Historical timeline
138 years ago, William Clark, a builder, creates title deeds for the properties initially numbered as 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 Beche Road – the latter described as “four cottages” – which, some time later, get renumbered as 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82. They occupy the site of the former builders yard.
William Clark dies and his estate passes to his three sons: Charles, George, and Frederick, though the latter two buy out Charles’ share (with a mortgage).
Clark & Sons (Builders) is dissolved and its assets – including the Beche Road properties – liquidated.
Albert George Green, a nursery man, buys the property from The Capital & Counties Bank, via the appointed liquidators.
James Rodwell, a retired farmer, buys the property from Albert Green for £780.
James Rodwell dies and his son, James Edwin Rodwell (a farmer) and Augustus Edward Riche (a railway clerk) are appointed executors.
No. 76 is sold to William Henry Frederick Fletcher for £210. Right of access to the rear of the property via the passageway between numbers 78 & 80 is established.
William Fletcher (who at the time was renting the house out to a Mrs Steeley) gifts the house to his grand-daughter, Doris Laura Mabel Wilson, “…in consideration of his natural love and affection for her”.
Doris Wilson sells the house to Wladislaw Pietruszka for the sum of £475.
Charles Matthews buys the property from Wladislaw Pietruszka for £7,950. Note: this means house-price inflation (at least for this property) has out-paced regular inflation by a factor of more than 4 over these 25 years.
I. Hall – who is presumably the property’s owner – employs specialist contractors to treat the woodwork of the loft and first floor preventing “…corrosion from insect or vegetable infestation…”, and the ground floor joists and flooring are completely replaced.
The ground floor front and back rooms are knocked together, an open-tread wooden staircase is installed, and the kitchen extended (through into what had been the coal shed/outside toilet).
And, significantly, the third bedroom is remodelled into a bathroom (which had previously been in “the shed” at the bottom of the garden).
A “chemical dampcourse treatment” is carried out.
A. G. Davies applies for, and obtains, a city council grant of £1,702.73 to re-roof the house.
The current owner rents the property (for £420 pcm) which contains many items shipped over from America by the then owners (who bought the property in the late 80s).
The current owner buys the property (including all its contents) from his landlords for £102,000.
The front Crittall windows are replaced, followed by the so-called atrium at the rear.
The shed (former bathroom) is re-roofed and its electricity supply improved.
A major renovation starts, including replacing the ground floor (again), putting in a building-regs-compliant staircase, adding a corridor to access the bathroom (without needing to go through one of the bedrooms), and fitting an all new kitchen and bathroom.
The renovation is completed.