accommodation comprised: three reception rooms; a kitchen; a scullery and a pantry. A cellar lay beneath the floor. On the first floor were five bedrooms, two boxrooms and a W. C. A wood shed, a coal shed, a stable for two horses and a traphouse stood outside.

The valuer noted that water came from a well and that lighting was by oil lamps as there was no electricity. Sanitation was to a cesspool. He commented: "Not nearly so nice as page 85" which was Crawley Hall.

Directories for Bedfordshire, which were not published annually but every few years, give the names of the occupiers of The Lodgefrom 1903 to 1940 and the following names are taken from these directories. The dates are those of the first and last appearance of a name, not the full span of dates of residence:

• 1903-1910: Mrs. Case
• 1914: John Milgate Fryer
• 1920-1940: Miss Gertrude Ellen Fryer.

The Lodge January 2011