Earlsdon

That's the one MR

Hi Folks Glad the couple of pictures I posted were of interest, I dug them out of the 'family archives'. Philip - it was good to hear you knew a member of the Buckingham family, it brings these pictures we post to life, don't you think? I don't often post, but always enjoy dropping in and reading the lively banter and fascinating pictures everyone shares

I walked (or ran) up and down Earlsdon Street twice a day on my way to school in the 1950s. I remember the greengrocers next to the Royal Oak as the proprietors seemed to know me for some reason "There goes that naughty little boy, Hugh Walker" as I ran along in the gutter. I seem to remember there were two other greengrocers on the street, one opposite with the stall spreading out onto the pavement and another further up the street which my mum went to. Also across the road, I think on the corner opposite the Royal Oak, there was a pork butcher, which we referred to as "Thomas the Pork". A couple of shops up from the Oak was Allwoods (Atkins and Turton) the grocers if I remember right and a couple of shops further on was a double fronted shop with a long white sign. I think that was Walter Kay, mentioned earlier. I got my first suit there in my mid teens and found the hanger for it in the wardrobe - wouldn't be able to get into the suit now! Sketchley's was close to Walter Kays, and a bit further up was Jack Hillier the butcher, and just next to the modern looking building with four upstairs windows, was a hardware shop selling household stuff called "Live and Let Live" I think. The modern building was Talbots. They built it on the site of their more ramshackled premises in the mid to late 1950s, and had loads of bikes for sale in the showroom upstairs and downstairs. It was a good place for buying light electrical stuff too. They retained a roadway through the left side of the shop to gain access to a garage where they did repairs and I remember going there to get batteries charged. The shop to the left of Talbots with the figures on top I remember as a hardware shop that also sold gardening stuff, as well as radios and records. Can't remember the name of it now. Got my first records there in the late 50s. The KB Radio posters mentioned in another thread were put up between the windows. I got most of my pop singles in the late 50s and early 60s from here. They sold everything from seed potatoes, tools, kitchen stuff to 6" nails. They had an island counter in the middle that sold records which could be played through a small speaker on request. Must have also sold radios as they had big posters outside between the upstairs windows advertising KB radios with the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary liners. The first record I bought there was "Hootsmon" on a 78, and the first 45 rpm single, Elvis Presley with "I got Stung", not one of my parents favourite records. Actually I think the figures are workmen doing something to the top of the wall. It looks like the roof is off. By the early 1960s, it had become a very early supermarket called Fare Value or something like that. Further up on the other side of Buckinghams, there was the Post Office and Boots, and then the greengrocers my mum went to.

Does anyone remember what A G Coopey sold. I remember the name but can't now recall anything about it. Can't have sold anything of interest to a small boy. Here's a photo of "Live and Let Live" in the 1920s. Seemed to be much the same in the 1950s as I remember it with goods displayed out on the street. There are loads of photos of Earlsdon on flickr. Well worth a look if you haven't seen these. Following up on my earlier posting, I noticed in the Flickr photos that somebody has commented that Talbots built the new shop in 1955, "Live and Let Live" being between Coopeys and Talbots. It answered another question, that the hardware/radio/record shop next door to Talbots was Thomas the Ironmonger. When the shop was converted to a supermarket, Thomas's moved across the road a bit further down on the other side of Lloyds Bank. It was a smaller shop, but had loads of stuff. Bought several woodworking tools out of there including a Stanley plane which I still have.

Coopeys was a paint and wallpaper shop but I seem to remember them being on the opposite side of the street to the Royal Oak

Thanks, Geoff. That's coming back to me now. I also remember them being on the opposite side of the street and found a reference that they did indeed move in 1959/1960 to a new building. On the corner of Providence Street there was in the 1950s a shop selling toys and prams etc. The site was redeveloped and two new shops were there I seem to remember, Coopey's moving into one of them. Address after 1960 seems to be No.41. Maybe there was some link up between Coopeys and the old toy shop? Here's the link: Coopeys

The shop on the corner was No1 Providence Street. Both it and No 45 Earlsdon Street were replaced by Barclay's Bank circa 1963. Councillor Jack Hillier built a shop with flats above at No 43 shortly afterwards. It was intended to be a butcher's shop but was never used as such. Its external appearance matched that of Barclays. I assumed for a long time they were all one building but they're not. Coopey's new store was slightly further down the road at Nos 39a and 41. A gap was left for vehicle access between Nos 41 and 43.

Wow! Where do you get all that information, Dutchman? My memories were approximately correct, but obviously a bit hazy after 50+ years. I do now remember Coopey's shop with wallpaper in the window in that new building. I didn't know Jack Hillier was a property developer. I seem to remember it was Jack Hillier and Son, the son being of similar form-factor to his father. The son carried on, and the business seemed relatively unchanged for very many years. My mum was a regular customer.

You are a true historian, Dutchman. One thing I noticed about Earlsdon Street in the late 1950s apart from some new buildings replacing the Victorian/Edwardian premises, was that the street lighting was precast concrete lamp standards with a swan-neck. I remember in the early to mid 1950s, the street was lit by gas lamps at the top of cast-iron standards. A couple of gas mantles and a pilot light that operated 24/7 as far as I remember. There was also a timer to turn on the main gas supply to the light. All very labour intensive and not very much light output. The side streets stayed on gas for longer I think. You've probably seen photos of the area in the mid to late 19th century when Earlsdon Street was just a country lane. Some locals still refer to the place as the village, presumably going back to the days when it was separated from the city by fields. There was a church, St Martins, at the bottom of Albany Road opposite the Technical College. It was demolished sometime in the 1960s, but it dated back to the early 19th century. I've seen engravings of it with fields and countryside round about it. Mods note : Conversations regarding Albany Road / Butts have been opened in a separate thread

Here is a postcard of "Earlesden Street" from the 1900s

I'm sorry to have to inform you Jan that the 'Mayo' who ran the grocer's shop was apparently no relation at all to the famous landlord of the Royal Oak living opposite!

Thanks for that Dutchman what a shame, really thought it must have been one of my husband's relatives. There definitely was a greengrocer in the family, but I think it was in the 60s and I believe the shop was in Wyken.

1960 GPO Directory : W R Mayo Frtr 1 Brixham Drive W R Mayo Grngrcr 221 Sewall Highway Perhaps Philip will remember the latter?

Thank you MR very interesting, think it was the Brixham Drive one.

Hi, The Sewall Highway Mayo was my mum's greengrocer in the days when two bob of potatoes nearly broke the handles of the shopping bag, as well as my arm to carry it!