1934 Church View, Lock-up & Fire station

The origins of Church View in Houghton Regis during the 19th century are closely tied to the village’s ecclesiastical and architectural development around All Saints’ Parish Church, the oldest surviving building in the town. There may have been a Workhouse on this site prior to the building of these cottages, but there is no record of this.

Church View was likely developed as a residential or civic area adjacent to the church, reflecting the common pattern of settlement clustering around religious institutions. Church View may have included a mix of freehold and leasehold properties; some tied to the parish and others privately held.

By the late 19th century, Church View would have been part of a growing village landscape, with buildings and infrastructure reflecting Victorian styles and expanding civic life.

Ownership of Church View in Houghton Regis during the 19th century is not documented as a single estate or manor, but rather as part of the broader landholdings and development around All Saints’ Church.

On the end of the cottages was the Lock-up. It was used to hold people arrested by the local policemen overnight before being taken to the Magistrates Court the following morning. There were no holding cells in Houghton Regis. There was a stout studded door to the former lock-up, which can now be found on display at Stockwood Discovery Museum, Luton. A more detailed picture of the lock-up with its door can be seen at this link: Lock-up

The cottages were demolished in the 1960s and replaced by a car park. The fire station, ignominiously converted into a bus stop, is on the right of the photograph.

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