1910s John "Jack" Sandford Baker Houghton Regis

Jerry Sandford gave us these memories of his Grandpa:

John ‘Jack’ Sandford was my grandfather.  I believe he originally set up his bakery on High St (#68) after completing part of his own apprenticeship in Brooklyn, New York.  Percy Ward eventually took over when Grandpa retired, later moving to the much larger premises on Queen Street.  Long after retirement John would ‘lend a hand’ to Percy, and as a child (born and raised in Houghton Regis) I would sometimes accompany him to Queen St.  Really happy memories.

John Sandford was born in 1883 near to Bishops Stortford, Essex. He also lived in Woodford, Essex and Stansted, Kent. On 16th March 1907 he boarded the SS Etruria in Liverpool and travelled to New York. The passenger list shows him as passenger number 5558, occupying a "Second Cabin". He returned to the UK and married Edith Fowler on 5th April 1915 in Houghton Regis, where he established the Bakers Shop at 68 High Street. He is also listed as being a Special Constable.

There is a record of John Sandford protesting at a Houghton Regis Parish Council Meeting regarding the proposed new housing estate in Manor Park. He was a land owner under a threat of compulsory purchase order. The appeals were lost and the housing estate was built. Below is an extract from the Houghton Regis Heritage Blogspot Notes

"Manor Park Estate

February 1950. Local newspaper reported that The HR Parish Council had suggested names for a new housing estate: Dusty Avenue, Manor Park Estate, Strange's Folly, Beechwood Avenue, Robin Hood Estate, Cumberland Estate. Manor Park Estate won. Mr Sandford protested saying, "It is not a suitable site for a housing estate, and I am afraid that the council will have all the backwash when houses are erected." T. Strange of 20 Park Avenue wrote a letter to the paper deploring the name "Manor Park", as the landowners of Manor Park had done all in their power to stop the village getting the site. The following week a letter from Mr Sandford suggested that Mr Strange should attend parish council meetings to find out what business was being done, and then criticism would be welcome. Mr Strange wrote back accusing Mr Sandford of misquoting him."

John Sandford died in Houghton Regis on 2nd November 1964 at the age of 81. His wife Edith died in 1982.

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