33 London Road

  • Conveyance plan James Wilson Cooper and Robert William Munt
  • 33 London Road, courtesy of Google Earth
  • Field name map showing Leigh Field
  • In 1988, according to the Centenary booklet, Marshall E Wilson transport business was on the site of the Fire Station
  • 1979 map extract
  • 19 London Road, originally the home of the Tombs family - with a shop to the right (east)
Archive Notes:

Deeds relating to 33 London Road.

This was originally part of Leigh Field, as one of the images show. This was divided when the new London Road was built. In 1925 it had been owned by Charles Shepherd of Ambrose Farm who sold the entire parcel of land between the new and old London Roads to Mrs Milne of the Manor House in 1925. She held the part to the west, west of the Fire Station, and sold the remainder to Mary Harding in 1927. Mrs Milne, who had purchased The Manor, needed to give plots to the four tenants in order to gain vacant possession. Three of them received plots on the London Road. The Shorters were given Sunnyside (see 1563). Other plots were given to the Hardings and the Tombs as part of this process. Photos show the developments which took place on these plots. Charlie Shorter built Sunnyside, Archie Harding The Homestead and James Tombs his two-storey home Milne Cottage, now 19 London Road - originally the plot was about 40 metres wide (as shown in the conveyance plan) which, in 2020, covers the adjacent houses either side of 19 London Road. See also record 0931. Tombs' daughter Christine (later Christine Jackson), who was born c. 1935/36, remembers that, during the war, their grocery business, which adjoined their house to the east, looked after the council estate tenants opposite, sharing this with Mr George's business at The Triangle.

In 1927, Mary Harding sold the central section of the land (shown by a dashed red line) to James William Cooper of Strathern who lived in Church Road, Wheatley. He developed or sold off a number of plots on the Old London Road and London Road frontages including the bungalow at 27 London Road, see 2152.

In 1930, Charles Munt bought the plot which is now 18, Old London Road and 33 London Road, selling off part in 1933 to Francis John Fane. The adjacent plots, now Nos 20 Old London Road and 22 Old London Road and, presumably, the higher numbers above 33 on London Road, were owned at this time (1930s) by Evans and Munday as the conveyance plan shows.

No 22 Old London Road was built in 1980 or thereabouts. The present owner (in 2018) moved there in December 1983 having bought from Peter Keen, a local builder, who had built it himself and had lived there with his family for only a year or two. Peter also built no. 24 Old London Road, next door to the east, a few years later. Both houses were built in the former back gardens of two 1920s/30s bungalows in new London Road, which Peter later bought and demolished, replacing them with two new detached houses nos. 39 London Road and 41 London Rd.

No. 20 Old London Road. was built in the early 1980s by Mark Nunn, in the back garden of another bungalow in London Rd (still there), where he and his family had previously lived. His widow and two children still live (2018) at no. 20 Old London Road.

A map extract from 1979 shows the Council depot where is now the Fire Station and also Council offices nearby.

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