Post by Leofwine on Nov 12, 2010 16:54:11 GMT
I moved to Brompton when I was about six (around 1970/71) and although much of the 'slum clearance' had already taken place, replacing lovely old Victorian & Georgian buildings with 50s & 60s monstrosities, a little more of 'old' Old Brompton still survived. This included much of the High Street. There were many more shops in the High Street then, and whilst it was not the thriving centre depicted in some of the 19th century photos, it was still a busy place. Some shops I remember by name, others are just an image or two in my mind.
As you walked from the play park (the old naval reservoir) along the High Street on the left were a florist (I think just called Brompton Florists) and an old laundry/dry cleaners (Co-op or Sunlight Laundry?). Or did the laundry become the florist? Age 6-12ish neither florists nor laundries held massive interest!
Next to this was a shop I loved poking around in - an old ironmongery/general store that seemed to have just about everything (kind of like Arkwrights or the 'fork andles' shop, this is now the Hairdressers shop). I can't remember the name of the guy that ran the shop, but I do remember boxes, bags and bundles of stuff everywhere, and that it always seemed very dark, like a dragon's cave full of useful treasures - batteries, nails, lengths of clothesline, tools, soap, balls of string, etc. I also seem to remember he sold paraffin from a big drum too (you had to take your own container in for him to fill).
Brompton High Street, 2010
Beyond this was the British Legion Club on the corner of Westcourt Street (now the Kent Autistic Trust), and on the opposite corner was the Golden Lion Pub (known to the locals as "The Beast"). At this time there was an unofficial hierarchy to the pubs in terms of which ranks were "allowed" to drink there. I seem to remember the beast was generally for 'other ranks.' The Golden Lion was the last of the 'old' buildings on this side, the shops beyond this bein 'new' shops built in the 1960s. Next to the Golden Lion was the Chip Shop (still there today, though it has changed hands many times over the intervening years.)
Then came Duncan's Newsagents. I always remember that at the back of the shop they had many Airfix kits on one side, and on the other side jars and boxes of sweets bought by the quarter or at 4 for a penny. Between them the kits and the sweets accounted for most of my pocket money! (Once again, this is still there today, though it has changed hands many times over the intervening years.)
Next was a shop that I remember selling (second hand?) furniture, but I'm sure that when I first arrived it was something else, but it escapes me what it was... After this, the last shop on this side was Fowler's newsagents, which if I remember correctly had a small cafe/sandwich bar in it (again, this part of the shop may have started after I first arrived.) In a back room of Fowlers I remember Steve, the barber who cut my hair through most of my childhood (he later moved to his own shop at the other end of the high street, I think where the hairdressers still is today.) I seem to remember most of his business seemed to involve shearing the heads of many a squaddie or matelot!
Beyond this was the grass bank, and then the housing between Middle Street and Wood Street.
On the other side the High Street started with the Royal Naval (or was if RAF?) Benevolent Trust in the old Queen's Head pub. Next came a short row of shops, which I can't remember much about, though I remember one of them was a little general store that we always called the corner shop even though it wasn't quite on the corner! I now can't remember if there were buildings on the site of what is now the Brompton Club car park (formerly the Conservative Club), but I have a vague recollection of a couple of empty shops there.
Brompton High Street, 2010
Next came the Conservative Club, a grand old Edwardian edifice built onto the front of a much older, more rambling building. Beside this was the Brompton Garage, a very strange affair that seems to be a late 17th/early 18th century upper floor and roof hanging over a large empty area with a 20th century garage door. This was once the Bricklayers Arms pub, and in more recent years became an Army Surplus store, although now it stands empty.
Between the garage and the next building (the Two Sawyers pub) is a gated alleyway, known as Sawyers Alley. The Two Sawyers pub was generally another 'other ranks' (and possibly NCOs) pub in the unofficial Brompton Pub Hierarchy.
Beyond the Two Sawyers is 'Montague House', an Edwardian (?) building that I seem to recall was an old fashioned Tobacconist that always had 'exotic' cigar boxes and pipes in its window. This later (mid-late 70s?) became Derek Smith's Printers, and then in the 1990s it got taken over by the Kent Autistic Trust and is now 'Club 21' (presumably from the fact it is No. 21 High Street.)
Beyond this I remember a row of old shops all the way to Wood Street, broken only by a few empty plots, although many of them were empty or boarded up. The ones I do remember were an old fashioned greengrocers about where the off-licence is today, that always seemed to smell of roasting coffee (my father recalls that they provided personal coffee blends to officers (and others) in Brompton). My other memory of it was the huge bacon slicer.
I seem to remember a couple more greengrocers scattered along here, and an off-licence (?). I seem to remember a cafe along here too, but I can't remember if it was open or just an empty building. At the far end was another grocers/general store (Jennings?) and then the Post Office on the corner. This section was torn down in the late 70s, and replaced with flats along most of the length, although the old post office and the greengrocers at the Wood Street end became Charlie Waldron’s Car Sales Showroom. Ironically, this has now also been torn down and replaced with more flats.
As you walked from the play park (the old naval reservoir) along the High Street on the left were a florist (I think just called Brompton Florists) and an old laundry/dry cleaners (Co-op or Sunlight Laundry?). Or did the laundry become the florist? Age 6-12ish neither florists nor laundries held massive interest!
Next to this was a shop I loved poking around in - an old ironmongery/general store that seemed to have just about everything (kind of like Arkwrights or the 'fork andles' shop, this is now the Hairdressers shop). I can't remember the name of the guy that ran the shop, but I do remember boxes, bags and bundles of stuff everywhere, and that it always seemed very dark, like a dragon's cave full of useful treasures - batteries, nails, lengths of clothesline, tools, soap, balls of string, etc. I also seem to remember he sold paraffin from a big drum too (you had to take your own container in for him to fill).
Brompton High Street, 2010
Beyond this was the British Legion Club on the corner of Westcourt Street (now the Kent Autistic Trust), and on the opposite corner was the Golden Lion Pub (known to the locals as "The Beast"). At this time there was an unofficial hierarchy to the pubs in terms of which ranks were "allowed" to drink there. I seem to remember the beast was generally for 'other ranks.' The Golden Lion was the last of the 'old' buildings on this side, the shops beyond this bein 'new' shops built in the 1960s. Next to the Golden Lion was the Chip Shop (still there today, though it has changed hands many times over the intervening years.)
Then came Duncan's Newsagents. I always remember that at the back of the shop they had many Airfix kits on one side, and on the other side jars and boxes of sweets bought by the quarter or at 4 for a penny. Between them the kits and the sweets accounted for most of my pocket money! (Once again, this is still there today, though it has changed hands many times over the intervening years.)
Next was a shop that I remember selling (second hand?) furniture, but I'm sure that when I first arrived it was something else, but it escapes me what it was... After this, the last shop on this side was Fowler's newsagents, which if I remember correctly had a small cafe/sandwich bar in it (again, this part of the shop may have started after I first arrived.) In a back room of Fowlers I remember Steve, the barber who cut my hair through most of my childhood (he later moved to his own shop at the other end of the high street, I think where the hairdressers still is today.) I seem to remember most of his business seemed to involve shearing the heads of many a squaddie or matelot!
Beyond this was the grass bank, and then the housing between Middle Street and Wood Street.
On the other side the High Street started with the Royal Naval (or was if RAF?) Benevolent Trust in the old Queen's Head pub. Next came a short row of shops, which I can't remember much about, though I remember one of them was a little general store that we always called the corner shop even though it wasn't quite on the corner! I now can't remember if there were buildings on the site of what is now the Brompton Club car park (formerly the Conservative Club), but I have a vague recollection of a couple of empty shops there.
Brompton High Street, 2010
Next came the Conservative Club, a grand old Edwardian edifice built onto the front of a much older, more rambling building. Beside this was the Brompton Garage, a very strange affair that seems to be a late 17th/early 18th century upper floor and roof hanging over a large empty area with a 20th century garage door. This was once the Bricklayers Arms pub, and in more recent years became an Army Surplus store, although now it stands empty.
Between the garage and the next building (the Two Sawyers pub) is a gated alleyway, known as Sawyers Alley. The Two Sawyers pub was generally another 'other ranks' (and possibly NCOs) pub in the unofficial Brompton Pub Hierarchy.
Beyond the Two Sawyers is 'Montague House', an Edwardian (?) building that I seem to recall was an old fashioned Tobacconist that always had 'exotic' cigar boxes and pipes in its window. This later (mid-late 70s?) became Derek Smith's Printers, and then in the 1990s it got taken over by the Kent Autistic Trust and is now 'Club 21' (presumably from the fact it is No. 21 High Street.)
Beyond this I remember a row of old shops all the way to Wood Street, broken only by a few empty plots, although many of them were empty or boarded up. The ones I do remember were an old fashioned greengrocers about where the off-licence is today, that always seemed to smell of roasting coffee (my father recalls that they provided personal coffee blends to officers (and others) in Brompton). My other memory of it was the huge bacon slicer.
I seem to remember a couple more greengrocers scattered along here, and an off-licence (?). I seem to remember a cafe along here too, but I can't remember if it was open or just an empty building. At the far end was another grocers/general store (Jennings?) and then the Post Office on the corner. This section was torn down in the late 70s, and replaced with flats along most of the length, although the old post office and the greengrocers at the Wood Street end became Charlie Waldron’s Car Sales Showroom. Ironically, this has now also been torn down and replaced with more flats.