Located at 11-13a, Maidenhead Street, on the corner of Honey Lane, Montague Burton’s new Hertford premises were opened on Friday, 28 April, 1939.

The site was previously home to ‘The Old Coffee House Inn’, which dated back to around 1620 but was demolished in 1938 to make way for Burton’s new premises. In an early example of buildings being recognised for their architectural significance, the carved pilasters from the Inn’s front were salvaged and are now held in the nearby Hertford Museum.

The replacement building was designed by the in-house Burton Architects Department, under the direction of Nathaniel Martin as Chief Architect. With its prominent corner position, the three-storey building is typical of the chain’s new stores from the late 1930’s.

Foundation stones, all of which survive, were laid by Montague Burton’s three sons – Stanley Howard Burton (1914-1991), and twins Raymond Montague Burton (1917-2011), and Arnold James Burton (1917-2013).

Construction of the new building was carried out by local builder, Ekins & Co. Ltd., who were appointed as general contractors. Based at Hertford’s Great Northern Works on Hartham Lane, the company’s name, displayed on decorative glazed tiles can still be seen on their former premises today.

The steel-framed building was faced with Monks Park natural stone and multicoloured facing bricks, with the masonry supplied and fixed by The Bath & Portland Stone Firms, Ltd. The structural steelwork came from Banister, Walton & Co., Ltd., who used the strap line “We build in steel,” and whose works were located in Trafford Park, Manchester.

Despite dominating its immediate neighbours, given the building’s height, the exterior at Hertford is in fact relatively muted, lacking the same level of architectural detail seen on Martin’s other buildings, such as Brentwood, which also opened in 1939.

The familiar ‘Art Deco’ geometric friezes between floors were only used once at Hertford, with the band between the first and second floors using facing bricks rather than stone, the reason for which is unclear.

Burton are no longer present in Hertford, with their former premises having since been divided at ground floor level, resulting in the complete loss of the original interior, which featured wood block floors from Messrs. A. E. Whitton of ‘Dover House’, 170 Westminster Bridge Road, S.E.1.

The perfumery business, Paul Martin, has occupied the unit at number 13 since at least 1979, when approval was given for a new shop front. At the adjacent number 11, new entrance doors and alterations to the shopfront for the shoe retailer, Stead and Simpson were approved in 1987, which saw the last trace of the original Burton shopfront, including the ornate ‘Chain of Merit’ window panes removed. The premises are now occupied by the Keech Hospice Care charity shop.

Whilst the classic Burton emerald pearl polished granite facade remains in situ, modern signage for the two businesses noted above has since been added. Upon its opening, the building featured three large neon signs, supplied by Franco Signs of Oxford Street, W.1., which would have been illuminated at night.

At first floor level is ‘The Castle Snooker & Social Club, Ltd.’, the entrance to which is located on Honey Lane. The former side entrance still retains the original mosaic floor tiles, however these have been partly obscured by a new door.

Aside from the loss of the 1939 shopfront, the rest of the building is in remarkably good condition, with the original metal casement windows by Messrs. Henry Hope & Sons, Ltd., of Birmingham, still in situ. It is a shame, therefore, that the design was not one of Martin’s strongest for the chain.

June, 2019.