A History of Preston
in Hertfordshire
Sir Edwin Lutyens has been lauded on this web site for the homes around Preston that he designed.
From 1946, two generations of the Waller family left a building legacy in the village
which is arguably greater than that of Lutyens’.
This is their story.
A view along Butchers Lane, Preston of some of the houses built by B G Waller Ltd.
Bertram George Waller, or ‘Bert’ as he was known, was born in the village of Ickleford, near Hitchin, in the late autumn of 1907 (writes Penny Causer).
His family descended from the Wallers who built homes around Hitchin, beginning with the Hornbeam Cottages at Wymondley (right), which were built in around 1818 and sold for £40 each. Indeed, the building of houses was ingrained in the Waller family personna as their surname means, ‘one who built walls around large estates’.
In 1928, Bert married Phyllis Powlter and the couple settled in Hitchin. They had three children – Peter George (died, aged six weeks), Joan Margaret (born 1930) and Dennis Frederick (14 December 1931)
In March 1939, the family moved into ‘Greenfields’, a bungalow at Back Lane, Preston which Bert built. (Bert’s son, Dennis, later moved there and remodelled his home in 1975, as shown right. His family moved from ‘Greenfields’ in 1980)
On 27 March 1939, the children, Joan and Dennis, began attending Preston School. As Joan had previously been attending Langley School, it is probable that the family had been living in the area.
The children left Preston School in 1941. They also attended the British School,
the Wilshire Dacre School and the Bessemer School in Hitchin.
B G Waller Ltd -
Soon after the war, Bert began his own construction business in 1946 as B G Waller Ltd. He built the houses along Butcher’s Lane, together with some at Church Lane and Back Lane. His company also worked on other houses in the village and Princess Helena College.
Homes built at Preston by B G Waller Ltd: top, Butchers Lane; middle, The Hollies, Church Road;
bottom l to r, Trebarweth and Little Manor, Back Lane.
During World War Two, Bert worked at Hatfield and Henlow airfields and also for a
local builder in Hitchin. They built huts in Hitch Wood, which housed some of the
soldiers preparing for the D-
In 1952 Bert was diagnosed with heart problems and was given just twelve months to
live. He handed over the running of the business to Dennis and retired to Jaywick,
near Clacton in Essex, as his doctors said he would benefit from the ‘sea air’. The
couple moved back to Preston in the early 1970's and lived in Trebarwith, Back Lane
-
On 11 April 1955, Dennis, now aged twenty-
Poynders End, October 1963. Frank Harper is second from the right. Inset: Margaret Harper at The Chequers
Dennis and Margaret on their wedding day
Dennis (right and below, left) continued to run the business and eventually bought the firm from his father, continuing to trade as B G Waller Ltd. His son, Peter, joined the firm in 1974. Peter began by working in all the areas of building work and then worked in the office, with Frank Pugh.
The business closed at the end of May, 1981. There was a news report that a 170-
Dennis said, ‘We’re looking for an easier life -
He calculated that he had worked on nearly every home in Preston over the years and a great many in Hitchin and the surrounding area including the Queen Mother’s home at St Pauls Walden. Dennis added, ‘The biggest satisfaction we’ve had is having a good crowd of working men around us’. Dennis didn’t want to sell the business as a ‘going concern’ because they had built up a good reputation, so ‘everything was auctioned’.
Dennis, Margaret and Peter moved to Dorset and then onto Norfolk where they ran holiday parks.
Both Dennis and Bert owned blocks of flats in Jaywick during the 1960's, which they
let out for the holiday season. As a child, I remember going there to open them for
letting -
Then during just eighteen years, three generations of Wallers died and were buried in St Martin’s Churchyard – Phyllis (3 April 1990) Bert (13 December 1996), Peter (8 October 1999) and Dennis in (25 January 2008).
Standing are Phyllis and Bert. Seated l to r: Margaret, Dennis and Joan (1988)
Dennis Frederick Waller
Bert and Phyllis in 1957