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In The Village

Hobbs Close

Credit: Garry Allam, Bishop's Sutton Heritage; curated by Mark Allen

Hobbs Close, 1947 - from the South

There are several mentions of a family called Hobbs in the early 1700’s in Bishop's Sutton so is the likely source of the name.

he row of houses to the south of the Council houses was called Darvill Terrace and was demolished in the 1960’s.
Hobbs close was the name of a field which the local authority acquired in the 1930’s and started the building of Council houses, of which the first batch of three were erected by 1937, followed by five more in 1939.

Over the years, more houses were built - mostly bungalows by the 1970’s by both local authority and private developers. In 1996 Riverhead development was completed by a housing association, and another three large houses were built close to the site of North street.

Bishop's Sutton, Hobbs Close 1947 -  from the south

Hobbs Close, 1947 - from the North

Bishop's Sutton, Hobbs Close 1947 -  from the North

Before and After

This map of Water Lane shows the site where Hobbs Close was to be built, and the original site of the Darvills in 1881

In the 1975 map you can see Hobbs Close pretty much as it is now, but with the RiverHead houses on the left hand side of the small road going North - now Water Lane.

Water Lane itself can be seen in 1881 to be a road going all the way to Northside Lane, then gone from the start of the houses into a field footpath by 1975.

Bishop's Sutton, Hobbs Close area maps 1881, 1975

old-maps.co.uk

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