SYDENHAM ROAD BEFORE & AFTER

leenewham · Post by **leenewham** » 24 May 2008 10:57

This is an image request.

Does anyone have images of 'Sydenham High Street' (yes I know it's Sydenham Road) before some bright spark gave grants to rip out the original shop fronts? I presume this was in the 1980's.

I'd like to do a comparison before and after. Images from any time including the 1970/80's would be good to see.

Steve Grindlay · Post by **Steve Grindlay** » 24 May 2008 14:49

These are the best I can do, Lee, although I suspect they don't show the sort of detail you are after. To see them in higher resolution, and to see others, click here:

charlieandpip · Post by **charlieandpip** » 24 May 2008 18:48

Can the Syd Soc share these with the planners as part of the current Regeneration planning.

It would be amazing to mandate that the shop fronts were returned to original state - and would create a truly unique environment for the area, and possibly London as a whole.... and drive a virtuous cycle of regeneration.

I love the old awnings...... beautiful.

leenewham · Post by **leenewham** » 24 May 2008 21:10

This is brilliant Steve...hopefuly Falkor and Terry can come up trumps too.

But surely someome out there has something form the 1980's or 1970's?

One thing, all the shops look great, not because they are old fashioned, but because the rows od shops were designed together, they have similar shop fronts and are distinguished by their own particular signs.

They also look well maintained.

As soon as you abandon the original building design and replace it with something totally alien to the building and surrounding buildings it looks a mess, which is a polite way of describing the current state of the high street.

annabel mclaren · Post by **annabel mclaren** » 30 May 2008 11:53

Lee, a photographic 'shopfront survey' was done in about 1988 - I think the pictures are now in the Lewisham archive. I'll try and find out!

Steve Grindlay · Post by **Steve Grindlay** » 30 May 2008 14:24

annabel mclaren wrote:Lee, a photographic 'shopfront survey' was done in about 1988 - I think the pictures are now in the Lewisham archive. I'll try and find out!

Annabel is right; the photographs are part of the Sydenham Society archives, which were deposited there a year or two ago. They are on closed access, so you will have to ask the archivist to fetch them for you. You may also be asked to fill in a small application form. If necessary you can contact the archives centre through their website

leenewham · Post by **leenewham** » 30 May 2008 16:18

Application submitted.

This may be interesting!

poppy · Post by **poppy** » 13 Jul 2008 14:15

Love the pictures Steve. Do you know when they are from? It actually looks quite posh!

Donique · Post by **Donique** » 22 Aug 2008 21:21

Steve Grindlay wrote:These are the best I can do, Lee, although I suspect they don't show the sort of detail you are after. To see them in higher resolution, and to see others, click here:

Steve, could you throw some light on the dates of these pictures, please.

Thanks

Donique

Steve Grindlay · Post by **Steve Grindlay** » 23 Aug 2008 00:07

Difficult to be precise, but the first is about 1910, the second early 1920s and the third about 1907-8.

jackieboo · Post by **jackieboo** » 9 Oct 2008 19:36

I remember Sydenham looking quite grand when we moved there from Brockley in 1970.

The difference being that people took care and maintained their own shop fronts and bit of pavement. Actually sweeping them and cleaning the windows......imagine that nowadays.

alanh · Post by **alanh** » 10 Oct 2008 09:28

Yes remember my nan 'red leading' the doorsteps every other day as well as sweeping outside every morning

brian stimson · Post by **brian stimson** » 10 Oct 2008 13:24

jackieboo wrote:I remember Sydenham looking quite grand when we moved there from Brockley in 1970.

The difference being that people took care and maintained their own shop fronts and bit of pavement. Actually sweeping them and cleaning the windows......imagine that nowadays.

I can remember, quite clearly, Sydenham Road in the forties. On the corner of Newlands Park was an off licence with a back yard where kids would climb over the wall and nick empty soda syphons and take them in the shop for the 2/6d deposit (not guilty by the way) opposite was Burtons the shoe repairer. On the opposite side of Sydenham Road was Wymans the newsagent, next door (or nearly) was Buiks the jewellers, going down towards Queensthorpe Road was a greengrocer, Sainsbury, Home and Colonial and Boots the Chemist among others. On the corner of Queensthorpe was the aptly named Dentist, Pullen, almost opposite the bombed out Neighbourhood Cinema. Incedently just inside the main Mayow Road entrance to Mayow Park was a pavillion which sold pots of tea and buns, is that still there. Also in Mayow Park were concrete areas where barrage balloons were tethered during WW11 as kids we would try and lift the iron shackle rings, what a waste of energy.

bensonby · Post by **bensonby** » 10 Oct 2008 13:33

Buiks was there right up until the late nineties....was a great shame to see it go. Mr Buik had a stroke and became unable to run it and there was noone to take over it. It was a proper old-fashioned shop that always smelt musty, but Mr Buik was a propery craftsman that could mend more or less anything, often if it was just a minor repair he didn't use to charge.

brian stimson · Post by **brian stimson** » 10 Oct 2008 13:46

bensonby wrote:Buiks was there right up until the late nineties....was a great shame to see it go. Mr Buik had a stroke and became unable to run it and there was noone to take over it. It was a proper old-fashioned shop that always smelt musty, but Mr Buik was a propery craftsman that could mend more or less anything, often if it was just a minor repair he didn't use to charge.

I've still got, in my loft somewhere a silver wine/spirit decanter that my Father bought from Mr Buik about 1947. Mr Buik said my Dad could pay so much a week until it was paid for and he would keep it for him but before it was all paid he said my Dad could take it and have the benefit of it and continue the payments, all interest free.

marymck · Post by **marymck** » 27 Oct 2008 16:06

That's a nice memory Brian. It reminds me of how I bought my very first book. Not in Sydenham but in Scotland and obviously not my first book but the very first one I bought for myself.

It was a beautiful hardback edition of Jack London's White Fang. I still have and love that book - though the dust jacket is long gone. I paid 6d a week, but the book seller let me take it home after two payments. Probably because I was just sitting in the shop reading it anyway!

Eagle · Post by **Eagle** » 27 Oct 2008 19:31

I may have mised it but have not seen the amazing hardware store called
Boag's. This was close the where the Neighbourhood Centre is now. What a hop.

What about DIY shop called Dennents ( inbetween newlands and venner )

The Home and Colonial , opposite Newlands and many more

About 1962 whilst at Dacres Road School we had a Commerce Lesson that involved going in shops and asking whether they were sole trader , partnership etc

The lady in The Record Forum ( with the Helen Shaperio haircut ) got anoyed and daid none of our business. We used to call her 6/8 because that was all she said if you wanted to buy a single.

regoneil · Post by **regoneil** » 30 Jan 2009 17:52

A very interesting subject, may I add the shops, pre WW2 coming down from Silverdale started with Farrance fishmonger on the corner, two doors down was the post office, and then, Barrats the shoeshop, (my wife worked in there for many years before and during WW2), below that, not in the correct order were Dolans Opticians, Buiks, Stewarts sweetshop, a newsagents (Wymans), Greenfields green grocer, a Gentlemans outfitters (Humphries), Home and Colonial stores etc.
Just befor the turning into Earlsthorpe, a couple of doors up the road was a toyshop cum gramaphone record store called "Spencers", run by a brother and sister, the latter making a name for herself as "Peggy Spencer" of formation dancing fame on the BBC; she also ran the Dancing School (Roystons) in Penge.
I well remember Boags, and Northcottes on the corner of Tannsfeld as well as I used to deal with Halls (pre) DIY, just above Trewsbury Rd, on the corner of which was the Criterion Ice Cream Parlour. This establishment was created by a Mr. Valenti, the Uncle of a school chum of mine who started as a wet fishmonger in Lower Sydenham. He would collect his fish from Billingsgate every morning on a flat back model T Ford. He later moved into a small shop between Knighton Park and Trewsbury Road which he opened as a Fried Fish shop, later to change it into an Ice Cream Parlour.
I could go on, but my tea is ready, hope it is of interest to some of your readers.

Reg ONeil

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