When built, in 1928, the housing along The Spring and Park Road in Market Lavington was known as The Alban Estate. For many years, what we now call Park Road was known as Estate Road. This estate of houses was built speculatively and, as normal at the time, houses were sold to landlords who then let the properties to tenants.
In 1939, the estate came on the market again and the sales brochure provides information about who lived in the houses and how much rent was paid. In fact the 1939 sale was for more than just the houses we know as the Alban Estate but we’ll concentrate on these houses today.
Front cover of the brochure for the 1939 sale of the Alban Estate, Market Lavington
The sale was by the direction of the executors of FD C Scrofton (deceased) so we assume he had been the owner of these properties.
A description of the Alban Estate houses
It seems the 26 houses were to be sold in pairs which, perhaps, mitigated against existing tenants getting a chance to buy.
Lots 1 to 4 - Alban Estate, Market Lavington
Lots 5 to 8 - Alban Estate, Market Lavington
Lots 9 - 13 - Alban Estate, Market Lavington
If anyone ponders at the strange house names, they were actually named after Masonic lodges.
These pages give quite an insight into rents and rateable values some 72 years ago.
Tags: house, Market Lavington, Museum
Market Lavington Museum 
November 13, 2011 at 11:00 am |
Hello! Thanks for identifying the most outlandish religious names as Masonic.
However, I grew up in St Albans in Hertfordshire, and several of the other house names have a connection with that city. I see the estate was called the Alban estate – do you know if the builder who would have named it might have been from Herts as well?
The St Albans place names are Kingsbury (Water Mill), Clarence (Park), Abbey (magnificent cathedral), Sopwell (nunnery),
Chequers might not refer to the Prime Minister’s house in Buckinghamshire – it could be related to Chequer Street, an ancient street in the centre of St Albans.
Romeland is an area of St Albans near the old Roman city, though I don’t think the name is used much these days. There’s still a Romeland Hill though.
Verulam comes from the old Roman city’s Latin name, Verulamium. There’s a boys’ school with this name, and Lord Verulam lives outside the town on the Gorhambury Estate.
Nearby towns and villages are Harpenden, Radlett, Shenley, London Colney / Colney Heath. There seems to be a little place called Ridgehill near London Colney as well.
I hope this is useful!
All the best,
Rosie Clarke
November 13, 2011 at 11:04 am |
Thanks Rosie. It certainly provides food for thought. I have never known why it was called the Alban Estate when built but surely all those links with St Albans can’t be pure chance. I must see if we can check it out.
Rog (Curator0
November 21, 2011 at 6:33 am |
[…] similar houses. We have looked at aspects of these houses, along The Spring and Park Road, before (click here). Today we bring you a photo of the houses under construction – believed to be in 1926. George […]
November 21, 2011 at 6:33 am |
[…] similar houses. We have looked at aspects of these houses, along The Spring and Park Road, before (click here). Today we bring you a photo of the houses under construction – believed to be in 1926. George […]
August 19, 2021 at 7:44 am |
Regarding the Alban Estate … my mother lived there in 1935 (she was aged 5 at the time). Her family lived in the house named ‘Aleph’ which is listed as part of Lot 11 in the 1939 sales brochure. The other house in Lot 11 was named Lamed. My mother said that the owner was Jewish, as those two names are letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The brochure says these homes had ‘frontage to Westbury Road’. Can anyone ascertain the current address of what was the Aleph house? I would love to wander along the road and have a look, but it’ll be some time before international travel restrictions are eased and I can visit England again. Thankyou to Market Lavington Museum for having such a wonderful presence.
Oliver Davis, Brisbane Australia