Flint Cottage & Station Road

This series of photographs looks east along Station Road, from its junction with Eagle Lane, towards Old Maid's Corner.  Flint Cottage sits in the foreground of these pictures and, at first sight, has changed little over the years.  Dating these has proved tricky and the first may possibly be in the wrong order.

The 1910s

The first photograph appears in Dennis Algar's memoirs East Anglia to the Far East and is dated ca.1909 on the Old Newmarket Facebook Page.  If you click on the picture above to zoom in you can see the state of the roads - very rutted and perhaps not metalled - this photograph appears to be the oldest of the series. However, given the state of the roads in 2023, potholes may not be the best way to date things.

Immediately next to Flint Cottage is a thatched building of two cottages which "fell down" sometime in the late-1930/1940/50s. As a result 86 Station no longer exists and a new 88 now sits on the site of both dwellings.  

Next to 86/88, set back, is the pair of buildings which form the elegant four Victorian Cottages built in 1886.  In fact, in this picture, you only see the easterly of the pair (80/78) as the (84/82) are hidden behind (88/86).  [Keep up, there's a test at the end of this post.]

The next building along is the present day Martins Cottage.  The building which is set at right angles to Station Road is the shop called Densons.  This is adjacent to Latchetts.

Finally, in the distance, you can see the end of the cottage which stood adjacent to Nappa Cottage.  There is a future post which will focus on Nappa and this next door cottage.

The 1920s

The most obvious difference compared with the previous one is that it taken during the summer.  The horse chestnut tree is full of leaf and there are shadows cross the road.  If you look closely at the entrance to Flint Cottage there is a person standing in the doorway with - perhaps - a child sitting on the top step. 

The cyclist is walking or standing adjacent the entrance to Stony Cottage - nowadays called Tillbrook Farm Cottages - and looks to be wearing a full skirt.  Now I'm no fashionista and originally thought the style pre-dated the previous photo.  However, looking at the state of the fence in front of 88/86 - and then in the subsequent photos - leads me to think it could be the 1920s.  I'm happy to be told otherwise.

The 1930s

This photograph is dated ca.1931 and forms a baseline for the timeline for this series of photos.  That is, it's the first known date and so is useful to compare the other photos against it to determine if they are older or more recent.  

The trees which were hiding Martins Cottage in the second photo have now disappeared.  So too has the cottage which is immediately next to Nappa.  

The 1950/60s

This photo had to have taken post-1949 when electricity came to the village.  The evidence for this is the electricity pole which is more or less in the centre of the picture (removed in the late 1990s when the cables were buried).

The thatched cottage building (88/86) next to Flint Cottage has now disappeared and the plot has become an allotment.

2009

Leaping forward to the next century, indeed the next millennium, this wintery scene was taken six days before Christmas in 2009.  Bing would have been wishing for this.  The new version of 88, built by Derek Baldwin in 1983, fills the gap between Flint Cottage and the Victorian terrace.

2023

This photograph was taken in February 2013 (last week actually), approximately 114 years since the first photo in the series.

Looking West

This "fading memories" video is looking along Station Road towards the Eagle Lane corner.  In the foreground is the new 88 Station Road but if you play the video you can step back to the original thatched building.

If you have any comments, corrections or more photographs please leave a comment or send Richard an email.

Eagle Lane Corner

 

At the west end of the village proudly stands Flint Cottage, on the corner of Eagle Lane and Station Road.  In modern times this junction is a staggered crossroad, but at the time this photograph was taken ca.1930, the entry to Balsham Road was directly opposite Eagle Lane.  

With the exception of the Balsham Road, it all looked much the same in 2003 and still does in the present day (2022).  The fir tree, Flint Cottage and the guard rail next to the brook remain in place, although the cottages to the right of Flint Cottage (in the older picture) no longer exist.

This 20 second clip goes back in time from 2002 to ca.1931.  The modern house was built in 1983 and now houses probably the finest archive of Dullingham photos and newspaper cuttings in the world.

Looking east along Station Road (away from the railway station) ca.1931

By 2012 Flint Cottage has had a few alterations, but is pretty much the same.  

And in winter months (2009).