No 1, The Old Bakehouse
John Roadley
Building origins
Listed as a Grade 2 building by English Heritage, The Old Bakehouse is described as a cottage of late 16th or early 17th century origin, much altered in 19th century.
It is timber framed and plaster, but the framing has been replaced with brick in parts. The steeply pitched roof, originally thatched, is now with buff pantiles and a small 19th century gault brick ridge stack.
The fenestration is 19th or 20th century including a hung sash of four panes.
Changing hands
The earliest document we have seen which relates to this building is the 11 February 1832 will of Thomas Bridge Littell who owned properties in Harston & surrounding villages. These were put in trust for his daughter Henrietta Long, wife of William Long. The trustees were Phoebe Bridge, widow of his brother John, and Thomas Singleton, Archbishop of Northumberland.
The next document is an advert in the Cambridge Independent Press and Cambridge Chronicle & Journal of 16 Nov 1844, stating:
At Harston, Cambs A Dwellinghouse with shop, bakehouse and outbuildings, orchard and 2 gardens pleasantly situated at The Cross, Harston. To be sold by auction by Crockett & Nash. At the Swan Inn, Harston, on Friday, the 22nd day of November 1844 at 5 o’clock By order of the proprietor, Mr Smith of Cambridge; immediate possession. Particulars with conditions may be had of Frederick Randall, solicitor, Cambridge &of the auctioneers of Royston, Cambs.
There is no evidence in the deeds of a sale of the property or a proprietor, Mr Smith. In 1855 the cottage was used by two Irish women appointed by Rev Durbin to teach village children prior to the building of the school & school house almost directly across the road in Church Street. From 1861 Josiah Ashby is renting the property and is recorded in Kelly’s Directory as having the bakery and grocer’s shop in Church Street.
There was a large turnover of trustees until Henrietta died in 1892 and in 1893 it was one of 16 property lots up for auction when the ‘Harston Estate’ of William Long was sold. There were 14 trustees named on the conveyance. It was described as a:
‘Highly valuable freehold property comprising dwelling house and shop, containing 4 bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room, shop & storeroom & bakehouse with outbuildings, comprising boarded, lath & plaster & thatched shed, boarded & tiled piggery & W C with yard etc comprising 33 poles (more or less). The property is well situated for trade in a corner position at the junction of the Haslingfield & Royston Roads & is in the occupation of Mr Ashby, a yearly tenant, at £14 a year. The tenant claims the oven & certain fixtures’.
Josiah Ashby purchased the property on 30th Dec 1893 for £250 and by his will of 9th Feb 1894 he gives all property to wife Phoebe although he does not die until 12th Oct 1905. From 1861 to his death in 1905, Josiah is recorded in Kelly’s directory as having the bakery and grocer’s shop in Church Street. On 25th Mar 1908 Phoebe Ashby sells the property to Frances Rogers of Trumpington for £200 plus £10 goodwill. Phoebe undertakes not to trade in a similar business within 5 miles for 10 years.
On 24th Jun 1908 Frances Rogers sells the property to Andrew John Pearmain, baker for £190 plus £50 fixtures & fittings plus £10 goodwill. Mr Pearmain was not to trade in similar business within 7 miles for 10 years. The fixtures & fittings referred to above were:
Shop
1 pr large brass scales & weights 3 bacon knives 1 meat chopper
1 pr small brass scales & weights 1 meat saw 1 raisin stoner
1 pr iron scales & weights 1 chopping board 11 tea canisters
1 cheese cutter 1 vinegar measure & funnel 1 large hanging lamp
3 small hanging lamps 1 show case 1 wooden scoop
1 fire stove & pipe 1 umbrella stand
Bakehouse
6 half round bread tins 3 whole round bread tins 16 square bread bins
2 long bread bins 10 cake hoops 1 mash tub
1 cone tin & scoop 1 strainer 3 pails
1 shovel 1 poker 1 rake
2 bread baskets 3 wooden peels 1 iron
1 dough trough
Oil house
1 pail 1 measurer 1 funnel
Stable
1 horse 1 cart 1 bread scales
1 corn bin 1 spoke brush
Outside
3 water tubs 1 large bench
The 1910 land valuation (No 194 on map) has the house & shop/bakery owned & occupied by Andrew John Pearmain.
On 30th Aug 1926 Mr Pearmain sold the property to Percy James Harrison, Brampton, baker’s assistant, for £650. The location described as ‘bounded on or towards N & NE by Cambridge to Haslingfield road, on W by property of Mr Harper and on S by a private road leading to the property of W Jude.’
In 1948 he built a new bakehouse beside the cottage but nearer to Church Street than the original bakehouse (see map & plans). Mr Covell who was bombed in WW2 came to Harston & worked for Harrisons. Jane Pevley remembers going there on Good Friday for hot-cross buns.
On 8th Aug 1957 Mr Harrison and Maurice Gadewell Harrison, both of 3 New Road Harston sold the property to Arthur William Simon for £2000 plus £1050 for fittings, plant, machinery & motor vehicle plus £600 goodwill plus the right to continue to use the business name PJ Harrison & Sons. The Harrisons not to trade in a similar business within 10 miles for 5 years. For the first time the name ‘The Model Bakery’ is used.
On 15th Jun 1964 Mr Simon sold the property to Noel Alfred and Eileen Impey, 5 Cambridge Road Newton, for £2875. Mr Impey not to trade in a similar business within 10 miles for 5 years. Still known as ‘The Model Bakery.’
On 18th Jun 1964 Mr Impey becomes a Lyons Maid dealer & is sent Ice Cream Heat Treatment Regulations! Mr Impey applied for planning permission for change of use from storeroom to a butchers shop. This was refused on 26th Jan 1965.
On 28th Jan 1970 Mr Impey sold the property to Colin Geoffrey & Jean Ann Sanson, 19 Rutland Park Willesden for £5770 plus £5 goodwill. The Sansoms not to trade in similar business within 5 miles for 5 years. Now ‘formerly known as The Model Bakery.’ Their son Peter lived there in 1960s when the shop was very busy.
On 10th Oct 1972 the Sansoms were refused planning permission for a private garage and car parking on the grounds that the property was on a dangerous bend and that no parking was allowed outside businesses.
On 28th Apr 1976 the Sansoms sold the property to Roger Albert & Patricia Elizabeth Phillippo, 32 Oakley Road Chinnor for £17400 plus £100 for fixtures & fittings plus £100 goodwill plus retaining the name ‘Church Street Stores.’ They ran the shop for a year still as a general stores (Church Street stores). The fixtures & fittings referred to above were:
1 bacon slicer 1 cold counter 1 till & adding machine
1 grocery scales 1 vegetable scales 2 deep freezers
All fitted shelves & displays 1 Lyons Maid fridge on hire
All shelves & displays fitted in the stockroom
In 1977 Roger turned the shop into a craft shop selling pottery, general craft stuff and his glass. After some years he just concentrated on selling glass to be engraved by him. In the early 2000s the Phillippos closed the shop due to crippling business rates and traded from a cabin in the yard. The old ‘shop’ has made a wonderful kitchen! Roger ceased trading in 2013.
Comments about this page
Hi
My family used to live in Harston , and owned the bakers for many years.
I would like to hear of anyones memories of the Harrison family if they have any
Mandy Jeckells
[email protected]
Comments about this page
Smith made his wife Elizabeth sole executer of his will with power to sell the bakehouse, land and outbuildings. According to documents in Cambridgeshire Archives, 1 Church Street (as it is known now) was originally purchased from John Halsted and his son Thomas in November 1810, and subsequently sold by Elizabeth Cambridge to John Williams in 1844 for £153 and 6 shillings!
The owner mentioned in the auction notice dated 1844 was my 5th Great Grandfather – Mr Smith Cambridge (as stated in the original source – not “Mr Smith OF Cambridge 🙂 He died of stomach cancer a month later and would have been settling his affairs. He was listed as a “Baker and Miller” on his children’s baptism records, and on the 1841 census he is the first name recorded at the start of Church Street – which all fits 🙂 Smith was a common Christian name in the Cambridge family.
I lived here in the 1960s. My parents re-opened the shop in 1964, Noel and Eileen Impey. So all my secondary school years were behind the counter. In those days it was a very busy shop.
So many memories! I believe the name of the the lady who lived in the bus was Miss Thorne. There we’re also a couple of caravans next to the bus. I remember being shocked as a child to see the people roaming around naked one sunny summers day!
This was an awesome house to grow up in. Two stair cases at each end of the house. This brings back a lot of childhood fond memories. I used to catch the school bus by the clock shop with Melanie Gaskarth and Chris Hare. I am still friends with them today. Jean Hearn was a very good friend of my mum’s. Her son Jeffrey is a good friend of mine today.
I remember so many people but the last time I was there I noticed so many changes. Owning the shop Mum and Dad got to meet a lot of good people and made so many friends there. They were very involved in the community.
Sadly Mum and Dad have died, Jean Sansom in 2000 and Colin in 2008. I miss them terribly but I hold onto the fond memories of them. They were two very special people.
Seeing this certainly brings back a lot of childhood memories. I used to catch the school bus by the clock shop with Melanie Gaskarth and Chris Hare. I am friends with them today. I remember so many people but the last time I was there I noticed so many changes. It was a fabulous place to grow up in. Mum and dad made so many friends there especially owning the shop they got to meet a lot of good people. I am still friends with Jeffrey Hearne. Our parents were very good friend\\\’s. Unfortunately mum died in 2000 and Dad died in 2008. Very sad indeed. Jean and Colin Sansom. Two very special people.
We recall Colin and Jean Sansom running the shop at no. 1 Church Street from soon after we moved into Harston in the autumn of 1968. They had 2 children – Jacquie and Jane.
We used to buy bread and paraffin (for a space heater) from the shop, and they used to look after our daughter, Gemma, sometimes in the mid to late 1970s.
Jean died some time ago, while Colin was still alive; we last saw Colin at Iris Armstrong’s memorial service.
Lovely house. Many good memories here for me. I knew the lady at Button End who lived on the double decker, and Eric the old war vet two doors down. The Lovedays and Hearns were our friends. I remember going to the clock shop and the pub around the corner as a child. I remember Mr Shoote the school principal. My name is Jane, and as a girl had a dog named Phred and my mum ran the shop as a grocery store, in the 1960-70s – The Sansoms. Anyone remember us? Harston was the best place to grow up. I now live in Vancouver Canada .
I used to live here. Jean and Colin Sansom were my mum and dad and we had a dog named Phred. Anyone remember us? My name is Jane
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