AllsoppThe story of 65 High Street
By Mr. Harpenden
Pull up a chair, because this one's close to my heart. Walk along the High Street past the Old Cock Inn and you'll find a row of white-painted cottages with dark leaded windows. Number 65 is one of them, and it has more stories than most.
A tailor's shop and the village post
From the 1820s right through to the end of the nineteenth century, the Eyles family (sometimes written Ilies) ran a tailoring business at 65 High Street. There's a wonderful old photograph of John Eyles and his family standing outside, behind a picket fence, with their name painted proudly above the door.
John Eyles did more than make clothes. In the 1850s he was listed as Harpenden's "receiver of post", the first person in the village named in that job. Before then, post came over from St Albans by pony cart. So if you've ever wondered where Harpenden's post first landed, number 65 has a fair claim.
The Tollgate Hotel
Jump forward to the late 1930s, when number 67 opened as a small private hotel called The Limes. In December 1943 it reopened across numbers 65 and 67, and on 2 July 1948 it became the Tollgate Hotel, taking in 65 to 69 High Street. It didn't last long as a hotel: it went up for sale in October 1953 and was sold as three separate properties in March 1954.
Hair, beauty and business
From the 1960s onwards the Tollgate buildings were home to a long line of hairdressers, which feels about right when you see what's at number 65 today: hair, beauty and wellbeing studios, offices and serviced apartments, all inside a Grade II listed building.
Mr. Harpenden's tip of the week
Next time you're passing, look up at those leaded windows and the canopy over the front door. They're the same ones the Eyles family stood beneath well over a century ago.
Do you have memories or photos of the Tollgate Hotel, or of the hairdressers that followed? I'd love to hear them. Drop a line to info@mrharpenden.co.uk.
See you on Monday,
Mr. Harpenden