91 High Street Riseley

91 High Street April 2015

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 property [DV1/C217/15] found that it was owned by the trustees of E J Rousham and occupied by grocer Arthur Francis Ricketts, who paid rent of £60 per annum. This huge sum also included three nearby cottages which were, presumably, sub-let though this is not stated.

The house comprised a living room, kitchen, store room and six bedrooms. The grocer's shop measured 20 feet by 15 feet. Outside stood a weather-boarded and corrugated iron store, garage and wood store with a loft over as well as a brick and tiled piggery and a stable.

Directories show that Arthur Ricketts was comparatively new to the village at the time of the valuation survey. He was still the grocer at 91 High Street in 1940, when the last countywide directory was published.