Clearview - 33 Park Road Toddington

Clearview - 33 Park Road March 2016

33 Park Road was listed in 1980 by the former Department of the Environment as Grade II, of special interest. This red brick house was built in the late 18th century. It has an old clay tile roof, a first floor band, and four sash windows with glazing bars and gauged brick heads. There is a one storey Dutch gabled porch to the left and a drip moulding above the door. Its name is extremely accurate, the view from the upper floors must be breath-taking.

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. When the valuation was carried out for Toddington in 1927 33 Park Road was owned by Frederick Randall and occupied by W. M. Fountain at an annual rent of £30 per annum, significantly higher than the pre-War rent of £14 . The house consisted of three living rooms and a kitchen downstairs, with two bedrooms above, two "bad" attics, and no bathroom. The valuer commented that it was a "barrack". Outside were farm buildings consisting of a stable and coachhouse constructed in brick and tile, and a ware house, barn and hen house of timber and slate. The increase in the rent payable for the property may be because land amounting to 1.4 acres was now included in the rent [DV1/C127/12].