61 High Town Road Luton
61 High Town Road June 2011
61 High Town Road has an unusual facade for the lower part of High Town Road. It was a chemist's shop for much of the 20th century. At the time of writing [2011] it is a dry cleaner's outlet.
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 61 High Town Road [DV1/R59/20] found it owned and occupied by chemist Thomas Hale. The shop was divided into two areas measuring 13 feet by 15 feet and 13 feet by 8 feet respectively, a dispensary measured 9 feet 6 inches by 14 feet. Below lay a cellar measuring 13 feet square. Domestic accommodation comprised a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom. Two store rooms measured 9 feet by 17 feet and 12 feet 6 inches by 27 feet.
Directories for Bedfordshire were published every few years from 1839, for example, the beginning of the 20th century has directories for 1903, 1906, 1910 and 1914. Countywide directories ceased to be published during the Second World War, the last for Bedfordshire being in 1940. Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service has directories just for Luton for 1939, 1950, 1960, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1974 and 1975. The first street numbers in High Town Road begin to appear in directories in 1885 but it looks as if there was some renumbering of properties on the odd side of the road between 1890 and 1894.
- 1894: Samuel Peck, straw hat manufacturer;
- 1898: Samuel Peck, straw hat manufacturer;
- 1906: C. Squires, straw plait merchant;
- 1910: Herbert Howard, photographer;
- 1914: Herbert Howard, photographer;
- 1920: Thomas Hale, chemist;
- 1924: Thomas Hale, chemist;
- 1928: Thomas Hale, M. P. S., chemist;
- 1931: Thomas Hale, M. P. S., chemist;
- 1936: Thomas Hale, chemist;
- 1939: Thomas Hale;
- 1940: Thomas Hale, chemist;
- 1950: Thomas Hale Limited;
- 1960: Thomas Hale Limited, dispending chemists and opticians;
- 1965: Thomas Hale Limited, dispending chemists and opticians;
- 1968: Thomas Hale Limited, dispensing chemists and ophthalmic opticians;
- 1972: W. H. & G. Edwards, chemists;
- 1974: W. H. & G. Edwards, chemists;
- 1975: W. H. & G. Edwards, chemists;
- 2011: Expert Dry Cleaners.