Sydenham remembered

[brian stimson]

Anyone remember or know what happened to the following:- St. Brelades Cafe in Kirkdale, Cobbs departmental store, Wymans the newsagent and Buicks the jewellers in Sydenham Road opp Newlands Park, State Cinema corner of Girton Road, Nicks the Italian hairdresser opp Mayow Road, the Shoe Repairers and Off licence on opp corners of Newlands Park, Boags the hardware shop halfway down Sydenham Road, Valenti's ice cream parlour corner of Tewksbury road and next door to the Golden Lion Pub and what about the dye works in Berryman's Lane.
brian

[bensonby]

Buiks was around until a few years ago and then Mr Buick got very ill and went into a nursing home. Sadly, none of his family could/were able to take over the business.....

It was a fine jewlers.

[bensonby]

Golden lion is still going.

The ice cream parlour closed years ago...its now a tex-mex place

which hardware shop? do you mean whitrods? down towards bell green?

[Annie]

Cobbs was a really nice department store, but it closed down probably 25 yrs ago or so.
now its LA fitness, the bride shop etc etc.
I loved going in there to see what i couldnt afford! perhaps that was its downfall.

[brian stimson]

Thanks for the information, brings back smashing memories. How I remember Boags the hardware store was as a kid my mother would send me to buy a pint of vinegar loose, not really loose but in your own bottle, if you see what I mean. Now as a 10 year old I had a penchant for vinegar and would swig most of it on the way home so I told my
Mum they only had half a pint left, she wondered why she had to pay for a pint! Boags was next or nearly next to the bombed out Neighbourhood Cinema almost opposite Queensthorpe Road. I would pop into Cobbs on my way home from school, St. Bartholomews up Kirkdale and ogle all the toys and things, what a shame it's gone now. Is the garage still at the top of Newlands park opposite Holmcroft(?) Road?
bye

[Annie]

There is a small garage in Newlands park road which seems to have a lot of Volkswagon camper vans outside being fixed, maybe thats the place you refer to?

[MartinH]

The small garage Brian is referring to was originally a Ford main dealership called Dagenham Motors which met it's demise around 1971. It was then vacant until 1973-4 when Volkspares took on the site.

[brian stimson]

I would fill my motorbike up there in 1956 at 4s and 6p per gallon, what's that now 22.5 pence per gallon.

The small garage Brian is referring to was originally a Ford main dealership called Dagenham Motors which met it's demise around 1971. It was then vacant until 1973-4 when Volkspares took on the site.

[multisync]

My Dad used to work next to Dagenham motors at a company named F.D Sims it was a copper wire distributor wedged between the garage and abig shoe menders that went right through to the high street, more or less where the bookies is now

[brian stimson]

As a teenager in about 1953 I worked saturday mornings in the shoe repairers cleaning the machines which would be covered with oil and shoe leather, the fellow who owned it was mr Burton, he was a super chap lived in Studland Road as I remember. On the other corner of Newlands Park was an off licence and next door to the shoe repairers in Sydenham Road was a little tobacconist run by a lovely oldish partially sighted Gentleman.

quote="multisync"]My Dad used to work next to Dagenham motors at a company named F.D Sims it was a copper wire distributor wedged between the garage and abig shoe menders that went right through to the high street, more or less where the bookies is now[/quote]