9 Brook End, Glendale

Today, No 9 is an extended red-brick house on a plot of land, which lies astride Cheyney Water a stream rising at Gatley End by Ashwell Street and flowing north, through Brook End, until in the north of the parish it turns east into Abington Pigotts parish, where it is known as Mill River and onwards through Shingay and Wendy, where it becomes North Ditch and joins the River Cam just north of Wendy. Historically, the flow of water would have been far greater than we experience today and was sufficient to power at least two water mills, one of which was yards from 9 Brook End.

In addition to industrial power, the stream was a source of water to sustain life, both human and animal. Discrete areas of land along its course would be fenced off to provide safe pasture for livestock or a building plot for a dwelling with a small farmstead or decent garden to offer a degree of self-sufficiency. No 9 may have begun as two plots, one each side of the stream, until they were joined as one. The eastern part would have likely been historically water logged, with any dwelling erected on the rising ground to the west. It is not recorded when such enclosing or fencing of this plot took place, but it was likely in the late 1500s or early 1600s.

Equally unknown is the identity of the person, who originally fenced this modest land holding as his own. Possibly it was one of the Theobalds family, of which first mention in Steeple is 1597 and regular residents from 1622. They were an extensive and long-surviving Hertfordshire centred family, which was economically active over quite an area and were acquiring land in Steeple by 1640. Their association with this plot is recorded first in 1798, but likely was earlier. For interest, the last Theobalds in the village died in 1891.

Owners and Occupiers

The earliest record known to date is the 1798 Land Tax Return. Unfortunately, the main extant series of Land Tax does not begin until 1810. The challenge with the Theobalds is working out the different individuals, as the names William and Henry were used often across inter-related families and generations. They appear to have been carpenters and the five acres of land plus some rented allowed them to also claim farmer as occupation. From the Land Tax Returns it seems likely that the land from Wm & Ann Carrington was acquired in 1835. The property itself is described at various dates as cottage and garden or house/cottage and land.

The arrival of son in law John Franklin on the scene in1862 would have increased the attention to farming, particularly after William Theobalds died in 1869, the property was sold to John Hart of East Hatley and John Franklin and family remained as tenants at Brook End. John built a larger farm by renting land from the Wimpole Estate. His holding came to be known as Franklin’s Farm after a farm yard was built in Hay Street on part of the rented land, as there was insufficient space at Brook End. He lost the bulk of the Wimpole Estate holding, when the Estate was dispersed in 1892. John was now more often described as market gardener, a route that a number of farmers took as the agricultural depression restricted the profitability of traditional crops. By 1905 J Franklin & Son were standing at the Covent Garden wholesale market. John died in 1917, leaving the property and business to his son William and daughter Mary Ann. William got married and moved to Home Farm and Mary Ann remained living at Brook End until 1923.

Housing Estate?

Even back in the early 1800s it appears that there were a number of dwellings on this plot, although it is not possible to be exact. However, a shake-up of the Land Tax Returns in 1867 saw a new entry Owner William Theobalds ,Occupier William Newlin(g) & others, 6 cottages and land. A similar entry appeared in 1870, with Owner changed to John Hart, same occupier and this continued to 1897, when John Franklin bought the complete modest estate and they were rolled into his new comprehensive entry.

It is challenging to identify all the tenants from the Census Returns, but the Sale Particulars in 1869 provide a fuller description. In addition, to the main residence there were “a slated dwelling house with garden held by Mr Newling”, “a recently erected plaintiled Granary with fruit store, readily convertible into two tenements let to J Franklin”, “a tenement held by — Williams & 4 cottages with gardens etc in respective occupations of — Huffer, — Hammond, — Gray and — Morris. In the i871 Census the tenants appear as Mary Ann Williams,  William Newland (rather than Newling), James Huffer, Mary Hammond, James Huffer junior in place of Gray and John Morris. These dwellings and occupants were all resident in the garden of 9 Brook End.

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