Maple Gardens

The very name Maple Gardens evokes a peaceful picture of urban bliss, a quiet suburb of the town or city, the perfect place for retirement after a lifetime of toil, among people of like mind and standing in the community.

This was Acacia Avenue between the wars, a leafy and secluded close or cul de sac with privacy a byword and net curtains to twitch whenever a stranger ventured down that way because there is no through road and unless he has business with someone living in the neighbourhood, he has no right to be there. The properties are mainly bungalows, built in what is termed by our estate agents, to luxury standards, and the asking price therefore ensures that only the wealthy may be admitted and so all are of a similar economic if not social standing.

The estate was build on the site of the house and gardens at No 20 North Road, a substantial stone property from the William and Mary period, home of Mr Horace Stanton, a well known local solicitor and holder of many public offices. He moved in with his new wife Dorothy after their marriage in 1923 and in later years it was often the scene of many social events and garden parties. Mr Stanton died in 1977 and his wife continued living there until her death in 1989 and two years later, the house was sold.

Planning permission was subsequently granted for the building to be demolished to make way for Maple Gardens that has become a retirement choice for many of the great and the good of the town and it is generally known as Geriatric Close or even Jurassic Park, unkind references to the elderly and dinosaurian nature of its tenants.

Only the main gateway from No 20 North Road remains and that has been incorporated in the garden of the first house in the road, a reminder of the grand property the estate has replaced, while in the garden on the other side, there is a maple tree to justify the name of the estate.