St John's Lane
Grange Way
Info > Places > D-G
St Johns Lane (1) Looking towards Orchard Cottage (2) Junction with Church Road
St John's Lane (often pronounced "sinjins lane" locally), is one of Hartley's ancient roads, linking Church Road and Ash Road. It is shown on the 1769 map of the area. It has two Smallowners built houses dating to the early 20th century (Glebe House and Orchard Cottage), but the remaining houses date to the 1960s and 1970s. The road was originally named, but is now numbered.
The origin of the name is unclear, as there are no obvious links in Hartley to St John, the Church for example is dedicated to All Saints' and the field names do not provide any clue. We are also hampered by a lack of pre-20th century references to the name of the road. Before the war it was called both St John's Road and St John's Lane, but residents were definitely unhappy when the council put up a St John's Road sign in 1967.
Up until the late 1960s the road was very narrow and difficult to pass, which acted as a block to further development as well as being inconvenient for travellers. In 1923 Hartley parish asked for the road to be widened. This led to the widening of the Ash Road junction and the erection of a sign saying it was unsuitable for heavy traffic. In 1936 Hartley's district councillor, Captain Bignell, called again for widening. Dartford Rural Council didn't want to pay for this, but decided to negotiate for the purchase of land for two passing places. Meanwhile Hartley Grange came up for sale and Mr and Mrs Hoath the new owners offered land for road widening in 1938. This time the problem was Kent County Council who objected to the scheme on grounds of the £1,388 cost. Dartford RDC replied that they believed the road was narrow and dangerous, being only 8 feet wide in places. So back it was to the plan for two passing places which would cost £147, but by now the landowner was getting impatient at the council's constant delays. Nothing had been done in the war years, and in 1949 the parish council was reduced to asking for one-way traffic, this seems to have led to the passing places being added the following year. Widening was finally achieved in 1969.
Oldest Houses in St John's Lane (1) Glebe House (no 1) (2) Orchard Cottage (no 19)
The earliest house was Glebe House (number 1) which was called Bundoran when built in 1912. Orchard Cottage (number 19) was built on part of the plot in 1921. The 1958 Town Plan envisaged infilling on the north side of St John's Lane within the following 5 years, but placed the south side (including the site of Billings Hill Shaw and Grange Way) in the "white land" where they did not want to allow development for at least 20 years. From 1942 to 1968 number 1 was the home of the Rectors of Hartley Church, then numbers 3-15 were built on the back garden of Glebe House by Fovn Construction Co Limited, and number 3 became the new Rectory and remains so today. Of the other odd numbers 17 was built in part of the garden of Orchard Cottage; and nd 21-25 were built by Brewster Estates Limited on land that was Cherry Orchard Farm. The house itself was where the back gardens of 23 and 25 are today.The even numbers were built at the same time as Billings Hill Shaw on land that had belonged to Hartley Grange by George Wimpey & Co Ltd.
St Johns Lane: 1936 map (black & white) superimposed on modern map (colour) Contains OS data © Crown copyright (2016)
Going further back in time, St John's Lane was bordered by no less than three farms - Fairby, Blue House Farm and Middle Farm (see map).
Grange Way
Grange Way is a small cul-de-sac of mostly detached bungalows. It was built in 1967-8 by the firm A P Clifford Limited of St Mary Cray. The land for it was part of the back garden of Amphion (now called Avalon), Ash Road, which the owners (John and Gynneth Tate) sold for £13,500 on 5 July 1966. Previously Mr Tate had got planning permission for 5 houses and 4 bungalows (Ref: TH/58/396; TH/64/1C). The Tates had owned the land since buying it from Smallowners Limited in 1915. Southside and May Cottage are later additions. They were built at the same time as Tates Orchard on the back garden of Brendon, Ash Road.
The status of road numbering for Grange Way is a bit uncertain. According to the Post Office website only 2, 4, 5 and 7 have numbers and the others are names without numbers. However all but Southside and May Cottage are numbered on the Ordnance Survey map.
Billings Hill Shaw
Historically, Billings Hill Shaw is the name of strip of woodland at the southern end of the estate. Shaws were often historic estate boundaries, and indeed this marked the edge of the Hartley Court estate. The origin of the name is uncertain. In other place names Billing is normally a personal name. It is not connected with the Billings family, who have built many of Hartley's modern houses.
When Smallowners Limited broke up the old farms into smallholdings, this area became the holding called "Hill Shaw", later "Hartley Grange". It's future development potential was recognised as early as 1937 in its advert for sale in the Guardian.
"Hartley Grange, Longfield, Kent, is a modern house, built, in the favourite way, in two stories. Its particular attractions are two fold. In the first place, it is a very compact and easily run small country property in an exceedingly pleasant part of Kent and one which is noted for its fruit growing. Ten out of its 16 acres produce apples, pears, plums and cherries on the 2,000 trees, everyone full bearing, with which they are planted. It is just the sort of place to suit anyone who wants to live a country life with sufficient land to indulge a profitable hobby, like fruit farming or poultry rearing. Then there is the other side to it. There are road frontages to the property which are of considerable potential value. The 835 feet to Church Road and the 1,040 to St John's Road, both parish roads with no paving charges, would make it worth while considering whether the Grange was not an attractive proposition from the developer's point of view. London is within an hour's journey by the best trains. Harrods are the agents concerned, and they will sell the property publicly on September 7 if nobody buys it before then."
The buyers in 1937 were (Ralph) Stanley Hoath and Doris Viney Hoath. They were from farming families and had previously lived at Greycote in Manor Drive. In 1931 Mr Hoath was living at Littlebrook Manor in Dartford, so may have had to move when the land was acquired for the power station there. As they approached retirement age in 1961 they considered developing Billings Hill Shaw. Mr and Mrs Hoath were told not yet, although it was clearly envisaged the site would one day be developed. 1958 town plan had earmarked the land as a potential site for the new Hartley Primary School which eventually went to Round Ash Way. In 1968 Mrs Hoath signed an agreement to sell with the builders George Wimpey. In the same year another attempt was made to develop the site. This went to appeal; the planning inspector said the 5 acres of the future Billings Hill Shaw was acceptable for development, but the rest of Hartley Grange was not. Finally in 1973 George Wimpey got the green light and three years later, Billings Hill Shaw came into being. As part of the planning permission part of the land was transferred to the parish council to become a recreation ground, largely used by dog walkers today. However it does contain a faint echo of the old smallholding, because a few of the orchard trees were retained. It is uncertain whether the builders realised that they had also conveyed Hartley Grange Cottage with the land, but for many years the parish council let it out to tenants. They originally didn't want to sell the cottage because they thought they might need it one day for a groundsman, but eventually sold it in 1995.
Billings Hill Shaw Recreation Ground
Statistics about the road
Subject | Details |
| Length of Roads | St John's Lane 0.23 miles (365 metres) Billings Hill Shaw 0.31 miles (493 metres) Grange Way 0.07 miles (115 metres) |
| KCC Reference: | St John's Lane U1123 Unclassified single carriageway Billings Hill Shaw U14735 Unclassified single carriageway Grange Way U12965 Unclassified single carriageway |
| Acreage (Magic Map): | St John's Lane 4.1 acres (1.7 ha) Billings Hill Shaw 7.0 acres (2.8 ha) Grange Way 2.3 acres (0.9 ha) |
| Houses: | St John's Lane 22 Billings Hill Shaw 47 Grange Way 9 |
| Density: | St John's Lane 5.4 houses/acre (12.9 houses/ha) Billings Hill Shaw 6.7 houses/acre (16.8 houses/ha) Grange Way 3.9 houses/acre (10.0 houses/ha) Hartley average 4.9 houses/acre |
| Population (2021): | St John's Lane 57 (2011 - 59) Billings Hill Shaw 113 (2011 - 105) Grange Way 19 (2011 - 21) |
| Energy Consumption (2023) Figures are median annual consumption per household | St John's Lane Electricity: 3,575 KWh (48th of 99 Hartley postcodes) Gas: 16,957 KWh (28th of 81 Hartley postcodes) Billings Hill Shaw 20,947 KWh/annum (31st / 62 roads in Hartley) Electricity: 3,357 KWh (56th of 99 Hartley postcodes) Gas: 16,091 KWh (49th of 81 Hartley postcodes) Grange Way Electricity: 3,070 KWh (68th of 99 Hartley postcodes) Gas: 18,792 KWh (22nd of 81 Hartley postcodes) |
| Companies Registered Here (2025) | St John's Lane 1 Billings Hill Shaw 3 Grange Way 1 |
Information about the houses
Last updated 7.6.2025
Explanation:
This is information collected from various sources about the houses, divided as follows:
(1) Description - this has mostly been drawn from sale adverts and observation from the road. Names of properties are included if the road is not numbered or the name appears as well as the number in the offical Royal Mail address. Changes of name and the date, where known, are also included here.
(2) Building History - the date of construction is sometimes approximate as it is based on the property appearing in the electoral register or the subject of a planning permission etc.
(3) Rates and Council Tax - the rates registers for 1956, 1963 and 1972 are held by Sevenoaks Council. I have included the gross rateable value, that is the amount it was thought the property could be rented out for. For some reason the 1956 valuation is actually what the rental would have been in 1939. The rateable value was then subject to certain statutory deductions and this figure is what people paid rates upon. Council tax was introduced in 1993, the value was (and still is) what it was believed the property would have sold for on 1 April 1991. However significant building works means it can be increased when the property is next sold and this is shown by "improvement indicator".
(4) Sales and Rents - mostly from property adverts and Land Registry records. Of course those based on adverts may not be the price it actually sold for. There are some cases of property valuations for mortgages from Dartford Rural District Council. House price data 1995 to date produced by Land Registry © Crown copyright 2023. To report an error, go to Change a sales record form.
(5) Site history - this contains a selection of records which demonstrate which farm and field the property stands upon.
I have tried to make sure the information is accurate, but no responsibility can be taken for any errors. If you plan to rely on the information, you should check the source data to be sure. If you spot an error, please let me know via the contact form.
Grange Way (East Side)
3 (Whitewood) Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached house
Building History
1970 First Built
1975 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1975/268 single storey kitchen extension at rear
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £330
1993 Council Tax: F (£120-160K)
Sales and Rents
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
2 Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached house (5 bedrooms)
Building History
1970 First Built
2009 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2009/205 2 storey side extension
2016 Planning Application: (N/A) 2016/2049 Erection of a single storey rear extension with rooflights to create family kitchen.
2016 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2016/2743 Single Storey rear extension.
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £330
1993 Council Tax: F (£120-160K) With improvement indicator (2020)
Sales and Rents
1997 Sale Price: £126000 (8 Jan 1997)
2014 Sale Price: £487500 (7 Nov 2014) Annual percentage change since 1997: +8%
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
1 (Amphion) Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached house
Building History
1970 First Built
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £336
1993 Council Tax: F (£120-160K)
Sales and Rents
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
Southside Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached bungalow (3 bedrooms)
Building History
1984 First Built
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £269
1993 Council Tax: E (£88-120K)
Sales and Rents
2010 Sale Price: £280000 (18 Jun 2010)
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
Grange Way (South Side)
8 (Kilchoan) Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached house (4 bedroom)
Building History
1967 First Built
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £334
1993 Council Tax: F (£120-160K)
Sales and Rents
2012 Sale Price: £310000 (5 Oct 2012)
2015 Sale Price: £412500 (26 Oct 2015) Annual percentage change since 1951: +7%
2016 Sale Price: £425000 (7 Jan 2016) Annual percentage change since 2012: +10%
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
7 (Brindles) Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached bungalow (3 bedrooms)
Building History
1968 First Built
1975 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1975/1204 Single storey side extension
2010 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2010/3033 Single storey rear extension
2015 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2015/2046 Single storey rear extension and sundry alterations to internal layout of bungalow. Roof alterations. Installation of rooflights.
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £276
1993 Council Tax: E (£88-120K) Formerly Band F (1993). With improvement indicator (2020)
Sales and Rents
2010 Sale Price: £330000 (24 Sep 2010)
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
6 (Coppins) Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached bungalow (2 bedrooms)
Building History
1968 First Built
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £276
1993 Council Tax: E (£88-120K)
Sales and Rents
2012 Sale Price: £310000 (5 Oct 2012)
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
5 Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached bungalow
Building History
1968 First Built
1979 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1979/1328 EXTENSION TO SIDE OF DWELLING
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £276
1993 Council Tax: E (£88-120K) Formerly Band F (1993)
Sales and Rents
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
4 (Fairlawns) Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached bungalow
Building History
1968 First Built
1998 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1998/1816 Single storey extension; reroof garage
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £276
1993 Council Tax: E (£88-120K)
Sales and Rents
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding
May Cottage Grange Way DA3 8ES
Detached chalet bungalow (4 bedrooms)
Building History
1984 First Built
2003 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2003/2125 Garage and single storey extension
Rates and Council Tax
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £269
1993 Council Tax: E (£88-120K)
Sales and Rents
2018 Sale Price: £420000 (22 Oct 2018)
2011 Rental (per month): £1400.
Site History
1604 Part of field called Parrys Croft (Fairby Farm)
1915 Part of Amphion (Avalon), Ash Road smallholding