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ChurchEndIntro

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 11 months ago

Church End: An Historical Perspective

 

The Map

The historic map on this board is the 1931 Ordnance Survey (printed in black) superimposed on the coloured 2003 OS Mastermap. Careful study reveals the old buildings which still exist, buildings which have been demolished, the new estates and development, and the changes to the roads and paths.

 

The population of Yateley in 1931 was a little over 2,000. Even in 1961 the population was less than 5,000. Today Yateley has grown by ten times to over 20,000.

 

Seventy years ago Yateley was a small village spread over a wide area -- much the same as Eversley now. The historic core was the area in front of St Peter's Church -- which had always been called Church End, an area which looked much the same in the previous century, or even centuries before.

 

Yateley before 1931

The biggest visual change in the early 20th century was the replacement of the old Dog & Partridge with the building we see today. Other recent changes in 1931 were the building of the new Post Office (now Lloyds Pharmacy); a new house to house the policeman and the telephone exchange; and in 1923, Manor Corner, a new architect-designed house in the Arts & Crafts style. The War Memorial, unveiled in 1920, reminded villagers of the huge loss of life in WW1.

 

Yateley in 1931

In 1931 the Vicarage was still in Vicarage Road and the Barnard sisters lived at St Peter's Cottage. Mrs Chapman, aunt of the artist Paul Nash, lived at Harpton House, and Thomas Devett MD lived at The Croft. The vestiges of the feudal system of land tenure called copyholding had only recently been swept away in the 1920s by the Law of Property Acts. Captain Richard Lyon Geaves still resided at the Manor House, a Victorian name-change for Hall Place. Hall Lane still skirted the eastern side of Yateley Green along the west side of present day Barclays Bank, past the entrance to Yateley Court. Mill Lane still had a grass triangle where it met the main road.

 

Yateley Businesses in 1931

Clustered round the church in 1931 were the two public houses, the Dog & Partridge and the White Lion; the Post Office; the butcher's shop; the saddler's and two general stores. Kelly’s Directory for 1931 lists the businesses at Church End

 

Postwar expansion

It was the decision in 1942 to build RAF Hartfordbridge on part of Yateley Common which was effectively caused Yateley's population to expand 10-fold since 1931. Service buildings and hutments were built, extending from Monteagle to Cricket Hill to Manor Park. When Britain lost one sixth of its housing stock during the war, families squatting in the huts postwar had to be rehoused. Sewers had been built for the RAF station, so the village was considered to be what is now called a "brownfield" site. Other communities, such as Hartley Wintney and Odiham, which already had a town-like character to their historic centre, were thus saved from rapid expansion.

 

Big changes came to Church End when the new supermarket and Barclays Bank were built in the 1960s on the south side of the road, and in 1975 when the buildings on the north side were joined together to make Forge Court and Saddlers Court. Harpton House was demolished to cut through Village Way, and The Croft was demolished to make way for Firglen Drive.

 

More recent changes to the character of Church End have been the ubiquitous parked car, street furniture and road markings, CCTV cameras, municipal plantings and hanging baskets, and the pervasive signage of corporate identity. Most of these changes have been made since Church End became Yateley's first Conservation Area.

 

Despite these changes this small area of Yateley still retains the character of a village.

 

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