35 George Street Luton
George Street in 1901 - to see a larger version, please click on the image
One of the older remaining properties in George Street, Number 35 is first listed in a directory in 1903 when it was occupied by Lipton Limited, grocer and provision merchant. The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every piece of land and building in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Most of Bedfordshire was valued in 1927. Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is lucky in having the valuer's notebook covering most of George Street. Evidence in the book shows that the survey of George Streettook place in 1928.
![29 (closest the camera) to 41 George Street about 1900 [Z1306/75]](/CommunityHistories/Luton/LutonImages/29 to 41 George Street about 1900 [Z1306-75].jpg)
29 (closest the camera) to 41 George Street about 1900 [Z1306/75]
35 George Street was owned by Henry Brown in 1928 and occupied by Lipton Limited, whose head office was at City Road, London [DV1/R7/41]. They had a seven year lease from 1922 and paid £196 per annum in rent. The basement contained two rooms measuring 17 feet by 18 feet and 8 feet square respectively. The ground floor showroom had a frontage of 20 feet and the shop measured 18 feet by 42 feet 6 inches, with a 5 feet square office. A store room and w. c. measuring 7 feet square stood in the yard.
The building contained a half landing with cloakrooms and a w. c. then the first floor contained a store room measuring 18 feet 6 inches square with a very low ceiling - just 5 feet 6 inches at the front with a back room measuring 18 feet by 12 feet. The second floor store measured 7 feet 9 inches by 12 feet. The valuer commented: "Shop not so big now. Store at back 18 feet by 11 feet 6 inches".
Lipton is last listed in a directory of 1950, by the time of Kelly's Directory for 1960 the occupier was dress shop Dorothy Perkins. The last Kelly's for Luton was in 1975 and Dorothy Perkins was still the occupier at that date,
35 George Street June 2010