74 High Town Road Luton

72 and 74 High Town Road June 2011

74 High Town Road has had a history largely involving food. It has been a fishmonger's shop, a greengrocer's, a fried fish shop and now [2011] one of two shops in the lower part of High Town Road selling kebabs.

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. Sadly, a detailed inspection of 74 High Town Road has not survived. Nevertheless, an assessment of the whole of High Town Road [DV1/T38] shows that both 72 and 74 High Town Road were owned by Leslie G. Sinfield. Number 74 was in the occupation of Sinfield himself who, directories tell us, was a fishmonger.

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.

• 1894: William Dalton, tailor;
• 1898: Arthur C. Debney, fishmonger;
• 1903: William Thomas Gray, fishmonger;
• 1906: William Thomas Gray, fishmonger;
• 1910: Arthur Edward Randall, fishmonger;
• 1914: William Gray, fishmonger;
• 1920: William Gray, fishmonger;
• 1924: Ernest Fuller, fishmonger;
• 1928: Leslie G. Sinfield, fishmonger;
• 1931: Leslie G. Sinfield, fishmonger;
• 1936: Leslie G. Sinfield, fishmonger;
• 1939: Arthur Thompson;
• 1950: vacant;
• 1960: 74 - Luton Industrial Co-operative Society Limited, greengrocers; 74a – William Gunn;
• 1965: Home Counties Co-operative Laundries Limited;
• 1968: Hair By Nina, ladies’ hairdressers;
• 1972: Hair By Nina, ladies’ hairdressers;
• 1974: Sea Star Fish Shop, fried fish shop;
• 1975: Sea Star Fish Shop, fried fish shop;
• 2011: Cemil’s Kebab.