Post by Leofwine on Nov 12, 2010 17:59:49 GMT
Ever since I have lived in Brompton, Westcourt Street has been mostly residential, although it once had many businesses in it.
The north side of the street was pulled down in the 1950s & 60s and replaced with housing. The same fate befell the lower part of the southern side too, but there were a few businesses remaining at the upper (High Street) end of the road.
On the corner of the High Street and Westcourt Street was the British Legion Club (now the Kent Autistic Trust). The next building was (and still is) a Taxi office.
The business I remember best was the next one, which was No. 4) was a grocers/general store up until the late 70s, or possibly early 80s, when it was 'renovated' from an old Victorian frontage to it's current form. One of my strongest memories associated with it was that every Sunday morning the owner brought fresh crusty bread from the bakery, still warm from the ovens (I think it was the old Sunblest bakery in the Beechings Way, Eastcourt Lane area). There was always a queue to buy it, and it was always a treat to get home and have a slice or two with the butter melting from the warmth! It's a good memory, but I cannot remember the name of the shop (can anyone else remember it?) The other overriding memory of the shop is that it was very dark with wooden floors.
The old General Store in Westcourt Street (the building to the right was once the Prince of wales pub), 2010
The alley beside the shop always fascinated me as it was (and still is) always closed of by an iron gate. I have since learned this is the southern end of 'Broad Alley', the main alley that once ran between Wood Street and the New Cut. Sometime before 1866 this section of the alley became known as "Butcher's Alley". The next building has been a private residence for as long as I have known the area, although in the late 19th (and very early) 20th century it had been the Prince of Wales public house.
Next came Len Green's coal yard on the site of two demolished houses. Len was one of the real characters of Brompton, who sadly died quite young some years ago. Even now, it seems everybody who knew him remembers him fondly, and his knowledge of Brompton's past was unmatched. A sad loss in many ways. The Green's had a number of businesses around Brompton or Medway - a grocers, a haulage business and demolition business as I remember. The coalyard has been empty for some years now, but I believe there are now plans to build yet more flats on the site.
The next building is the last of the old ones, and perhaps the most distictive buildings in Westcourt Street these days, the Rayner Sturgess shirt factory. This late 19th century factory with its arched, iron framed windows and slate roof, has been a shirt factory from the beginning of the 20th century, and is now probably the oldest business in Brompton (aside from pubs).
The Rayner Sturgess Shirt Factory, 2010
The north side of the street was pulled down in the 1950s & 60s and replaced with housing. The same fate befell the lower part of the southern side too, but there were a few businesses remaining at the upper (High Street) end of the road.
On the corner of the High Street and Westcourt Street was the British Legion Club (now the Kent Autistic Trust). The next building was (and still is) a Taxi office.
The business I remember best was the next one, which was No. 4) was a grocers/general store up until the late 70s, or possibly early 80s, when it was 'renovated' from an old Victorian frontage to it's current form. One of my strongest memories associated with it was that every Sunday morning the owner brought fresh crusty bread from the bakery, still warm from the ovens (I think it was the old Sunblest bakery in the Beechings Way, Eastcourt Lane area). There was always a queue to buy it, and it was always a treat to get home and have a slice or two with the butter melting from the warmth! It's a good memory, but I cannot remember the name of the shop (can anyone else remember it?) The other overriding memory of the shop is that it was very dark with wooden floors.
The old General Store in Westcourt Street (the building to the right was once the Prince of wales pub), 2010
The alley beside the shop always fascinated me as it was (and still is) always closed of by an iron gate. I have since learned this is the southern end of 'Broad Alley', the main alley that once ran between Wood Street and the New Cut. Sometime before 1866 this section of the alley became known as "Butcher's Alley". The next building has been a private residence for as long as I have known the area, although in the late 19th (and very early) 20th century it had been the Prince of Wales public house.
Next came Len Green's coal yard on the site of two demolished houses. Len was one of the real characters of Brompton, who sadly died quite young some years ago. Even now, it seems everybody who knew him remembers him fondly, and his knowledge of Brompton's past was unmatched. A sad loss in many ways. The Green's had a number of businesses around Brompton or Medway - a grocers, a haulage business and demolition business as I remember. The coalyard has been empty for some years now, but I believe there are now plans to build yet more flats on the site.
The next building is the last of the old ones, and perhaps the most distictive buildings in Westcourt Street these days, the Rayner Sturgess shirt factory. This late 19th century factory with its arched, iron framed windows and slate roof, has been a shirt factory from the beginning of the 20th century, and is now probably the oldest business in Brompton (aside from pubs).
The Rayner Sturgess Shirt Factory, 2010