1 Station Road Toddington

 
Station Road about 1920 [Z1306/126]

The house at 1 Station Road was listed by English Heritage in 1991 as Grade II, of special interest. It is now combined with the adjoining commercial premises on the corner of Park Road and Station Road. This larger property, which is described in the listing as 1 Park Road but is now 27 Church Square, is not of any special architectural or historic interest. Its smaller neighbour dates from the 17th century, although it was re-fronted in the 18th century and altered in the 19th and 20th. It has a timber-frame clad in red brick in Flemish bond and is stuccoed with a 20th century interlocking concrete tile roof. A bay with a single-storey rear outshut was added in the 17th century. There is a plinth and platt band. There is a boarded-up window on the right and a late 19th or early 20th century small-paned wooden casement above. The interior of the property has a timber frame, mainly visible in the original rear wall. The existence of a double right-hand truss suggests that number 1 was built adjoining a pre-existing neighbouring property on its right.

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. It appears that 1 Station Road had already been included with its neighbour at this date and it is impossible to distinguish which part of the premises relates to this older section of the property [DV1/C82/34]. The building was owned by Charles Saunderson and occupied by Johnson and Company (Bedford) Limited, grocers.

The shop measured 15 feet by 20 feet and also on the ground floor was an office, a small store, a store measuring 14 feet by 19 feet, a living room measuring 13 feet 6 inches by 11 feet and a scullery; a cellar was also used for storage. There was A WC upstairs along with four bedrooms measuring, respectively, 14 feet by 12 feet 6 inches; 14 feet by 12 feet; 10 feet square and 7 feet 6 inches by 13 feet 6 inches. A crockery store stood outside along with a brick and slate store with a loft over, measuring 20 feet 6 inches by 12 feet and a timber and corrugated iron stable and store. The valuer opined: "Corner site excellent shop". In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the premises was in use as Thresher's Wine Shop which closed in 2010; at the time of writing [2015] it is Toddy's Wine Shop.

 
 27 Church Square and 1 Station Road March 2016