Cheylesmore and Quinton Park

I once purchased a washer from there - that's a SINGLE washer, not a box full. (some might say no wonder they closed!) The Three Spires Fish Bar - I remember buying "3d of chips & scratchings" there in the 1950's!

Really wish we had a place like Wheatcrofts back; selling single washers and rolls of book cover. I was told that they used to have a paraffin pump in the shop (obviously before the days of health and safety ) and creaky wooden floors. Places like B&Q and Homebase must have decimated such small businesses. We're really lucky to still have a relatively diverse set of shops in Daventry Road, many of the old parades of shops have become saturated with estate agents and betting shops. @TonyS- it's hard to believe the Three Spires chip shop is over 50 years old: Cheylesmore chip shop owners celebrate 50 years in business. Also came across some old photos of Martins Bank (where Barclays is now): link. Would I be right in thinking that "Sturman & Heywood Ltd. greengrocers. 34 Daventry 'bldgs.', Daventry Rd." is the same greengrocers as the now closed "G.S. HEYWOOD & SONS" greengrocers?

My uncle married one of the Wheatcroft daughters, Maureen. I was a bridesmaid at the wedding around sixty years ago. We had to get ready in the flat above the shop. I can still recall the smell of our beautiful floral bouquets, mingling with the smell of paraffin as we walked through the shop to get into the wedding cars.

Wheatcofts did indeed have a paraffin dispenser in the shop and it did add to the wonderful smell in there. I had a paraffin blowlamp and it was the only shop that would sell paraffin in small quantities for it.

Thank you so much for the photos and article about the chip shop - the chips were 6d in my time in the 60's!

TonyS post (The Three Spires Fish Bar - I remember buying "3d of chips & scratchings" there in the 1950's!) - my wife has asked me to ask, did you live at the Cheylesmore in the 50s, after her seeing your post about the chippy and do you remember the bumps as they called them or anyone else for that matter before they built the new shops in the middle of the others, My wife Irene was one of the Cottom family, 11 children, the twins Irene & Lilian now aged 75, hope someone remembers them

The picture of the shops brings back fond memories, having been bombed out during the war, our first home was a brand new prefab, complete with central heating and fridge built in, and most importantly a bathroom, Crecy Road. Moving there in 1947 the area was still brand new, they was still finding unexploded bombs in the city and the army were exploding them on Whitley Common. We used to skate on the pool opposite the shop, it would be nice to see folks still doing that, but my guess is it has probably been filled in.

Arthur, we have a thread about Quinton Pool here!

I can recall just after the war the pool would suddenly give rise to a mass exodus of frogs, tiny little creatures turning the road black as they made their way out of there, I have never in my life experienced anything like it since, just wondering if they still do that. There wasn't an island when I lived there, think it looks better for it, thank you for the pictures.

Hi Arthur I may have mentioned this elsewhere (the memory's not what it used to be, whatever that was) but when we moved into our present house, for the first few years we seemed to be on the "frog migration route" to Quinton Pool. Hundreds of frogs would hop up the garden path over the course of a couple of days in, I seem to remember, late summer. If the back door was open they would come into the house and be unable to get out again, often going upstairs. We used to rescue them and take them to the pool. This happened every year up until about 1995. We've always had cats and every so often one would catch a frog which we would need to rescue - if you have ever heard the noise a frog in pain makes it's ear-splitting and was often enough to make the cat drop it and run away

Although we have a separate topic on Quinton Pool, as the OP mentioned skating on the pool here, you might be interested to take a look at photo number 25 in this link - showing just that! The photo was taken on 28th December 1964 (a link also posted by MR in the 'Today' topic)

Daventry Buildings (dated 1939) - Cook's butchers has closed down, due to ill-health

Here are some of the photos I took showing the demolition of the Quinton Pool public toilets. I'm told the toilet block was built in the early 1970's(?).