History of Willborough

In 1893, a small group of wealthy San Franciscans built the Burlingame Country Club, a few English Tudor-style country homes, and a train station to service them. After the 1906 San Francisco quake and fires, the population boomed and Burlingame was incorporated in 1908.

In the 1920's, Tudor Revival craftsmanship and comfort appealed to builders George W. Williams and Frank Burrows. Their company, G. W. Williams Co. built Willborough (combination of their names) as affordable homes during the Great Depression in 1931 and 1932. The project's architect was an Englishman, Gillam (no more info), who envisioned recreating a tight-knit European village with traditional Tudor-revival ("Tudorbethian") design. G. W. Williams Co. built two smaller Tudorbethian neighborhoods in San Mateo with similar design: Williams Place around 1929 (map) and Chesterton Place around 1936 (map). Details Courtesy of the Burlingame Historical Society archives and Wikipedia "Willborough"

San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough City Directory, 1932-1933

Original owners of Willborough Road and Willborough Place homes in 1932 were a varied bunch: a designer and many other occupations:

San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough City Directory, 1932-1933

Homes on Willborough Road and Willborough Place:

752 Willborough Rd, 756 Willborough Rd, 760 Willborough Rd, 761 Willborough Rd, 764 Willborough Rd, 765 Willborough Rd, 769 Willborough Rd, 770 Willborough Rd, 772 Willborough Rd, 773 Willborough Rd, 775 Willborough Rd, 776 Willborough Rd, 777 Willborough Rd, 780 Willborough Rd, 781 Willborough Rd, 784 Willborough Rd, 785 Willborough Rd, 788 Willborough Rd, 789 Willborough Rd, 792 Willborough Rd, 796 Willborough Rd