Tailors and Outfitters (bespoke and other)

The only two addresses for Arthur Hammon (no "d") are 561 Foleshill Road and 18 Burges

I remember regularly buying clothes, especially shirts and sweaters, from Arthur Hammon at the end of the Burges in the 70s. The manager there was a very 'proper' grey-haired chap, always immaculately dressed, who would not have been out of place at Grace Bros.

I remember Hammon's as the place to buy King Henry VIII school ties, etc, so when the time came to look for 'mufti', it was well down the list of desirable shops to visit. Strangely, the first shop I go to now, when I need a new shirt or sweater, reminds me very much of Hammon's

I think you will find that it was Miss Cross. As local kids we would go in and ask her if she had any broken biscuits, if the answer was no then our reply was "Well break some" before scooting out of the shop. My elderly neighbour regularly sent me there for 1/2 ounce of twist. The greengrocers was Hartshornes. The tailor was Italian and he used to buy up all the surplus grapes from the market and make his own wine.

I suspect you may be younger than me then. I'm sure that when I was at KHVIII the uniform supplier was Batt's who were in the Lower Precinct, on the left at the bottom of the ramp, and later on the opposite side as I recall. You could always tell the kids whose parents didn't go there, as their blazer badge was a patch on the pocket rather than embroidered into the pocket itself.

Frank Carter it was. Thanks MR. Any idea when he closed?

What was the name of the outfitters that was on the outside of the market (would now be opposite IKEA)? Just thought, was this John Cheadle?

My mum got my Woodlands uniform from the Co-op on Corporation Street. Green blazer for the first year!!

Sorry, no I don't

There was another outfitters in that area that did school uniforms called Gibberds. Not sure if that's the one you might be thinking of.

May have been my father-in-law who served your mum then Mick. We also went there for the daughters' gear for Blue Coat School.

I attended Woodlands and likewise my uniform came from either the upper floor in the Co-op or Gibberds in the Lower Precinct near the base of the 'round cafe'

No doubt, like mine, your KHVIII uniform came from Gibberds!

As far as I know Gibberds started with a tailors shop in Market Place, Bedworth. This was sold to JC Smiths in 1901. Of course it's possible that he had a shop in Coventry at the same time One of the sons, Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was responsible for the rebuilding of Nuneaton town centre, including the library, after the war. Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children and was educated at King Henry VIII School. He also designed Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and Didcot Power Station.

No. As I said in an earlier post, my uniforms were always bought at Batt's.