Railway Cottages Kempston Hardwick

Railway Cottages October 2011

Railway Cottages, as the name suggests, were built by the London Midland Railway Company to house some of their employees. 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 cottages [DV1/C2/1-7] found that they were all still owned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and were occupied by employees who paid rent of three shillings per week as of 1922, the rent from 1919 to 1922 having been two shillings.

Each cottage comprised a parlour and a living room downstairs with three bedrooms above. Each cottage had a wood house, a barn and a pigsty outside and water came from a well. The valuer commented: “Good Terrace, Next Railway and main Road”. Another hand has written: “Good, solid”. The tenants were as follows:

Number 1: William Everett
Number 2: F. Ball;
Number 3: A. Church;
Number 4: William Baines;
Number 5: Charles Baldock;
Number 6: William Tysoe;
Number 7: William Church.