[Mike Neighbour]

Resulting from the review meeting on August 1st, it is clear that almost all activity has focused on the railway station and its branch line.  The Project does have another focus, which is the settlement itself.  Are there any other Project followers who are interested in exploring the growth of the hamlet further?  I have emailed to Jeff this morning a spreadsheet I created some time back of the owners/occupiers of business/commercial sites in and around Smallford, which appeared in the Villages section of residential directories up to and including 1960.  It was created as a background to research, but for archiving purposes will need to undergo verification (i.e. checking that I did actually record the data in the correct row and column!)  In addition, directories are known to have got their facts wrong from time to time, and the opportunity should be taken at some point to cross-reference the data with other sources, where available.  But it is a start, and better starting here than at the beginning!  And it will be interesting to extend the data in both directions – back to the 19th century and forward to today.

In an attempt to roll this part of the project into action, perhaps we could work on the spreadsheet, and maybe create a map to locate each of the sites. 

An Excel version of the spreadsheet is attached, but I am happy to send a .pdf or .numbers version to anyone who wants one.

[JM]

Hi Mike,

Both Lucy, my father Chris and I are interested in the local area rather than just specifically the station building itself.
I'll have a chat to dad and see what he says and whether or not we can make a start on the verification of the data but what a great start and help - thank you!

Jonathan

[LucyH]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for compiling the spreadsheet, what a wonderful starting point!

I can definitely verify some of the information at The National Archives. In respect to the Smallford Station Master, today I looked through census material and can confirm that Thomas North and John Kimp were both Station Masters at Smallford. I also located their families and looking further into it.

Many thanks,

Lucy

[Mike Neighbour]

Thanks Lucy and Jonathan for your replies.

I have to admit that I did not do a little further work on the spreadsheet before offering it out, and am now tidying it up, as well as adding 1962.  The light green cells are years before which there was any occupation recorded in the sources I used.  The dark green cells should refer to years when the occupation was the same as in the previous year, so that the same information need not be repeated.  Well that didn't quite happen, and I am now tidying up the original.  I will re-post it when ready.  There is also a need to sort the rows so that the locations are better identified.  So far I have created a base map divided into five colour zones.  The next will be to add 2 columns to the spreadsheet: for colour and a number, with the number also on the base map.  It may be possible to get that far within the next two or three days.

[Mike Neighbour]

I have now moved on to a version 2 of both the location map and the spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet has been extended through the 1960s for those occupiers I have been able to trace so far.  I have also split the list into two parts, the first for those which can be plotted on the location map; the second for those outside of that area.  This arrangement begins to make it more orderly.  There are two columns which identify the zone colour and the numbered site of each occupier.  The numbers are fairly meaningless as a sequence; it is simply the order in which I plotted them from the original spreadsheet.

There will come a point where a Version 3 of each will be necessary, to update and extend what by then will have been achieved. 

That's all, folks.

[Mike Neighbour]

I have carried out some additional work on the Butterwick Wood industrial area, and I think this puts into context how it developed in the 1960s and, where possible through the 1970s.  Also plotted are today's firms, and I hope I have everything in the right place.  What is missing, though is data from the 1980s and 90s, that period I was largely absent from St Albans.  Of course, if firm A was present in 1970 and is still operating from the same site, it is easy to bridge the gap!  But in all other circumstances we need to do some work on who was and was not trading from Butterwick Wood in the 80s and 90s.

I have taken a number of photos as a record of how things are today, and am hoping that there may be some pictures somewhere from the earlier years.  I will collect what I have and pass a folder of them to Jonathan if it is decided we ought to be adding a gallery to the website.  And then there is the issue of making a history of some of the individual commercial occupiers such as the nurseries, pubs, blacksmiths and so on.  Incidentally, the long-standing query about the post office and shop in Station Road, which was clearly not the current one in the early years of the 20th century, has been solved.  A resident of Colney Heath has identified a photo of the shop which used to be nearly opposite the Crooked Billet – a very long Station Road!

Attached is a Version 4 .pdf of the map; and version 4s of the spreadsheet in both Excel and Numbers formats.  If anyone has anything to add or alter this can be done in a different colour and reposted as version 5.